November 2024: Dual Endorsement of Trevor Chandler and Roberto Hernandez for District 9

For the District 9 Supervisor’s race, the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters found itself faced with a difficult choice. The leading candidates each have different strengths and yet none met all of our expectations. In the end, we have made a dual endorsement of Trevor Chandler and Roberto Hernandez.

Trevor Chandler had a nearly perfect questionnaire, aligning with SFLCV on almost every issue we raised, including transportation and housing. However, one notable point of difference is his opposition to this November’s Proposition L, the ComMUNIty Transit Act. 

More than any other candidate, we would expect him to side with us on environmental votes as a supervisor. That being said, while we appreciate his work as a political organizer, his relative newness to District 9 led us to question whether he has the existing relationships and local experience to navigate City Hall and effectively lead and persuade residents of District 9 in an environmental direction.

Roberto Hernandez, on the other hand, is a longtime Mission District community activist and organizer and is well regarded by many in District 9. His years of work in the Mission, and in its communities of color in particular, give him relationships, credibility, and trust from many constituents. This will help him lead and get things done. Nonetheless, of the major candidates, his commitment to improving transit is inconsistent: He supports the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project, but he opposed red transit lanes for Mission Street. Although he told us he supports traffic diverters and modal filters to calm traffic on slow streets, he actively opposed removable slow street infrastructure on 24th Street in the Mission. He publicly supported protected bike lanes on 17th Street in Potrero Hill, but he has not publicly supported protected bike lanes on 17th Street in the Mission. While he ably reflects existing views of many District 9 residents, leadership requires holistically envisioning a better future. We hope that if elected, his positions will evolve to meet the environmental imperatives of both District 9 and the entire city. 

We applaud the time Jackie Fielder has spent on the front lines of climate activism fighting pipelines and more recently working to stop the flow of money to fossil fuel projects, deforestation, and human rights violations. Like Chandler, Fielder aligns closely with SFLCV on transit issues. However, unlike both Chandler and Hernandez, she has taken housing positions that are quite different from ours.

It is clear to us that all three of these candidates will continue to dedicate their time to activism, and we look forward to working with them in the years to come.