Ahsha Safaí

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]

Ahsha Safaí
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from the 11th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2017
Preceded byJohn Avalos
Personal details
Born1973 (age 49–50)
Iran
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNortheastern University (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
WebsiteGovernment website

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

Safaí was born in Iran in 1973, and moved with his mother to Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of five.[3] He attended Northeastern University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science and African-American studies. He later went on to receive his master's degree in city planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[4]

In San Francisco, Safaí served as political director for the janitors union local.[5]

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

In 2008, he ran for the District 11 seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors against John Avalos, losing by a close margin.[6] Safaí ran again in 2016, successfully, replacing Avalos who was termed out of office.[6] During the 2016 race, he ran against Kimberly Alvarenga; Safaí was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle.[5]

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 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.[11]

In May 2023, Safaí filed to run in the 2024 San Francisco mayoral election, challenging incumbent London Breed.[12]

Personal life

Safaí, his wife Yadira, and their children live in San Francisco's Excelsior District.[4]

References
  1. "District 11 | Board of Supervisors". sfbos.org.
  2. Saleem, Sana (January 31, 2017). "Sup. Ahsha Safaí introduces resolution against Trump's so-called Muslim Ban". 48 Hills. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  3. "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.
  4. "About". Ahsha Safaí for District 11 Supervisor. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  5. "Chronicle endorses Ahsha Safaí for SF District 11 supervisor". San Francisco Chronicle. September 16, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  6. "The Union Workhorse – Ahsha Safai, Excelsior". Bay City Beacon. January 3, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Gaus, Annie; Ege, Mike (May 8, 2023). "Mayor London Breed Gets a Reelection Challenger". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
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