November 2018: SFLCV endorses both Matt Haney and Christine Johnson for District 6

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorses both Matt Haney and Christine Johnson for District 6 Supervisor.

Matt Haney

Matt Haney is a strong voice for the environment and for equity. Currently a member of the School Board, Haney sponsored a resolution setting a school district goal of phasing out fossil fuels by 2040, as well as initiatives to reduce water and energy use. As District 6 Supervisor, he supports expanding CleanPowerSF by making Super Green (100% renewable energy) the default, along with a balanced payment plan to make varying energy bills more affordable.

Haney has promoted biking and walking throughout the school district, helped create a district transportation plan, and sponsored a resolution for the school district to adopt Vision Zero, the citywide goal of zero deaths in traffic crashes. He is a strong supporter of protected bike lanes.

Haney calls for building homes that are affordable to people of all income levels, not just luxury housing, and wants to get public agencies more involved using public land for affordable homes, and also open space. On the School Board, Haney led an initiative to build affordable housing for SFUSD teachers and protect them from evictions. As new development occurs in fast-growing neighborhoods like SOMA and Mission Bay, Haney seeks to increase services for residents and fund them with transit impact fees and community benefit districts.

On the School Board and in his career, Haney has been a champion for social justice, including through his work with Van Jones. These credentials are particularly relevant in District 6, home to the city’s widest gap between rich and poor.

We believe that Matt Haney would build coalitions and get things done, including safer, greener transportation, solutions for homelessness, more affordable homes, and a more sustainable city.

Here are Matt Haney’s responses to our questionnaire.

Christine Johnson

Christine Johnson is a strong voice for smart, sustainable cities. Johnson grew up in New York City; she and her mother, a nurse who worked two jobs, had to move every few years when landlords would raise their rent. This experience shaped her interest in how cities work, as well as her empathy for renters and opposition to displacement.

Johnson brings experience in public finance and engineering and urban policy and planning codes, having served on the San Francisco Planning Commission and as SPUR’s San Francisco director, as well as the Hunters’ Point Land Use Citizens’ Advisory Committee and others.

Johnson’s goals include speeding up development of housing, improving the quality of life, cleaning up the streets, rebuilding the seawall, and creating more open space for residents to enjoy.

Johnson has concrete ideas on how to achieve these goals. For example, she strongly supports public transit, and aims to speed up the delivery of transportation projects through her role in overseeing Measure RR, the $3.5 billion BART bond. Johnson also supports congestion pricing to reduce car use in District 6 and raise funds for improvements for walking and biking as well as public transit, and faster roll-out of protected bike lanes along with more space for bike storage throughout the district. Further, Johnson commits not only to changing building codes to support zero net energy, but also creating new financing tools to increase the energy efficiency of buildings. She also strongly supports the use of recycled water wherever possible.

We believe Johnson’s policy, planning, and financing knowledge, as well as her keen interest and engagement with urban and environmental issues, would make her an effective leader for District 6 and the city.

Here are Christine Johnson’s responses to our questionnaire.