Noe Valley Voice Supervisor Candidate Questionnaire
IMPORTANT: Please return to editor@... by Oct. 20, 2006.
Dear Candidate for Supervisor from District 8:
We know this is an extremely busy time for you, but we hope you will respond
to a questionnaire we have attached to this email and copied below. Our
readers will appreciate hearing your opinions on issues relating to Noe Valley,
District 8, and the city as a whole. Your answers will be published without
commentary in the November issue of the Noe Valley Voice, scheduled to hit the
streets by Oct. 30.Unfortunately, our newspaper does not have space for long answers. So we ask
that you limit your responses to 75 words or less, unless otherwise indicated.
If you exceed the 75-word limit, we will cut from the bottom of your answer.
We promise to apply these rules equally to all three candidates.We also would like to publish a photo alongside your answers. Please email
one or two photo images that are at least 200 dpi, grayscale preferred. Mug
shots are fine, but we would love the option of using a second candid shot.Please return your answers and photos to editor@... by Oct.
20, 2006. Call Editor Sally Smith at 415-648-3927 with questions or problems.Thank you for participating in our survey. We appreciate the hard work it
takes to answer questions on such short notice.Sincerely,
Sally Smith and Jack Tipple
Editors and Co-Publishers
Noe Valley Voice
1021 Sanchez Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
editor@...
salsvoice@aol.com or jaxvoice@...
www.noevalleyvoice.com
Sally Smith: 415-648-3927-----------------------------
Noe Valley Voice
2006 Candidate Survey
District 8 Supervisor’s RacePLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL OR IN A WORD
DOCUMENT. ANSWERS TO THE NUMBERED QUESTIONS SHOULD BE NO LONGER THAN 75 WORDS,
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED IN PARENTHESES.Name: Starchild
Address: 3531 16th Street
Neighborhood: Castro
Email: RealReform@...
Web site: StarchildForSF.com
Phone: (415) 621-79321. Write a short autobiographical sketch. Please include personal and career
highlights. (100)
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice... OK, just kidding! Actually I’m a Bay Area native who grew up in the suburbs but was irresistibly drawn to San Francisco where I’ve resided since 1995. I have a journalism degree from San Francisco State University. I’ve worked in movie theaters, retail clothing, warehouse assembly, and (believe it or not!) the U.S. Army Reserves. Currently I’m an escort, masseur, and exotic dancer. On my very first run for office in 2000, I was presciently called a “perennial candidate” by the San Francisco Independent. I’m bisexual and vegetarian.
2. What in your opinion is the proper role of a San Francisco supervisor?
A Supervisor should set a good example by throwing fun, free office parties, dressing in drag occasionally, taking the right kinds of drugs in moderation to keep things in perspective, behaving ethically, riding a bicycle, skateboard or Segway to work, seeking to reduce his or her own salary, calling bureaucrats on their bullshit, appointing more libertarians, encouraging civil disobedience where appropriate, attending Burning Man, and above all, being a consistent voice and vote for freedom.
3. What are your top priorities if elected? (100)
Some of my top priorities if elected include:
• Decriminalizing marijuana and ending local “Drug War” enforcement
• Decriminalizing prostitution
• Capping city officials' salaries at $99,000/year
• Implementing voter-mandated cost-benefit analysis of proposed legislation
• Eliminating the local sales tax
• Holding police officers accountable for wrongful shootings and excessive force
• Upholding your right to self-defense
• De-funding all government public relations spending
• Protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants
• Creating more bicycle lanes
• Repealing leash laws, holding owners responsible for off-leash dogs
• Requiring competitive bidding for all city projects with a simple, transparent process
• Applying the Sunshine Ordinance to the SFPD and the School Board
4. What are the main transportation issues that will challenge District 8 in
the future? How will you address them?
Low and zero-emission cars are the future, and we should meet that future with adequate parking. Driving around looking for parking worsens traffic and causes pollution now, and parking tickets are a regressive tax. Meanwhile, support alternative transportation by improving the bicycle lane network and decriminalizing skateboarding, skating, and Segways. Another challenge will be maintaining our privacy. Cameras are now on BART, MUNI, and all taxis in San Francisco. This is a dangerous, Orwellian trend.
5. Although home prices are not rising as quickly as they have in recent
years, home ownership in San Francisco remains out of reach for most middle-income
people. Now, rental prices are going up too. What actions, if any, should the
city take in response to these conditions?
Rewrite zoning laws to let people live in underused industrial and commercially zoned areas. Allow more condo conversions. Replace wasteful "affordable" housing programs with housing vouchers given directly to low income residents. End rent control. It's no coincidence that U.S. cities with rent control have expensive rental housing. I say this as a tenant living in a rent-controlled apartment. And cut the bureaucracy and red tape to make building new housing easier and less expensive.
6. Noe Valley is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, yet
the Voice reports dozens of robberies, burglaries, and car thefts each month.
What new approaches can the city adopt to reduce crime?
Where do I begin? Stop wasting police resources prosecuting people for things that shouldn't even be illegal, like marijuana and paid sex among consenting adults. Reduce the police presence at peaceful festivals and political demonstrations. Get the police out of their cars and doing more foot patrols. Deter violent crime by letting people carry handguns for self-defense, as is our Constitutional right. And require convicted criminals to apologize and to provide restitution to their victims.
7. Many Noe Valley families leave San Francisco once their kids reach school
age. How do you explain this phenomenon? What, if anything, should the city do
about it?
Hmm, a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes... Not! It's elementary, my dear editors (no pun intended)! Government-run schools in SF are mostly mediocre, and parents and students are frequently denied their school of choice. If these families can't afford to send their kids to non-government schools while still being taxed to pay for government schools, naturally many of them choose to look elsewhere. What's needed? Simply more choice, more competition, and more accountability to parents.
8. A Utah-based corporation has left the former Real Food Company space on
24th Street vacant for over three years. Some say the shuttered store has not
only hurt the former employees, but harmed the economic vitality of the entire
commercial strip. How should the city deal with this situation—and chain stores
in general?
Let's require chain stores to install RFID chip readers at store entrances, and require chain store opponents to get RFID chip implants. Any time such a person attempted to enter a chain store, the RFID detector's beeping would remind them of their values... OK, I'm kidding again. But if you dislike chain stores, put your money where your mouth is -- don't shop there! Chain stores prosper in San Francisco because many residents are hypocrites.
9. Because of long delays and lack of oversight in both public and private
building projects, some Noe Valley residents and merchants have grown suspicious
of city government. How would you respond to their concerns?
I would treat their concerns seriously, say sympathetic things, and sound knowledgeable and practical. Meanwhile I would continue to support the kind of legislation that has spawned a bloated city government with sweeping powers to interfere in peoples' lives and lacking adequate transparency or accountability, resulting in building project snafus and other unintended consequences. Oh wait, never mind -- that's my opponents. I’d sound less electable, but would be less a part of the problem.
10. What has been the funniest moment during your campaign? (Question
provided by Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Unfortunately I can't tell you about it. If we repeal some bad laws, hopefully that will change! But some of my favorite moments have been while wearing some scandalous outfit at a party or something, handing someone a flier when they're least expecting it and telling them I'm running for Supervisor. Reactions can be priceless! Even if the person isn't in my district, at least I've made politics a little more fun for someone.