Ahsha Safaí
Ahsha Safaí | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 11th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | John Avalos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1973 (age 50–51) Iran |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Northeastern University (BA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS) |
| Website | Government website |
Ahsha Safaí (born 1973) is an Iranian-American elected official in San Francisco, California. He serves as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing Supervisorial District 11.[1][2]
District 11 includes the neighborhoods of Excelsior, Ingleside, Oceanview, Merced Heights, Ingleside Heights, Mission Terrace, Outer Mission, Cayuga, and Crocker Amazon.
Early life, education and career
[edit]Safaí was born in Iran in 1973, and moved with his mother to Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of five.[3]
In San Francisco, Safaí served as political director for the janitors union local.[4]
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
[edit]In 2008, he ran for the District 11 seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors against John Avalos, losing by a close margin.[5] Safaí ran again in 2016, successfully, replacing Avalos who was termed out of office.[5] During the 2016 race, he ran against Kimberly Alvarenga; Safaí was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle.[4]
In April 2022, Safaí voted against keeping cars off the east end of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park. The ordinance passed 7–4.[6]
Actions on housing
[edit]He worked with Supervisors Dean Preston and Aaron Peskin to delay the construction of thousands of housing units in the Hub so that TODCO, a low-income housing non-profit in San Francisco, could perform a race and equity study on the project within six months.[7] More than two years later, TODCO had not begun the study and the group said it had no intent to do so.[8]
In 2021, Safaí said he would oppose the building of modular housing for the homeless in San Francisco unless it used labor from San Francisco; a Vallejo company had up until then provided modular housing complexes faster and cheaper than other companies could.[9] In 2021, Safaí supported a proposal by Mayor London Breed to streamline housing production in San Francisco.[10]
In 2024, Safaí voted to downzone San Francisco’s Northern Waterfront, reducing the amount and density of housing that could be permitted in the area.[11]
2024 San Francisco mayoral election
[edit]In May 2023, Safaí filed to run in the 2024 San Francisco mayoral election, challenging incumbent London Breed.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Safaí, his wife Yadira, and their children live in San Francisco's Excelsior District.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "District 11 | Board of Supervisors". sfbos.org.
- ^ Saleem, Sana (January 31, 2017). "Sup. Ahsha Safaí introduces resolution against Trump's so-called Muslim Ban". 48 Hills. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ "Candidate San Francisco Board of Supervisors – District 11". Iranian American Political Action Committee. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Chronicle endorses Ahsha Safaí for SF District 11 supervisor". San Francisco Chronicle. September 16, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Union Workhorse – Ahsha Safai, Excelsior". Bay City Beacon. January 3, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Morris, J. D. (April 26, 2022). "Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive will stay permanently car-free after S.F. supes vote following marathon meeting". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ Knight, Heather (November 6, 2021). "S.F. Supervisor Dean Preston invited YIMBYs to look at his housing record. They panned it". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- ^ Knight, Heather (August 31, 2022). "The latest S.F. housing failure: Thousands of units delayed for a study that never happened". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- ^ Knight, Heather (March 20, 2021). "S.F. finds a way to build homeless housing cheaper and faster. A powerful opponent is fighting it". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ Dineen, J. K. (December 16, 2021). "Mayor Breed wants to streamline housing production, but will S.F. supervisors approve it?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "San Francisco mayor's veto of housing bill gets overturned". The San Francisco Standard. March 26, 2024.
- ^ Gaus, Annie; Ege, Mike (May 8, 2023). "Mayor London Breed Gets a Reelection Challenger". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ "About". Ahsha Safaí for District 11 Supervisor. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
External links
[edit]
Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
President: Shamann Walton | |||
 |  | ||
See also: San Francisco City Hall • Government of San Francisco | |||
- 1973 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American politicians of Iranian descent
- City council members of Asian descent
- California Democrats
- Iranian emigrants to the United States
- Living people
- MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni
- Northeastern University alumni
- Politicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors members
- Politicians from San Francisco
- Candidates in the 2024 United States elections