Silicon Valley is the heart of tech innovation, and San Francisco Bay Area is always on the cutting edge of progress. Since I left about eight years ago, I’ve observed a couple of things. First, some of the most prominent tech figures did the same – Larry Ellison, Elon Musk, Scott McNealy, and Bill Harris, to name a few. Second, many of San Francisco’s progressive policies (along with their consequences) followed me as well. Some of them were amazing, I was excited to see NYC become the second US city to ban plastic bags. Others – not so much. The truth is, you can’t escape progress; it’s going to catch up with you sooner or later. But in a democratic society, it should be possible to steer progress in the right direction.
My recent trip to the Bay Area painted a clear picture: everyone I spoke with, from Uber drivers to friends and colleagues, echoed the same sentiment – San Francisco desperately needs a change. The 2024 mayoral election presents a unique opportunity to do exactly that – revitalize the city. I believe that, at this point, strong analytical and logical reasoning skills are essential to fulfill that task. Fortunately, among the 13 candidates, at least three bring a wealth of innovative thinking and technological expertise to urban governance, thanks to their backgrounds in computer science.
Dylan Hirsch-Shell is a systems engineer at Tesla. “Now that Tesla is a global automaker valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars, it’s clear that EVs are here to stay, and Dylan has set his eyes on his next great challenge: fixing San Francisco’s broken city government.”
Nelson Mei is a Salesforce administrator. “Becoming a father has deeply inspired Nelson to run for mayor, as he wants his son to grow up in a safe, thriving, and dynamic city.”
Keith Freedman is the most vibrant and my personal favorite. Evolving from a software developer to a City College professor, home-sharing business owner, and a proactive member of multiple city unions, “Keith is a smart and passionate problem-solver bringing technology expertise, educational leadership, and business experience to his mayoral campaign, aiming to fix San Francisco’s buggy government operations.”
The current state of San Francisco’s city management has driven many to leave, but it can once again become a vibrant, efficient, and inclusive urban environment. Support Keith to make that happen.
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