What Are Neighbors For?

Photo by John J. Kim

Into the Fray: After some early successes in mobilizing Asian American residents around neighborhood issues, Rose Tsai and Julie Lee have taken on their most ambitious project yet with a campaign to rebuild the Central Freeway. "We surprised a lot of people, including ourselves," Lee says .

A new Asian American community group challenges the political structure in San Francisco

BY BERT ELJERA

One is a Realtor and a 50-year-old mother of four who is gregarious and prone to fits of laughter. The other is a businesswoman with an 8-year-old son and a shy and gentle smile that counters her drive and toughness.

Together, this unlikely pair is changing--perhaps forever--the political landscape of San Francisco.

Julie Lee, the affable one, and Rose Tsai, the serious one, are leading a grassroots movement fast becoming a vehicle for the political awakening of the huge Chinese American population in San Francisco.

In July, they stunned the city's political establishment by qualifying an initiative to rebuild the Central Freeway for the November ballot. The elevated roadway was damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and certain sections still remain closed.

Last summer, in a little more than three weeks and without the aid of a political machine, the duo and their army of volunteers collected more than 30,000 signatures, about three times the 10,510 valid signatures required to put the initiative on the ballot.

The measure, Proposition H, seeks to authorize the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to rebuild portions of the Central Freeway and end the ban on construction of new above-ground freeway ramps north of Fell Street.

"People tell us, 'Don't waste your time,'" Lee said of the effort to place the measure on the ballot. "'It's not going to happen,' they said. I guess we surprised a lot of people, including ourselves."

"We're very inexperienced," added Tsai, a graduate of Hastings Law School who is in private business with her husband. "We have not done a campaign before. We just thought we were doing the right thing."

Lee and Tsai are the force behind the San Francisco Neighbors Association (SFNA), a community group consisting of mostly Chinese American residents of Chinatown, and the Sunset, Richmond, and Excelsior districts.

Formed in June 1995, SFNA claims about 4,000 members, mostly home- and small-property owners in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who pay $5 in annual dues. The group is nonpartisan but usually takes sides in an election.

The organization, run entirely by volunteers, aims to promote family housing, particularly private affordable housing; educate home and property owners of their rights; foster cultural diversity; and monitor government affairs.

More important, it serves as a vehicle to encourage participation among Chinese Americans in the political process through voter-registration drives and get-the-vote-out campaigns during elections.

"We have no place to go," said Lee, who emigrated from Hong Kong in 1969. "This is our home. We must realize that every problem, every issue affects us. But this is a learning process for us. For Asian Americans to be involved in the political process is long overdue."

Indeed, the rate of homeownership among the city's APA population, with Chinese Americans forming the largest group, is impressive. According to an analysis of records from the Assessor's Roll conducted by the Chinese American Voters Education Committee, Asian Pacific Americans constitute 24.1 percent of San Francisco's homeowners and pay about $53 million in annual taxes.

Asian American-owned companies make up 15.5 percent of commercial and investor property owners in the city, and they pay more than $62 million in property taxes each year.

It makes sense, then, that the organization was borne out of frustration over the city's restrictive and what some consider discriminatory planning and permit processes. For years, Chinese American homeowners fumed over the city's Byzantine permit processes and, according to Lee, would occasionally use non-Asian names on permit applications in the hopes of speeding the approval process.

When in 1995 the city sought to limit building additions in the Richmond neighborhood, popularly known as "Richmond specials," many homeowners had had enough.

Lee said the legislation, the Residential Conservation Act, unfairly targeted Asian Americans, who tend to be small-property owners with large households that often include relatives.

"We had to form a group to stop this [legislation]," Lee said. "And we were successful."

Hundreds of Chinese American homeowners turned out at public hearings and succeeded in killing the measure. That initial victory served as a springboard for SFNA members who finally found that they had a voice and what they had to say mattered, according to Lee.

"We're sick and tired of being pushed around," she said. "For once, we got together and did something we thought was right."

Earlier this year, the SFNA led the fight against a proposed ban on the sale of live animals for food in Chinatown and markets in the Sunset and Richmond districts.

Animal-rights advocates have now filed a lawsuit to enforce the ban after the Board of Supervisors decided not to act on the recommendation to not sell live chickens, turtles, and other animals for food.

And in late summer last year when Supervisor Michael Yaki proposed a ban on owner move-in evictions--the practice in which tenants are asked to vacate their apartments because the owner is moving in--SFNA spearheaded the opposition effort. The proposal failed to garner enough support from other supervisors.

But SFNA was on the losing side in the fight to build a new 49er stadium; the proposition was narrowly approved by San Francisco voters in June.

"We love development," said Lee, who owns a realty company with her husband, Lucas. "We believe in entrepreneurship, but not the use of tax dollars to support private business. The stadium raised a lot of questions--accountability for one. If no one can be held accountable, you hand them a blank check. We've got to say no."

Their stand on the stadium may have hurt their relationship with Mayor Willie Brown, an ardent advocate of the 49er stadium, Lee acknowledged. Brown has so far not disclosed his position on the Central Freeway.

In taking the stadium position, SFNA showed its relative immaturity in politics, according to Norman Young, a SFNA member.

"I think they [SFNA] screwed up," said Young. "I voted in favor of the stadium. I, too, believe the stadium will benefit the city in the long run."

He said the SFNA position may have been dictated by personal and philosophical differences with other Chinese American leaders who were in favor of the stadium.

Some SFNA members in Visitacion Valley, Excelsior, and Bayview-Hunters Point, who would directly benefit from the new stadium, voted in large numbers for the proposal anyway.

But David Lee, executive director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee (CAVEC), said SFNA's opposition to the stadium measure made the vote closer than what it should have been.

"Undoubtedly, a well-organized and active group as this one raises a lot of eyebrows at City Hall and throughout the community," Lee said. "Whenever you have a group united in one issue, it sends a very clear signal to the community that they are being heard."

All these skirmishes were leading up to the big battle--the Central Freeway--which will test the political maturity of SFNA and the political savvy of Lee and Tsai.

Qualifying for the ballot is one thing; winning the election is another. But Tsai and Lee say they are learning fast.

Soon after filing the petition to qualify the measure last July, SFNA hired Ellie Schaefer, who worked on the anti-stadium campaign as campaign manager. She believes that because SFNA is deeply rooted in the community, it will succeed.

"It's exciting to see two working moms who are political novices spearheading the movement," Schaefer said. "It shows how deeply the issue affects families, and the depth of the frustration that nothing has been done for more than eight years."

In addition, she said, "It's exciting to take the Chinese American community and make it a political powerhouse in San Francisco."

Although a coalition of neighborhood associations, elected officials, nonprofit groups, and individuals--called the Coalition to Save the Central Freeway--supports Proposition H, SFNA is the group at the front line.

Lee said they have to raise about $200,000 in campaign contributions to have a realistic shot at winning at the polls. She said that so far, most of the contributions have been in kind, such as flyers, signs, leaflets, and volunteer time.

"We just feel that anybody who lives in the city and owns a car will know the issue," Lee said.

Built in the late 1950s, the Central Freeway was damaged in the 1989 earthquake, and portions have been closed since then. Caltrans has demolished the portion from Fell Street to Golden Gate Avenue and Turk Street, as well as the upper deck from Mission Street to Oak Street.

Caltrans has also torn down freeway ramps at Franklin, Gough, and Oak streets. It cannot rebuild the freeway without the approval of city officials. In 1992, the Board of Supervisors banned new above-ground ramps north of Fell Street

Currently, city officials are reviewing several proposals to rebuild all or part of the remaining freeway south of Fell Street.

If approved, Proposition H would authorize Caltrans to strengthen and widen the lower deck, creating a four-lane single-deck structure from Mission Street to Oak and Fell streets.

In addition, the freeway portion from the intersection of Page and Octavia streets to the Fell Street ramp would be replaced. Also, the ramp on Oak Street would be rebuilt.

Proposition H would end the supervisors' ban of above-ground ramps to the Central Freeway north of Fell Street and require the city to work with Caltrans to restore freeway access at Franklin and Gough streets. The plans must be completed by July 1, 1998.

According to a poll in September published by the San Francisco Chronicle, 53 percent of 600 San Francisco voters surveyed said they are in favor of retrofitting the freeway, with 30 percent opposed and 17 percent undecided.

The biggest argument for those in favor of the freeway is that it has been eight years and there is no sign it will be repaired. Those opposed say the money is better spent on mass transit.

It's precisely the frustration stemming from the long wait that triggered the effort to place an initiative on the ballot, according to Tsai.

"They talked about alternatives," she said. "It's been eight years, how come they have not picked an alternative?"

She said that a small group of homeowners in Hayes Valley is leading the fight against Proposition H and has been successful so far in delaying the project.

"What I can't understand is how the city could be held hostage for so long by a small group of people," Tsai said. "But they are very vocal, very organized, and have the time to lobby."

The Committee for Sensible Transportation Solutions is leading the opposition to Proposition H, with support from Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Sue Bierman, and Leslie Katz and the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association.

FILE PHOTO

Julie Lee and San Francisco Supervisor Leland Yee address the crowd at a hearing last November on the "fresh kill" controversy.

Supervisor Leland Yee, who is closely allied with SFNA, has come out in support of the freeway and the efforts of Tsai and Lee to encourage Chinese American participation in the electoral process.

"They have hit a critical nerve in the Asian American community," Yee said. "For so long, City Hall officials have not been responsive to their needs. They raise issues and people rally around these issues. They are the voice of the people they represent."

He said the Central Freeway is the single most important issue in the Chinese American community right now. "It's not only a financial link, but a social link to people living on the east side who want to visit relatives on the west side, and for business. City officials should pay more attention to the community."

Yee said the election is the best way to resolve the issue, adding that he is overjoyed that Chinese Americans are at the forefront of the campaign.

"If we want to stay here and protect what we have achieved, we have to register and vote," Yee said.

The Democratic Party is split on Proposition H. While the city chapter opposes the measure, the Chinese American Democratic Club (CADC) supports it.

Roland Quan, CADC president, says his group will provide resources and assistance to the Proposition H campaign. "We look at it not as a political issue, it's just good public policy to allow more people to move around the city," he said.

Quan said that the recent BART strike, which paralyzed Bay Area transportation for several days, underscored the need for the Central Freeway.

"The bottom line is, they [city officials] promised us they were going to fix the freeway and chose not to," said Denis Quinn, president of the Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP), which endorsed Proposition H.

He said it seems that city officials do not have the political will and courage to step on the toes of some powerful constituents who want the freeway not only left unrepaired but torn down completely.

"We realized that to get it on the ballot was the only way to stop it from demolition," said Quinn, a retired contractor and a lifelong San Francisco resident.

Opponents of Proposition H said they are not against rebuilding the freeway, but are against the design proponents of the proposition--basically, the same structure as before.

"Safer, more efficient replacement options have been developed by Caltrans that would provide far better traffic circulation at less cost, in less time, than the retrofit proposed by Prop. H," the Committee for Sensible Transportation Solutions argued.

Natalie Berg, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, said retrofitting the freeway means replicating an outdated, inefficient traffic system that promotes congestion and travel delays.

"If Prop. H passes, it could require funding from local tax revenue sources, jeopardize public safety, health, and neighborhood programs--all to rebuild a dinosaur when better, less expensive, and safer options currently exist," she said.

But John Barry, who heads the Committee to Save the Central Freeway, said Proposition H is a commonsense proposal to finally relieve congestion on city streets at no significant cost to San Francisco taxpayers.

The $52-million budget to rebuild the freeway would come from state and federal sources because the city and county of San Francisco usually does not fund freeway projects from local revenues, he said.

Instead, the project would bring money into the local economy, create jobs, and bring other benefits, Barry said.

"Our transportation system is vital to our quality of life and to our local economy and it needs to be maintained, not demolished," he said.

Supervisor Yaki, who owes part of his victory in the 1996 election to support from the APA community, stands as the odd man in this fight. He has proposed a "compromise" solution: in effect, a partial rebuilding of the freeway.

But Lee and Tsai considers Yaki's proposal a diversion that will only confuse San Francisco residents. Yaki has announced that according to state law, the Board of Supervisors has the final say on the matter.

That assertion has been met with derision from SFNA members. In pink and yellow postcards sent to Yaki's office, SFNA said, "Your compromise plan is a sly and underhanded attempt to defeat the freeway by presenting yet another plan."

The letter ends with a blunt warning: "If you continue with this strategy, I [we] will work to defeat you should you ever be foolish enough to run for office again."

Yaki did not return repeated phone calls to his office seeking comment, but an aide said that he is still committed to searching for a compromise acceptable to everybody.

Tsai said she does not expect Yaki to contest the result of the election. "That would not be smart for him to do."

With their prominent role, there is the perception--perhaps encouraged by opponents of Proposition H--that Tsai and Lee are turning all of this into a show of Chinese American political might.

Supporters of Proposition H bristle at the thought, but Lee and Tsai make no bones about the effort to register more Chinese American voters and be more involved in San Francisco politics. The group takes credit for registering about 10,000 new Chinese Americans voters over the past two years, bringing the number of APA voters in the city to an estimated 49,000, or nearly 12 percent of San Francisco's 410,000 registered voters.

In recent years, Chinese Americans have shown the stirrings of political activism. In the 1980s, for instance, a grassroots movement sprang in response to environmental issues and the lack of youth programs in Chinatown.

The Chinese Progressive Association, led by the Mar brothers, Gordon and Eric, fought for neighborhood programs such as recycling and leadership training for young people.

Chinese Americans also spearheaded the opposition to a city consent decree that virtually ensures racial quotas in some San Francisco high schools.

David Lee, CAVEC executive director, said SFNA was not the first, and is certainly not the last community organization to rise up and provide a voice to the Asian American community.

"If you're organized, focused, and have enough numbers behind you, you become a very potent force," he said.

Julie Lee (no relation to David) agrees. But the key, she said, is making people aware that they hold the power--their vote. It was tough before because the Chinese community has been mainly an immigrant community. But now, a sizable number are U.S. citizens., she said

"We're a very new organization, " Lee said. Political activism is an old idea. But we didn't know how to do it. We came to this country, we worked hard. Sometimes we felt there was something wrong, but didn't know what to do. Finally, we figured it out. If we vote, we can make a difference.

"We're a sleeping giant, but there is something wrong with this giant. It's still sleeping. We got to wake it up."

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