SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin joins crowded field to run for mayor
SF mayoral race: Peskin says hes the only liberal, progressive candidate
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin is joining an already crowded field of candidates running for mayor. KTVUs Amber Lee sat down with the board president for a one-on-one interview. He says hes the only candidate in the race running as a liberal and a progressive.
SAN FRANCISCO -
San Francisco supervisor Aaron Peskin is joining an already crowded field of candidates running for mayor.
On Thursday, he prepared the paperwork he needed to file for candidacy at his personal office in the North Beach neighborhood which he represents.
He sat down for a one-on-one interview about why he could help the city as mayor.
Peskin said San Francisco is struggling, and he can lead the city to recovery.
"I believe I am the supervisor who knows how and I want to be the mayor of the city who knows how again," said Peskin.
He has served as supervisor for 17 years, and he is currently president of the board.
"I am the only person running in this campaign that is running as a liberal and a progressive," Peskin said progressive values are San Francisco values, using government to take care of people.
He said he will harness his experience as a policymaker and his recovery from alcoholism to help the city tackle homelessness, the fentanyl crisis and affordable housing.
"I have been a proponent of getting rid of single family housing and replacing them with fourplexes," Peskin answered critics who said he's anti-housing because of his controversial legislation that limits the height of new buildings in specific areas of the city.
Peskin said his legislation preserves the character of historic neighborhoods and that his vision was shared by many members the board.
"We do not need to destroy our neighborhoods in order to grow and provide more housing. We're smarter than that," said Peskin,"And that's precisely why the board saw fit by a super majority to override the mayor's veto."
When asked about how he'll address many voters' number one concern about crime and public safety, Peskin said,"I would like to propose and have discussed with leading academic institutions is a schools to police officer pipeline where individuals can be trained in an academic setting."
Peskin said he's in discussions with the University of San Francisco.
He said he loves the city,"I want to make San Francisco magical again."
Peskin plans to go to the Department of Elections at City Hall on Friday to file the papers to run for mayor.
He will make his official announcement on Saturday at Portsmouth Square in Chinatown.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.