Jackie Fielder is an American politician and activist who was elected in 2024 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 9, which includes the neighborhoods of the Mission District, Bernal Heights, and Portola.
Jackie Fielder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member-elect of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 9th district | |
| Assuming office January 8, 2025 | |
| Succeeding | Hillary Ronen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Long Beach, California |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (BA, MA) |
Early life and education
editFielder was raised in Long Beach, California, and is of Indigenous and Mexican descent.[1][2][3] Her grandfather grew up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and her grandmother on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.[4] She was raised by a single mother in a working-class family, attending public schools.[3]
She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in public policy and an MA in sociology.[5]
Activism
editFielder is part of the Democratic Socialists of America.[6]
Public banks
editFielder advocates for public banks. She advocated to pass California AB 857, which allowed local governments to create their own banks.[5] She co-founded the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition, the first publicly-owned municipal bank in San Francisco.[6][7]
Dakota Access Pipeline
editAs an indigenous woman, Fielder felt moved to support the Standing Rock Protests.[8] She traveled to the Standing Rock Reservation, where she was inspired to do more.[2] She noted indigenous Seattle residents had advocated for the city to divest from the pipeline, which led her to consider what she could do.[1] She decided to try to do the same in San Francisco, which led to the public bank.[9][5]
Policing
editWhile at Stanford, she joined the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014.[3] She also opposed the San Francisco Police Officers Association's use of force policy, and has criticized her political opponents for their support from police associations.[3][4]
Politics
editIn 2020, Fielder challenged State Senator Scott Wiener for his seat in the 11th district. She advanced to the general election in a top-two primary system along with Wiener, but lost to him.[10] At the time, some in local politics compared her to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[5]
In 2024, Fielder ran for an open seat in the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in district 9, since Hillary Ronen was termed out. She won, beating more moderate candidate Trevor Chandler.[6]
Personal life
editTo pay bills, Fielder has been a server and bartender, as well as serving as a lecturer in ethnic studies at San Francisco State University.[5]
She self-identifies as queer.[3]
She has been homeless, relying on couch-surfing and sleeping in her car.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Taft, Molly (2019-12-24). "What It's Like to Run for Office Without a Permanent Address". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ a b Firstenberg, Ian (November 2, 2023). "Indigenous organizer Jackie Fielder builds on grassroots support for District 9 campaign". El Tecolote. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ a b c d e "Why I Ran for the First Time: Jackie Fielder". Shondaland. 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ a b ""We Deserve to Not Only Survive, but to Thrive"". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ a b c d e Mark, Julian (2019-12-11). "In state senate hopeful Jackie Fielder, San Francisco progressives see their Ocasio-Cortez". Mission Local. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ a b c Toledo, Aldo (2024-11-08). "Will this new democratic socialist supervisor become the most progressive leader in S.F.?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ Johnson, Sydney (2023-09-08). "San Francisco Green-Lights Nation's First City-Run Public Bank | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ Stites, Catherine. "SF State lecturer Jackie Fielder runs for State senate". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ "23-Year-Old Spearheads Indigenous Pipeline Fight - Brit + Co". www.brit.co. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- ^ Kost, Alexei Koseff and Ryan (2020-11-04). "Wiener wins second term in state Senate". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-11-08.