Chris Daly
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Chris Daly is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He represents District 6, encompassing the Civic Center, South of Market district and the northern half of the Mission District (known as Inner Mission). He was elected to the Board in 2000 and re-elected in 2002. He plans to stand for re-election in 2006, taking advantage of a legal exception granted by the City Attorney in recognition of having only served two years in his first term. Incumbent Sophie Maxwell is also entitled to the same exception.
Background
A Maryland native, Daly moved to San Francisco during the dot-com boom of the 1990s, having dropped out of Duke University in favor of a career in community organizing. He worked for the NGO "Empty the Shelters" in Philadelphia and in San Francisco. He then entered the world of politics as a housing rights advocate. He was a co-founder of the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition, a community group dedicated to fighting the perceived displacement of poor people in the Mission District caused by gentrification.Daly's election to the Board of Supervisors came in the aftermath of a return to district-based elections, and he was a part of a group of self-proclaimed progressive supervisors that included Jake McGoldrick and Matt Gonzalez.
Political career
Housing and Homelessness
Daly's legislative record has been focused primarily on housing development and homelessness. He has had a significant impact upon city development policy, as his district includes the majority of land zones that have been slated for expanded residential development by recent administrations. He worked to block residential development that failed to meet his criteria for affordable housing exceptions.Daly has also sponsored legislation to help low-income tenants of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) residential hotels, many of whom are located in his district. Specifically, Daly sponsored the Uniform Visitor Policy (which banned the practice of hotels charging "visitor fees") and a Sprinkler Ordinance that requires all SRO hotels to have a sprinkler system installed in each room to prevent fires. Daly's advocacy for SRO tenants has prompted Supervisor Sophie Maxwell to call him "the conscience of the Board of Supervisors."
Most recently, Daly negotiated a planned development on Rincon Hill, where the developer was allowed to build above the zoning limit in exchanged for a higher percentage of affordable housing units, and payment to various community organizations [link]. While criticized by some for being a "back-room deal," this proposal was lauded by others as an example of getting more affordable housing built beyond the minimum legal requirements.
Critics of Daly allege that his actions actually impede the supply of market-rate housing. They say that his policies keep market pressures on stocks of rent-controlled housing, and in so doing his policies actually raise rents.
Combative Demeanor
Daly has been criticized for his combative demeanor, both toward colleagues and constituents. In 2001, he nearly came to blows with Mayor Willie Brown after Brown was upset that Daly had brought homeless activists to meet with him in what was supposed to be a "private" meeting. Asked for an apology, Daly replied that, "I will apologize that I was lured into the mayor's finger-pointing politics." In November 2004, fellow supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier lodged a petition for censure against Daly after he told a landlord advocate to "fuck off" at a tenants' rights hearing. The petition failed by a vote of 8-2. In 2001, Daly famously told his colleagues at a supervisors' meeting, "I'm not feeling the love," when they rejected his proposals for balancing the budget.In 2003, while serving as acting mayor while Mayor Willie Brown traveled in Tibet, Daly appointed two anti-Brown members to the Public Utilities Commission. After an outcry, one appointment was rescinded, although the other stayed. Mayor Brown damned the move as "clearly is a conspiracy to, in one manner or another, move away from the traditions, the rules, the customs and the conduct that has been the hallmark of this city, long before I became mayor of this city." But Daly said by way of explanation for his actions, "I'm an activist. I had an opportunity, and I took it." [link]
While Brown's allies roundly criticized Daly for this incident, the act was admired by others, including supervisor Aaron Peskin. [link] Adam Werbach, one of Daly's appointees, is the former 23-year old national president of the Sierra Club who had written a book called "Act Now, Apologize Later."
Resolution calling for Bush's impeachment
In March 2006, Daly introduced a resolution that was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors 7-3 asking the city's congressional delegation to pursue impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Richard Cheney. [link]
Daly is married, and has a son.
External links
- [San Francisco City Government profile page]
- [Supervisor Chris Daly's Daly blog]
- [Doublespeak with Forked Tongue: When Dealing with Chris Daly and His Political Objectives, It's Best to Leave Reality Behind], by Matt Smith. SF Weekly, May 4, 2006.
- [Cuss and conquer: A more polite, nuanced approach might prove more effective for Supervisor Chris Daly, by Matt Palmquist]
- [Progresive Failure: Why San Francisco Supervisors Who Call Themselves Progressives Should Get the Boot in November]
- [Brown Cries Political Foul: He calls Daly's move to make PUC appointments unethical]
- [SF Sentinel Letters]
- [San Francisco Bay Guardian: Nobody but Chris Daly]
- [Daly’s Resolution Calling for Support of HR 4232 Passes 8-2]
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