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Associated Students Council Hosts Mayoral Debate Watch Party to Encourage Civic Engagement 

By Kyra Young

kyrajyoung@gmail.com

 

The Associated Students Council of Ocean Campus (ASCO) hosted a watch party for San Francisco’s televised mayoral debate on Thursday night in the Multi-Use Building to encourage greater political awareness and engagement as election season quickly approaches.

The Asian Pacific American Community Center hosted alongside the ASCO, with a table displaying poll worker opportunity forms, information for both San Francisco and California’s ballot measures, ranked-choice voting information and voter registration forms. Stickers and pop-it fidget toys were also up for grabs.

Accompanying the ASCO’s table sat Vice President of Finance Tiffany Liao, along with senators Isabella Hui and Lilia Lei. 

“Our main purpose of this event was to educate voters on the mayoral candidates and get students more involved, because there can be a bit of a disconnect with young voters – especially with local policies and elections,” said Liao. “With elections coming up, we wanted to bring people together, encourage more voting and make sure people are registered and ready to vote in November.”

San Francisco mayoral candidates (from left) Ahsha Safaí, Daniel Lurie, Mayor London Breed, former Mayor Mark Farrell, and Aaron Peskin participate in a debate at KQED in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, moderated by KQED politics reporters Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Joe Garofoli. (Beth LaBerge/KQED, Pool)

Alongside ASCO members in the audience sat Hing Potter, the ASCO’s Advisor and City College’s Assistant Director of Student Life and Leadership, who emphasized the importance of the council’s efforts to encourage civic development. 

“It’s important our students learn about civic engagement opportunities as a voter – and if you’re unable to vote, even just as a resident of the area – to learn about the issues that impact the region and city, as well as the candidates and what their positions are,” Potter said. “And what a better place to do that than in a college environment.”

Visitors were warmly welcomed by members of the ASCO and encouraged to grab informational flyers from both tables, as well as a meat or vegetarian burrito, with a side of salsa verde and a beverage. Soon the small crowd of participants took their seats to tune in to the evening’s main event.

The hour-long debate, co-presented by KQED and The San Francisco Chronicle, provided voters the opportunity to hear directly from the five major candidates as the city approaches its first mayoral election since before the pandemic. Hosted at KQED’s Mission District event space, the evening was moderated by Chronicle senior political writer Joe Garofoli, alongside KQED political reporters Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer. 

The five leading candidates who took the stage included incumbent Mayor London Breed, who has served for the city since 2018; former Interim Mayor and former District 2 Supervisor Mark Ferrell; District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí; non-profit executive Daniel Lurie; and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. 

Each candidate was given a minute to respond to the moderators’ questions, touching on a range of pressing, contentious issues central to this election: crime, homelessness and encampments, housing, public safety, downtown revitalization and police staffing.

The debate took off hot, with Breed as a target from the start and Farrell calling her out at his first opportunity to speak. “It’s nice to see Mayor Breed finally at a debate after she’s been ducking them for the past two weeks,” Farrell quipped, claiming “no mayor has overseen a steeper decline in our city’s history than London Breed.” 

But throughout the debate, Breed consistently stood by her claim that crime in the city under her leadership has been “the lowest it has been in over a decade.” Breed also held her experience leading the city through the pandemic at the forefront of her arguments, asserting herself as battle-tested and emphasizing San Francisco’s need for a mayor who did not require “on-the-job training.” 

Safaí, however, had different thoughts on Breed’s claims. “You know what bothers me most listening to the mayor? To consistently tell people crime is down is gaslighting,” Safaí said. “Crime is happening at a brazen level. Crime statistically might be down, but property crime is not, and that’s what makes people the angriest: to hear that crime is down and things are getting better.”

Meanwhile, Peskin argued he was the “only candidate on the stage who had consistently done the work around public corruption,” and fired at Lurie’s reputation for using charity funds on lavish events: “Is that the kind of mayor you’re going to be?” 

Despite a number of shots at his lack of political experience and relative employment, Lurie confidently stood by his “if-elected” promises to the city, as well as the work that has been done around the city by his non-profit, Tipping Point. “We raised over $500 million to tackle issues of housing, homelessness and early childhood education. We have such a better track record of getting things done than these city hall insiders,” Lurie said.

Moderators also questioned candidates on topics like the police budget and first-responder staffing; state housing laws; Breed’s leadership through the Covid crisis, the city’s reopening and recovery; the L-Taraval train project; candidates’ individual campaign funding and proposals; and their own personal lives. 

Candidates had the opportunity to make closing statements at the end of the debate, leaving viewers with lots to consider as election day rapidly approaches. 

Harry Bernstein, a professor in the music department who has been with City College since 2000, was disappointed in the absence of discourse around the proposed changes to the Free City College program.

“Mayor Breed is not a friend of City College by almost any decision she has made, and I don’t trust her statistics as people have rightly complained about conditions deteriorating,” Bernstein said. “I’m disappointed that two things that directly impact the college – the Free City funding proposals and the bike lane project on Frida Kahlo Way, like all the other projects in the city that have impacted businesses without regard to safety – failed to be brought up.”

In closing the evening, Potter reflected on the value of organizing events such as these that uphold and encourage the development of a student’s engagement in society. “I think that, as part of a student’s leadership and professional development comes civic development as well, and learning not just how to be a local citizen, but also a global citizen,” reflected Potter on the ASOC’s event. “So my office – the Office of Student Life and Leadership – we try to incorporate that into our experiential learning practices that can compliment someone’s academic experiences as well.” 

The city’s rank-choice election will take place on Nov. 5, the first since 2018 when Breed was elected into her official full term in office as the 45th Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. Voters will have the chance to rank up to 10 candidates in order of preference, a method San Francisco voters have used to fill most local offices since 2004. 

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