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California State Senator Scott Wiener waves at the audience during the San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday, June 24, 2018 in San Francisco. Photo: Ekevara Kitpowsong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
On Dec. 13, Senator Wiener spoke with El Tecolote <\/em>to provide an overview of his work since his 2016 election and discuss what his goals will be as he embarks on what is expected to be another competitive campaign. He described himself as a strong proponent of healthcare, having co-authored a single-payer healthcare bill and having supported a bill that provided undocumented children with access to healthcare. He also co-authored SB-55, which he explained \u201cprotects immigrants who are testifying in court by prohibiting attorneys from asking them about their immigration status unless it\u2019s relevant.\u201d But he himself admitted that there is \u201ca lot of budget work\u201d left to be done in order to provide the structural support necessary to support immigrant communities. But perhaps topic most associated with Wiener\u2019s tenure as senator is his controversial housing policies. When asked about his approach to resolving the housing crisis, Wiener reiterated his previous arguments, stating, mainly, that the solution requires an increase in supply in the form of apartments. \u201cRight now in the large majority of California, it is illegal to build apartment buildings or affordable housing because of zoning,\u201d Wiener said. \u201cThe only thing you\u2019re allowed to build is single-family homes. And that\u2019s true even in areas that are very transit heavy or job-rich. And the goal is, if we want people to drive less, we need to make it possible for people to live near where they work and also near public transit. And so we need to have more housing density near transit and near jobs and in some areas near jobs that already exist. Like the Mission is already zoned for a lot of density so our bill will not really impact the Mission because already zoned for density. Same with Chinatown, same with South of Market, the Tenderloin.\u201d Although Wiener claims his proposals would not affect the Mission, The Chronicle documented Wiener\u2019s efforts around the contentious bill by highlighting the pushback by Mission residents to the construction of a five-story luxury apartment building on Valencia Street. This building seemed to epitomize the flaws of Wiener\u2019s housing plan, as only two of the 25 units were set aside for \u201caffordable housing,\u201d calling into question how this approach would create more supply.\u00a0 Fielder, though, does not view the housing crisis as a supply problem as much as an issue of \u201ctrue affordability\u201d and debilitating income inequality. In an interview with Nick Estes, host of The Red Natio<\/em>n, a podcast highlighting the stories and work of Indigenous leaders, Fielder describes recent periods of time she has spent \u201ccouch-surfing\u201d and sleeping in her van. Despite being a Stanford graduate and working two jobs, Fielder, like many others in the city, has dealt with the reality that market-rate housing is simply unsustainable for many residents. Fielder has openly questioned Wiener\u2019s housing policies. In an interview with The SF Examiner, <\/em>Fielder explained her motives for running largely rested in ensuring real-estate stays out of politics. \u201cI\u2019m running because I think it\u2019s time that we have an outside candidate, especially a woman of color who is openly queer as well, challenge a real estate-backed elected official.\u201d She later tweeted that \u201cevery Californian should know it is this way because the real estate industry pours money each year into state-level races fighting rent control, tenant protections, and funding for affordable housing.\u201d One of Fielder\u2019s main policy platforms promises that she will champion an effort towards statewide rent control and improved tenant protections. Both candidates find common ground in the admission that the criminal justice system is broken, however Wiener\u2019s solution is a bill he that shifted language with regard to what is allowable police force, changing the standard from \u201creasonable force\u201d to \u201cnecessary force.\u201d While he acknowledged there is still a lot of work to be done in this area, he did not describe any plans for large structural changes in the police department. By contrast, Fielder has been very vocal with her criticisms of SFPD in particular. She recently shared the California Police Scorecard for San Francisco on social media stating, \u201cNot surprised SFPD has a Police Violence score of an F. Used more deadly force per arrest than 57% of CA police depts.\u201d She has been especially vocal about not compromising her ethics regarding donations, not accepting from police unions or real-estate companies, perhaps in part because this has been a subject of dispute for Senator Wiener. In 2016, Wiener\u2019s campaign received donations from some of San Francisco\u2019s wealthiest, including Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO of Yelp, and George Hume, the owner of Basic American Inc and former consultant for McKinsey and Co. Fielder often touches on this very issue of compromise leading to a lack of accountability. In her initial campaign pledge, Fielder announced: \u201cI will not be accepting contributions from donations from luxury real estate developers, fossil fuel corporations or police unions because I\u2019m accountable to everyday people.\u201d In March, Jackie Fielder, a 25-year-old Indigenous organizer, environmental activist and public bank advocate, will\u00a0 attempt to oust State Senator Scott Wiener from what is arguably one of the most powerful offices in San Francisco. State senators play a unique role in the local political landscape in that they serve their immediate communities, but also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":42540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18445],"class_list":["post-42539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voices","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
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California State Senate D11 candidate Jackie Fielder addresses her supporters during her campaign kickoff party at El Rio in San Francisco on Dec. 6, 2019. Photo: Heidi Alletzh\u00e4user<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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