Dean Preston, Unconventional Politician, Applies Equity and Social Justice Goals to District 5’s Challenges

The race for District 5 Supervisor, which spans much of the Western Addition, including the Haight and the Divisadero corridor, offers a choice between two strong, environmentally minded candidates. This is a reprise of the November 2019 election between Vallie Brown, a seasoned City Hall veteran, and incumbent Dean Preston, an affordable housing community organizer. Last year, after much deliberation, the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters ultimately threw our support behind Brown, the then-incumbent, based on her record of environmental leadership on the plastic bag ban and CleanPowerSF. Preston went on to claim a narrow win in that election. We decided to switch our endorsement this year, because while we have a great deal of respect and admiration for Supervisor Brown’s environmental work, we have real concerns about her well-known eviction related issues.

In his short tenure of less than a year, Preston has undertaken some incremental but high-profile actions. Namely, Preston addressed homeless encampments head on -- long a priority issue for the Haight Ashbury District -- by having the City convert a vacant parking lot formerly siting a McDonald’s to a safe encampment zone. Time will tell whether the experiment pans out, but we appreciate Preston’s willingness to undertake fresh thinking, and his apparent interest in trying out innovative, new, and relatively untested approaches. 

Preston is pledging similar reforms with promoting sustainable transportation modes, as well as making a dent in the City’s high counts of pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and injuries.

We are concerned about his approach to MUNI, however, and we will be watching closely to make sure he is taking concrete steps to address its challenges. Essentially, Supervisor Preston and other Supervisors blocked an effort to raise fares for average MUNI riders and use the funds to eliminate fares for poorer MUNI riders. Instead, the Board of Supervisors blocked all fare increases. We believe the Board should have left discount fares intact, only raising fares for those who can afford it. Now, as a result of this short-sighted fight against fare increases, MUNI is significantly cutting service and delaying already-overdue maintenance, especially harming the lowest-income riders who depend on transit. Supervisor Preston *must* work to identify and secure alternate funding for MUNI maintenance and operations. 

If Preston can realize a vision that delivers one or more of the top transportation reforms on environmentalists’ wish lists -- among them increased funding for MUNI, a car-free Golden Gate Park, additional revenue from expanded metered on-street parking, a downtown congestion pricing zone -- his unconventional approach will have paid off.

Vote Dean Preston for District 5 Supervisor.

[Ed note: Read Dean Preston’s answers to our candidate questionnaire here.]