Roots in District 10

From the Community

Chris Jackson serves as an elected Trustee on the San Francisco Community College Board, and worked as a research and policy analyst for the San Francisco Labor Council from 2007-2010. His grandparents lived in the Bayview, on Hollister Street—his grandfather worked in the shipyard, his grandmother in a garment factory. His family’s roots in the district run deep.

He understands the struggles of every part of District Ten: from Potrero Hill to Candlestick Point.

Chris Jackson defined himself as a committed community leader early on, becoming known for a tireless work ethic and advocacy for social change. In 2003, Chris was appointed to the San Francisco Youth Commission, where he served as the Governmental Affairs Officer. While there, he authored legislation creating the Youth Employment Committee—a body that examined the need to expand youth employment initiatives. At the same time, there was an epidemic of violence with near-high records of homicides and violent crime in our neighborhoods. In response to community fear and anger at the situation, Chris was part of a coalition that convened several anti-violence public demonstrations.

Social Justice Activism

Chris was a founding board member of Young Workers United, a labor advocacy group that has pushed for expanded worker rights for young people, immigrant workers and those in the service industry sector. He assisted in the drafting and campaign operations of the Paid Sick Day Leave Act, Proposition F, which passed with over 61% percent of the vote, becoming the first legislation of its kind in the country.

He matriculated at S.F. State, where he studied Communications and Urban Planning. While there, he became active in leading a student movement for high-quality higher education to ensure that working class students, and students of color could gain access to S.F. State. He helped to organize marches in Sacramento and Long Beach to fight back student fee increases that priced out working class students across the state.

Policy Expertise

In 2006, Chris worked for Assemblymember Kevin DeLeon as the Jessie Unruh Assembly Fellow. He staffed legislation in the areas of higher education, health and human services and transportation.

Chris then became a researcher and policy analyst for the San Francisco Labor Council, in 2007, a place where he worked for the next three years. In this capacity, he is charged with studying how various land use policies can be more effective for the people of San Francisco. At Labor Council, he worked with a team that secured a community benefits agreement at Hunters Point Shipyard that assured 32% affordable housing, $17 million in workforce development that must stay in the community, and $27 million in a community-first housing fund.

Elected Public Official

In 2008, Chris Jackson was elected to the Community College Board of Trustees. As a Trustee, he brought the Gateway to College Program to the Southeast Campus—and of the 100 current students involved in this program, 45% of them are from the southeast community.

Chris also serves as Chair of the Budget Committee where he administers $200 million dollars and oversees over 10,000 employees. Even during these difficult budgetary times, he has protected workers’ jobs and prevented layoffs at the CCSF.

Chris oversaw contracting opportunities for Southeast Jobs Coalition neighborhood organizations including Greenline Defense, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Young Community Developers, Inc., Arc Ecology, and Visitation Valley Community Development Center that secured a solar panel training program and increased job placement opportunities for southeast residents.

As a Legislator

Chris co-authored the City College’s Green Jobs Training Program and curricula, which provide 16-24 year olds with the opportunity to take classes at City College, that emphasize job-training skills and open doors to employment within the green sector. He also supported efforts to improve and enforce the City College Sunshine Ordinance to lend more transparency at CCSF.

In addition, he worked with Parents for Public Education to prevent the closure of George Washington Carver Elementary School. At that school, Chris listened and supported the community’s successful grassroots efforts to keep the same principal at that school. He also worked with educational leaders to create the Bayview Empowerment Plan—a long-term plan to provide additional funding for professional development for teachers.

During his first year in office, Chris Jackson expanded the community outreach program and secured priority registration for city residents for the popular nursing program. In addition, he passed a resolution to address the student achievement gap that leaves too many people of color behind, and has been a longtime advocate of bringing satellite campuses to neighborhoods like Chinatown and Bayview Hunters Point. He actively works to support local hire efforts to employ a greater percentage of local contractors and workers, and continues to work to bring labor groups and the small business sector together on pro-community development plans.

While on the College Board, Chris authored legislation to form the Southeast Campus Planning Committee in 2010, in order to ensure the creation of a CCSF campus in District 10.

Chris lives in the Bayview with his fiancée, Cristina Lopez.