Supporting our Small Businesses

Small businesses are the backbone of District 9. They are our community institutions, local gathering spaces, and for many of our neighbors, financial lifelines and the realization of dreams. However, running a small business in San Francisco has never been harder, as small business owners and workers face a variety of challenges both as they recover from the pandemic, and as they navigate our city bureaucracy. We need to be honest about these issues, their causes, and have a robust plan in place to make sure both that our current businesses can thrive, and that new creative ventures have the full support of City Hall. 

For too long our policies have stacked the deck against small businesses, catering to corporate interests while small business owners have had to fight on their own to stay afloat. We need to streamline our cumbersome permitting process and increase & clarify our city’s dialogue with the small business community, so that owners know what City Hall expects of them, while also having an avenue to tell City Hall what they need. When combined with a holistic, data-driven plan to increase foot traffic, worker housing, and preventive security measures, our small businesses can flourish, keeping District 9 the vibrant, thriving heart of San Francisco.

Data Driven, Proven Community Safety Solutions to Increase Foot Traffic

For years politicians in San Francisco have pursued ineffective public safety solutions designed to generate headlines rather than actual results. Our small businesses, and the customers that support them, must feel safe & comfortable going out in their communities. When our community is healthy and safe, our businesses succeed. My plans to fully fund our public safety system, while also increasing mental health and addiction resources, will help to create vibrant, thriving public spaces. 

Activating City Hall to Work For Small Businesses

For too long our city government has catered to the whims of massive corporations (remember the Twitter tax break?), leaving small businesses to deal with cumbersome red tape, expensive & time consuming permitting processes, and inconsistent direction from City Hall. I will work with the city and state to both streamline processes and increase access to city grants to make sure that our vital small businesses can thrive. My plan to facilitate small business growth is through direct funding; by expanding the pool of resources for grant and low interest loans, I will work to level the playing field so small businesses can fairly compete with corporations and their tax breaks. 

Supporting street food vendors

As evidenced by the meager participation of street food vendors in various SF night markets, our city bureaucracy is in the way of a thriving food and nightlife scene. Food vendors in the Mission activate otherwise neglected street corridors and have brought a refreshing vibrancy to Mission Street. Our strained city law and code enforcers should focus on higher priority violations rather than cracking down on people trying to make a living and contributing to the cultural and culinary legacy of our district. We should eliminate the fees and red tape that keep street food vendors down and work to support them to revive our corridors.

Enforcing San Francisco’s Commercial Vacancy Tax to Activate Commercial Corridors 

Too many storefronts in San Francisco sit empty due to hoarding by commercial landlords, who would rather leave a space vacant in hopes of profiting down the line than rent out their space to an exciting small business. I support voter-approved vacancy taxes like 2020’s Prop D, but we need to pursue more rigorous city enforcement of these measures.  Owners who keep spaces empty, hoping for higher rents later, do more than contribute to city blight and harm potential businesses, they harm our commercial corridors at large. Enforcing the commercial vacancy tax will keep owners accountable and help our community corridors thrive. 

Commercial Rent Controls & Eviction Measures

I support the reform of state law that restricts local municipalities from enacting sensible rent control measures. Currently, landlords can and do impose double and triple-digit rent increases on their small business tenants. Like we have done with residential rent control, we can prevent the displacement of community-serving businesses by ensuring rent increases are reasonable & tied to cost of living adjustments. Limiting the annual increase a landlord can impose ensures that small businesses won’t be put in a position to squeeze workers wages just to cover the rent and it ensures the sustainability of the small businesses which make our district unique. 

Preventative security measures & graffiti abatement 

We need funds currently restricted to vandalism repairs to be expanded to enhance burglary and shoplifting security. This includes improvements like lighting, doors, locks, alarms, cameras, garage spaces, and gates. Additionally, we need transparency and accountability of SF SAFE, the police non-profit that previously offered security assessments to small businesses and is now at the center of a criminal mismanagement scandal.

A Public Bank to Make Sure That San Francisco’s Tax Dollars Get Spent in San Francisco

Our multi-billion dollar budget and pooled investment fund is entrusted to Wall Street banks to invest as they wish. They leverage our funds to invest in markets around the world, while small business owners here struggle to find low cost loans for their businesses. The establishment of a public bank would allow our city tax dollars to be re-invested in our community and support businesses that are excluded from corporate financing with low- and no-interest loans. A part of San Francisco’s cultural beauty has always been its ingenuity and creativeness. We fail our constituents when we do not bring the same level of creativity to solving the problems facing them. A public bank is one of those creative solutions that allows the entrepreneurial spirit of our neighborhoods to flourish without relying on private financing. 

Truly Affordable Housing so Small Business Owners and Workers Can Remain in San Francisco

San Francisco’s housing crisis affects small business more than anyone, displacing vital workers and creating a disconnect between small business owners and the communities they serve. To keep our communities close and our businesses healthy, we need more affordable housing. My plan won’t keep us waiting for the market to provide us with the housing we need, but will ensure that people of all-income levels have a place in the community. My plan for building truly affordable housing and stemming displacement will benefit all San Franciscans, by both reducing homelessness and allowing small business owners and workers to live and grow in the city they love. When people live near where they work, the community fabric is strengthened, and we all enjoy the downstream benefits. 

Social Media Resources for Commercial Corridors

Many small businesses are still struggling to recover fromthe economic blow of the pandemic. The support they need from City Hall has to be holistic and strong. We need to invest in the businesses themselves but also in their marketing.  As a part of my plan to generate more foot traffic to small businesses in D9, each neighborhood commercial corridor would receive a social media resource to help them promote what’s happening in the corridor. We can use the power of technology to invest, uplift, and promote the amazing events, small businesses, and people within the district.