Candidate for
Supervisor; County of San Francisco; District 6

Roger Gordon has spent his entire life advocating for the most vulnerable members of society and has devoted his career to creating realistic solutions to social issues, including economic and educational challenges. His background as an educational advocate and successful small business entrepreneur creates a unique perspective that meets the needs of the District's residents.

Commitment to Education:

Throughout his career, Roger has devoted time and resources to advocating for educational causes and working directly to improve the quality of life of San Francisco's children. He has served as a member of the board of directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and played a crucial role in expanding Mission High School's Mission to College program with the Collaboration for Education Excellence and San Francisco State University. His close ties to the city's educational community led to a job offer to teach math at Visitacion Valley's Lutheran Burbank Middle School. Earlier this year, he organized a community cleanup at the South of Market's Bessie Carmichael Elementary School.

Roger believes that by providing the children of District 6 with better educational opportunities, primarily by building a new middle school to alleviate overcrowding to create a workable environment, will improve the overall of health of the entire district. As a college student, Roger worked his way through M.I.T. and Boston University and understands the difficulties that some District children face in securing an education.

Strong Business Knowledge and Experience with District 6 Economic Issues:

In addition to his educational expertise, Roger brings a deep knowledge of economics, finance and business development from his experience as a successful entrepreneur and his recent experience as the director of Urban Solutions (formerly South of Market Foundation) that will allow him to successfully work with the private and public sectors to cultivate economic opportunities for the District's residents. As director of Urban Solutions, a nonprofit organization that has helped hundreds of small businesses and low-income individuals to raise over $10 million in government and private financing, Roger proved that he has the ability to create new economic opportunities for the District by launching a revitalization plan for the Sixth Street Corridor. Under Roger's guidance, Urban Solutions has secured $750,000 in City funds to help revitalize properties on Sixth Street, including a new credit union, café, restaurant, social club, community theater and laundry that are under development.

Cultural Diversity:

A lifelong city dweller, Roger appreciates the City's cultural diversity. He serves on the Human Right's Watch California Committee North and organized a live concert on Justin Herman Plaza last year to publicize a Human Rights Watch report documenting abuses against lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender teens in American high schools. He was part of the start-up team for KMTP-TV Channel 32, a community television stations that broadcasts locally- and independently-produced programming in five languages and he serves on the board of the African American Community Entrustment and SPUR, a public service advisory body that helped sponsor Muni reform.