by Supervisor Danny Sauter
It is a great honor to write to you as your District 3 Supervisor. In the years ahead, I look forward to keeping in touch regularly here thanks to Telegraph Hill Dwellers and The Semaphore, a timeless and invaluable publication.
My background is rooted in District 3’s neighborhoods, with a special affinity for North Beach and Telegraph Hill. I’ve been a resident of our neighborhood for 11 years. Neighborhood organizing in North Beach is what set me on my path to City Hall. I have served on the board of North Beach Neighbors, including time as President. During the pandemic, I joined with neighbors to start a free delivery program called North Beach Delivers that supported more than 40 restaurants. And it has been a cherished experience to work closely with your President Nick Ferris over the past eight years to start and run the North Beach Farmers Market.
As I look across District 3, I see tremendous opportunities. Our storied District 3 neighborhoods, from North Beach to Nob Hill, Chinatown to Russian Hill, Union Square to the Financial District, the Barbary Coast to Fisherman’s Wharf, have an outsized impact on our city and are often the face of San Francisco to visitors from around the world. We can support our incredible neighborhood merchants by lowering barriers to run small businesses and fill up our empty storefronts. We can reimagine downtown by welcoming more residents, and we can bring new attractions to Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf. And we can improve daily life in our neighborhoods by ensuring our streets are always clean and safe, our schools are open and thriving, and core Muni lines provide frequent, reliable transit service.
To be sure, San Francisco has serious challenges. Our reputation has taken a bruising on a global stage, and we have much work to do to restore the damage done by headlines, some exaggerated but many warranted. Our budget shortfall will force us to make difficult decisions and live within our means. And, decades of ignoring our housing shortage threaten to make life more difficult and expensive for vulnerable renters and young families.
Despite these obstacles, I remain committed to San Francisco, and I know our neighbors do, too. I knocked on more than 12,000 doors during the campaign and had the chance to hear from many of you. I listened to many hopes, dreams, and frustrations expressed. Above all, I heard a mandate to play a strong role in restoring residents’ faith and trust in our government. This is a monumental task, but I strongly believe we can make progress in ways large and small.
I hope to build on the work that former Supervisor Peskin did to always recognize our district as a coalition of neighborhoods with unique needs and responsibilities. My team recently had the chance to meet with his staff to ensure ongoing projects and constituent matters are transitioned without any interruption.
The work ahead will take contributions from all of us. I invite you to engage with our office. We’re happy to welcome you to Room 260 in City Hall, or to meet you in the neighborhood for coffee. You may reach us by email at SauterStaff@sfgov.org.
See you in the neighborhood,
Danny Sauter