Meet Dean
Dean Preston is a statewide housing advocate, tenants rights attorney, and activist. He was formerly the elected representative of District 5 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Both as a legislator and activist, Dean has repeatedly challenged the super wealthy to pay their fair share. He’s a progressive champion working to address critical issues of economic security and racial equity in San Francisco, with a strong record of championing and delivering on many of the most important issues facing working people today, including:
Writing over a dozen bills protecting tenants from pandemic-related evictions, including a groundbreaking law in June 2020 that took eviction permanently off the table for Covid back rent, causing evictions to plummet to all time lows and preventing the health crisis from becoming an eviction crisis.
Taxing high end real estate sales to fund social housing, a tax that’s already raised over a quarter of a billion dollars, and will raise over $100 million annually from the richest real estate investors.
Securing more than $40 million of local funds for rent relief, the most of any California city, relieving thousands of tenants of crushing rent debt and stopping evictions.
Leading efforts to restore critical Muni lines that were suspended during the pandemic, and stopping fare increases for public transportation.
Standing up for slow streets, protected bike lanes, and car-free JFK
Supporting alternatives to policing - community ambassadors, crisis response teams, neighborhood health outreach teams – and consistently voted against wasteful increases to police budgets.
Leading efforts to acquire sites to house homeless people, including the Gotham Hotel (114-units of permanent supportive housing) and the Oasis Inn (emergency family drop-in shelter).
Championing legislative efforts to create a public bank to invest in affordable housing, green infrastructure, and small business, instead of leaving it to Wall Street banks to profit off San Francisco’s money.
Passing the nation’s only law to relieve small business owners of pandemic back rent, prompting an unsuccessful lawsuit by commercial landlords.
Prior to taking office, Dean worked as a tenant attorney and founded California’s only statewide tenant organization. He helped lead the fight to save rent control in 2008. In 2018, he wrote and championed Proposition F, our city’s groundbreaking law to provide legal representation for all tenants facing eviction, and was an early backer of Proposition C, which tackles our homeless crisis by doubling housing and mental health care to our homeless population.
Dean has lived in District 5 for 30 years. Dean is a public school parent, an everyday Muni rider, a former small business owner, and an affordable housing advocate. As a Democratic Socialist, Dean advocates for fundamental change at the local, state, and national levels. He believes everyone deserves a dignified, productive, and healthy life through universal policies like Medicare for All, social housing, and free education.
