The GrowSF Report: Remembering Michelle Go
And a profile on our candidate for California Assembly, Bilal Mahmood
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of January 16, 2022:
- A Candlelight Vigil for Michelle Go, a Victim of Anti-Asian Hate
- Our Candidate Bilal Mahmood
- Urban Planning Gone Wrong
- Can Police Use Security Cameras During Emergencies?
- The YIMBYs Are Starting To Win
A Candlelight Vigil for Michelle Go, A Victim of Anti-Asian Hate
Michelle Go, who grew up in the Bay Area, was murdered in New York City by a deranged man who pushed her in front of a subway train. Asian American residents of both New York City and San Francisco held candlelight vigils commemorating her life and raising awareness of anti-Asian hate crimes.
“She was just the person who did everything right,” a neighbor said of Go, who had just turned 40.
At the vigil in San Francisco, organized by Amy Lee, community leaders David Chiu, Bilal Mahmood, and Garry Tan spoke about rising anti-Asian violence. Garry Tan, a long-time friend of Michelle Go, described Go as a “light” to others and condemned the “horrible, senseless” violence. “We all deserve to be safe and achieve our dreams.”
Han Li of the SF Standard reports in English and Chinese about how Go’s death “has reignited community concerns over pandemic-related hate crimes […] in San Francisco where more than a third of the city residents are people of Asian descent.”
Stop Crime SF has compiled a list of violent attacks against Asian residents in San Francisco to raise awareness to stop AAPI hate.
Our Candidate Bilal Mahmood
The San Francisco Chronicle profiled Bilal Mahmood, GrowSF’s choice for California Assembly. The election is February 15 and voting by mail has already started.
Bilal Mahmood is tired of the status quo in San Francisco. “By every outcome in our city, a lot of elected leadership has failed,” Mahmood said.
Mahmood is a Stanford grad who researched at his alma mater’s medical school, founded a microlending nonprofit, worked for half a year in the Obama administration, and created an analytics startup that was acquired in 2020. He’s lived in the city since 2014
Read and share the GrowSF voter guide. And attend Bilal’s campaign rally TODAY (Saturday January 22) at Duboce Park from 11am to 3pm.
Urban Planning Gone Wrong
John King, the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for urban design, writes in the San Francisco Chronicle about the five sins of city planners in recent decades. Pedestrian bridges are at the top of the list.
Can Police Use Security Cameras During Emergencies?
Mayor Breed and progressive Supervisors are at odds over the use of live camera footage by police in emergencies.
The measure [introduced by Mayor Breed] would allow police to temporarily monitor live camera networks during critical events including looting, rioting, organized thefts, mass assaults and terrorist acts. Live surveillance could also take place in so-called “Public Safety Crisis Areas” such as open-air drug markets and neighborhoods that see a spike in violent crime over a two-week period.
In her statement, Breed said the measure would “give our law enforcement the tools they need, while also maintaining strong oversight and safeguards to ensure these tools are used appropriately to address dangerous criminal activity.”
- Michael Barba at the San Francisco Standard
But progressive supervisors are standing by a 2019 law, sponsored by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, that restricts the use of live video.
Now, voters will get to decide the fate of police surveillance in June.
The YIMBYs Are Starting To Win
SF resident and professional smart person Noah Smith writes about the growing influence of YIMBYs.
GrowSF has been a prominent advocate for building more housing in SF since day 1. We've always loved this city, and we want others to have the opportunity to enjoy it as well. Luckily, it looks like others across the country are agreeing with our message; backed with data, the tide is turning and YIMBY-proponents are wining the battle of public perception and policy. Encouraging news!
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Be a Smart Voter! Use the GrowSF Voter Guide
There’s an important special election on February 15 to recall the school board. If you live on the eastside of San Francisco, you’ll also get to pick a new Assemblymember to represent you at the state capitol.
GrowSF recommends you vote:
Recall Alison Collins
Recall Gabriela López
Recall Faauuga Moliga
Bilal Mahmood for California Assembly, District 17
Joaquín Torres for Assessor-Recorder
Your mail-in ballot should have arrived in your mailbox this week! Vote for change by reading and sharing the GrowSF voter guide.
Volunteer for Bilal Mahmood
Our endorsed candidate, Bilal Mahmood, needs your help to win! This is a great chance for first-time volunteers to get involved. Show up by 11am for morning refreshments and then break out for canvassing by 12:30. Bring a friend and do it together!
RSVP on mobilize.us, or just show up!
Time: January 22, 2022 at 11am
Location: Duboce Park
Get on the Bus to Recall the School Board
A big yellow school bus will take residents to City Hall on Sunday to drop off their ballots to recall the school board.
Get on board at Lowell High School
10:30am
Sunday January 23
1100 Eucalyptus
Bus arrives Lowell: 10:30am
Bus leaves Lowell: 11am
Bus arrives City Hall: 11:45am
Wear your school board recall t-shirts and buttons (they will also be provided). Bring your filled out ballot to drop off at City Hall.
Celebrate San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city. Here’s what makes it great:
Enjoy the Sunset
San Francisco sunsets have been spectacular recently, but why?
“First all, you have high pressure which causes any particles, such as pollution suspended in the air, to sink closer to the surface,” Jeff Lorber, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Saturday. This helps create those vivid colors because of the way the particles bend the rays of sunlight, Lorber said. “High-pressure” refers to air from higher in the atmosphere sinking down.
- San Francisco Examiner
Grab a blanket and enjoy the sights while they last!
Slow Streets a “Godsend” For Seniors
I’m a senior with mobility limitations due to arthritis who can’t walk long distances without joint pain. But now I use an electric bicycle to get around and can easily ride 20 miles or more in a day. And I do, joyfully— to medical appointments, grocery shopping, to run errands — mainly using Slow Streets.
I’m thrilled with this growing network; I never imagined I’d be riding an e-bike at all, much less at my age. And I’m not the only older or “differently-abled” person taking advantage of the opportunity Slow Streets have given us. At a rally to support keeping John F. Kennedy Drive closed to car traffic, I met another senior using an electronic seated scooter. She told me Slow Streets are smoother and easier to navigate than sidewalks and offer her more safety because there is greater visibility in all directions.
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Topical Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
The first victory from Mayor Breed’s Tenderloin emergency declaration is a new center to help people in need.
London Breed @LondonBreed
Today we opened the Tenderloin Linkage Center, which provides access to immediate resources and connections to shelter, treatment, and other care that people need. People can drop in or be brought by our outreach workers rather than remaining on the street. https://t.co/8w1XsgS7o3