Asians share 40% of the ridership with no representation on the 7-member SFMTA Board of Directors

(SAN FRANCISCO) "I can easily think of many others who are more passionate and even more experienced (than Gloria Li)," Supervisor Connie Chan stated at the Rules Committee meeting on October 31, 2022 when she opposed Li to be nominated to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors. Almost six months have passed by, there is still no Asian representation on the 7-member SFMTA board, while the anti-Asian hate and violent incidents occurring on Muni have reached another alarming level.

A 15-year-old Chinese American high school student was stabbed near to death on the 8BX-Express bus when he was taking the bus to go home after school in March this year. A 66-year-old Chinese American woman was attacked with a full cup of ice and cold drink at her head at a bus stop on Market Street when she was waiting for the 5-Fulton bus to go home in February. A 79-year-old Thai American woman was kicked and assaulted on a 38-Geary muni bus when she was standing by the door in December 2022.

Since August 2022 when former Board Member Sharon Lai resigned, there has been no Asian on the SFMTA Board up to the present. The Chinese community has spoken out against the delay by Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors of nominating at least one Chinese American to the SFMTA Board.

According to the city rules, all 7 board members of the SFMTA are appointed by the Mayor. Breed just re-appointed two SFMTA board members, Board Chair Amanda Eaken and Board Member Steve Heminger, for another 4-year term. Both reappointments were approved by the Rules Committee on April 3. Those two nominations will be voted by all members of the Board of Supervisors soon. There is still a vacant seat on the SFMTA Board.

"I withdrew my nomination due to personal reasons. There’s been some changes to my family situation, so I let the mayor's office know I am not able to commit to the role," Li told Wind Newspaper recently that she had notified Breed's office of her decision after the Rules Committee meeting in 2022.

"I really hope they can find a quality nominee that can represent APIs. It’s crazy so many people - mostly Asian women, are still being attacked on public transit. We need elected officials who will listen and be impartial, not do things solely based on political motivations," Li said.

"Mayor Breed is committed to making sure there is representation on the SFMTA Board to help advance policy and work that benefit the community and the City. We are working to finalize details and will keep the community updated as soon as we can," Mason Lee from Mayor Breed's office commented.

The Chinese community was very disappointed to see Li to be opposed by Supervisor Chan last year.

Li was born in Hong Kong, educated in New York and employed in China before she settled in San Francisco with her husband over 10 years ago.

Li, who speaks fluent English, Cantonese and Mandarin, has been well respected by the Chinese community and closely connected with the community since she worked at State Treasurer and former Member of the State Board of Equalization Fiona Ma's both offices for years.

Li, also an active member of the Transbay Neighborhood in District 6 and previously served as District 6 representative for the Transbay Joint Power Authority (TJPA) Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) for 6 years, was nominated by Breed in September 2022 to fill the vacant seat left by Lai. Both Lai and Li are first generation immigrants from Hong Kong and speak three languages very well.

At the October 31, 2022 Rules Committee meeting, Supervisor Chan spoke against Li's nomination for lack of experience working on the issues related to public transit. "I think there are others that I can easily name, who have not only done the work, but much longer... filling the role of Sharon Lai," Chan stated.

"Looking at more specifically, not just Chinese speaking, AAPI representation, women of color, I can easily think of many others who are more passionate and even more experienced," Chan said and publicly named three Chinese American women, who are activists in Chinatown, to be the qualified candidates to serve on the SFMTA Board.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who was the Rules Committee Chair in 2022, echoed Supervisor Chan and publicly asked Breed to nominate one of the Chinese American women named by Chan in the meeting.

Peskin made a motion to continue the nomination process to an unknown date and requested for more information about how many current SFMTA board members who would meet the requirement to ride muni buses on a regular basis.

"Prior to the pandemic, I worked at the State Building and took public transit to work," Li answered Peskin's questions virtually from Hong Kong at the meeting in regard to the frequent muni ridership. "I have used many public transit systems in the City." Li also has been a public transit rider when she lived in Hong Kong and worked in China.

All three members of the Rules Committee, Peskin, Chan and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, voted to pass the motion to delay Li’s nomination process.

Queena Chen, who was named by Supervisor Chan as one of the best candidates to serve on SFMTA, did not respond to Wind Newspaper’s request for comment by press time. Chen has been the Co-Chair of Chinatown TRIP and member of the SFMTA Citizens' Advisory Council for years.

Phil Chin, former Deputy Director of San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) and founder of Chinatown TRIP, is a lifelong public transit advocate for the Chinese community since the 1970s.

"As far as the lack of an Asian American on the SFMTA Board of Directors, that is inexcusable. The ridership of Muni is very heavily Asian and to not have representation for nearly half of the city cannot be justified in any way, shape, or form," Chin said.

Since there is no Asian representation on the SFMTA board, Chin called for immediate action from the City to ensure safety for the Asian and all riders. "As far as safety on Muni goes, it is difficult to differentiate between what is a hate crime, and what is just plain criminal activity. I have suggested way back that to entice more ridership of the T-Line Muni would need to put security on every train car of the T-Line for starters," said Chin.

"When these safety ambassadors are hired, they should also be trained in Chinatown, where patrons can meet them and where they can get acculturated to the folks whom they are serving," Chin added. "If the city can saturate the Tenderloin with Urban Alchemy, they should be able to do the same on the T-Line. While some people may criticize Urban Alchemy, and they, like all organizations, have some drawbacks, they do help to tamp down the violence in the Tenderloin."

As for crime on other lines and at bus stops, "I believe the same holds true. If you have safety ambassadors on a bus or at a stop, it reduces the likelihood of violence. It all comes down to whether you have enough ambassadors to make a difference. It may be costly, but in the long run, it may be much cheaper than paying out claims or settling lawsuits," Chin supported having the community ambassadors extended to serve on Muni.

"Extremely disappointed that Muni still does not have an Asian board member to represent the very sizable API riders," said Marlene Tran, Visitacion Valley community leader and public safety advocate.

"Hopefully, the upcoming Muni board member can communicate with API riders and has extensive knowledge about riding Muni. Muni should also increase safety measures both inside the buses and around bus stops," said Tran.