Despite Multi-Year Misinformation Campaign, New Report Shows Dean Preston’s Strong Housing Record
A new report published today shows that Dean Preston, a former tenant attorney, has approved nearly 30,000 homes in his four-year tenure as District 5 Supervisor, 86% of which are affordable, debunking a years-long campaign to paint him as an obstacle to housing production in San Francisco.
“I’m proud of my record to create housing that’s affordable to working San Franciscans,” Preston said. “From taxing the rich to fund affordable homes, to stopping displacement of renters impacted by the pandemic, my office has gone above and beyond on affordable housing, and I’m grateful this report reflects my true housing record.”
The report, authored by affordable housing advocates Hope Williams, Misha Steier, and Harlo Pippenger, includes:
An analysis of hundreds of votes pertaining to housing, including housing approvals and funding votes, that Preston has cast since his election to District 5 Supervisor in December 2019;
Highlights of Preston’s housing record, including his work to guarantee any tenant facing eviction the right to legal counsel, to fund pandemic-related rent relief, and to create one of the strongest residential vacancy taxes in the country;
A point-by-point rebuttal of a misinformation report published by members of SF Yimby, an astroturf campaign for real estate developers, that claims Preston is a “NIMBY,” an acronym for 'Not in My Back Yard', which has historically referred to people opposed to affordable housing.
“Our goal was to create a report that reflects the objective truth about Supervisor Preston’s voting record. This stands in contrast to the ‘report’ published two years ago by YIMBY members that attempts to paint Preston as ‘anti-housing,’” said Pippenger, an author of the report. “We show Preston’s record creating and funding affordable housing, and we go point by point on their disinformation ‘report’ to debunk their claims.”
Dean Preston’s Housing Record report is available at www.deanshousingrecord.com