This elección has left me with a bitter taste

I am not a mainstream newspapers reader or TV viewer for many years, but even though I don’t trust them, to know more about the election, I went and read their stuff in an effort to learn some of the latest on the upcoming and then post election. I noticed that each of our daily newspapers and TV networks’ election coverage were far from being honest and fair.
Way before the election started, local mainstream media kept on spreading that Mayor Ed Lee had no opponents, while continuously belittling the five opposing candidates as no threat to the incumbent, when in fact Lee had a significant opposition, which included several candidates with more deep vision for the City and its residents than the Mayor’s!
But, then, if the dominant media is getting paid with significant advertising dollars to bang the name of Ed Lee day and night in the media (that most people watch and believe), then we know why Lee ‘had no opposition.’ No opposition in their media of course. The media decide who will be more visible.
Apart from purposely ignoring or not mentioning them enough (except their paid clients), they ignored big time the presence and the mayor’s opposition in the campaign for the Mayor’s throne.
A mayoral debate forum organized by the League of Women Voter, which was the only one out of three scheduled debates that Lee attended, seemed like the questions submitted by the attendees for the mayoral candidates were carefully picked as not to allow controversial issues to be asked that would embarrass the Mayor, like media mentions that the mayor was possibly involved in illegalities related to the mafia and gun running. This was now mentioned in the media in post election. Why now and not before the election?
This election was the most significant one in the latest history of the San Francisco’s Mission District, especially for Latinos.
An Oct. 28 report indicates that in 10 years, the Latino population in the Mission will drop from 48 percent to 31 percent.
The Save the Mission website states that for the last 70 years, the Mission has served as the epicenter of Latino life and culture in San Francisco. It is well documented in the press and in academic studies that this historically working-class neighborhood is being overrun by rampant gentrification. Since 2000, over 8,000 Latinos have been displaced and no longer make up the majority of residents in the neighborhood.
Most of the Latino-owned bars and restaurants in the Mission are no more, and with the recent advent of new market-value, luxury condos, which the current City administration has contributed to happen, rents have exorbitantly gone up as never before. Rents that only those making over $200k a years can afford. And the lack of building enough affordable housing has also contributed to this massive displacement Latinos and no Latinos.
This election had a historically voter turnout, according to housing advocates, and had some wins for affordable housing. Proposition A passed allocating $310 million bond for affordable housing. This is an important win for building more housing for low-income and middle-class individuals and families. However, nothing is free, with this, the powers to be just put more financial weight (taxes or confiscation of wealth) on the back of the working-class and the slowly-dying middle class. More debt for the people who can’t barely pay their current rents and support their families.
Proposition K, another cushion for the housing crisis, passed, making affordable homes the first priority for the re-use of public land. This is a significant win for using public resources to serve the needs of marginalized communities.
In other propositions in the ballot that would have helped minimized the housing crisis were rejected by the voters.
Proposition F failed. Voters rejected to limit and regulate Airbnb’s practices. While many housing activists organized to expose how Airbnb’s practices exacerbate the displacement crisis, Airbnb responded by spending over $8 million in its campaign against Prop F. Neighborhood and tenant groups now hope to bring the enforcement and regulation of short-term rentals to the Board of Supervisors.
Proposition I failed. Voters rejected to pause luxury-housing construction in the Mission District for 18 months and require the city to work to work with the community to create a Neighborhood Stabilization Plan. Neighborhood residents and activists will continue to fight against rampant real estate speculation to preserve and sustain their community.
There were other winnings for the people vs. housing speculators. Mayoral candidate Francisco Herrera voting numbers were so significant, that he’s been suggested that a run for a Supervisorial seat would be a solid win in the next supervisor election either in the Mission or the Excelsior District. Maybe Herrera for Excelsior and Roberto Hernández in the Mission.
However, because at press time there was still a significant number of votes not counted yet, Herrera still has hopes that the equation could change and go to a run-off against the incumbent mayor.
With this said, my best suggestion is that all tenants in SF organized and hit the polls next time, because only the people united can make the change needed.