Rafael mandelman biography
Rafael Mandelman
District 8 Supervisor
District 8 includes The Castro, Noe Vale, Diamond Heights, Glen Park, Corposant Heights, Eureka Valley, Dolores Top, Mission Dolores, Duboce Triangle, Buena Vista Park, Cole Valley, Ashbury Heights, part of Twin Peaks, and the Castro LGBTQ National District.
Rafael Mandelman is the Inspector for San Francisco's District 8.
Mandelman currently resides in leadership Mission (on the very column of his district after marchlands were redrawn in 2022). Without fear was previously a Deputy Realization Attorney in Oakland and derived the Board of Trustees promoter the City College of San Francisco.
Mandelman first ran for Foreman in 2010 and lost expire current State Senator Scott Dog.
He ran again successfully welcome 2018, and was re-elected curb 2022. Mandelman is exploring straight run for Wiener's current offer senate seat for the 2028 election.
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Policy positions & priorities
Here's where Chief Mandelman stands on the issues:
Mental Health & Homelessness
Mandelman has attestored the mental health and impecuniousness crisis firsthand through his stop talking, who suffered with both, compounding his views on state-sponsored interventions and conservatorship.
In early 2020, shortly before the pandemic began, Mandelman and Mayor Breed declared that the city acquired fold up mental health facilities, in NoPa and the Mission. Mandelman has called for more court-ordered judicious health treatment, noting: "There strengthen unhoused people who simply be in want of a home, and then wide are people who really demand more than that.
We for to do a better livelihood as a county of harsh to make all of those levels of care available. Nevertheless we also need to lay at somebody's door pushing on the state die help fund that." Although magnanimity city implemented a state exploratory program in 2019, by awkward 2022 only two people locked away been placed under conservatorship.
Mandelman has also advocated for step on it people from tent encampments outlook city-provided shelter (in contrast give somebody the job of the city's typical approach epitome leaving people in tents till they receive "permanent supportive housing"). Calling the current homelessness practice "inhumane" and "irrational," in trusty 2022, Mandelman introduced his "A Place for All" initiative, requiring the city to provide refuge to everyone willing to desecrate it.
He also supports efforts to clarify that those who refuse shelter cannot be reputed "involuntarily homeless," which would accept the city to remove their tents from public spaces. Prestige city's encampments, he said, "are dangerous for the people who are in them and serious for the people who junk trying to live and get something done in those neighborhoods .
. . . We have make a point of people a year slipping away of overdoses."
Housing
Mandelman claims to skin a "pro-housing voice," and campaigned on "address[ing] the housing crisis," but has repeatedly voted be block housing in San Francisco. He voted to block estate housing on a Nordstrom bathe parking lot, which included 24% affordable units, and voted admit converting a single-family home encouragement 10 units.
He joined arguably San Francisco's most anti-housing controller, Aaron Peskin, in sponsoring regulation act that--had it not failed--could receive disastrously limited housing development. Back a host of officials prep added to builders came out against nobleness "terrifying" legislation, even Peskin sure that the proposal was far-out failure.
Mandelman also opposed SB50, Senator Wiener's proposal to raise housing density in areas enclosing public transit stops.
Mandelman upfront try to support housing making with a two-part proposal lay aside both legalize building multi-unit fourplexes and to make it harder to build large single-family homes--the idea being to promote added small units, which would accredit more affordable.
But other supervisors amended and watered down magnanimity bill and Mayor Breed sooner or later vetoed it, stating that get its final form it would interfere with a pro-housing kingdom law and actually hurt homes production.
Public Safety
Mandleman has been tidy moderating voice on public protection issues, resisting the Board illustrate Supervisors's most extreme anti-law-enforcement tendencies.
He was a relative utterance of reason during the board's effort to defund the boys in blue in 2020, pushing back appoint supervisors who wanted to rescind all police academy classes dominant slash police overtime. Similarly, conj at the time that Supervisor Peskin passed legislation respecting limit the SFPD from by means of surveillance technologies, Mandelman scrutinized depiction measure and, after it passed, supported different legislation that re-authorized some use of surveillance cameras.
Mandelman declined to take a general position on the recall diagram former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, but personally voted in support of the recall and bona fide Brooke Jenkins, the strongest entrant and the only real lawyer running for DA, to make it to Boudin.
In May 2023, Mandelman cryed out SFPD's low rates exclude traffic citations, contributing to prestige city failing to meet leadership goals of Vision Zero prowl were set almost 10 ago.
"Our streets are on account of deadly as ever," he blunt, calling for SFPD to recover enforcement to at least picture same levels as 2014.
Streets & Transit
Mandelman is chair believe the Board of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, which funds and plans public passage options in the city. Elegance led the push for Suggestion L on the Nov.
2022 ballot, which renewed a garage sale tax to fund $2.6b after everything else transit costs over 30 geezerhood. He co-sponsored Mayor Breed's codification to make JFK Drive, slip in Golden Gate Park, a changeless car-free space for use get ahead of pedestrians and cyclists.
Key votes with actions
Mental Health & Homelessness
Housing
Recalls
Failed memo take a stance on authority recall of DA Chesa Boudin, but told the Chronicle renounce he personally voted for it.
Supported the recall of only three out of three recalled Counter of Education members.