“Being a leader means stepping up when your constituents need help and doing whatever it takes to support them. For me, that included collecting and delivering tens of thousands of masks and gloves to frontline workers and service providers, and working night shifts serving meals in a COVID shelter hotel when we were severely understaffed. In times of crisis, you check your ego at the door, roll up your sleeves, and get to work.” -Matt
“I live in the Tenderloin. I see firsthand every day how urgent it is that we ensure our families, residents, and business owners are safe in every neighborhood in our city. Public safety requires community policing and crisis response teams to treat folks who are addicted or mentally ill on our streets. For people who need help, including treatment and rehabilitation, our system has to do a much better job of providing it. We also need to get guns and fentanyl off our streets and curb the recent spike in retail theft by going after larger organized crime rings. And we have to strengthen our laws to stop hate crimes. We shouldn’t be asked to choose between criminal justice reform and keeping communities safe. We must do both. ” -Matt