Candidate for District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai held a campaign kick-off event Saturday
at Mission Language and Vocational School.
From the Campaign to Elect Ahsha Safai
July 20, 2008
San Francisco – Ahsha Safai kicked off his campaign for District 11 Supervisor Saturday in the heart of District 11 at the Mission Childcare Consortium.
Over 200 supporters and District 11 residents attended the kick-off, which included speakers Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, Olga Miranda, President of SEIU Local 87 (Janitor’s Union) and Rosario Anaya, former School Board Member and Executive Director of Mission Language and Vocational School.
Safai vowed to improve the quality of life for working families in District 11, which is home to the most children of any district in San Francisco.
“I will no longer allow District 11 to be the forgotten district of San Francisco,” Safai said. “As Supervisor, I will fight for our fair share of resources in combating crime, improving our schools and cleaning up our parks and streets.”
Safai went on to highlight his history of community activism, such as his fight to save St. Luke’s Hospital from discontinuing essential services and his role in raising $1.5 million for Balboa Park.
Safai has been endorsed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, School Board Member Hydra Mendoza and Supervisors Carmen Chu and Michela Alioto-Pier.
About Ahsha Safai
Ahsha Safai is a passionate advocate for children and working families. His career has been defined by his commitment to improve city services and elevate the living standard for all working families in San Francisco.
At the San Francisco Housing Authority, Ahsha spearheaded the development of a youth center, championed legislation to help immigrant families remain in public housing and worked on new programs to promote environmental conservation.
As Deputy Director to the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, Ahsha secured a $4 million loan for an Excelsior childcare center. He also managed the grants application process for over 200 non-profits citywide that deliver vital services to San Francisco residents in need.
And as part of the Department of Public Works’ Clean Corridors team, Ahsha directed a citywide summer youth employment program for young adults, introducing them to the principals of urban forestry and public works projects.
Ahsha is a graduate of Northeastern University and MIT. Ahsha and his wife Yadira are homeowners in the Excelsior District where they plan to start a family.
The Hunger Site
July 25, 2008 at 11:11 am
Dude – I got to call BS on you. I was at the Safai kickoff too. I’m not sure about the numbers, but the room was full and there were definitely kids, oldsters, all races, SEIU folks, high school kids, etc. I didn’t see anyone whipping out checkbooks, and I saw Safai folks with t-shirts all up and down mission st. after the rally. I’m still on the fence about who to vote for, so I’m checking them both out. From what I’ve heard so far, Safai is too heavy on the “small ball” local stuff, and Avalos is too “fix the whole system with groovy ideology” which doesn’t do jack for those of us trying to live in the neighborhood right now. But let’s be civil and not insult the people who came to the rally – it didn’t look like a “downtown” crowd to me.
July 22, 2008 at 2:07 pm
This press release is a lie. I stopped by Safai’s campaign and there were about 20 rich people laughing about how cool their convertible with an ahsha sign was, a few teamsters, and some other douchey looking guys with enough gel in their hair to be safe riding a bike with no helmet. In total, there were about 60 folks there. He also held his event in a 501c3. I am going to notify ethics about that. I then went down to John Avalos’ camapign party. The space was packed with families, a very diverse group of folks, a cool mural, photos of john working with the union and other art. Afterwords a shit load of volunteers hit the street, as opposed to ahshas where people just opened up their check books. I hope that people get out there to help John defeat Eric Jaye and Newsom’s little protege.
July 22, 2008 at 4:29 am
Not sure who’s running Safai’s campaign, but the press release came from Andrew Brown.
July 21, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Who’s running Safai’s campaign? Just curious.
July 21, 2008 at 10:47 am
http://avalos08.com/
July 21, 2008 at 10:36 am
Oh god, here we go again. Another downtown, unimaginative, Rob Blackesque candidate running on a platform of filling potholes and other “quality of life” issues. That Safari character out in District 11 would be a disaster and, if he wins, I’m sure that they will try to position him as a mayoral candidate in 2011 to take up where Ichy leaves off. To the people of District 11: For the love of god, vote for John Avalos.