On Wednesday, District 1 Supervisor Sandra Fewer publicly announced that she will not run for re-election in the 2020 Fall election.
Fewer won her Supervisor seat in November 2016, earning just under 40% of the vote.
Prior to taking office as District 1 Supervisor, Fewer served as PTA President for 12 terms at Richmond District public schools, and served as a Commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2008 to 2016. In 2010, she was also elected to the San Francisco Democratic Party and served for two years.
Fewer and her family have lived in the Richmond District for over 50 years.
“It has been a demanding job,” Fewer told The Examiner this week. “It has been all-encompassing.”
It is with heartfelt appreciation that I share that I will not be running for reelection as District 1 Supervisor. I’ll be making the most of my last year, but today just feeling grateful for the opportunity to serve. It’s been an honor, Richmond District.https://t.co/KdNFeGJQHK
— Sandra Lee Fewer (@SandraLeeFewer) January 15, 2020
During her 3 years in office, Fewer has served as the Chair of the Finance & Budget Committee, and is a member of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
Fewer has spearheaded several initiatives in the Richmond District to address tenants rights, small businesses, neighborhood blight and cleanliness, as well as infrastructure improvements.
Our blog worked with Supervisor Fewer twice on #FewerPotholes campaigns, where after residents reported potholes, SFDPW dedicated a crew to repair them. In the first campaign in 2017, 368 potholes were repaired in the Richmond District in just one month.
Fewer has also focused on affordable housing initiatives. Most recently, she helped the Small Sites Program acquire a 12-unit building on 3rd Avenue, offering protections to the existing tenants.
“We hope to keep more people in their homes in the Richmond, and keep our residents stable here. 65% of my neighbors are renters. They are vulnerable in this housing market,” said Supervisor Sandra Fewer.
Fewer also focused on the problem of commercial vacancies in the Richmond District, and citywide. In 2017 she launched a #FewerVacancies campaign to enlist D1 residents to report commercial vacancies after being told by the City that “the Richmond District has none”. That was far from reality – residents identified over 150 commercial vacancies in the April 2017 effort.
Fewer built on that campaign and introduced legislation to improve the accuracy of the city’s vacant storefront registry in an effort to make landlords more accountable.
The legislation was approved by the Board of Supervisors in March 2019, and it requires landlords to register their vacant storefronts within 30 days and pay a fee; if they don’t, they’ll be penalized with a $2,844 non-registration fee. They’ll also need to conduct annual building inspections to keep their buildings fit for occupancy.
“When you have commercial property owners holding multiple storefronts vacant for long periods of time, that hurts all the other small businesses in the area who rely on a vibrant commercial corridor to attract customers,” said Supervisor Fewer. “The enforcement mechanisms in this legislation are vital to addressing our vacancy problem head on and complement ongoing efforts to streamline permitting and increase retail flexibility so our small businesses can thrive.”
Fewer also created “One Richmond“, a neighborhood campaign designed to strengthen a collective identity for the neighborhood that promotes the values of inclusiveness, compassion, community pride and shopping local. Some small businesses display the One Richmond sticker in their windows, and Fewer’s office has helped organize annual One Richmond neighborhood gatherings.
One of our favorite things that Fewer accomplished early in her term was seemingly simple but not: returning garbage cans to Ocean Beach. After the National Park Service / GGNRA decided everyone should pack out their trash, Fewer helped restore garbage cans to the area to reduce the littering that increased after the NPS decision.
When we spoke to Supervisor Fewer today, she said her future plans will include continuing to volunteer in the neighborhood. She told the Examiner she will try to do a “One Richmond” act each day.
She also told the Examiner that she may find service on a city commission in the future.
“Noting the lack of Chinese representation in city commissions, an issue often raised in Chinese-language press, Fewer said she would serve on important city commissions should a need arise, including the Police Commission.”
Her last day in office will be January 8, 2021. We thank her for her dedication to improving our neighborhood, and we look forward to seeing what more she can accomplish in her last year.
Sarah B.
