James Keys
Live SoMa | Aug 06, 2010 | Comments 0
James Keys – District 6 Supervisor Candidate
LiveSOMA.com’s Candidate Questionnaire:
Which part of the district do you currently live, and how long have you lived there?
I live in the Tenderloin and have lived in this area since 1999 this time. I also lived in the North Mission at 15th and Valencia in the 80’s.
What is your favorite restaurant in District 6, and why?
There are so many and it depends on my mood for what I would like to eat yet I have to say that I enjoy Golden Kim on Larkin Street. The food is great, the service outstanding and it conveniently located close to home.
Tell us something about you (the “individual”, not the “candidate”) that we may not know.
I am a photographer and a fairly good chef. I had taught myself how to design websites and published “San Francisco My Way” for 3-years. I even turned it into an Access TV show.
Describe your campaign platform in 150 words or less?
Social Justice. Social justice is a concept that some use to describe the movement towards a socially just world. In this context, social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality and involves a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution. These policies aim to achieve what developmental economists refer to as more equality of opportunity than may currently exist in some societies, and to manufacture equality of outcome in cases where incidental inequalities appear in a procedurally just system.
Are the majority of your District 6 Supervisor Campaign Donors from within District 6? (A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer is fine.)
No
What do you feel is the most important issue in District 6, and what is your position on the issue?
Housing, Health and Human Services, Pedestrian Safety & Livable Streets.
Housing- I want to continue the work in this district that has prioritized the construction of affordable housing and the protection of our existing rental housing stock, especially the SRO hotels. I will keep the door of the Supervisors office open to community-based organizations and efforts like Housing Justice to continue this work.
As someone who has lived in affordable housing in the Tenderloin, I am passionate about this issue. I also am sensitive to situations where low-income individuals and families who receive housing assistance are at risk of losing their benefits. I will work to provide real opportunities for low-income individuals in hotels to improve their quality of life by moving into better housing. This in turn would open-up units, which would allow homeless individuals to obtain housing.
Health and Human Services- I want to continue the work in this district that has prioritized the funding of services for those most in need in our district. This means fully funding a single standard of care for mental health, substance abuse treatment on demand, adequate homeless services, and AIDS/HIV services. As the Chair of the Mental Health Board, I know the importance of community-based mental health services. Unfortunately, along with substance abuse, homelessness, and AIDS/HIV, these are the first to get cut during difficult budget times. I will make it my priority to fully fund these programs.
Pedestrian Safety and Livable Streets- Good walking conditions are the backbone of every community’s transportation system and one of the most important elements of livable communities. Neighborhoods where walking is an attractive, convenient and safe options are healthier for residents, have fewer cars on the road, and have a stronger sense of community. These are also areas that have strong commercial activity. A complete and well-maintained walking network has the greatest importance for those members of the community who depend the most on walking; the poor, the elderly, the disabled, children and transit users. Increasing the number and share of transportation trips that are accomplished by walking should be a key element of our transportation policy.
Thinking about the most important issue that you listed above, how do you plan to work on that issue, and what do you feel will be the biggest challenge(s) that you’ll face in solving the issue?
See answers above.
How will fixing the issue benefit District 6?
Establishing economic security will transform society. It will not only directly benefit the poor, the near-poor, and friends and relatives who share the burdens of both groups. It will also lay the foundation for a positive reconstruction of the entire social landscape. One way or the other, economic security will benefit everyone.
List the neighborhood groups or organizations (within District 6) that you have worked with in the past. What do you consider your accomplishments while working with these groups, and how you would help them further if you were elected Supervisor in November?
I am a member of HSF Advisory Board, SF Mental Health Board – Chair, MacCanDo Board member, F.O.R.W.A.R.D. Board member, United Playaz member, Single-Payer Now!, Community Budget Reform Council, Alliance for a Better District 6 – President, Central City Democrats.
My experiences with each group has led to accomplishing those in their respective communities having a voice, exercising that voice and working to acquire what is needed for each group to sustain itself. And as Supervisor I will continue to work with each group as they continue to serve the communities and residents of San Francisco, our state and our nation.
For Healthy San Francisco the community received a funding stream for DPH. The MHB has presided over the Prop 63 hearings that have State monies coming into the communities to create new services for residents with mental health concerns. MacCanDo trains inner-city youth to become scholars and athletes. The F.O.W.A.R.D. Board assists the families of recent parolees to find services to assist their families and loved one with their “re-entry” into society. United Playaz violence prevention and youth leadership organization that works with San Francisco’s hardest to reach youth through street outreach, case management, in-school services, recreational activities, and support to incarcerated youth.
Single-Payer Now! Single payer is a term used to describe a type of financing system. It refers to one entity acting as administrator, or “payer.” In the case of health care, a single- payer system would be setup such that one entity—a government run organization— would collect all health care fees, and pay out all health care costs. In the current US system, there are literally tens of thousands of different health care organizations— HMOs, billing agencies, etc.
The Community Budget Reform Council sought to protect the most vulnerable San Franciscans, and especially our SRO hotel residents, youth, seniors, low-income families, African American, LGBT, people living with AIDS/HIV through creating a “charter amendment” that would reform our current city’s budget for a more “equitable” distribution of monies and cuts.
The Alliance for a Better District 6 devoted to increasing low and very low income participation in elections and government, is conducting voter education in the various neighborhoods of supervisorial District 6. And Central City Democrats mission is to increase political participation in our central city neighborhoods, since our residents and small businesses are often overlooked in the city planning process and public eye, or considered mere “problems” to be solved.
There’s a lot of talk about “progressive values and agenda items” vs. “moderate values and agenda items” in San Francisco politics. What do these terms mean to you, and how does either side help District 6 residents today, as well as over the long term?
Progressive values means establishing economic security will transform society. It will not only directly benefit the poor, the near-poor, and friends and relatives who share the burdens of both groups. It will also lay the foundation for a positive reconstruction of the entire social landscape. One way or the other, economic security will benefit everyone.
Today’s moderate values come from the liberal ideas of the past. A liberal believes that our lives can and should be better in the future. A conservative believes that things are as good as they can be, except for a few more tax cuts at the top.
Both sides should be working together to make San Francisco a better place for us all to live. The constant fighting for limited resources continues to tear apart the very fabric of our city sending middle-class families running off to the suburbs, the rich scratching their heads as to why everything is so different in the city and the poor struggling to eat and stay sheltered in place. Once we begin to share our resources will we see a beginning to creating a better and healthier community for us to all live in.
If you become supervisor, will you spend equal time meeting with both the San Francisco Tenants Union and the Small Property Owners of San Francisco before proposing more rent control legislation?
Yes I will.
We keep hearing about million dollar condos being built and SROs moving into the neighborhood – If elected, what do you intend to do about housing for the middle class?
I want to continue the work in this district that has prioritized the construction of affordable housing and the protection of our existing rental housing stock, especially the SRO hotels. I will keep the door of the Supervisors office open to community-based organizations and efforts like Housing Justice to continue this work.
As someone who has lived in affordable housing in the Tenderloin, I am passionate about this issue. I also am sensitive to situations where low-income individuals and families who receive housing assistance are at risk of losing their benefits. I will work to provide real opportunities for low-income individuals in hotels to improve their quality of life by moving into better housing. This in turn would open-up units, which would allow homeless individuals to obtain housing.
There are a number of residents in the middle of SOMA (between 4th and 6th streets, and Harrison and Folsom Streets) who are concerned about a specific SRO that is relocating from the Tenderloin to the corner of 5th and Harrison. What are your thoughts on SRO Swaps particularly with regards to rules and regulations? How should they be managed? What rules and regulations should apply to ensure a safe and vibrant community in the future?
Until we can provide decent housing for all San Franciscans I believe the SRO Swaps are fair to maintain shelter for those who are low-income. Depending on the sensibilities of the landlords and the quality of the properties, SRO conditions can range from squalor to something like an extended-stay hotel. By legislating policy for uniform conditions throughout SRO’s will we see conditions inside the SRO’s improve. Yet to not only ensure a “safe and vibrant community” yet to “move SRO resident through the system” we must provide “wrap-around services.” Services that ensure individual and family preservation services, geared to meet the total needs of the individual and family through the use of community resources, concrete services, and counseling.
Anything else that you would like to share about yourself or your campaign platform with the residents of District 6?
The reason for my running for supervisor is to place social justice at the heart of our local government policy. Social justice and economic efficiency as mutually reinforcing policies, with the development of human capabilities at the heart of welfare policy will transform our city. Now is the time to pledge to eradicate poverty.
Filed Under: Around the Neighborhood • District 6 Supervisor Election • The Community
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