A NEW DIRECTION for the Richmond
Our neighborhood’s path forward.
— Vote Marjan Philhour for Supervisor 2024 —
“If we can't get the basics right - a feeling of safety walking down the street, thriving local businesses, affordable places to live, and basic trust that our elected officials have our back - nothing else we want to do is going to matter.”
Public Safety
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Objective: Increase police presence and effectiveness by ensuring the San Francisco Police Department is fully staffed and adequately funded.
Action Plan: Fight for increased budget allocations to the SFPD to hire additional officers. Implement robust recruitment and retention strategies, including competitive compensation and benefits in order to attract qualified candidates. Celebrate the success of the implementation of President Obama's 21st Century Policing Task Force Recommendations. Ensure our officers feel the support of the community they protect.
Impact: A fully staffed police department will reduce response times, improve community policing efforts, and ensure a visible law enforcement presence in our neighborhoods.
A visible police presence will make shoppers, business owners, and residents feel safer, encouraging more foot traffic and economic activity.
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Objective: Augment police capabilities and efficiency using technology such as Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
Action Plan: Deploy ALPRs strategically across the district to assist in crime detection and prevention. Implement drones and tasers already used by other city agencies.
Impact: ALPRs will aid in solving crimes more quickly and effectively, especially crucial during times of staffing shortages. They will impede the ability of criminals to use their cars to commit crimes and escape arrest.
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Objective: Provide checks and balances to the power of the Police Commission to ensure it is effectively serving the community's safety needs.
Action Plan: Advocate for and enact legislative changes to redefine the role and powers of the Police Commission in favor of a system that includes greater community and governmental oversight.
Impact: A more accountable and transparent process in police policy-making, ensuring decisions are made in the best interest of public safety.
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Objective: Improve relations and trust between the police and the community.
Action Plan: Encourage and participate in community engagement initiatives, such as town halls and neighborhood meetings with police officers. Promote programs that highlight positive police-community interactions. End the culture of legislative hostility that has led to low morale and retention among officers.
Impact: Building a supportive relationship between the community and the police will lead to a cooperative effort in maintaining public safety.
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Objective: Close the open-air drug markets and end the atmosphere of lawlessness in our city.
Action Plan: Enforce laws that prohibit dealing and public consumption of fentanyl and other deadly opioids.
Impact: Fewer overdoses, increased wellbeing and safety for our residents, and repair to our national and international reputation as a place to visit and do business.
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Objective: Marjan wants to see a San Francisco where young children and their grandparents feel safe - and are safe - to make their way by foot.
Action Plan: Create neighbor-led working groups to work toward safer streets with tools like traffic lights, bulb-outs, daylighting, and the safety of right-turns onto our avenues. Work with the SFPD to ensure enforcement of traffic laws, especially speeding and red-light violations.
Impact: We must and will reduce the number of pedestrian and bicycle injuries and fatalities in our neighborhood. This has gone on too long.
Support for Small Business
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Objective: Make it easier and faster for new small businesses to open.
Action Plan: Implement a streamlined, over-the-counter permitting system to reduce bureaucratic delays.
Impact: It can take more than a year to get the permits necessary to open a small business - as it stands, only those with substantial means can afford to wait.
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Objective: Help businesses recover quickly from criminal vandalism.
Action Plan: Promote local initiatives like the Storefront Vandalism Relief Grant program. and build & encourage collaborations among small businesses to create a supportive network.
Impact: The faster a business can get back on its feet after being the target of criminal activity, the less likely it will shutter prematurely.
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Objective: Get more customers in the front door of our small businesses.
Action Plan: People have to feel safe and secure in our city, which is why support for small businesses and public safety go hand-in-hand. We also need to build more housing along our transit corridors so that young people early in their careers can live, work, and shop in our city, rather than be priced out.
The Supervisor’s office is uniquely positioned to work with local merchants to attract more customers and clients to the Richmond District and highlight the unique offerings of Clement, Geary, and Balboa.
Impact: Once we have clean and safe streets and more vibrant street life along our merchant corridors, customers will flock to our neighborhood. We must meet the beauty of Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, Lands End, and other natural resources with a welcoming environment for shopping, visiting with friends and family, and sight-seeing.
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Objective: Make our small businesses visible and exciting.
Action Plan: If you know Marjan, you know she's a fervent booster of small businesses in the Richmond. There is no better spokesperson for the variety of exciting options out here in the Richmond, and Marjan will use her people skills in service of our neighborhood businesses.
Impact: More customers, better-known businesses, and happy, vibrant, and thriving merchant corridors.
Housing and Urban Living
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Objective: Our housing shortage exacerbates so many of our challenges, from homelessness to property crime to attracting businesses and skilled workers.
Action Plan: Streamline permitting for housing creation that meets our zoning requirements. End the 25-year legacy of Supervisor-led obstructionism in the Richmond District that has priced out families and driven rents through the roof.
We must create more mixed-income housing that is accessible to middle class families and working people, while continuing to support policies that protect tenants from displacement and provide assistance to those facing housing insecurity.
Impact: San Francisco can and will return to its roots as a refuge of inclusivity rather than continue its path to becoming a gated community accessible only to the wealthiest. Creating housing in the City prevents sprawl in the suburbs, gives our small businesses the customer base they need to thrive, helps young people and families stay in the city, and helps seniors age in place.
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Objective: Create a fair and secure housing environment for all. Unfortunately, the cost of living in San Francisco exacerbated by our refusal to build housing has led to the need for rent control and other measures necessary to stabilize the lives of working families.
Action Plan: Ensure our rent control laws are fairly enforced. Strengthen just cause requirements for evictions. Increase access to legal support.
Impact: Fewer unfair evictions, more stable housing options for our neighbors.
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Objective: Frequent, reliable, and safe transit services.
Action Plan: Ensure the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) lives up to its promises and completes transportation improvements on time with minimal disruption to the community. Expand public transit / MUNI infrastructure.
Impact: Decreased traffic, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced mobility for our youth, elderly, disabled, and working families.
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Objective: At times, our beloved city can shoot itself in the foot by saying "NO" too often to new opportunities for fun, including night life and other forms of community building. Marjan envisions a Richmond District in which community members feel less isolated from one another.
Action Plan: Leverage initiatives that have shown success citywide including outdoor movie nights, street fairs, farmers markets, block parties, and art walks. Improve lighting and safety measures in key areas. Increase foot patrols in busy areas during peak hours to enhance security and decrease crime.
Impact: Joyful, community-building activities throughout our neighborhood on a regular basis.
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Objective: Ensure ample access to parks, green spaces, and healthy outdoor activity for all our residents.
Action Plan: Enhance park safety through improved lighting, regular patrols, and community watch programs. Implement sustainable practices in park maintenance such as using native plants, conserving water, and reducing waste.
We will invest in upgrading local parks and open spaces, ensuring they are clean, safe, and well-maintained. This includes adding more recreational facilities, improving lighting, and organizing community events to activate these spaces and make them central to neighborhood life.
Impact: Improved physical and mental health for residents, stronger community connections, greater environmental awareness, and higher quality of life.
Responsive, Ethical Government
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Objective: Enhance the quality of education in San Francisco by addressing key challenges such as teacher shortages, outdated curriculum policies, and inequitable learning outcomes, ensuring every student has access to high-quality education and a supportive learning environment.
Action Plan: Work with city and state officials to provide housing options for teachers and other school staff. Advocate for higher salaries and better benefits for teachers. Enhance student safety by engaging school resource officers. Defend merit-based education programs like those at Lowell High School.
Impact: Improved teacher retention and recruitment. Reduced financial stress on educators, allowing them to focus more on teaching. Stronger educational outcomes and higher literacy scores.
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Objective: Reform a complex bureaucracy built to reinforce the power of special interests and political machines.
Action Plan: Reduce the number of City Commissions.Conduct regular audits of city departments and agencies to identify and root out inefficiencies. Streamline permitting and regulatory processes. Simplify - without weakening - campaign finance laws whose complexity serve incumbent political machines. Introduce performance metrics for city departments and employees, linking outcomes to accountability.
Impact: Increased civic engagement, accountability for elected leaders, and public trust in City Hall, leading to policies that better reflect the needs of our community.
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Objective: End the “hands-off” approach to public safety, homelessness, and small-businesses we’ve seen championed by Connie Chan and her allies on the Board of Supervisors. Instead, engage and act on the concerns of Richmond District residents.
Action Plan: Host regular community meetings on a host of topics including public safety, housing, and small business support. Maintain an open-door policy at the district office. Schedule regular office hours in various locations including cafes, libraries, and community centers. Implement a ticketing system to track and respond to constituent concerns and follow up with timely responses and updates on actions taken. Establish a dedicated team to handle constituent services. Create community advisory councils comprising residents, business owners, and community leaders to provide input on key issues. Encourage collaborative problem-solving. Be visible and accessible in the community by attending local events, visiting schools, businesses and community organizations regularly.
Impact: Improved neighborhood satisfaction in city leadership.
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Objective: Maintain San Francisco's place as first in the nation for the protection of LGBTQ+ and immigrant families like Marjan's.
Action Plan: Advocate for and support legislation that strengthens protections for these groups. Expand access to services including healthcare, legal aid, housing assistance, and mental health services. Enforce anti-discrimination policies in employment, housing, education and public accommodations. Create and foster inclusive public spaces.
Impact: Improved access to essential services, greater public awareness and acceptance of LGBTQ+ and immigrant families, reduced prejudice and a more inclusive community.
