Keith Freedman

Keith Freedman was born in Aurora, Colorado. He earned a bachelor's degree from Fort Lewis College in 1991 and a graduate degree from Colorado State University in 1994. His career experience includes working as a business owner, technology consultant, and professor at City College of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley. Freedman has been affiliated with the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District Board, the South of Market Business Association, and local union AFT 2121.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Keith received his Masters Degree in Computer Science with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence from Colorado State University. His Masters Thesis was about an Artificial Intelligence Planning system to optimize detection of drug traffickers funded by the US Counter Drug Initiative. Twenty-eight years ago, Keith moved to San Francisco to pursue his career and contribute to the Bay Area’s unique technology community. Prior to the Pandemic, he taught Computer Science at City College of San Francisco and The University of California Berkeley Extension. He is a proud member of AFT local 2121. Keith has been a renter in San Francisco for 28 years and loves to share his passion for San Francisco with visitors from around the world.

Keith comes from a family of Educators and the educated. His siblings are doctors, lawyers and leaders in their fields. Keith taught Computer Programming at City College of San Francisco. He also taught data center monitoring classes in California, Oregon and London. His mother was a teacher before she changed careers and earned her masters degree in Legal Administration while working full-time and raising six children. After obtaining her doctorate in Education, his sister-in-law created a new high school in Denver, Colorado and then developed the curriculum for a high school in Shanghai. His grandmother was a kindergarten teacher her whole life.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Keith is dedicated to revolutionizing our approach to homelessness in San Francisco. His comprehensive plan aims to secure housing for all 7,754 homeless individuals in our city while simultaneously providing them with the necessary tools and opportunities to re-enter the workforce. Importantly, this ambitious initiative will be achieved without increasing the budget. This initiative promises to enhance our city’s economy and improve the lives of all San Franciscans, creating a stronger, more vibrant community for everyone.Our city deserves a police force that embodies the core values of our community: equity, equality, and respect for all individuals. As we strive for meaningful reforms, it’s crucial to recognize the nuanced history of policing and commit to prioritizing community-oriented strategies. This includes fostering trust and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, implementing effective training programs that emphasize de-escalation and cultural sensitivity, and ensuring accountability and transparency in all aspects of policing. By working together with residents, activists, and policymakers, we can create a safer and more just San Francisco where every person feels protected and respected.Tourism is a cornerstone of our city’s prosperity, and my administration will capitalize on this by implementing strategic initiatives to position San Francisco as a top global destination. This involves prioritizing investments in infrastructure and amenities for an enhanced visitor experience, partnering with local businesses on targeted marketing campaigns, advocating for sustainable tourism practices, empowering local entrepreneurs, and cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment. By embracing innovation, sustainability, and community collaboration, we will uphold San Francisco’s reputation as a welcoming hub of hospitality and opportunity for future generations.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing/Homelessness, Tourism, Fair and equitable treatment of people and businesses.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, Drive, Compassion.

It seems that we have grown to accept that our politicians will tell us one thing and do another. We complain about this lack of integrity, yet we continue to elect them.

As a new candidate whose owned a business in The City and consulted in the private sector for many years, this process has confirmed much of my suspicions. running a campaign is expensive. Getting voters attention requires either knowing rich people or rich corporations. The catch-22 is that you can't get attention without proving to the wealthy or the media that you can generate revenue for them.

I hope to be able to change this, although I realize it's swimming against the tide, if I'm able to succeed, I'll be in a position where I don't owe anything to anyone other than the People of San Francisco.

When wealthy people and companies can fund candidates through PAC's and the media only pays attention to those who will already draw eyes to their papers/stations, we can only expect a better outcome if we, the voters, ignore the pay for play candidates and choose our own leader.

I hope to be that leader For A Better San Francisco.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm straightforward and direct and try not to make promises I can't keep. I expect the same of people I work with.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

There is a misperception between what voters believe the Mayor does and what most of our Mayors have done (including the current one).

Part of the job description is as follows:

"The mayor has the responsibility to enforce all city laws, administer and coordinate city departments and intergovernmental activities, set forth policies and agendas to the Board of Supervisors, and prepare and submit the city budget at the end of each fiscal year."

However, our current Mayor doesn't do most of the duties on the list. She relies on the City Administrator to handle the city agencies and departments, most of which are poorly run. She allows the BoS to set the agenda for The City and is in constant conflict with them.

What's missing from that job description is just as important as what is in the job description.

The Mayor should be a marketing representative of The City to people from around the world. This job is more important than just bringing Pandas to our Zoo. Their job is to compat inaccurate negative press and to highlight accurate positive press.

To draw businesses and tourists back to The City through action, not just platitudes.

As a business owner who has had to get creative to survive a pandemic and grow a business in a down economy, these are skills I have developed.

I look forward to putting them to work on behalf of The City of San Francisco. in order to restore jobs, restore business interest in The City and to house the unhoused.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

I have demonstrated leadership in many ways in my career. In my consulting career, I was usually project or solution leader, which required working with diverse groups of people with diverging ideas on what must be done and how to do it, I've had to work through these issues to get to a solution that not only accomplishes the goals, but has buy in from stakeholders and accountability from all involved.

As a former board member of the Council of District Merchants Associations and current board member of the South of Market Business Association and the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District, I demonstrate leadership for small businesses throughout The City and in marketing The City to the world.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

San Francisco has a City Administrator, but they should be meeting out the Mayors agenda. Unfortunately, our current City Administrator, who is a devoted and capable pubic servant, is doing exactly that.

Our mayor doesn't take criticism well and there's a lot to criticize about the way The City operates.

The new Mayor will have to spend some early days making sure the city administrator is on the right track and that all the city agencies know what is expected from them.

Once done, a close eye will have to be kept on the city administrator. In the end, the people of San Francisco don't care how the work gets done, just that it does get done and this expectation correctly falls on the Mayor.

San Francisco needs a Mayor who truly believes, "the buck stops here."

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

The Mayor can propose legislation and can veto legislation, or present legislation for the people to make their own choices. To some degree this is meant to be confrontational. This confrontation should result is meaningful and respectful dialog among City leadership. However, this hasn't been the case in SF for some time.

Blame is laid for various Democratic factions, but those responsible are the Mayor and the president of the board of supervisors--both of which are running for Mayor and neither seem interested in solving this problem.

We won't always agree, but resolving differences is best done from a place of commonality instead of focusing only on where we disagreee.

This is the approach I take. I work from a place of agreement and head toward a solution that is a win-win. This is how businesses succeed and this is how I will make For A Better San Francisco

What do you love most about your city?

Most everything. We have a diverse culture, a great deal of acceptance which nurtures this diversity and, immense beauty.

That beauty is tarnished by our treatment of the unhoused, our tolerance from crime and out inaction from our leaders.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Homelessness, Housing, restoring tourism and business activity.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

If Cities are all serving their citizens, the State wouldn't need to do much.

A States responsibility is in allocating funds to meet statewide goals, set guidelines where various cities may disagree on what's right--this is done in order to provide some cohesion so that residents traveling around the state have the same expectations and rules no matter where they are.

State and City officials should be in communication and, ideally, see share an interest in serving the public good.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

San Francisco has historically been a thought leader of ideas that ultimately become Federal law. While this has been less true in recent history, this is a reputation I plan to restore.

In this role, we should get attention and support from the Federal Government for pushing the envelope and taking risks in proving concepts.

The right Mayor with the right ideas can get this done.

This is what I will do for the people of San Francisco.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

The Mayor sets the tone and determines what level of tolerance we have with regard to law enforcement. If the police and Mayor are implementing different goals this failure falls upon the Mayor.

Law enforcement officers WANT to do their job. they don't like crime and they get into this career to fight crime. When they're not allowed to do that they loose job satisfaction making it difficult to hire and retain good officers.

There needs to be a balance, however, and we need to insure

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

The City spends the people's money. Citizens deserve to know that our money is being spent responsibly. Nearly every city project runs over time and over budget. There is no accountability or explanation for this inefficiency. We are owed an explanation.

I will endeavor to hold all city agencies accountable for their budgets and all recipients of major project funding accountable for their price quotes and time estimates. Just as I am held accountable in my business and hold my business vendors accountable, in this regard, The City should be run as a business.

We can demonstrate to the rest of the world how we can apply business approaches to managing a city while also maintaining our responsibility as a government to serve it's people.