Shamann Walton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shamann Walton
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025
|
|
| President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors |
|
| In office January 8, 2021 – January 8, 2023 |
|
| Preceded by | Norman Yee |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Peskin |
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 10th district |
|
| Assumed office January 8, 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | Malia Cohen |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residences | San Francisco, California |
| Education | Morris Brown College (BA) San Francisco State University (MPA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Shamann Walton is an American politician. He has been a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 2019. He represents District 10, which is a specific area of San Francisco. From January 2021 to January 2023, he was the president of the Board. Before becoming a supervisor, Mr. Walton served on the San Francisco Board of Education, where he was also president.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Shamann Walton grew up in Vallejo, California, raised by his mother. During his teenage years, he faced some challenges.
He graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1998. Later, in 2010, he earned his master's degree in public administration from San Francisco State University.
Role on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Mr. Walton was elected as a supervisor for District 10 on November 6, 2018. He won with a majority of the votes after a special voting system was used. He officially started his role at the Board of Supervisors meeting on January 8, 2019. He took over from Malia Cohen, who could not run again because of rules about how long someone can serve.
In 2021, the Board members chose Mr. Walton to be their president.
Views on Housing
Mr. Walton has clear opinions on housing in San Francisco. He was the only supervisor who did not support a plan to allow more types of homes, like four-plexes, in areas that only had single-family houses before. He believed this change would make it harder for some people to afford to live in the city.
In 2019, he also opposed a state bill that would require more housing to be built near job centers and public transportation.
Ideas on Policing
In December 2018, Mr. Walton and another supervisor, Hillary Ronen, proposed a law to close San Francisco's youth detention center by December 2021.
In June 2020, during city-wide protests, he suggested a rule to stop the San Francisco Police Department from hiring officers who had a history of serious bad behavior. In October of that year, he introduced a law to make it illegal to make fake emergency calls if they were motivated by racism.
Focus on Racial Issues
In February 2020, Mr. Walton proposed a plan to explore the idea of reparations for the African American community in San Francisco. This plan created a group to develop the idea further.
In July 2022, Mr. Walton faced issues for using inappropriate language and retaliating against a city employee, which was against city rules.
In 2024, Mr. Walton helped pass a new rule that made Vietnamese an official language of San Francisco. He explained that San Francisco has many different immigrant communities and wants to provide good language services.
Transportation Initiatives
In July 2020, Mr. Walton and supervisor Aaron Peskin initially decided not to propose a sales tax to help fund Caltrain, a train service. The train service had lost many riders during the COVID-19 pandemic in California. They were concerned about how the train line was managed and that the sales tax might unfairly affect people with lower incomes. However, they later changed their minds when Caltrain promised to make changes to its structure.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a part of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park was closed to cars. Mr. Walton and Ahsha Safaí did not want to keep the road car-free after the pandemic. Mr. Walton argued that keeping it car-free would create unfair access for different groups of people. Data showed that visits to the car-free road did not change much for people from different parts of the city.
San Francisco Parks Alliance
Mr. Walton has been very involved in dealing with a financial problem involving the San Francisco Parks Alliance. He has publicly stated that the Parks Alliance broke the trust of community groups. He said that money raised by volunteers and non-profit staff was misused.
Mr. Walton wants to understand how much money was lost and how the non-profit used city and community funds for its own operations. He also wants to know how the city can get back the missing money. He is worried about the many small organizations that are now facing financial difficulties because of this issue.
His office asked the Parks Alliance for detailed financial records, but they did not respond. This led Mr. Walton to issue official orders, called subpoenas, to former leaders of the Parks Alliance. These orders require them to provide information and documents to help find out what happened to the money.
Mr. Walton has worked with Supervisor Jackie Fielder to ensure there is better oversight to prevent similar problems in the future.
Personal Life
Shamann Walton is a Christian. He has two children.
