Board President Matt Gonzalez has selected community activist Christina Olague for an appointment to the Planning Commission. He could not have made a better choice.
Olague is exactly the type of commuity representative that the Planning Commission sorely needs. Currently employed as an organizer for the Mission Agenda, Olague has strong connections with the Latino community, Mission District activists, and those working citywide on SRO’s, rent control, and other housing preservation issues.
Olague is the first progressive Latina appointed to the San Francisco Planning Commission. She is also the first tenant organizer to gain such an appointment, a sad comment for a city that is 70% tenant.
Olague’s appoinment creates the prospect for a serious public debate about how the Planning Department allocates its resources. She has fought to get Planning to conduct the Mission District EIR for which the Board of Supervisors twice allotted money only to then spend it elsewhere. She knows first hand the real life impacts of Planning Department delays in processing affordable housing projects, and will be a link between Planning and communities long disenfranchised from the process.
Olague can be expected to vigorously oppose the elimination of rent-controlled housing, and to aggressively support tenants rights. As important as her policy views is her ability to work well with others, which is critical to getting things done on the seven- member Commission.
Matt Gonzalez let substantial time pass before making his first Planning Commission appointment, but the wait was worth it. Christina Olague is an excellent choice. We look forward to Olague’s prompt confirmation by the Board of Supervisors in the weeks ahead.
