Elaine Zamora

Elaine Zamora – District 6 Supervisor Candidate

Elaine Zamora’s Website: www.elainezamora.com

Contact Elaine Zamora: elaine@elainezamora.com

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Fun Facts About Elaine Zamora:

• Formed the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District.

• Helped establish the Community Justice Center.

• Established collaborative effort with NOMNIC for Economic Development in the Tenderloin.

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From Elaine Zamora’s Website:

Elaine has served as the district manager for the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit Corporation (CBD) since its inception in 2005. Elaine’s leadership and hard work have been instrumental in providing full-service sidewalk cleaning and tree planting, engendering community events such as the Safe Streets Holiday Street Festival, improving neighborhood safety with the grassroots community group TNT – The New Tenderloin; invigorating neighborhood culture, promoting the arts, and engaging with the people of the Tenderloin to improve the neighborhood in which they live and work.

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LiveSOMA.com’s Candidate Questionnaire:

Which part of the district do you currently live, and how long have you lived there?

I have lived in the Tenderloin, at 118 Jones near Golden Gate since November 2007. Prior to living at 118 Jones, I ran my law firm, the Law Offices of Zamora & Wynn, specializing in the representation of injured workers, at that address from 2001 to 2006. I have owned the 118 Jones building since December 1999. During my law practice and from my retirement in June 2006, I ran the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District (CBD) out of the Jones Street building until October 2007 when the CBD moved to its current offices and community space at 134 Golden Gate Avenue. I have consistently either been a stakeholder, worked and/or lived in the heart of the Tenderloin for 11 years.

What is your favorite restaurant in District 6, and why?

This is hard to narrow down, as there are so many great restaurants in District 6. However, I would say it is Mimi’s restaurant on Jones Street. It is a place where the residents of the Tenderloin can enjoy a good and very affordable meal with  the community of others from the neighborhood and the warm smile and loving words of Mimi, the longtime owner and operator. 

Tell us something about you (the “individual”, not the “candidate”) that we may not know.

I was the oldest of 12 children and grew up in poverty. I worked my way through undergraduate school at University of California at Berkeley, as well as, law school in Los Angeles at Loyola School of Law. I have done grass roots organizing on various issues, since I was 18 years old. I worked on the Free Los Siete Committee in the 1970’s in San Francisco, the city, county and state redistricting issues for the Latino community in the 1980’s, and then the formation of the community benefit district in the Tenderloin in the late 1990s. 

Describe your campaign platform in 150 words or less?

Our greatest challenges are housing, public safety, business, and economic development. Housing must be available and affordable to keep working and middle class families in our City. We must address honestly and creatively concerns for safety, one reason people leave San Francisco, creating abandoned and blighted neighborhoods. We need to encourage and accommodate business attraction, retention, expansion, and economic development as tools providing jobs, business opportunities, a tax base and neighborhood vitality.

I will look at each issue individually making decisions based on what is best for my constituents. As Supervisor, I will listen to the concerns and needs of people in the neighborhoods of District 6 and work with them to find solutions. I will legislate on pragmatic grounds, not ideological partisanship. I will work in a collaborative and effective way, to address the issues and concerns affecting District 6.

My record of getting things done evidences this. 

Are the majority of your District 6 Supervisor Campaign Donors from within District 6? (A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer is fine.)

Yes.

What do you feel is the most important issue in District 6, and what is your position on the issue?

There really is not just one. Safety, quality of life issues, economic vitality, which will provide jobs, small business and economic opportunities, housing for the working and middle class are issues I would like to continue working on. These issues, in combination, have to be addressed. 

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?

Safety and quality of life and economic vitality are the challenges facing District 6. No one will want to open up a new business or live there unless District 6 is a safe place to live and work. Children should be able to walk to school without witnessing drug deals. I will be aggressive about these issues. Housing for the working and middle class is the next most difficult problem. We must attract and retain our working and middle class. The development of middle-income housing is a priority. The biggest challenge is addressing these issues are many of the land use decisions and polices that have been made and put into place. Many of these decisions and policies with have to be. 

How will fixing the issue benefit District 6?

Just getting the streets cleaned in the Tenderloin has improved things! Imagine what new housing, economic vitality, and safe streets will do throughout District 6. 

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 was a facilitator in the formation of the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit  District, establishing a successful street cleaning program covering 29 blocks

•  Hire Tenderloin and SOMA residents, planted 145 trees since 2001

•  Increased the number of trash cans in the neighborhood

•  Sponsored art programs though out the Tenderloin and Mid-Market areas,

•  Worked with TARC and Coalition on Homelessness on public toilets and needle disposal  

•  Collaboratively compiled a Restaurant Guide of over 90 neighborhood restaurants

•  Formed TNT, a safety issue group

•  Organized a 200 person march on City hall to deal with Tenderloin issues

•  Work for economic development in Mid-Market and the Tenderloin

•  Work with Tenderloin Housing Clinic to establish Tenderloin History Museum & tour map

•  Helped establish the Community Justice Center

•  Developed a Safe Passages Project with the Boys and Girls Club

•  Worked with Trust for Public Land and Friends of Boeddeker Park redesign and renovating the park

•  Worked with the District Police Captain to improve general police relations

•  Worked with the Mayor’s Office to develop and implement a Alcohol Impact/Good Neighbor Policy for neighborhood liquor stores and other businesses

•  Established a liaison with the District Attorney on crime and safety issues

•  Assisted the City attorney with gathering over 80 affidavits in closing a noisy and violence ridden nightclub

•  Established a CBD Art Gallery

•  Sponsored the Historic Black Hawk Jazz Club Theater performances

•  Sponsored the Concerts at the Cadillac

•  Currently working in a citywide collaboration on a Neighborhood Benefits Agreement with California Pacific Medical Center. 

If I were elected Supervisor, I would continue to work hard and effectively and have total and active participation in all the neighborhoods I represent. 

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?

I do not want to pigeonhole myself by saying I am progressive or moderate. I am an independent thinker. I want to represent all the residents of District 6 and do what I think will best benefit the district. Sometimes my actions may fall under the progressive category and sometimes under the moderate agenda. The terms moderate or progressive mean little because I refuse to be labeled as either one. My accomplishments speak who I am.  

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?

I will. Please, remember that although I am currently a property owner, I was a renter for the majority of my life. As a child, I lived in what used to be called tenements. I know what it is like to be afraid of being evicted. I also understand the obligations that a property owner has to their tenants.

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 am an advocate for city wide mixed-use housing. Low, moderate, middle class, and family units need to be built throughout the City. We have concentrated on low-income housing while neglecting the need for moderate, middle class and family housing. We need to continue this work but I want to work on making San Francisco a being a truly inclusive City to families and to moderate income and middle class workers.

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?

There should be standardized rules in place that protect all parties concerned, the SRO residents, the neighborhood residents, and the property owners. A huge undertaking to be sure, but one that can be done if everyone’s concerns and efforts are harnessed, collaboratively. However, not all swaps have to take place just in District 6. Let us spread this out to other neighborhoods in the City.

Anything else that you would like to share about yourself or your campaign platform with the residents of District 6?

I have worked hard for the Tenderloin neighborhood. I believe I have accomplished a lot  in these years. I will remain dedicated to the many diverse populations of the Tenderloin, SOMA, Northeast Mission, Mission Bay, Lower Polk, Treasure Island and all the neighborhoods in District 6. I will assure all District 6 neighborhoods a strong voice at City hall. As Supervisor for District 6, I will work for you, getting things done in an efficient, effective, and collaborative way.