 
Flanked by friends Erich Pearson and Bill Barnes,
Building Inspections Commissioner Debra Walker yesterday kicked off
her fundraising campaign for the 2010 race for District 6 Supervisor.
Photos by Luke Thomas
By Luke Thomas
June 4, 2009
Highlighting her two decades working on land use issues, San Francisco Building Inspections Commissioner Debra Walker yesterday kicked off her fundraising campaign for District 6 Supervisor.
“It’s very early in this campaign,” Walker said to 30 supporters at the Cat Club, “but this district is vital, where most of the change happens around development. What happens here really sets the future of this City.”
District 6 is regarded as one of the most politically diverse districts in San Francisco, encompassing the Inner Mission, Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, as well as Treasure Island and downtown.
Affordable housing priority
Listing affordable housing as one of her top priorities, Walker said, “We don’t build nearly enough affordable housing. We have an advocate in Supervisor Chris Daly in affordable housing and I commit that I am going to be as effective, if not more so, in fighting for affordable housing construction in San Francisco.”
According to Walker, much of the new housing development in the district has been market rate housing at prices unaffordable to working families and most San Franciscans.
“Seventy to eighty percent of our population needs rents below what the market will bear,” she said. “We don’t house our population by building super market rate housing.”
Walker pledged to work with the development community “to get their buy in” and to make “the argument for [federal] stimulus money for affordable housing.”
“We need to build,” she said. “We ought to be focusing the stimulus money on our infrastructure needs, not infrastructure needs that are defined in Sacramento, or in Washington.”
A need for public sanitation services
According to a 2009 citywide homeless count report, District 6 is home to 1,167 unsheltered homeless persons. Walker pledged to fund public toilets and public baths where those in need could take showers, launder clothes, receive haircuts and have access to other homeless related services.
“When people are living out of shopping carts, your options are [limited],” she said. “If you don’t want people urinating on the streets, you put in more public toilets.”
Endorsements
Walker has so far received endorsements from Supervisors David Campos and Eric Mar, Senator Leland Yee, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and former Senator Carole Migden. She said she expects to receive the endorsements of several unions including California Nurses Association, Carpenters’ Local 22 and other unions related to trade and construction.
“I’m confidant I’ll get the trades,” she said.
As in previous contests for open seats on the Board of Supervisors, the 2010 District 6 race is expected to become crowded and contentious. So far seven candidates – Jim Meko, Mathew Drake, Jeff Gustavson, John Markham, Mark Schwartz, David Villa-lobos and Walker – have filed papers with the Department of Elections indicating their intentions to run.
Referring to the city, state and nation’s economic woes, Walker said, “This is going to be an extremely challenging time in this district and the city.”
“I’m the person that can actually make things work a little better in this district and lead us into a better future,” she said.
Walker kicks off her fundraising event singing “Anticipation” by Carly Simon.
Walker with District 9 Supervisor David Campos.
Walker with open source voting systems sentinel Brent Turner
and Eric “Doc” Smith.
Walker with Community College Board Trustee Steve Ngo.
Walker with John and Michael Nulty.
Walker with land use attorney Sue Hestor.
Cat Club proprietor Eric Chung with the Nulty bros.
and Terrrie Frye.
Ken Tray, United Educators SF, Walker, Brent Turner and Hope Johnson.
More Info
Debra Walker Bio
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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June 8, 2009 at 9:04 am
Jordanna Thigpen used to have a column in the SF Sentinel. In one piece, she embarrassed herself by claiming that France is not a democracy. As a French-American dual citizen, I just had to look at that and say, “huh??” Didn’t I get to vote at the French consulate in the last election?
June 5, 2009 at 10:37 am
Have to agree with H Brown. Jordanna would be a step back. The only reason she is a Democrat is that the Republicans are so weak in the City. And remember, she was an apologist for the corrupt supe from Burlingame.
Even “friends” of hers from the City Democratic Club speak in whispers about her. …Too much ambition, too little sense of caring.
I would want daly to stay rather than her.
June 4, 2009 at 3:59 pm
“Walker pledged to fund public toilets and public baths where those in need could take showers, launder clothes, receive haircuts and have access to other homeless related services. ‘If you don’t want people urinating on the streets, you put in more public toilets’.â€
I guess if you can’t come up with new ideas, recycle old ones. We had those oval-shaped, pay toilets for more than 20 years all to no avail.
A few years back, Mission High School allowed homeless folks to use their shower facilities. It sounded like a great, compassionate idea, a win-win solution that everyone could support, but it failed miserably.
What’s the answer? I don’t know but whoever we elect for D6 supervisor had better HAVE that answer and a specific plan for its funding it and execution.
June 4, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Francis,
Ever read Jordanna’s posts as SF Sweetie? She’s a homophobic hate monger. She didn’t quit this shit until Ammiano (one other frequent targets) went to Newsom who told her to back off. She’s just a hair shy of David Duke. Like that? Do you? Who you think came in to massage the ‘Wall’ posts in which she revealed her real self? Guy named David Latterman. Ask him.
What you’re really saying is that you think that D-6 is gentrified enough to elect a racist homophobe. Your own preference.
Bring her on.
h.
June 4, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Luke did great photos of Debra Walker’s Kickoff event. As I mentioned to everyone that asked me if I was endorsing Debra, I stated that I was neutral and that it was too early to offer an endorsement, and that since I am connected to several entities that will have an endorsement process, that I will have to wait for those processes to occur first. I also look forward to inviting all the actual candidates to participate in District 6 candidates forums, and I looking forward in seeing their websites and campaign platforms.
June 4, 2009 at 2:39 pm
God, talk about rounding up the usual Progressives. It’s going to be a long, long election season, with seemingly endless potlucks and the requisite badmouthing of “downtown†interests. Keep in mind, the election for District 6 Supervisor isn’t THIS November, it’s NEXT November!
Fine, let the Progressives bring in more “we’re fighting for the soul of San Francisco†candidates. But if the moderates are smart this time around, they will get behind one, and only one, moderate candidate.
Moderates should bring back Rob Black, Matt Drake or, better yet, draft Jordanna Thigpen.
District 6 needs a pragmatist, not a Progressive.
June 4, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Righteous!
Great shots, Luke. As always. As Newsom says, you are the “official City photographer”. Congrats to you Debra on being a class act all the way. This will be a wonderful campaign. I look forward to seeing a thousand Thomas photos of gatherings like this coming from your campaign and the best candidate, Jim Meko. And, more?
I do like Jim best but I’m just funning with you, Debra. It is so early in the contest that I’m hoping that we get some other viable candidates into the ring. So, you stop trying to tie everyone’s hands with early endorsements a year and a half out. What are you doing, trying to be Hillary? How’d that work out?
What other candidates?
Like? Oh, Jane Kim? Maybe get Paul Hogarth to reconsider and add his wealth of knowledge directly to the debate (and, no, Tim Redmond … you do not have to check your keyboard when you run for office). Sarah Low would be a great supe.
We got time.
Good luck, Debra.
Jim Meko for D-6 Supe!
h.
June 4, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I was glad to see that Debra Walker will push for more public toilets and also facilities that the homeless can use for showering their bodies and laundering their clothes.
The big push for public sanitation, which first appeared in the 19th century, was one of the most progressive developments in modern human history. It represented a tremendous breakthrough for human health.
So it has always amazed me to see many SF progressives scoff at the importance of public sanitation.
Hopefully, Debra Walker will encourage SF progressives to remedy this narrowness in their present thinking, appreciate the progressive accomplishments of the past, and build on them for the well-being of the future.
June 4, 2009 at 12:33 pm
A good night at the Cat Club! Why do we have to wait until 2010 to get Debra elected? Let’s get Daly to resign and get real quality in the Board of Supervisors. The time for chidish behavior is over…time for the adults to regain control of the progressive agenda.