On October 17th, the civic group “Thrive SF” held a seminar in San Francisco, inviting multiple candidates and the public to discuss how to build a better San Francisco and District 7.
San Francisco mayoral candidate Li Aichen, San Francisco District 7 Council candidate Stephen Martin-Pinto, CCSF Board of Trustees candidate Lei Qianhong, SF School Board candidate Lefteris Eleftheriou, and more than twenty residents participated in the seminar. Russell Davis, CEO of “Thrive SF,” served as the host of the event.
The discussions of the day covered various aspects of social life, including public safety, crime, drugs, homelessness, housing, police department cuts, education, small businesses, and upcoming San Francisco ballot propositions.
Mayoral candidate Li Aichen emphasized that if she is elected mayor, she will uphold the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, safeguarding freedom of speech and belief, focusing on the government’s two main responsibilities: public safety and public health. She stressed bringing faith back to City Hall, encouraging youth to engage in more extracurricular activities, converting a large number of vacant apartments in San Francisco into affordable housing to reduce homelessness. She also plans to rebuild traditional family and educational systems, combat false information in the media, and restore a safe and clean environment to San Francisco.
San Francisco District 7 Council candidate Stephen Martin-Pinto stressed the importance of community safety, promising to reduce government size, improve school quality, and attract businesses back if elected. Regarding the November K proposal suggesting permanently closing a 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway in the Sunset District and transforming it into a waterfront park, he supported a compromise solution, advocating for park use on weekends while maintaining passage on weekdays to balance everyone’s needs.
CCSF Board of Trustees candidate Lei Qianhong, in an interview with NTD, expressed concern about the severe student attrition situation, with the student population dropping from nearly 90,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic to about 30,000 now. She emphasized the need for cost control to prevent potential loss of accreditation. To increase student enrollment, she plans to enhance promotion efforts, attract students from low-income families, and provide them with free and practical vocational education. Additionally, she believes a thorough evaluation of which courses should be eliminated, which should be retained, and addressing the issue of currently vacant school buildings is necessary.
SF School Board candidate Lefteris Eleftheriou told NTD that schools should prioritize bringing children and teachers back to school rather than spending millions of dollars on renaming schools. Due to funds not being utilized effectively for students, learning outcomes have suffered, leading many parents to transfer their children to other schools, putting the schools at risk of closure. He believes that resolving budgetary issues by allocating funds reasonably is crucial to safeguarding student learning and getting the school district back on track.
He suggests that the district needs deeper investigations, improved budget transparency, public disclosure of account books and financial statements, identifying contractors who should not receive contracts, and strengthening accountability mechanisms. Additionally, if teachers are unable to effectively teach and enhance students’ academic achievements, their compensation should be reasonably justified.
San Francisco resident Melanie Salazar attended the meeting with her newborn baby, advocating for equal opportunities for all lives and emphasizing the importance of protecting babies and women. She told NTD that Proposal O, the “Reproductive Freedom Act,” discriminates against clinics that support life and establishes an abortion fund. She created the website bayareareprocare.com, offering a detailed directory of support resources. Pro Life San Francisco can assist individuals in connecting with various life-supporting resources such as diapers, parenting classes, support groups, and prenatal care services.