We need change, but not just any change — we need experienced change.
As we gear up for the crucial mayoral election in San Francisco, I’ve been having insightful discussions with friends who, like many of us, feel the weight of this significant event. Politics can be exhausting and overwhelming, and it’s no surprise that many of us feel burnt out. The key has been to keep the conversations respectful and connected through trust, listening, engaging, and being receptive to ideas outside of yours.
As most of you, my fellow local political enthusiasts, know, I support Aaron Peskin, the President of the Board of San Francisco Supervisors for Mayor of San Francisco.
This race has involved a significant amount of money, as evidenced by the barrage of campaign materials in my postbox, social media ads, and television commercials I’ve seen from most candidates. The scale of these campaigns is a testament to the importance of this election.
My friends and I seemed to be collectively concerned about the same things — our unhoused community, housing costs, public safety, crime, and the fentanyl crisis (no one seemed to have a problem with getting other street drugs from their reliable sources and dealers — yes I did ask). The other morning, as I headed out of my apartment at 10 am to walk Macho, two men were sitting in front of my building with a scale weighing and bagging drugs. They looked at me with a “Don’t you dare say anything” stare, and I felt unsafe.
Doom and gloom? No, I can still see the glitter sparkling all over San Francisco that our LGBTQIA+ elders left. Like every large metro in this country, San Francisco faces many challenges; we need someone with experience to lead us out of this collective mess. And that is one reason among many why I support Aaron Peskin, who has over 25 years of experience at City Hall advocating for the most vulnerable among us.
We need change, but not just any change-we need experienced change.
I’m a big supporter of California Proposition 33, which prohibits State limitations on local rent control. Everyone I spoke with, from artists to techies, supports and wants rent control — because it supports the idea that housing should be a human right. Only one mayoral candidate supports Prop 33, Aaron Peskin–not London Breed (who has, herself, spent many years inside a rent-controlled apartment in the Lower Haight), Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, and Ahsha Safaí. That says a lot to me.
As a resident of a rent-controlled apartment, I consider myself fortunate. However, the reality is that if something were to happen to me, I would face significant challenges securing new housing and meeting my basic needs; rent control helps greatly mitigate that nightmare.
The urgency of the housing crisis in San Francisco is a stark reality we cannot ignore. I always hear, “Juanita, this city loves and will take care of you, don’t worry.” I love hearing that, but my pragmatic side doesn’t believe it and doesn’t want to find out.
Since the pandemic, there has been a considerable influx of unhoused people into my neighborhood’s alleyways, and the homeless sweeps have greatly intensified. I stood at the foot of one of the alleys when one was being conducted and was shocked by all the people it took to move six of my unhoused neighbors. I watched the unhoused pick up what they could carry and walk it around the corner. What belongings they couldn’t take with them became trash, picked up and disposed of. And mind you: As soon as City workers leave, those unhoused individuals either return to exactly where they were or move further up or down the neighborhood.
But on my walks with Macho, it feels like more people have just crashed out on the street—this week, without their tents—just lying on the sidewalk, inside a parklet, or anywhere they can find temporary shelter before being pushed or swept away.
Aaron Peskin has delivered a six-point comprehensive plan to fix San Francisco’s homelessness crisis — which we can, in fact, solve … and not just sweep away. Below are the bulleted talking points reviewing that plan:
- Within the first week, bring every City department head together and force them to adopt a single set of metrics to evaluate proposals and report successes around homelessness; this creates a common denominator of transparency and measurability and reduces the risk of any misunderstandings or adoptions of gray area.
- Immediately audit all City departments and contractors receiving funds associated with homelessness to find inefficiencies and make the most of the local, state, and federal resources we have.
- Hold departments and service providers accountable to stated timelines, goals, and outcomes; this decreases the likelihood of both gross overspending and excessive human suffering.
- Force collaboration between previously siloed City departments, teams, and contractors; upgrade the Online Navigation and Entry (ONE) System to one that is more fully centralized and holds all case data and tracking metrics.
- Centralize street outreach teams under a single department and ensure their mandate is connecting people to services; this holds both the City and individuals accountable for meeting service goals and requirements.
- Establish a clear continuum of housing – We must establish a clear continuum of housing from shelter to transitional housing to permanent supportive housing to “step-up” affordable housing so that everyone has an opportunity to lead stable, healthy, and dignified lives. We need a system for unhoused individuals that tracks and facilitates their movement off the street and into shelter – and eventually permanent housing units that meet their diverse needs.
On the national level, I am supporting the Harris/Walz campaign. Do I think things will change if Vice-President Kamala Harris wins? Not 100%. However, I do believe things would be drastically worse if the other guy wins, and in ways that would significantly affect the lives of LGBTQIA+ Americans. Absolutely.
Make no mistake: If Harris loses in her bid for the presidency, the reality of being queer in America will be devastating and ever more marginalized. I, for one, have fought too hard for the rights we’ve had to see them taken away from under a not-so-theoretical dictatorship.
We need each other, and we need to support the communities around us. Make your political conversations with friends productive, not damaging and dead-ended. And remember, when you vote this year, vote because your neighbor needs you to –– because I need you to vote.
Juanita MORE! is a denizen of the limelight. For almost three decades, the laudable hostess has blitzed San Francisco with high glamour, drag irreverence, and danceable beats that have illuminated the entire city. MORE! continues to be a heaping dollop of generosity and a sprinkle of nerve. She inspires those around her to make positive differences in their lives and communities — and doing it all with timeless elegance and an innovative spirit. Most recently, after her reign, Miss MORE! holds the title of Absolute Empress 56 of the Imperial Council of San Francisco –– one of the oldest non-profit organizations globally.
To date, MORE! has helped raise over 1 million dollars for local charities — among them GBLT Historical Society & Archives, Our Trans Youth, Q Foundation, Queer Lifespace, Transgender Law Center, and more. In addition, MORE! tirelessly fundraises for organizations in San Francisco that are adamant about helping communities in the seven-by-seven thrive, all while shining light and offering support to those who’ve been overlooked for far too long.
MORE! embodies what it means to be a conduit of connection. MORE!’ brings the people together to fundraise, celebrate community, and demand social change around San Francisco and elsewhere. Her culinary expressions are an extension of what mothers have been doing in their kitchens for generations — which, simply states, is sharing “loads of love.”