SFist Interview: Renee Saucedo

Name:
Renee Saucedo

Introduce yourself in one sentence:
I'm a woman who is inspired by struggling people to do everything I can for social and economic justice.

Age and Occupation:
40, Civil Rights Lawyer/Community Organizer

Home Town:
San Francisco native.

How long have you lived in the Bay Area and Where:
I have lived in the Bay Area my entire life except for a few years in my childhood when I lived in Mexico City.  I've lived in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Saratoga. 

Favorite website:
I don't have one.

Favorite dot com or local business:
Yo Yo's Sushi 

What I'm currently Reading:
Biography of Ella Baker

Best Deal in San Francisco:
Sunday mornings in Golden Gate Park

Favorite mode of transportation:
Walking, my beat-up VW, bike.

Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area:
Francisco Herrera

Favorite local hangout:
24th and Mission.  I love watching people go by.

SF has the BEST:
People.

You've never lived in SF until:
You've become involved in city politics. 

Favorite Bay area politician of past or present:
Matt Gonzalez

You can tell someone is a local here IF:
They know about the on-leash/off-leash debate.

SF would be soooo much better if only:
It built enough dignified, affordable housing.

Best Burrito:
La Cumbre, of course.

Best Restaurant:
Panchita's

Best movie scene filmed in or about SF:
48 Hours

I want all the SFists out there to know:
We can make our city affordable!

Tell us a San Francisco Story:
My grandparents arrived in San Francisco in the 1920's from Mexico and settled in the Mission District.  My dad, born and raised here, would go to the St. Francis Creamery on 24th St. for ice cream.  The St. Francis is one of my favorite places for food.

Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview:
What do you like to do in your spare time?

Special Election Week Grilling of the Candidates:

We live in the district and actually waved as you rode by on your bike - twice! As you know, Potrero is an easy climb on a commute north or south, and would be a great biking corridor. Our neighborhood around Potrero is plagued by speeding drivers. What would you do curb pedestrian accidents in the ninth district and give people incentive to use bicycles instead of cars?

I wholeheartedly support, and would ensure the implementation of, the Pedestrian's Protection Law which requires:

--countdown crossing signals at all pedestrian crosswalks;

--enforcement of sidewalk and setback violations and ensures fines and penalties;

--ADA compliant curb cuts;

--ladder striped crosswalks at all intersections near schools;

create corner bulb outs on heavy traffic and transit corridors;

--blue spaces and taxi spaces where there's housing for seniors and for disabled.

A few specific actions I will take include:

--placing speed bumps on Ellsworth St. that runs through the Alemany Public Housing complex;

--installing a traffic light close to the Alemany freeway exit;

--plaing pedestrian crossings near the Bernal Dwellings complex;

--more signage, traffic lights, and stop signs along Cesar Chavez St. and the dangerous intersections in St. Mary's Park and the Portola area.

I support having an official City goal that by 2010, 10% of commute trips are made by bike.  I will push the Municipal Transit Authority (MTA) to incorporate the Citywide Bike Network into its plan.  Finally, I will support the creation of "bicycle boulevards" and the creation of more bike lanes in District 9 (please let me know if you have specific ideas as far as bike lanes in Portola).

You've been endorsed by Matt Gonzalez. We were so charmed by him, and are a little disappointed that he's returning to the private sector. But we feel he served an important role as President of the Board of Supervisors. Would you consider yourself a candidate to replace Supervisor Gonzalez as President of the Board if you are elected Supervisor?

I'm very proud to be running for Supervisor with Matt's support.  I've worked with him over the years on issues such as increasing the minimum wage and on immigrant rights issues, to name a few.  My goal as Supervisor will be to address the needs of the District and to give a voice to people who currently don't feel represented.  I don't particularly aspire to be President of the Board.

We are recent immigrants to the Mission, but we are long time citizens. Many neighbors don't have many of the same privileges that we do as citizens, but have been living on the block longer than us. How do you feel that you are especially qualified to represent -all- the emmigrants to the Mission?

As you may know, I've worked on immigrant rights issues, and have been a leader in the immigrant rights movement, for the past 15 years.  I've worked as a staff attorney at La Raza Centro Legal, the SF Day Labor Program, and as the Executive Director of the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights.  I helped create the SF Immigrant Rights Commission and served as its first Chair for four years. I have helped spearhead almost every immigrant-related legislation or policy in the city, from housing subsidies to non-citizens in Public Housing to having San Francisco be declared an "INS Raid-free Zone." My main focus has been working with low-income, undocumented workers and have been part of countless workers' rights campaigns. The majority of people working on my campaign are low-income, undocumented immigrants.

We've run into Peter Camejo at 111 Minna and Matt Gonzalez at Zeitgeist - so we're no slouches when it comes to hanging with the Green party. That said, we're a little disappointed in Ralph Nader's campaign. Do you feel that he has a future as a Green?

I think the Green Party is very upset at Nader right now for running independently from the Party.  But who knows!  Electoral politics is such a funny, unpredictable realm!