School Board Vice President Hydra Mendoza kicked off her re-election campaign Friday at Coda in the Mission District. Photos by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
August 31, 2010
San Francisco School Board Vice President Hydra Mendoza kicked off her re-election campaign Friday amid much fanfare and support.
First elected to the Board in 2006, Mendoza decided to run for re-election in large part because of the accomplishments the current Board has achieved, not least of which is a spirit of cooperation between Board members to achieve results, a stark contrast to previous Board compositions plagued by infighting.
“It took me a while to really come to that place where I was committed to doing this again,” Mendoza, a single mother of two, said to her supporters at Coda in the Mission District. “This is really hard work. I want to do this again because the work we’ve done in the last four years has been incredible. It has been tremendous to work with people like Jane Kim and Jill Wynns and Mark Sanchez and Sandy Fewer and Rachel Norton and Norman Yee and Kim-Shree Maufus. This has been a team that has been really incredible.”
Mendoza’s four-year tenure on the Board has earned support and respect from all sides of the political aisle, a rarity in the loyalty-driven, partisan mindset of San Francisco politics.
“She’s unique in that respect,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom when asked to comment on Mendoza’s crossover support and appeal. “She just delivers. She’s not a rhetorician. She’s not an ideologue. She doesn’t do what a weekly newspaper tells her to do, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t agree with what they believe, and that’s what makes her unique. She’s not in anyone’s pocket. She believes in her mission. She believes her number one purpose is to take care of the kids. She has strong labor support, strong parent support, strong community support, strong support from businesses and the business community as well and she’s someone who gets it done – and at the end of the day, ideology solves nothing. Practical application, someone that can manifest ideas, those are the folks that change the world and she’s one of those and she knows how to get things done and that’s why I’m supporting her.”
Mayor Gavin Newsom
Mayor Gavin Newsom and Hydra Mendoza.
Mendoza serves as Newsom’s education liaison to the Board. Prior to her election to the Board, Mendoza served as Executive Director of Parents for Public Schools, a national organization committed to improving public education.
Referring to Mendoza as a “role model,” a “friend and a sister,” School Board President Jane Kim said she shares a special relationship with Mendoza.
“One thing that I’m very proud of on our Board of Education is that each member is deeply and genuinely rooted in public education… and Hydra is no exception,” Kim said. “We developed not just an incredible collegiality, but a friendship over the last four years and Hydra has been one of the Board members that I have truly grown to respect, not just her passion for public education and promoting our public schools in our city, but her incredible dedication to bringing more resources (to the school district) and also her dedication to serving our children and our parents.”
School Board President Jane Kim
Mendoza is endorsed by the United Educators of San Francisco, Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, Filipino Americans for Progress, African American Democratic Club, Richmond Democratic Club, Senator Mark Leno, Assemblymember Fiona Ma, Mayor Gavin Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Assessor Phil Ting, Treasurer Jose Cisneros, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Sean Elsbernd, Carmen Chu, School Board Commissioners Jane Kim, Sandra Lee Fewer, Rachel Norton, Jill Wynns, Norman Yee, former School Board President Mark Sanchez, College Board Trustees Steve Ngo and Lawrence Wong and others.
Three seats are up for re-election on the seven-member Board. Commissioners Mendoza and Maufus are seeking re-election. Commissioner Kim, who is running to succeed termed out District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, is not seeking re-election to the Board.
Editor’s Note: Luke Thomas is a resident and voter in District 6. In the interest of transparency, he has provided photography services to the campaigns for Hydra Mendoza and Natasha Hoehn
United Educators of San Francisco President Dennis Kelly and Hydra Mendoza.
School Board President Jane Kim and former School Board President Mark Sanchez with Hydra Mendoza.
School Board Commissioner Jill Wynns and former Youth Commissioner Peter Lauterborn.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Deputy Press Secretary Francisco Castillo and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu aide Judson True.
School Board Commissioner Sandra Lee Fewer and School Board President Jane Kim with Hydra Mendoza.
Enrique's Angels: Left Coast Consulting founder Enrique Pearce with School Board Commissioner Sandra Lee Fewer, Hydra Mendoza, School Board candidate Natasha Hoehn and School Board President Jane Kim.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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The Hunger Site
August 31, 2010 at 7:53 am
Great pics, Luke,
Your shot of Maggie Brodkin was great too. I’d like to see something of the ‘poorer’ candidates though. Omar Khalif comes to mind. The School Board is obviously critical and shouldn’t just be a gang of Downtown rubber stamps for selling property they now need. Did you know that their real estate agent (CBRE) is run by Feinstein’s hubby, Dick Blum?
Yeah, he and his ‘CB Richard Ellis’ specialize in selling public parcels at fire sale rates to private investors (mostly European based). He did over 100 million of SFUSD property and is the agent to sell the state buildings in Civic Center which will have our State Superior Court paying rent to East European (secret) for the next … years. Over a billion there and when local Republicans like Don Capers (sp?) complained, they were fired. Democrat Blum carries more clout with the Republican governor.
Great shots. Important agency.
Go Giants!
h.