UPDATE: Election Endorsements From the SF Building Trades (The Final Cut)

An annotated guide for building trades members who want to cast a solid ballot for labor

THIS LIST of endorsed candidates and measures is the result of careful deliberation by the officers of the SF Building and Construction Trades Council. To arrive at these endorsements, officers convened for Committee for Political Education (COPE) meetings; consulted other state and local labor federations, councils, and unions; and considered which candidates and measures would result in the best outcome for labor broadly and for construction trades workers specifically.

Each candidate and measure presented here includes a note from SF Building Trades Council Secretary–Treasurer (ST) Rudy Gonzalez. His commentary is included to provide a building trades perspective for readers as they consider the people and the issues they’ll be voting on.

This list is complete and final as of October 15.

Remember to vote on or before Tuesday, November 3.

• California Constitutional Candidates

  Governor: Xavier Becerra
  ST note: Becerra worked in the field as a LIUNA member. His father is a construction laborer.

  Lieutenant Governor: Fiona Ma
  ST note: Ma is a longtime ally and friend of labor from the City.

  Attorney General: Rob Bonta
  ST note: Bonta has proven he’s got the guts and the focus to take on exploitative employers, including rat contractors who cheat their workers and communities.

  Controller: Malia Cohen
  ST note: Cohen is another friend of labor from San Francisco. As controller, she’ll also chair the State Lands Commission.

  Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis
  ST note: Some statewide trades were hesitant to endorse Kounalakis, but we San Franciscans know who our friends are. She has served our state well and supported our efforts to bring fairness to the UC system with PLAs and in-house contracts.

  Secretary of State: Shirley Weber
  ST note: At a time when elections and voter access are under increased fire, Weber’s office is running efficiently and with the utmost integrity. Let’s keep her in the seat.

• United States House of Representatives

  CA’s 11th Congressional District: Connie Chan
  ST note: Endorsed by the Cal Labor Fed, the SF Labor Council, and the SF Building Trades Council, Chan supports skilled-and-trained labor standards — and does so unapologetically. It’s time to send a real labor Democrat to D.C. for a change.

  CA’s 15th Congressional District: Kevin Mullin
  ST note: Mullin remained a friend of labor during his time in the state legislature. He now represents part of San Francisco in California’s 15th congressional district. He deserves to retain his seat.

• San Francisco Board of Supervisors

  District 2: Stephen Sherrill
  ST note: Sherrill, who is running unopposed, has shown himself to be thoughtful and focused through legislative negotiations. Let’s help him grow in his current role.

  District 4: Alan Wong
  ST note: We held off on endorsing Wong during his special election because he hesitated to sign on to prevailing wage legislation sponsored by Laborers Local 261 and supported by this council. Ultimately, he came around and co-sponsored it. Let’s show him we noticed.

  District 6: Matt Dorsey
  ST note: While Dorsey’s primary focus has been on public safety and sober living, we have many big projects in the pipeline in his district. He’s supported every one of them.

  District 8: Gary McCoy
  ST note: McCoy, a longtime Pelosi aide, has the skills and the experience to bring people together and get things done. We have gotten to know him on and off the job and found him to be a solid and principled candidate.

  District 10: Theo Ellington (No. 1), JR Eppler (No. 2), and DJ Brookter (No. 3)
  ST note: Ranked-choice voting — sigh.

  1. Ellington is a nonprofit executive and former city commissioner.

  2. Eppler is an attorney serving small businesses and nonprofits.

  3. Brookter is a nonprofit executive working on behalf of Bayview communities.

• San Francisco Local Officers

  Assessor-Recorder: Joaquín Torres
  ST note: Keep an eye on the son of our old friend Art Torres. Joaquín Torres is charismatic and on the move. The office itself is a rather sleepy one, but we see big things coming.

  Public Defender: Manohar Raju
  ST note: When our members face the criminal justice system, we want someone in our corner who understands the struggles of working-class tradespeople. Raju gets it. I trust him to protect the most vulnerable.

  BART Board, District 8: Sara Barz
  ST note: Barz is a transportation planner who has served on the SF County Transportation Authority Community Advisory Committee. She appears to be a qualified candidate in this uncompetitive race.

  Board of Education: Reina Tello, Ryan Hazelton, Virginia Cheung

  Community College Board: Jeremy Lee, Bunny McFadden, Leah LaCroix

• Local Ballot Measures

  Measure A:
  Charter Changes Affecting Various City Departments and Commissions
  
  ST note: These changes total nearly 140 pages of “cleanup,” but the devil is always in the details. Some changes are simple updates to the charter. Others, such as the removal of qualifications for certain commission seats and eliminating some commissions like the Sanitation and Streets and Public Works commissions, have raised eyebrows. No council-affiliated union felt strongly, so we’re taking no position on Measure A.

  • No position on Measure A

  Measure B:
  Establishing a Municipal Finance Corporation and a Public Bank

  ST note: This is a clever and timely measure to establish a municipal bank that can finance infrastructure and projects when traditional banks don’t see a high enough return on investment. Measure B doesn’t create new taxes, and it won’t cost us any money. What it will do is give us an option for the future. This council has met with the coalition behind this measure, and they’ve agreed that funding for projects should have labor standards — just like how the AFL–CIO Housing Investment Trust operates.

  • YES on Measure B

  Measure C:
  Contributions to the Housing Fund

  ST note: Measure C was part of a deal negotiated to lower the inclusionary housing percentage and unlock stalled projects. That would start to fund affordable housing. So, we’re working with the mayor and supervisors to win this important measure because we all know that affordable housing doesn’t get built without money.

  • YES on Measure C

  Measure D:
  Changes to Ballot Measure Process

  ST notes: We negotiated with the mayor’s team on Measure D, as did other labor unions. In the end, we respectfully agreed to disagree with the timing and threshold that would be required for the public to place a measure on future ballots.

  • No position on Measure D

  Measure E:
  City Administrator’s Authority and Changes to City Contracting

  ST note: We negotiated to ensure that the City’s legislative branch — the Board of Supervisors — would retain its authority to regulate important issues such as prevailing wages, minimum compensation ordinances, healthcare, and project labor agreements. We got what we needed and appreciate City Administrator Carmen Chu’s cooperation along the way. Time will tell if this makes San Francisco run better. Let’s support the negotiated agreement that became Prop E.

  • YES on Measure E

  Measure F:
  Changes to Executive Branch Management

  ST note: The mayor wants the right to hire and fire department heads and restructure city departments. Most San Franciscans probably thought he already had this power. We retain our rights to bargain the effects of departmental changes for our public-sector members.

  • YES on Measure F

  Measure G:
  Allowing Private Vehicles on the Great Highway in Sunset Dunes Park

  ST notes: It’s baaack! This compromise would reopen the road during weekdays and close it on weekends. I’ve heard from small businesses and plenty of working-class people on the west side. They want compromise. It’s their neighborhood. Let them have it.

  • YES on Measure G

  Measure H:
  Parcel Tax to Fund Public Muni Operations

  ST note: I loathe a tax that sticks it to the working stiff, and part of me is still upset that former mayor London Breed failed to win Prop A in 2022. We’re still making up for that loss. But the fact is that without a funded Muni, our downtown recovery will not only stall — it’ll go into complete freefall, and whatever work has returned for our trades will be decimated. Vote yes on Measure H.

  • YES on Measure H

  Measure I:
  Changes to Real Property Transfer Tax

  ST note: This tax, which was originally intended to pay for housing, is a volatile funding mechanism subject to mayoral spending. This council opposed Prop I in 2020 due to fears that it would negatively impact jobs for our trades. Six years later, developers continue to make that case. Now, this measure, ironically also on the ballot as Prop I, sets aside the existing revenue and dedicates it. That means essential city services cannot be funded from it, which is raising alarms with our public-sector members. IBEW Local 6 Business Manager John Doherty is the co-chair of the “No on I” committee. You know what to do.

  • NO on Measure I

  Measure J:
  Removal of Foreclosure Tax Exemption for Real Property Transfer Tax

  ST note: We could never have anticipated that the real estate market would take such a turn and that high-rise buildings would be surrendered to the banks. Measure J closes a loophole that allows them to escape the current tax structure. I’d hoped that this would pay for a corresponding reduction for our megaprojects, but for now, let’s support and keep resources flowing to the City for clean and safe streets.

  • YES on Measure J

  Measure RTM:
  Public Transit Revenue Measure District Proposition

  ST note: SEIU wanted Measure RMT to be a business tax. State Sen. Scott Wiener and his corporate-donor pals collaborated to block that effort, though, and it ended up as a sales tax — so, another tax on the working class. Am I happy about it? Hell, no. Am I willing to make a compromise and vote for it? You bet. Even if you never use public transportation, you don’t want those who do forced onto the roads. The 5:30 a.m. commute is bad enough for our members who drive the work truck without all the tech boys jumping into their Teslas and making matters worse. Vote yes.

  • YES on Measure RTM

A condensed version of these endorsements is available here: