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Keith Freedman
Keith Freedman ran for election for Mayor of San Francisco in California. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Freedman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
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]
Elections
2024
See also: Mayoral election in San Francisco, California (2024)
General election
General election for Mayor of San Francisco
The ranked-choice voting election was won by Daniel Lurie in round 14 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 390,184 |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Freedman in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Keith Freedman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Freedman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
That beauty is tarnished by our treatment of the unhoused, our tolerance from crime and out inaction from our leaders.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Mayor of San Francisco |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 13, 2024
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