Here are the responses I sent to the Examiner. You can tell a lot about an organization by which questions they choose to ask, and this questionnaire seems to reflect the paper's less-left-leaning voice of late.
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Dear Board of Supervisors candidate:
The Examiner invites you to take part in our endorsement process and to be
included in our annual voter guide. As part of that process, please answer
the following three questions, in 75 words or less EACH, and e-mail the
answers, along with a head shot (photograph) of yourself, to
election@.... Please write "SF Board of Supervisors" in the subject
line of the e-mail. You may include, as an attachment, any other campaign
material or biographical information you think is pertinent to your
candidacy. The deadline for answers and photos is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept.
20. Any information sent after that time will NOT be included in our voter
guide. Any questions should be directed to Zoran Basich, managing editor, at
zbasich@.... Thank you for your participation, and good luck!
Here are the three questions. Be sure to e-mail your answers of 75 words or
less EACH, and a photo, by 5 p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 20, to
election@...:
1. What should be done to stem the growing tide of families leaving San
Francisco?
(1) Let students and their parents choose which schools they attend.
(2) Intractable problems require bold solutions. Improve school quality by
letting teachers decide how to run each school, and make them accountable to
students and parents, instead of to politicians and bureaucrats.
(3) Make it more affordable to live in San Francisco by reducing taxes and
fees, removing obstacles to building housing, and cutting costs imposed on
developers that make new homes largely unaffordable.
2. How should the board address the rising homicide rate and violence
plaguing our communities?
(1) Affirm the Second Amendment right of San Franciscans to self defense,
and urge the Sheriff to grant gun permits to persons at risk of violence who
do not have violent criminal records.
(2) Decriminalize drugs at the local level and prohibit local law
enforcement officials from cooperating with the DEA. Removing black market
drug profits will eliminate much of the gang violence that plagues poor
neighborhoods, just as ending alcohol prohibition did in 1933.
3. Do you agree with the often-heard criticism that the Board of
Supervisors is not business-friendly? If so, what would you do to change
this?
Yes, absolutely.
(1) Pass a charter amendment limiting future tax increases and unfunded
government mandates. Send business the message it's safe to plan to be here
long term.
(2) Encourage people to shop locally by eliminating local sales tax.
(3) Put the burden of the permit process on City Hall by requiring that
permits be automatically issued if government cannot show within a
reasonable time frame why a business should not receive a requested permit.