Supervisor Connie Chan opposes mayoral appointee Gloria Li to serve on San Francisco's Transportation Board

(SAN FRANCISCO) Members of the Chinese community are disappointed to see Supervisor Connie Chan blocking mayoral appointee Gloria Li to serve on the Board of Directors at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).

Li, 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 six years, was nominated by San Francisco Mayor London Breed in September to fill the vacant seat left by former Chinese American SFMTA Board member Sharon Lai.

The 7-member SFMTA Board of Directors is a governing body for the agency. All directors are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. Currently, there is no Asian among six sitting board members at SFMTA.

The nomination of Li to the SFMTA Board was on the agenda of the Rules Committee hearing at the Board of Supervisors on October 31. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Chair of the Rules Committee, first questioned Li if she would meet the requirements in the Charter in which at least four of the seven Board members must be regular muni riders.

Supervisor Chan, who is a member of the Rules Committee, stated in the hearing that she would not support Li for the nomination due to Li's experience on the issue. "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," said Supervisor Chan.

Lai is the former SFMTA Board member who was appointed during the pandemic in 2020 and resigned in July 2022. In fact, Supervisor Chan, Lai and Li all share similar backgrounds as the first generation immigrants born in Hong Kong and Chinese American women. All three of them speak both Cantonese and Mandarin.

"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," Supervisor Chan continued.

The names, which were read by Supervisor Chan in the meeting as more qualified candidates than Li for the position, were Rosa Chan, former Youth Commissioner for District 3, Queena Chen, Co-chair of the Chinatown TRIP, and Jen Chan who has worked on Muni surveys.

Li attended the hearing virtually since she had a long-planned trip to Hong Kong to visit her family. "Prior to the pandemic, I worked at the State Building and took public transit to work," Li answered Peskin's questions in regard to the frequent muni ridership. "I have used many public transit systems in the City."

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 ride muni buses on a regular basis. All three members of the Rules Committee, Peskin, Chan and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, voted to pass the motion.

In accordance with SFMTA, the agency has oversight over the Municipal Railway (Muni) public transit, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis. The SFMTA Board provides policy oversight, including budgetary approval, and changes of fares, fees, and fines, ensuring representation of the public interest.

State Treasurer Fiona Ma had sent a letter to the Board of Supervisor to support the nomination. "Gloria worked for me for 6 years. She did a great job as my SF Office Manager at the State Board of Equalization and then Director of External Affairs at my State Treasurer’s Office. She is a great team player, highly organized, smart and efficient," Ma said she would continue to support Li to serve at the SFMTA Board.

Marlene Tran, formerly educator and presently as a city commissioner serving on the 7-member Southeast Community Facility Commission, was a daily muni rider for 40 years until the beginning of the pandemic in 2002. Tran is one of the long-time Chinese community leaders who was disappointed at Supervisor Chan's statement related to Li appointment.

"I am a mixed race resident in San Francisco with French, Vietnamese and Chinese heritage. For the past 40 years, 99% of my students were ethnic Chinese from different countries. I don't look Chinese, but I fully support the Chinese community. However, someone, who is Chinese like Supervisor Chan, doesn't always make decisions for the best interest of the Chinese community," said Tran who is a resident of Visitacion Valley for over three decades.

In 2021, Tran and members of the Chinese community in the Visitacion Valley opposed a new license application of a cannabis store at 5 Leland Avenue in the neighborhood. Supervisor Chan joined District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton to vote for the application. Gordon Mar was the lone supervisor to vote against it.

Tran said she didn't know Li and all three women who were named by Supervisor Chan well. "As long as a qualified candidate who is willing to spend the time and energy to serve our community, especially Ms. Li who speaks the languages for the huge Chinese immigrant riders in the city, all of us should support her and offer her the opportunity. I believe she will ride the buses more often after she is appointed to the job," Tran said.

Another Chinese community leader echoed and asked not to be named. "Based on the demographics in the city with over 36% Chinese and Asian residents, all city commissions should have more than one Asian representation. We don't have many Chinese Americans who are interested in serving in the City, especially the bilingual and younger generations. We welcome Li and all three young women to serve at various capacities. Not to compare each other, because we are all different with different talents."

"My unique perspective as a parent in San Francisco was not even brought up, ignoring the transit challenges that all parents face while raising a family here," Li responded to the Wind Newspaper. "My active community engagement, especially with low income seniors and families, as well as small businesses, was not even considered even though they are amongst the vulnerable populations impacted by MTA decisions. Small businesses are the backbone of our city’s economy and are still suffering from xenophobia and COVID-19 shutdowns, and continually do not get the support or voice they deserve at City Hall."

"Regardless of the nomination, I strive to continue to give back and support my AAPI and parent communities in whichever way I can, but it would benefit the City and the MTA to make diversity a priority and to look at the bigger picture of a nominee’s qualifications," said Li.