S.F. housing is hottest topic in first debate between District 2 supervisor candidates

"Though candidates Stephen Sherrill and Lori Brooke also spent large parts of the debate talking about cars and public safety, their answers on housing drew the most audible response from the crowd of about 200 people gathered at Convent & Stuart Hall, who leaned older and whiter. They were there to figure out who to vote for in June 2's special election to serve for the remainder of Catherine Stefani's term, after Stefani departed for the State Assembly in December 2024."

"Whoever wins in June will only be guaranteed the seat until November, when another election will happen for a fresh four-year term, though political observers say that if June's winner is victorious by a large enough margin, competitors will likely drop out. Brooke, a longtime neighborhood organizer, criticized the city's recent upzoning plan, which allows taller, denser housing in the city's north and west, including on commercial streets like Lombard and Chestnut in District 2."

"The plan was voted through 7-4 in December and is meant to satisfy state requirements for more housing. "Those bright, sunny, walkable commercial corridors can now have six to eight stories on it. This was a wrong plan. It should never have been approved," Brooke said, to loud claps, whistles, and cheers from the audience. District 2, made up of the wealthy Marina, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, and Presidio Heights neighborhoods, is generally more reticent to allow new housing in the area."

Housing emerged as the central issue in the first District 2 supervisor debate between Stephen Sherrill and Lori Brooke, generating the strongest audience reaction. About 200 residents attended at Convent & Stuart Hall; the crowd skewed older and whiter. Candidates also addressed cars and public safety. The June 2 special election will fill the remainder of Catherine Stefani's term, with a November election to follow for a full term. Brooke criticized the city's 7-4 upzoning plan that permits taller, denser development on commercial corridors and co-founded Neighborhoods United SF, which is suing to block the plan. District 2 added 1,465 housing units since 2005.

Read at Mission Local