You’ve considered many issues when deciding who to support in the San Francisco mayor’s race, but have you thought about your dog? DogPAC, a newly formed political action committee, is asking you to consider dog and animal welfare issues before you cast your vote and held a public forum in October focused on the views and positions of mayoral candidates.
Based on the performance of the candidates in the forum, along with individual interviews and questionnaires regarding issues of importance to dog owners in the city, DogPAC endorsed, in ranked order, 1) John Avalos, 2) Bevan Dufty, and 3) Jeff Adachi.
The core issues DogPAC is concerned with include protecting off-leash recreation areas in parks run by the National Park Service and the City of San Francisco; increasing the level of dog adoptions in the city; reducing overcrowding in local shelters; and improving support for animal welfare city-wide.
So what made John Avalos DogPAC’s number one pick? He has pledged to publicly oppose the controversial Golden Gate National Recreation Area dog management plan, which would greatly restrict off-leash access to popular local parks, and intends to ”… have the City Attorney look into taking back the GGNRA lands.” These strong words have great appeal to a fired-up dog community that is feeling squeezed into ever-decreasing areas for play and exercise.
Bevan Dufty promised to take the issues raised by San Francisco dog lovers to Washington, DC for intervention at the federal level against the proposed off-leash ban. Jeff Adachi wants to make sure there are dog owners included on the city’s Parks & Recreation Commission and wants all projects before the Commission to take into account the needs of dogs and their owners.
In the words of DogPAC’s President, Bruce Wolfe, “We have come together as a community because we need a strong Mayor who will advocate for our community with a bit of growl and protect our culture that is clearly woven into the social fabric of San Francisco.” With its mayoral endorsements, DogPAC has sunk its teeth deep into the election process.
Holly Fogleboch is a dog lover, bookseller, and entrepreneur new to the Bay Area.
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