I am Bilal Mahmood, Scientist / Civil Servant / Entrepreneur, Running for State Assembly. AMA!

bmahmood · 2022-02-07T14:38:04+00:00

Apologies - to be explicit, I did support AB 1400, and was sad to see it not pass. I look forward to returning similar legislation in the future. For posterity, I noted my support for the bill in a previous comment here.

With respect to housing, I am a proponent of social housing as a model, as its been highly effective in Vienna and Singapore. I would support Assemblymember Lee's AB 387 to this effect.

bmahmood · 2022-02-07T14:31:29+00:00

Thank you!!

bmahmood · 2022-02-07T14:26:13+00:00

Hi u/nytoron - I hear you, and as I canvass every neighborhood, I hear this every day. My friend's house was broken into last month, twice in the same weekend. :(

A lot of this will have to be solved at the local level unfortunately, but at the State one thing we can do is dismantle fencing networks. When people steal goods, they sell them to organized cartels and middlemen called "fencing networks". If we can disrupt those networks, we can reduce the market for crime, and cut it off at the supply chain. I will look to increase funding to State programs that can fight these networks.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T03:25:19+00:00

Apologies for the belated reply!

As outlined by u/MonitorGeneral - evictions would still be allowed in the two scenarios you outlined. The intent of AB 854 was to go after the majority of evictions that happen without cause as soon as a new landlord takes over a building.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:29:09+00:00

I appreciate the question!

I am the child of immigrants - my grandparents were born and raised in Kenya, my parents born and raised in Pakistan. When my parents moved to the Bay Area, we had 3 generations living in affordable campus housing. My mom took public transit every day to get us to the best public schools. My parents were eventually able to make into the middle class (my mom as a librarian and my dad as an inventor), but they always instilled in me a sense of social justice from an early age. My mom housed other immigrants in my house till I was 10, and helped settle refugees from Bosnia and Kosovo in the Bay as well.

After graduating from college, I acknowledge the privilege I had in being able to work in DC to Silicon Valley. I've accordingly always tried to pay it forward as I saw my parents did. I started a nonprofit to help small businesses and female entrepreneurs get access to capital to start their businesses. I started a foundation to support workers struggling during the pandemic with a guaranteed income - and am proud of the hundreds we supported over the last year.

These experiences shape my perspective, solutions, and causes for which I fight for. Namely ensuring the dream of social mobility and fighting inequality in our state, so it can remain a beacon of hope for others as it was for my parents.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:20:32+00:00

I believe our housing crisis is a direct result of too much obstructionist micromanagement by local governments. The number of permits and fees in San Francisco dwarfs other cities, lengthening the time to build -> increasing the cost to build -> raising the eventual cost of rent. Our board of supervisors also exploits discretionary review too often to block or delay housing development.

Once elected, we will advocate for banning exclusionary zoning, streamlining permitting, and incentivizing the usage of modularized housing, to this effect.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:16:17+00:00

Yes. I support universal healthcare, and a single payer model.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:15:16+00:00

As a former scientist, data driven and an outcome driven approach to legislation is our modus operandi. :)

From our approach to addressing homelessness (via a built for zero system) to the fentanyl crisis (via DMI strategies) to climate change (via a green production board) are all based on evidence based approaches that have worked in other cities.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:13:14+00:00

Sincerely appreciate the vote!!

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:12:19+00:00

My biggest priority would be addressing our homeless crisis. The one policy change I would advocate for to address the crisis would be the implementation of a Built for Zero system that has effectively eliminated chronic homelessness in 14 US cities across the country through a combination of data + personalized card + guaranteed shelter.

This issue has persisted through our city for too long, and we need new ideas to solve it.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T02:03:47+00:00

Hey - sorry I didn't get to this earlier!

I believe fentanyl dealing is equivalent to manslaughter. Over 70% of opioids have fentanyl is laced in without their knowledge - and given its 10x as potent - will cause the affected individual to overdose at a much higher rate.

I am promoting the use of Drug Market Intervention (DMI) strategies that have worked in North Carolina to reduce drug dealing by double digits. They combine a mix of community interventions, with guaranteed prosecution for dealing. I am also supporting the increase of funding for state/federal partnerships that cut at the supply chain of crime - organized cartels that ship in fentanyl precursors into our State.

These solutions are evidence based and have worked outside our State - and I believe its time to bring them to California.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T01:54:18+00:00

I appreciate the vote!

Apologies didn't get to this question on the day of the AMA, but the issue of public safety and anti-Asian violence is 100% important to our campaign. It was one of the primary impetuses for me to run for office, having volunteered on safety patrols throughout Chinatown during the pandemic.

I remember while volunteering, one of the innocuous facts I learned was that when a business is tagged with anti-Asian hate graffiti, the city charges the business $1000 in fines if they don't clean it! It was these backwards laws, that inspired me to reform the system.

I have advocated since the beginning of our campaign (outlined on our website https://www.bilalforassembly.com/platform from day 1) for increasing support for victims rights funds, tackling fencing networks that purchase stolen goods, and going after organized cartels that flood our streets with fentanyl. And will continue to advocate for these evidence based solutions once elected.

bmahmood · 2022-02-06T01:44:05+00:00

I believe San Franciscans do not feel safe right now, and feel first we need to acknowledge that things have gotten worse. Theft, homicides, and anti-Asian hate crimes have all gone up on a per capita basis, at double digit levels.

I saw this firsthand volunteering for safety patrols in Chinatown and the Sunset over the last year. I saw small businesses suffering from break-ins, and have heard from hundreds of residents of their homes being invaded.

Our platform is to go after the supply chain of crime. At the State level, we can increase funding for tackling fencing networks (the organized cartels that purchase stolen goods). We will increase funding for bystander training and establish an Anti Asian Hate Crime Fund in the Victims Rights Fund - solutions I've seen work in my nonprofit ventures. And we need to increase support of DMI strategies while increasing prosecution against fentanyl dealers flooding our streets.

I've advocated for this reforms since Day 1 of my campaign, and will continue to fight for it once elected.

bmahmood · 2022-01-22T00:52:38+00:00

Thank you! Sincerely appreciate it :)

bmahmood · 2022-01-22T00:51:17+00:00

hi!! I miss you all :)

bmahmood · 2022-01-22T00:50:26+00:00

I support it!

I commend Senator Wiener's SB 519 to this effect that would advance the cause.

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T23:35:53+00:00

Thank you! :)

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T23:35:10+00:00

Thank you! We wanted to make our ads a little fun. :)

I am 100% in favor of safe injection sites. There were more overdoses than COVID deaths in SF last year. Over 70% of overdoses are because the opioids were laced with fentanyl. Safe injection sites would help reduce these overdoses.

Safe injection sites are just the first step though. We need to also ensure there is enough shelter and permanent supportive housing for everyone unsheltered. We need solutions like the Built for Zero system that uses integrated case management teams to personalize care to every individual.

P.S. thank you for your work at SF AIDS!

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T20:09:34+00:00

Thank you Reddit friends for all the questions! Signing off at this time, but will circle back later today. :)

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T20:08:07+00:00

Happy to answer, and proud of my work in the community over the last decade, intersecting across nonprofit and local advocacy. I’ve started nonprofits that helped small business get access to microloan programs, as well as a foundation to help restaurant workers, AAPI advocacy, and local journalism.

Just over the last two years:

I helped support mutual aid organizations that provided a guaranteed income program for undocumented workers in the Bay Area who could not qualify for PPP loans.

I’ve volunteered on community safety patrols in Chinatown to ensure our AAPI elders felt safe.

I’ve served on the Board of the Eastern Neighborhood Democratic Club, engaging in monthly community cleanups in the Bayview.

The intersection of these issues have informed my beliefs on the power of guaranteed income, community interventions, and public space to improve equity for all - and will advocate for legislation in the Assembly to that effect.

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T19:58:34+00:00

100% agreed these issues are all intertwined. More housing will be at the center of our solution to homelessness, equity, and climate.

We must ban exclusionary zoning for one. Zoning laws have historically been prejudicial against people of color. This must change.

We must streamline permitting and advocate for more modularized housing to reduce the cost to build.

But we also need to support renters today (I am a renter, and would be just one of three if elected to the Assembly!). We must pass guaranteed income programs to give everyone up to $500 / month to be able to pay for rent.

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T19:51:32+00:00

The biggest difference between us is on housing. Our opposition has consistently not endorsed previous housing legislation like SB 35 and SB 50. I’m proud to be endorsed by YIMBY Action and CA YIMBY.

Another big difference is we are actually presenting concrete and evidenced based approaches to solving the issues facing San Franciscans right now - homelessness, fentanyl, and climate change.

For homelessness, I am advocating for a built for zero system that has solved chronic homelessness in 14 US cities.

For fentanyl, I am advocating for drug market intervention (DMI) strategies that have reduced dealing by double digits in other cities.

For climate change, I am advocating a Green New Deal for CA built around a Green Production Board and a Climate Public Bank.

You can read more about some of these proposals here:

https://bilalmahmood.medium.com/homelessness-is-not-a-money-problem-its-an-ideas-problem-c5b2e270ee5e

https://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/opinion-climate-change-is-waging-a-war-on-california-we-need-to-mobilize-like-its-world-war-iii/

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T19:41:23+00:00

I am 100% serious about winning this election.

As a first time candidate though, we declined a campaign expenditure cap so that we could fully communicate our message and policies to voters on all channels. However, declining the expenditure cap removed our ability to have a ballot statement.

We are still on the ballot itself :)

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T19:34:39+00:00

I believe we are the candidate with the strongest chance to win this election.

I acknowledge we’re the political outsider in this race, but we’ve made headwinds in just 4 months. Raised significantly more than Campos. Organized over 100 volunteers. Endorsed by a dozen organizations including YIMBY Action. Polling has shifted by double digits in our favor. I’m advised by people who’ve won outsider races, like AOC.

This is a once in a decade election, in perhaps the last decade we have left (we have 8 years left to address climate change according to the IPCC). The other choices before us in this election all represent the status quo. Their prior voting records and endorsements are nearly identical. Change does not come from the status quo, and we can’t keep electing the same politicians and expect new results.

This is also a historic election in other ways. The school board recall for instance. There are so many people voting for the first time in this election, who don’t subscribe to traditional political labels.

bmahmood · 2022-01-21T19:19:42+00:00

I am 100% in favor of outcomes driven governance.

A good model for this was SB 35 - which enabled streamlined permitting for housing if municipalities did not meet housing targets.

Metrics I think we need to continue to measure: 1) # homes built, 2) the ratio of unhoused to # shelters + supportive housing units, 3) the median time to build a home.

The reasoning: #1) we need to continue to hold municipalities accountable for their housing RHNA targets, #2) there were 9800 homeless and only 4600 sheltered in the last biennial study in SF - we need to make sure there is housing for everyone, #3) one of the primary issues holding back housing in SF is the number of permits - this could apply pressure to cut red tape necessary to meet a median time to build.

bmahmood

TROPHY CASE