Shawn M. Richard
Candidate for San Francisco County Supervisorial District 10
Shawn M. Richard is a native San Franciscan, born and raised in the Bayview, who founded the violence-reduction nonprofit Brothers Against Guns more than 25 years ago after losing two of his brothers to gun violence. He serves as the organization's CEO and executive director, working with young men and women involved in street violence to help them find stable employment and change the course of their lives.
Positions in brief
Richard's platform centers on community-based public safety, youth investment, and support for small business and tenant protections in the neighborhood where he grew up.
He has called for greater police accountability paired with community policing, investment in youth organizations and after-school programs, support for entrepreneurship and expanded technology access in schools, and partnerships with housing coalitions to prevent displacement and increase homeownership. He has described homelessness as a symptom of broader economic, health, and educational failures that require addressing root causes rather than only immediate crises.
On the issues
- Public Safety & Policing
Names public safety and gun-violence prevention his top priority; wants SFPD to shift toward prevention-focused deployment, stronger civilian oversight with real-time data transparency, better de-escalation and mental-health training, and full staffing at roughly 2,100 officers.
“Public safety is my number one priority because nothing else matters if our families do not feel safe.”
Source → - Housing & Homelessness
Says the city has a real housing shortage from decades of underbuilding; wants more homes built faster with streamlined permitting and CEQA/discretionary-review exemptions for affordable and homeless housing, and sets a goal of a sustained year-over-year reduction in unsheltered homelessness in the district.
“a step in the right direction, but by itself it is not ambitious enough”
Source → - Health & Health Care
Favors immediate medical response and outreach-based treatment connection over enforcement for street drug use; supports safe consumption sites under strict medical oversight paired with treatment and housing, and wants harm-reduction programs audited by outcomes.
“treatment-linked harm reduction”
Source → - Infrastructure & Transportation
Says Muni's funding crisis cannot be solved by new taxes alone and wants operational efficiency improvements pursued first.
“No. Muni's funding crisis cannot be solved by taxes alone.”
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Supports right-sizing city staffing (which grew 27% while population stagnated) by reducing duplication, but rejects across-the-board cuts that would slow permitting or essential services.
Source → - Government, Elections & Democracy
Wants clearer staff roles, constituent-tracking systems, and regular accountability reviews; has proposed a 100-day city services audit and repeal of redundant permitting and zoning-approval requirements.
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Sets numeric environmental-justice targets: a 40% reduction in neighborhood NO2 levels, full real-time air-quality monitoring coverage, and full cleanup certification of contaminated parcels by 2030.
Source → - Economy & Jobs
Wants to cut median business-permit processing time to under 120 days and track new business openings, vacancy rates, and ground-floor activation on commercial corridors.
Source → - Family & Social Services
Wants to invest in youth organizations and after-school programs that teach behavioral skills.
“invest in youth organizations”
Source →
Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.