Former Chair of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, Hope Johnson. Photo by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
June 12, 2012
Hope Johnson, the former Chair of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, filed papers Monday with the San Francisco Department of Elections officially declaring her bid for District 5 Supervisor.
Johnson, 46, is the eleventh candidate and fourth woman to enter the ranked choice contest that will be decided by voters in November.
Johnson, a paralegal and 7-year resident of District 5, said she is running because, “the Board of Supervisors has drifted away from representing average residents of San Francisco.”
“The second reason is the incumbent, Christina Olague – I am very upset that she got away with co-chairing the Run, Ed, Run campaign supporting Ed Lee who is basically an extension of the former Willie Brown administration,” Johnson added.
Olague was appointed by Mayor Ed Lee to the D5 seat in January following her co-chairship of the controversial Run, Ed, Run campaign and the vacancy created by former District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s election to Sheriff. Her voting record includes opposition to a Board-approved (6-5) redevelopment of Parkmerced, as well as support for a Board-approved (8-3) 134-unit luxury condo development at 8 Washington on the Embarcadero.
If elected, Johnson said she would donate as much as 30 percent of her supervisor’s annual salary ($105,000) to schools; sponsor legislation to provide low-cost loans to small businesses; address traffic calming along the busy Oak and Fell thoroughfares via the installation of bicycle lanes; and work towards improving Muni bus performance through the District.
“Even if I don’t get elected, I would like to see the Board of Supervisors work with the MTA (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority) to have common sense rules about bus spacing and timing,” she said.
Considered the most politically progressive of the City’s 11 districts, District 5 comprises the Haight-Ashbury, Western Addition, Hayes Valley, Inner Sunset, Japan Town and Lower Pacific Heights.
Johnson joins an increasingly crowded field of candidates for the open seat that includes political heavyweights College Board Trustee John Rizzo, former Redevelopment Agency Commissioner London Breed, community activist Julian Davis and former legislative aide to Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, Quintin Mecke.
Asked why District 5 residents should vote for her, Johnson said, “I think District 5 residents would find that I am extremely independent and familiar with what goes on at City Hall. I’m not interested in the next political position. I’m doing this because I think this is our last chance to prevent San Francisco from becoming a have, versus have not, tale of two cities.”
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.
Follow Me:
The Hunger Site
July 6, 2012 at 11:09 am
Glad I don’t vote her this would be a tough choice. Having followed Hope’s reports and comments in FCJ for several years, I think she’d likely be my choice, or one of them.
But I’m a little confused as to why John Rizzo’s name doesn’t seem to have been added to the list of competing D5 progressives.
June 19, 2012 at 11:19 am
Rob,
Is it true that Bruce Anderson of the Anderson Valley Advertiser is your brother and that Robert Mailer Anderson is your nephew? I mean like, wow dude, you were certainly the runt of that litter. Why don’t you enter the D-5 race again?
Go Giants!
h.
June 19, 2012 at 9:37 am
Like every other candidate in D5 so far, Johnson is muddled on the issues, to the extent that she mentions any. Is the spacing of Muni buses the most important thing one can say about Muni? What about spending $123 million on the Central Subway? Is the Parkmerced issue only about housing and not traffic? How can you talk about development in SF without mentioning “smart[sic]” growth, dense development, Treasure Island, Market/Octavia, allowing UC to rip off the old extension property, Rincon Hill, etc? Where does Johnson stand on Congestion Pricing?
I haven’t heard a single candidate discuss the proposed bike lanes on the Panhandle, or the plan to screw up Masonic Avenue next year. Olague supports the Panhandle bike lanes and likes the Wiggle, where the city encourages cyclists to speed through a residential neighborhood.
June 19, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Hello Rob Anderson:
This short story in FCJ is certainly not meant to be an extensive explanation of my positions on all issues, and definitely does not contain all the details of my conversation with the author.
Just an FYI – I do not now and never have supported the Central Subway project. I agree with you that the Parkmerced issue is not only about housing but also traffic, and you would know this if you took the time to follow my discussions and votes as a member of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. You will eventually find we share some of the same related views about 55 Laguna.
I did discuss the poroposed bikes lanes with Luke but it wasn’t printed here – I will have a web site up soon. As the population of the city grows, like all big cities, you are going to have to learn to co-exist with bikes lanes and traffic calming on Oak and Fell – but there can be a mutually beneficial solution (fyi – I am going to bring a third perspective into the bike/car debate – the pedestrians and residents of the street).
If you do not understand the importance of spacing on Muni, then please consider having a discussion with the commuters in the morning along McAllister as they wait for 15 minutes for a bus in the middle of commute hour after two just passed by bumper to bumper and they are late for work. This is an important every day District 5 issue, not some overblown pompous theoretical “soultion” to the “Muni problem.” Also, your friend Mary Miles may be able to convince you I have a lot more to say about Muni as she was one of the complainants that appeared before the Sunshien Ordinance Task Force on a separate Muni issue, and seemed pleased I understood her situation.
I appreciate your knowledge of the issues but you are going to have some trouble stuffing me into the pigeonhole “like every other candidate” category.
Hope Johnson
June 13, 2012 at 7:23 pm
I have known Hope for years and D5 would be lucky to have her as a supervisor.
June 13, 2012 at 4:54 pm
I suppose with ranked choice voting for supervisors anyone has a chance to win.
June 12, 2012 at 12:57 pm
D-5 is the Progressive keystone foundation block,
I was sorry to see Ross hand the keys to that office to Ed Lee.
Progs could have done a hell of a lot worse for a replacement then
Olague, a long time Prog voice on the Planning Commission (a Gonzalez
appointment re-annointed by Peskin) … still, it was the work of
Christina and Enrique Pearce from the Gonzo 2003 campaign that robbed
the City of it’s best chance for a Progressive mayor (Hennessey) since
Agnos. That’s gotta be a big negative in her column (Olague’s) when
stacked against the other candidates.
Hope’s work at the Sunshine Task Force was quick, strong and
decisive. She took no shit from agencies trying to conceal records
that the City is required to disclose upon request and that pitted her
against the Mayor and the City Attorney and all of their minions.
She’s been snubbed and insulted by the Bay Guardian and the Peskin
Machine. Even though Hope was always the most articulate Prog
voice. She’s always been the best. Just ask anyone who’s worked
with her. She’s thorough and relentless and dedicated.
And, she has a 3 legged senior cat whom she calls, ‘Tripod’.
Hope’s independence and political brilliance makes her the best
candidate by a fair country mile. Were I a D-5 voter I’d be filling
in the ballot with Johnson first, Julian Davis second and Christina
Olague third.
A disclaimer: I’ve had the hots for Hope for years.
Go Giants!
h.
June 12, 2012 at 12:52 pm
D-5 is the Progressive keystone foundation block,
I was sorry to see Ross hand the keys to that office to Ed Lee. Progs could have done a hell of a lot worse for a replacement then Olague, a long time Prog voice on the Planning Commission (a Gonzalez appointment re-annointed by Peskin) … still, it was the work of Christina and Enrique Pearce from the Gonzo 2003 campaign that robbed the City of it’s best chance for a Progressive mayor (Hennessey) since Agnos. That’s gotta be a big negative in her column (Olague’s) when stacked against the other candidates.
Hope’s work at the Sunshine Task Force was quick, strong and decisive. She took no shit from agencies trying to conceal records that the City is required to disclose upon request and that pitted her against the Mayor and the City Attorney and all of their minions. She’s been snubbed and insulted by the Bay Guardian and the Peskin Machine. Even though Hope was always the most articulate Prog voice. She’s always been the best. Just ask anyone who’s worked with her. She’s thorough and relentless and dedicated.
And, she has a 3 legged senior cat whom she calls, ‘Tripod’.
Hope’s independence and political brilliance makes her the best candidate by a fair country mile. Were I a D-5 voter I’d be filling in the ballot with Johnson first, Julian Davis second and Christina Olague third.
A disclaimer: I’ve had the hots for Hope for years.
Go Giants!
h.
June 12, 2012 at 1:42 pm
lol!
June 12, 2012 at 3:51 pm
For real . What a bunch of BS. Hope wins some silly contest a few years ago and thinks she is qualified to represent d5. What a generic announcement. It seems like half of the people running for d5 are just completely delusional. Hope has no platform and this is 100 percent about her.
Haha. And h is adorable. Supporting adachi and then whining about how Enrique and christina helped Ed lee defeat a prog. What a butthole.
June 12, 2012 at 5:13 pm
to be clear, i was laughing at h’s last line. i think it’s great that hope is in the race. values are what counts…articulateness too, knowing your way around city hall…and we need more women everywhere. we need women’s voices/perspectives. but i never vote for women just because they are women. i’m glad we’re going to have a diversity of candidates for this district. we’ll see who’s best able to articulate a serious vision for what i see as the old soul of san francisco, and who can convince us they’ve got what it takes to stand by that vision and be influential on the board as well. thanks for running, hope. if there’s anything to a name, well, we need it now.