Mark Farrell, Candidate For Mayor, Answers Reader Questions

The Ingleside Light gathered questions from the community and posed them to the District 7, District 11 and mayor candidates in advance of the Nov. 5 election.

Here are the responses from former interim mayor and District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell, who is taking another shot at running San Francisco. His campaign focuses on public safety, addressing the city’s drug and homelessness crisis, downtown revitalization, housing and education. 

He’s running against current San Francisco Mayor London Breed, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, Founder of Tipping Point Community Daniel Lurie, current Board of Supervisors President and District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin and others.

The answers were lightly edited.

How do you plan to be consistently involved in the neighborhood once in office? 

I’ve always believed that City Hall can make progress only by working with communities, not doing things to communities and we need to make it easier for San Franciscans to engage with their local government. That’s why, as mayor, I’ll actually show up and make myself available in every corner of the city and I’ll relaunch the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, which Mayor Breed disbanded, so residents know where to go for help. Those who take the time to express their concerns deserve to have their voices heard, not be passed from department to department without any accountability or results.

What is one issue in the neighborhood that you see ignored? How would you tackle this issue?

Public safety for every person, in every neighborhood, will be my North Star while in office. Unfortunately, Mayor Breed’s reactive, whack-a-mole approach to public safety has resulted in a hollowing-out of our police department and a shuffling of dangerous street behavior into our neighborhoods—without actually improving conditions in the Tenderloin or Downtown. We need a new approach. As mayor, I’ll aggressively tackle the police staffing crisis by restoring the Deferred Retirement Option Program to incentivize experienced officers to stay on the force, fully funding five police academies a year, outsourcing the background check process for new recruits, increasing funding for lateral recruitment and expanding outreach to make it easier for young people from our diverse communities to see themselves as San Francisco police officers. I’ll put new leadership in charge of SFPD and the Police Commission and I’ll remove all dangerous tent encampments across the city, just as I did as Interim Mayor in 2018, expand shelter and recovery services and implement compelled treatment for those whose conduct makes them a danger to themselves and others. 

Will you commit to fully funding the Dignity Fund in this and future years to meet the growing number and needs of older adults and people with disabilities?

Yes. When I served on the Board of Supervisors, I was proud to support Prop I in 2016, the Charter Amendment that originally created the Dignity Fund. As the cost of living in San Francisco continues to skyrocket, it’s more important than ever to take care of our elders and neighbors with disabilities.

In many ways, City College of San Francisco was the beating heart of the neighborhood, a source of jobs and customers for local businesses. But its troubles have led to a 60%+ decline in enrollment which has precipitated other issues. How will you work with the college community to turn it around?

City College is an essential community resource for working people, first-generation students and those in our immigrant community seeking to learn a skill or trade, build language proficiency, or transfer to a four-year institution. That’s why it’s been so difficult to see enrollment plummet and fiscal mismanagement persist in recent years. As mayor, I’ll champion funding for these key services and work with institutional leadership to help students take advantage of state and federal aid programs, such as Pell Grants and Cal Grants, to reverse these trends and set City College and its students up for long-term success. I’ll also advocate for increased funding from the State and the federal government and expand affordable housing and reliable transportation nearby.

City College of San Francisco projects groundbreaking for its long-awaited Diego Rivera Theater — which will prominently feature Rivera's fresco Pan American Unity —  in December 2024. How will you work with the college community and the city's tourism sector to make it an attraction that boosts the economy and puts Ingleside on the map?

Under Mayor Breed, San Francisco has experienced one of the slowest post-pandemic economic recoveries in the country, as tourism remains stuck below pre-pandemic heights and Downtown’s recovery is projected to take decades. That’s why it’s all the more important that we show visitors how incredible our neighborhoods are. Only in San Francisco can you experience a National Park in the morning, grab a burger for lunch at Beep’s and, soon, check out a classic Diego Rivera mural — and still have time to catch a matinee performance. As mayor, I’ll always spotlight the city’s creative side, not only because it will help our local economy but because it’s part of what makes San Francisco so great.

The SFMTA has big plans to speed up the K Ingleside and M Ocean View light rail lines that include boarding island modernization and consolidation, red lanes and more. How will you increase ridership in the neighborhood? 

I’m anxious to get transportation projects across the finish line in a way that emphasizes accountability, improves commutes for everyone and minimizes negative consequences for neighbors and merchants. Muni will only be an attractive alternative to other modes of transportation if it’s clean, safe and efficient. My transportation platform advances our Transit First policy by permanently funding free Muni for youth, coordinating bus schedules with school start times, investing in rider safety, implementing a balanced but firm fare-enforcement policy and building consensus and accountability around pragmatic service and streetscape changes. It shouldn’t feel like a chore to move about our diverse neighborhoods and I’m committed to delivering common-sense transportation improvements that benefit all San Franciscans, regardless of how they commute. 

The tree canopy could be a lot better in this part of town — and citywide. What will you do to improve it?

From beautifying our neighborhoods to addressing the climate crisis, there are so many reasons to invest in our urban canopy. That’s why, as Interim Mayor, I provided funding for 2,000 new trees across the City in my budget. When I take office, I’ll build on my record in this area to deliver a greener, more vibrant San Francisco for all.

The Balboa Park Area Plan studied many major and minor projects, including decking the Interstate 280 freeway, realigning freeway ramps, etc. What outstanding elements will you pursue while in office?

As with any infrastructure projects, in advancing the Balboa Park Area Plan I will work closely with affected community members to ensure that City Hall does not impose its will on residents without regard to their needs, concerns and ideas. As Mayor, I’ll commit to working together to implement improvements to our transportation infrastructure, with a focus on pedestrian safety, as well as efforts to enhance the Ocean Avenue commercial corridor for neighbors and small businesses.

What will you do to breathe new life into the neighborhood's commercial corridors? Please list 10 concrete proposals.

Small businesses are what makes our neighborhoods so special. In addition to the above public safety and homelessness reforms, which will benefit all San Franciscans, I’ll:

1. Eliminate business taxes for small businesses making less than $5 million per year in gross receipts.

2. Streamline permitting and zoning to get small businesses off the ground faster, cheaper and with less bureaucracy.

3. Modernize the inefficient and burdensome Healthcare Security Ordinance, which hamstrings small businesses in its current form.

4. Support and expand the Community Benefit District program to make high-traffic commercial corridors safer, cleaner and greener.  

5. Reopen Market Street, keep the Great Highway open and fix neighborhood commercial corridors across San Francisco that merchants depend on.

6. Institute a Zero-Tolerance Policy for Property Crime, including by directing SFPD, via executive order, to prioritize responding to, investigating, and building strong cases for the District Attorney’s Office for property crime citywide.

7. Install durable, tamper-proof trash cans and increase pick-ups throughout the City to prevent increased litter.

8. End illegal vending by enforcing existing laws that prohibit the dangerous and intimidating behavior we’ve seen at UN Plaza, in the Mission, at Fisherman’s Wharf, around Union Square and elsewhere.

9. Hire a new head of Public Works with demonstrable experience in street cleaning and facilities management to make our streets and sidewalks shine.

10. Incentivize form-based development by allowing increased density within existing building envelopes to add to our commercial corridors’ vibrancy.

What does adequate community policing look like for the greater Ingleside neighborhood and its diverse communities?

At its best, the San Francisco Police Department is a shining example of diverse, community-based policing. That’s why it’s so frustrating that Mayor Breed has allowed its ranks to crater by 25% during her time in office, as San Francisco is now short over 500 officers. Police play a vital role in preventing and responding to crimes of all kinds and City Hall can no longer afford to alienate, diminish and disparage our Police Department as it has during Mayor Breed’s time in office. In my view, the police have been asked to do too much with too little support, and that needs to change. Not only must police enforce the law, but they are expected to deal with every public issue, from administering medical aid to overdose victims to acting as social workers for the most vulnerable among us. As Mayor, I’ll expand recruitment and retention initiatives as described above. Additionally, my plans to centralize shelter and expand treatment services for those struggling with mental health and addiction issues on our streets will remove non-law-enforcement matters from officers’ plates, giving them more room to focus on what matters most: stopping crime.

Do you support the renewal and expansion of the Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District? If so, why and how will you work with its leadership to make sure it delivers the best results for all stakeholders?

If Ocean Avenue residents and merchants continue to support the program, I have no reason to stand in their way. I supported the early days of the Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District (CBD) when I joined the Board of Supervisors in 2011, and I strongly believe in the power of our CBDs to deliver additional, targeted services, such as cleaning, graffiti abatement and small business support. In my view, the beauty of the CBD program is that each CBD can respond directly to our neighborhoods’ unique needs because what works in Union Square isn’t going to work in the Castro, what works in Japantown isn’t going to work in Noe Valley, and so on. I see the next Mayor’s role as working with Ocean Avenue residents, merchants and CBD leadership to help inform property owners about the renewal process, listening to the community’s goals and being an effective partner in advancing those goals.

Will you support the Recreation and Parks Department in achieving the completion of Phase 2 of the Geneva Office Building? If so, how?

Absolutely. I first learned of the rehabilitation efforts when I toured the unrenovated Geneva Car Barn more than a decade ago and as Interim Mayor I was thrilled to join Rec and Park and community members for the groundbreaking of the first phase. The new-and-improved Car Barn will be an incredible resource for generations to come but I know this neighborhood has been pushing for decades to complete the entire project. That’s why I’ll continue to work with community stakeholders to raise private funds, bring State dollars to bear and get the word out about this site’s powerful history and future potential.

What will you do about our waste collection monopoly?

It’s no secret that the stench of corruption emanating from City Hall has only grown stronger during Mayor Breed’s time in office. If residents can’t trust their local government to ace the basics — like waste collection — there’s little hope of making progress in bigger-picture policy areas. I’ll bring back accountability by auditing all City contracts and departments within 100 days of taking office, evaluating spending against objective benchmarks and refusing to fund organizations that aren’t delivering results for San Franciscans.

How will you incentivize landlords to rent out long-vacant units and thus increase the housing stock?

Putting existing units to better use is a key part of my housing platform, which will put San Francisco on a path to lowering costs, creating the new homes that the State has required and enhancing the vibrancy of our neighborhoods. In terms of incentives, I’ll provide property tax relief for property owners who rent their units to first responders, emergency personnel, nurses, and public school teachers, as well as rental subsidies for those working in these professions, recognizing the critical roles they play in our communities, to help them afford existing units that for too long have been out of reach.