Our kids were suffering and Joel stood up for them. Joel helped lead the recall of an incompetent school board. He wrote the case for recall and organized drive-thru signature gathering events. The local media said Joel’s work was “key to the school board recall’s smashing success.”

[Click to read Joel’s essay that explains why the school board recall was the first step to fix San Francisco.]

[Click to read more about Joel’s views on education.]

Joel leads Stop Crime SF. Joel pursued a public records request that forced District Attorney Chesa Boudin to reveal case outcome data he did not make available to victims. Joel supported the Boudin recall because we deserve a reform-minded district attorney who is willing to prosecute serious crime, operate in full transparency, and always put victims first.

[Click to read the full story and find links to the data Joel obtained.]

[Click to read more about Joel’s views on public safety.]

Joel’s group Stop Crime SF ran a campaign to stop anti-Asian discrimination. The increased attacks on Asian seniors is personal for Joel because his in-laws are Chinese. Joel supports criminal justice reform. For it to succeed, residents must feel safe and victims cannot be ignored.

[Click to read more about Joel’s views on public safety.]

Joel is an award-winning journalist who investigates government inefficiencies and gives residents a voice. Joel believes in transparency and fiscal responsibility. We must audit every program at City Hall for effectiveness and only pay for what works. Joel’s ideas are informed by public policy training at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government along with years of community involvement and advocacy.

[Click to read a list of Joel’s awards.]

Joel is a civil liberties advocate who worked for the national ACLU to establish and protect Constitutional rights for LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and voters. Joel also focused on free speech rights and upholding the rule of law.

[Click to read more about the impact of Joel’s work to advance civil liberties.]

Joel married Lionel Hsu soon after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it. Joel was raised in Saginaw, Michigan by a single mom who cleaned houses for a living. Lionel grew up in poverty under martial law in Taiwan, immigrated to the United States for school and became a software engineer in Silicon Valley. Lionel is also an avid gardener.

[Click to read more about Joel’s background.]