San Francisco Green Party BART Board Candidate Questionnaire 2024 Due Date: Friday, August 23, 11:59 pm Instructions: 1. There are 10 sections to this questionnaire. Each section corresponds with the 10 Key Values of the Green Party. 2. Each section begins with a written question and ends with several multiple-choice questions. Please don't skip the written question. 3. The multiple-choice questions are answered by checking the box in the appropriate column to indicate which is closest to your position: + = Support / Agree / Yes - = Oppose / Disagree / No ? = Undecided / Don't know / No opinion 4. The world is too complex to always break down neatly into yes/no/maybe choices, so feel free to clarify any answers to multiple choice questions with a few words. Candidate Name: Phone Number: Web site: E-mail: Name of Campaign Manager: How much do you expect to spend in this contest? Major Endorsements: Incumbent whose votes are most similar to the way you would vote: Incumbent who votes least similarly to the way you would vote: 1) Grassroots Democracy: Please describe how you make your political decisions. What is the main basis for your decision making (e.g., consultation with your constituents, political consultants, colleagues, unions, businesses, donors, or your gut feelings)? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] More transit agencies should have elected boards of directors. [ ] [ ] [ ] Create a system of public financing for all elected officeholders, including elected transit agency directors [ ] [ ] [ ] Create limits on campaign contributions to members of elected transit agency boards [ ] [ ] [ ] Regulate contributions to officials who are elected to regional boards [ ] [ ] [ ] My campaign accepts corporate contributions [ ] [ ] [ ] My campaign accepts contributions from paid lobbyists or related entities having any interest in City and County of San Francisco or beyond 2) Ecological Wisdom: Please outline your view of the major environmental and ecological issues facing San Francisco and your proposed policies to address them. + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] Reducing or eliminating parking minimums in new housing and commercial developments [ ] [ ] [ ] Congestion tolls on Doyle Drive [ ] [ ] [ ] Livermore BART extension 3) Social Justice: A) Did you take a public position on the Oakland Airport Connector? Please explain. B) How often do you ride BART? What would you change about the way BART handles fare evasion? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] BART directors should focus on maintaining the existing system as opposed to building extensions [ ] [ ] [ ] Hiring more fare evasion teams [ ] [ ] [ ] Current policy of installing new fare gates and more fences inside BART stations to prevent fare evasion [ ] [ ] [ ] Fences around BART property to prevent camping or illegal sidewalk sales [ ] [ ] [ ] Current policy of using cleaning chemicals with strong odors in downtown stations to deter loitering 4) Nonviolence: What are your solutions for improving the accountability of the BART police force while making the system safer? Do you think the BART police force should exist? Do you think BART police officers should carry guns and/or tasers? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] Disband the BART police [ ] [ ] [ ] Create a BART police force citizen oversight committee [ ] [ ] [ ] Create an office of the Independent Police Auditor for the BART police [ ] [ ] [ ] Automated surveillance of BART system to alert police of illegal activities 5) Decentralization: In general, the Green Party supports the principle of decentralization. What is your proposal for making our Bay Area transit agencies at once decentralized and at the same time efficient, affordable, and appealing? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] Create one regional, elected transit agency [ ] [ ] [ ] Create a system whereby a portion of sales and property taxes assessed by transit districts must be spent in those transit districts 6) Community Based Economics: What are your views on Transit-Oriented Development and efforts to create affordable housing? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] Local hiring requirements should be enforced [ ] [ ] [ ] Downtown transit assessment fee [ ] [ ] [ ] Citywide transit assessment fee [ ] [ ] [ ] Prop 13 limits on tax increases should apply only to residential properties 7) Feminism: Women continue to be underrepresented in government. Why do you believe this is the case? Is this a bad thing, and if so, what would you do to remedy this? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] The City should help provide more quality childcare to working parents 8) Respect for Diversity: Do you think there is a disproportionate racial impact of new fare gates, additional fare inspections, and other current BART policies? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] Non-citizen residents should be able to vote in all local elections [ ] [ ] [ ] Full rights for transgender persons [ ] [ ] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the ethnic diversity of San Francisco [ ] [ ] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the political diversity of San Francisco [ ] [ ] [ ] My campaign reflects the diversity of San Francisco 9) Global and Personal Responsibility: What ideas do you have to convince Bay Area residents to ride BART more instead of driving, at a time when more workers are working from home? [ ] [ ] [ ] BART should hire outside help to negotiate union contracts 10) Sustainability: The current funding crisis on most transit systems demonstrates the problem with relying on passenger fares to fund transit. What ideas do you have for raising operating revenues needed to run more frequent and reliable service? How will you use your position to advocate for these changes? + - ? [ ] [ ] [ ] BART should be funded greater levels and be free to the rider [ ] [ ] [ ] Muni should be funded greater levels and be free to the rider [ ] [ ] [ ] Higher residential construction along neighborhood transit corridors, which may include raising height limits by two to three stories. [ ] [ ] [ ] All housing developments on/near BART property should be 100% affordable housing for families making less than $120k per year (80% of the Area Median Income for a family of 4) and should be majority low income. [ ] [ ] [ ] State law change that lets bicycles treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs [ ] [ ] [ ] I ride Muni, bicycle and/or walk instead of driving on a regular basis [ ] [ ] [ ] Allow residents to park on the sidewalk without getting a ticket, unless their neighbors complain [ ] [ ] [ ] Congestion pricing for parking [ ] [ ] [ ] Power more City vehicles using biofuels (e.g., corn-based ethanol) [ ] [ ] [ ] Residents should be allowed to park in the street in front of their own driveway for free [ ] [ ] [ ] Support expanding parking meter hours to include later evening hours and weekends [ ] [ ] [ ] Remove parking spots and car lanes to create dedicated bike and bus lanes or wider sidewalks Due Date: Friday, August 23, 11:59 pm Please submit by email to cc@sfgreens.org. For more information, call Barry Hermanson at 415-255-9494. Please return your answers in plain text (not HTML, PDF, or Word format), so that we can post all candidates' answers in the same format. The SF Green Party will invite selected candidates who return completed questionnaires on time to speak and answer questions at our candidate forum and endorsement meeting. To be given time on our agenda, each candidate needs at least two active Green Party members to request their invitation. This will be a hybrid meeting, so invited candidates may also speak with us via Zoom. Our endorsement meeting is scheduled for Wed, August 28 from 6:30-9:30 pm at our office, 2973 16th St, #300, SF - note that this is across the street from our old office in the Redstone Building. The first two hours will be for interviews of selected candidates, and the last hour will be for decision making. Completed questionnaires will be posted on our website, https://sfgreenparty.org.