Meet the Candidates for Our 2021 Board of Directors Election

It’s time for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition annual election of our all-volunteer Board of Directors. Here you will find information about the process, statements by the candidates, and links to questions you may have.

The timeline is:

  • Online voting begins on Jan. 25, 2021 and ends Feb. 3, 2021 at 9:59 pm PST.
  • Members will each receive an individual e-mail on Jan. 25 with a code and link enabling them to vote. This code will be sent to the e-mail address on file through which the member receives communications from the SF Bicycle Coalition. Please add invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com to your contacts. If you do not see your invitation in your inbox, please check your spam folder.
  • Opportunities to meet and hear from candidates will be available at our virtual candidate forum on Jan. 25. View the recording of the forum below.
  • Only current SF Bicycle Coalition members as of Friday, Jan. 15, 2021 at 11:59 pm PST may cast a ballot.
  • Results will be announced in the Biker Bulletin email and on our website.
  • If you have technical questions regarding voting, please contact our election administrators at boardvoting@sfbike.org.

 

About SF Bicycle Coalition Board Elections

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Any SF Bicycle Coalition member can run for the board. The board is responsible for ensuring the organization’s financial health and achievement of its mission. The 15-member board is elected by the membership. There is a board election each year and terms are two years. Eight seats on the board of directors will be elected by the membership this year for the term beginning at the first board meeting following this election until the new board is seated following the 2021 board elections. A full timeline and detailed description of the process can be found here.

This will be our fourth board election using ranked-choice voting, giving members the chance to rank their votes in order of preference. Our board of directors adopted ranked-choice voting in the hope that it will encourage increased member participation in our elections and our work. For more information about multi-winner ranked-choice voting, click here.

If you are a member who is interested in learning more about board service in future years, please contact us at boardnomination@sfbike.org.


Candidate Statements

All candidates completed an online questionnaire to declare their interest in running for the board.  You can view all candidate questionnaire responses here. 

 

*”  indicates the candidate participated in the board interview process

 

David Alexander

My name is David Alexander and I am excited about the possibility to serve on the San Francisco Bike Coalition Board of Directors!

As a city, region, state and country, we are at a crossroads.  Transportation and active transportation in particular, can be a great equalizer for cities and our environment.

Over the past year, I’ve led the Richmond Family Transportation Network (www.RFTN.org) with my neighbors and their families and friends.  We’ve had successes and challenges and there is more work to be done ensuring our streets and parks create equitable access for people of color and/or people with a disability.  Dismantling racist systems and structures should be what our community works towards in 2021 and beyond.

As a cycling community, we must lead with conviction to eradicate racism, traffic violence, while building infrastructure that encourages mode shifts for all road users.

 

Kat Chen *

I moved to SF 9 years ago but didn’t join the SFBC until a few years later.  Biking in the city seemed not only dangerous but for “other” people.  It wasn’t until my roommates, avid SFBC volunteers, took me by the literal hand and showed me that bikes were not only safe but for all of us and not just some of us.

As a social worker in this city, I work on getting resources to people.  If elected to the Board, I will focus on

  • Education: from how to start pedaling to being able to confidently navigate the city for both work and play

  • Access: how to get bikes to the people and keep them rolling

  • Inclusivity: how to bring everyone to the table and safe routes to every neighborhood

I would be honored to serve on your Board of Directors; let’s get to work.

 

Joanna Gubman *

I believe SF should be a biking, transit, and walking-first city – and that it’ll be safer, more just and vibrant as a result. On the Board, I will push SF to truly prioritize bikes and to build essential infrastructure city-wide.

As a public servant, I address climate change and ensure that people who’ve been shut out gain access to safe, effective, affordable infrastructure. In my free time I co-lead Urban Environmentalists, advocating for cities built around people, not cars.

From my e-scooter policy paper, to having lived in bike-friendly Berlin, to experience with lobbying, I bring practical knowledge on how to support bicycling and effect change. My priorities:

  • Protected, kid-safe, and convenient bike network
  • Secure parking and local repairs
  • Making Bay Wheels affordable and accessible to all
  • Access to e-(cargo)bikes for lower-income residents

Thanks for your vote! I look forward to the work ahead.

 

Roan Kattouw * 

As an immigrant from the Netherlands, I’ve been biking my entire life. Having grown up there, I know that safe infrastructure is what makes biking a part of everyday life. It’s what gave me the freedom to go places on my own as a teenager, long before I could drive.

The work the Bicycle Coalition has been doing can make that a reality here in San Francisco too. Biking can be and should be for everyone, and I’m committed to making that happen. There’s more potential for that now than ever, with the boom in bike sales and new car-free spaces during the pandemic.

At my day job, I lead a team of software engineers at a non-profit. After work, I advocate for safe streets, bike lanes and transit. I also volunteer at a food pantry, with local election campaigns, and on the Open Source Voting TAC.

 

John Lisovsky * 

As a public school teacher, I have devoted my career to serving middle school students and families in SFUSD. From Creative Writing to San Francisco History, I elevate women, queer, and BIPOC voices and perspectives in every class I have the honor to teach.
As an activist, I’ve advanced labor justice, climate justice, racial justice, and safe streets for all. I sit on the United Educators of San Francisco Assembly and the SFMTA Citizens’ Advisory Council. In those roles, I have passed resolutions and motions supporting pro-bicycle causes such as car-free JFK and Great Walkway, Tenderloin street improvements, moving “kill-zone” bike lanes curbside, and banning right on red in the high injury network. My proudest contribution, though, was my December, 2020, CAC motion to ban right turns on green that conflict with the walk signal.
I would be grateful to have your vote for SF Bike Board.

 

Lucas Lux * 

I want a safer city to bike in for all San Franciscans. Getting there means prioritizing these things:

    • Serving the entire city, not just members. To build a more equitable city to bike in, let’s involve voices outside of the SFBC by partnering with churches and community organizations from neighborhoods where we have limited membership.
    • Physically protected routes serving the entire city, not just high density (and high income) areas. This means protected infrastructure in outer neighborhoods and in downtown’s lower income neighborhoods, safer north/south routes, and a car-free route through Golden Gate Park.
    • Car-free Great Highway. Converting this space to non-motorized use would create an unparalleled community and cycling space.
  • Market Street redesign prioritizing physically protected infrastructure. No other street is relied upon by a more diverse group of SF cyclists. Equitable infrastructure starts here.

Vote for me if these are important to you, too. Thank you!

 

Meaghan Mitchell * (incumbent)

My recent term as a board member for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has been a significant learning experience and had a positive impact on my life. 

I’m proud of some of my accomplishments, particularly within the last year of my term, which included:

  • Moderating the panel discussions for webinars “Bike Lanes, Gentrification and Anti Blackness” and “Reimagine Our Streets.” 
  • Working behind the scenes to advocate for a more bike-friendly Southeast and a car-free Great Highway
  • Ongoing outreach to San Franciscans (mostly POC) unfamiliar with the organization and encouraging them to get involved through event attendance and membership 

If 2020 taught me anything,  it’s that this type of work is important  and that there is more to do. To that end, I am excited to run for another term as a board member for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and I hope that I can count on your support! 

 

Danny Sauter *

I’m running to ensure that the Bicycle Coalition can shape San Francisco to be a city where bicycling is safe, encouraged, and accessible to all. On the Board, I’ll fight to empower staff with the tools they need to grow membership, be a force at City Hall, and partner with other stakeholders to make our advocacy go further.

As the President of my neighborhood association, I have a record of expanding bike share stations, creating a small business COVID relief program powered by bike delivery, and highlighting our lack of Slow Streets by starting a guerilla pop-up version. I was endorsed by the Bicycle Coalition this past year in my candidacy for District 3 Supervisor.

It’s an honor to be considered. I hope to earn your vote and work together to make San Francisco the city we all know it can be, with vibrant, bikeable streets at its core.

 

Juli Uota * (incumbent)

I bike because of the SFBC and want to see our community grow. I am proud my work on the board contributed to our reduced rate membership, removing an entry barrier. I’ve managed the SFBC Phone Bank for eleven years, the last two as a volunteer. I served as Secretary and took on additional committee participation during my tenure.

My story – of learning to ride in my 30s; finding empowerment through bike ed.; teaching the Adult Learn to Ride class; claiming my place in the bike lane as a short, curvy, Asian woman; and continuing to be someone who is multimodal beyond my bicycle – makes me a unique voice. I want to continue to use my perspective of what it felt like to be an outsider to make our organization more welcoming as we continue to make SF a safer and more just city.


Recording from January 25 Board of Directors Candidate Forum

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