David Young (California)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

David Young

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of San Francisco, 2001

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

Profession

Computer, software, and network engineer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

David Young ran for election to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors to represent District 9 in California. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Young completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Young was born in New York, New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of San Francisco in 2001. His career experience includes working as a computer, software, and network engineer.

Elections

2020

See also: City elections in San Francisco, California (2020)

General election

General election for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors District 9

Incumbent Bevan Dufty defeated David Young, Michael Petrelis, and Patrick Mortiere in the general election for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors District 9 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Bevan Dufty (Nonpartisan)	65.3	108,632
		David Young (Nonpartisan)	19.1	31,814
		Michael Petrelis (Nonpartisan)	9.4	15,579
		Patrick Mortiere (Nonpartisan)	6.2	10,380

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 166,405
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

David Young completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Young's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a Chinese-American engineer with 25 years of experience, 23 of them living in San Francisco. I've spent most of my career in startups, where I've developed a talent for doing more with less - a key theme for all of us looking forward into the post-pandemic era.

My life, my home is in San Francisco. But we've been hit hard; even before the pandemic, we faced skyrocketing housing prices due to artificially constrained supply, the highest property crime rate in the nation, and and an increasingly visible drug and mental health crisis on our streets. Yet many of our elected officials are pushing raises for the highest-paid city staff in the country paid for by increasing payroll taxes on the small businesses fleeing our city; they have no answer to the worsening condition of the streets; and they have no explanation why so many of them are under FBI investigation.

This isn't the way. San Francisco has been the epicenter of one of the greatest economic booms of the 21st century, and we will be again. I'll push policies that help support our restaurants and small businesses, bring people back into our deserted downtown, and make our neighborhood and transit systems safer, cleaner, and more reliable.

A vote for me is a vote to recover together. Let's go.

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?

• We need safe, clean neighborhoods and public transit to recover from this crisis.
• Our city government needs to do more with less - just like the rest of us.
• I love San Francisco and all of us living here. But we need a leadership change, or we're headed further in the wrong direction.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm personally passionate about housing and public transit and the interplay between the two. I live in San Francisco's dense urban core, and the best part of my day is interacting with my neighbors and local businesses. I miss our thriving economy and will do everything I can so that we can all prosper together.

I also care deeply about those visibly suffering in San Francisco's downtown, who aren't getting the support and encouragement from our City to get the help that they need and get their lives back on track.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The BART D9 seat represents BART's part of most of San Francisco's downtown transit centers, and the economy that centers around them. It's important that voters recognize that this office can set priorities for these stations and the entire BART system - as I've learned more about BART, I've found that its staff generally have planned for many of the things that San Franciscans and commuters want to see, but the board hasn't prioritized them.

Right now, 350,000 fewer people are coming into San Francisco every day than one year ago. This is having devastating after effects on our local economy. I came to realize that this office has a lot of leverage over how quickly we recover, and that's my motivation for running.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

In my career as a startup operator, Steve Jobs is certainly a heavy hitter, despite his personal flaws. In terms of San Francisco politics I remember the years of Ed Lee as having that optimism that we all feel when the economy turns a corner - and I remember his leadership as steady and consensus-based, forming partnerships with the private sector to steer the city to a better future.

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

Act with integrity, put your constituents needs ahead of your political career, and work every day to bring our little city closer together, not further apart.

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

I think my greatest advantage over other candidates - from the perspective of San Francisco residents - is that I'm not here to make a career out of politics, I'm here to help my city recover together and build for a brighter, greener, cleaner future.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Though I grew up in New Jersey, we would often come to the Bay Area to visit family, and one of the first historical events I remember clearly was the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake - I was about 10 at the time and I loved baseball. We were watching the World Series on TV when the broadcast cut out. The news videos in the following days were almost incomprehensible to a 10 year old child.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My *very* first job was working as a summer gopher at a dial-up Internet provider in New Jersey. I think this was 1995 or so. I did everything - plugging in wires, cold calling sales leads, tuning computers and software, cleaning the kitchen. It was a small business, basically the founder and his spouse and I was the part-time help. I loved it! I've been enamored with small businesses of all kinds ever since.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Great question! I actually have a literature degree despite all this talk about civics, business and tech. My favorite book is the Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - even translated into English, the prose remains beautiful, the author's insights into the human condition are timeless, and it's all set against the backdrop of a nation and people struggling to find meaning under the yoke of tyranny. Highly recommended!

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Many people may not realize that BART owns substantial real estate, and the board can influence its development.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

A good board is made up of stakeholders from many professions and life experiences.

Among San Francisco's 3 seats, engineering, small business, and residents of downtown currently have no representation at all.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

BART was once a high-tech system - in 1968. My technology background and industry expertise will be valuable as the board makes decisions about how to allocate funding for the system's renovation.

Similarly, I can read a balance sheet and income statement, and that'll be important as ridership remains depressed for some time post-pandemic - we need to know where every dollar is going and to make sure that it's being spent to improve the experience of our riders.

The BART board also needs a voice to represent those of us who live near public transit - I live a block south of Civic Center Station - to make sure that BART is being a good neighbor. San Francisco's Market Street corridor sacrificed a lot in the late 1960s to make BART happen, and I'm not sure we've ever been made whole.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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