[Read Part 1 of the interview here]
As a first-time Supervisor and politician, new colleagues and the City Hall environment can take some getting used to. Board meetings are “like a competition between the eleven supervisors” and Mar concedes that he has to “get used to that culture of really speaking out on an equal level with other people”.
The Board of Supervisor meetings can be a tough playground for the new kid on the block. In addition to the political wrangling with other supervisors, Mar has to balance the wants of his constituents, his own personal politics, plus those of City Hall and various neighborhood interest groups.
The day before our interview, Supervisor Mar had voted to approve the undertaking of a study of parking meters in Golden Gate Park. While an unpopular proposal among Richmond residents, Mar explained that the Park & Recreation Department is badly in need of revenue and that meters in the park is one possible solution.
Yet Mar says “I want to understand more of the community’s perspective on it, I’ve already heard quite a bit of criticism of it”. Earlier in our conversation, Mar pointed out that SF Park & Rec would net $1.7 million in revenue from the upcoming Outside Lands music festival in August. In that one weekend, they’ll earn slightly more than the parking meters are projected to bring in a year. How do the museums in Golden Gate Park feel about the parking meter proposal? “They’re totally against it”.
In the same Board meeting, Mar, along with only one other supervisor, voted against the appointment of Anson Moran to the SF Public Utilities Commission. When asked why he voted against, Mar said he had concerns “about [Moran’s] environmental policies in the past”.
And like any political arena, Mar contends with a bevy of lobbyists that are masterful at taking up his time with meetings. “I’m trying to get better at limiting the meetings with interest groups to shorter times and really being more proactive with the residents from our neighborhood”.
As our representative at City Hall, Mar has to speak out for various groups in the Richmond, many of whom are not native English speakers. Part of his strategy is to take meetings with communities that don’t traditionally have much of a voice in city politics, like the Russian and Chinese populations. Mar says that “right now we’re trying our best to be proactive with specific language and ethnic groups”.
Mar is quick to praise his city hall staff and volunteers. “Lin-Shao Chin and Cassandra Costello are incredible; I’m so lucky to have them along with a range of volunteers”. It’s this civic-minded crew that organizes his town hall meetings, fields calls and emails from constituents and attends weekly staff meetings that focus solely on neighborhood issues.
Mar and his staff rely on technology to keep them connected to residents and to each other. His team is devoted to Google Calendar to keep track of everyone’s schedule and though he vowed some time ago to never own a cell phone, Mar now says “the Blackberry is perfect for me”.
He’s experimenting with Twitter though admits it’s “something that I haven’t gotten used to”. Facebook seems to be his primary way of staying connected with his friends and family who don’t get much of his time these days. “Even my 85 year old mother is on Facebook”.
As the sun goes down and the weekend draws near, Mar still wears his Supervisor hat. One Saturday he attended a Richmond District cleanup organized by the Dept. of Public Works. Did he dig in and help with the effort? Sort of – he was driven around by the organizer to look in on the different workgroups. Mar says with a sheepish smile: “I got my hands a little bit dirty but everyone else was working a lot harder than me.”
Since becoming a new Supervisor, Mar says it has taken a toll on him personally as well. “There are some days where I do feel extremely stressed out and just need to get away from the public and even my family for just the peace of mind and the sanity”.
While rewarding, being a new supervisor, a father and a husband can chip away at even the most robust. Mar, who already sports a slight build, laughs and says “I have more grey hairs and I think I’ve gained maybe ten to twenty pounds” since taking office. And while pledging early on to keep at least two nights a week free for time with his 9-year old daughter Jade, he admits it doesn’t always work out.
Yet despite the hectic schedule and growing pains of being a newbie at City Hall, Mar says enthusiastically “I’m loving it”. The district is important to Mar and he says he much prefers “being more in the community than being cooped up here in City Hall”.
Residents are quick to remind him that they need him in the neighborhood too. Gary Meyer, owner of the Balboa Theater, gave Mar a talking to when he found out the Supervisor was driving to Daly City to catch a flick instead of frequenting his neigborhood’s local movie theaters. Mar laughs and says since “he was shamed by the owner I’ve been going to the Balboa and the 4-Star and I want to be supportive of them.”
So keep an eye out for Supervisor Mar. You may run into him at one of his favorite Richmond spots like Toy Boat Cafe or Friday nights at the de Young. And when you do, I’m sure he’ll be ready to listen.
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Many thanks to Supervisor Mar and his staff for making this interview possible.
Sarah B.