San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting: March 23, 2026 – Mayoral Reappointments and Appointments
San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting: March 23, 2026 – Mayoral Reappointments and Appointments
Overview
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee convened on March 23, 2026, at 6:00 PM UTC (morning local time) to consider five mayoral nominations and reappointments. The committee unanimously approved all nominees, forwarding them to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations. Key discussions touched on SFMTA fiscal challenges, transportation equity, and tolling at Treasure Island.
Attendees
- Chair: Supervisor Shaman Walton
- Vice Chair: Supervisor Stephen Sherrow
- Member: President Raphael Mandelman
- Clerk: Victor Young
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (Eric Dasmalchi): Two public speakers—Lauren (former classmate) and Jane Natoli (volunteer colleague)—endorsed his nomination, citing his knowledge, community integration, and enthusiasm for Treasure Island.
- Item 4 (Timothy Kojo Minta): Four public speakers—Benwell Rodriguez (YMCA), Me Sun Boyce (restaurant owner), Linda Fedicki Richardson (TIDA President), and Aya Lancey Denman (resident and florist)—supported his appointment, highlighting his community service, engagement with small businesses, and commitment to affordable housing.
- Items 1, 2, 5: No public comments were made.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Reappointment of Dominica Henderson to SFMTA Board (Term ending March 1, 2030)
- Position: Chair Walton moved to strike "rejecting" and approve the reappointment. Unanimous voice vote.
- Key Points: Chair Walton noted Henderson's affordability housing and community background, her status as a Muni rider, and acknowledged the SFMTA's budget challenges. Henderson cited achievements: launching microtransit (baby shuttle), increasing ridership on the 22 line to exceed pre-pandemic levels, and learning from quick-build projects. She emphasized transportation as a "transformation tool."
Item 2: Reappointment of Stephanie Kajina to SFMTA Board (Term ending March 1, 2030)
- Position: President Mandelman moved to strike "rejecting" and approve. Unanimous.
- Key Points: Kajina highlighted her role as the first Latina on the SFMTA Board, emphasized that 28% of SFMTA ridership is Latinx, and committed to equity, service reliability, safety, and financial sustainability.
Item 3: Appointment of Eric Dasmalchi to TIDA Board (Term ending February 26, 2030)
- Position: President Mandelman moved to approve; unanimous.
- Key Points:
- Dasmalchi holds a master's in urban planning from UCLA, lives on Treasure Island since 2024, and praised the island's sustainable development plan. He supports tolling for residents as a demand-management and revenue tool, citing equity considerations and potential for reinvestment in transit.
- Chair Walton expressed caution about tolling as a tax on commuting. President Mandelman acknowledged it as a necessary but politically difficult tool, noting the city's commitment to congestion pricing.
Item 4: Appointment of Timothy Kojo Minta to TIDA Board (Term ending April 28, 2030)
- Position: Vice Chair Sherrow moved to approve; unanimous.
- Key Points:
- Minta holds degrees in economics and local economic development, is a tech executive (Adobe), and has extensive community board experience (YMC, Big Brothers Big Sisters).
- Responding to Chair Walton, he expressed initial reluctance about tolling due to disproportionate impacts on lower-income residents (citing London congestion charge), but said he would study the issue further. He affirmed his commitment to serving island residents, not just the mayor.
- TIDA President Linda Fedicki Richardson noted that Treasure Island development is driving the city's economy and teased upcoming housing announcements.
Item 5: Reappointment of Anna Van Dagna to Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board (Term ending January 24, 2030)
- Position: Vice Chair Sherrow moved to approve; unanimous.
- Key Points: Van Dagna, the city's public finance director, oversees municipal debt. She emphasized the Oversight Board's role in approving annual recognized obligation payment schedules (ROPS) and modifications to enforceable obligations, ensuring transparency for bondholders and taxing entities.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Dominica Henderson): Approved 3-0, forwarded to full board with positive recommendation.
- Item 2 (Stephanie Kajina): Approved 3-0, forwarded to full board with positive recommendation.
- Item 3 (Eric Dasmalchi): Approved 3-0, forwarded to full board with positive recommendation.
- Item 4 (Timothy Kojo Minta): Approved 3-0, forwarded to full board with positive recommendation.
- Item 5 (Anna Van Dagna): Approved 3-0, forwarded to full board with positive recommendation.
- Next Steps: All items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda on April 7, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning everyone and welcome to the March 23rd, 2026 Rules Committee meeting. I'm your chair of Supervisor Shaman Walton, joined by Vice Chair Stephen Sherrow, as well as President Raphael Mandelman. Today's clerk is Victor Young, and I want to thank Jamie Eshevery with SFGov TV for making sure that this meeting is publicized and made available to the public. Mr. Clerk, do we have any announcements this morning? Uh yes. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda where your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Please line up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VIC TOR.YOUNG at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment by email, it will be included as part of the file. You may also send your written comment by US Mail to our office in City Hall when Dr. Carlton be good lit place. Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of April 7th, unless otherwise stated. That completes my announcements. Thank you so much. Would you please call item number one? Item number one is a motion approving rejecting the mayor's nomination for the reappointment of Dominica Henderson to the municipal transportation agency board of directors for a term ending March 1st, 2030. Thank you so much. And I believe we have Director Henderson here. So please come up and tell us why you want to continue to serve the President. Good morning. Uh greetings to you and thank you for having me, Chair Walton, Vice Chair Cheryl, and President Mandelman. My name is Dominica Henderson, and I appreciate this opportunity to be able to share a few thoughts about my experience as I seek reappointment to the SFMTA Board of Directors. I come to you today with the experience of a very committed affordable housing and community building uh professional. Uh also as someone who was born and raised in San Francisco by public servants, including a retired muni operator. Um as a weekend restaurant worker in my family business on third street as a commuter and a transit writer every day. Um and as an aspiring bike rider and of course as a current SFMTA board member. As I reflect on the past few years that I served on the board, there were many challenges that we had to overcome. Um and I'm proud to have been part of the agency's achievements to launch microtransit like the baby shuttle, um, to increase ridership on the 22, um, to exceed pre-pandemic levels, and even you know, I'm proud of some of the lessons that we learned from some of the mistakes or the revisits that we had to make on street improvement projects and quick build projects in different neighborhoods. Yesterday at the CalTrain naming ceremony, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said that transportation is transformation. And even during this time of fiscal uncertainty and um difficulty financially for MTA, I'm really excited at the chance to continue to work to use transportation as a transformation tool for neighborhoods and communities in San Francisco to help continue the evolution of this city and the resurgence of this city. And I know that now more than ever this role as a board member comes with hard decisions, and but it also brings about the opportunity to deliver impactful tangible results and solutions to many of the challenges that we face every day. And so I look forward to being a partner to you all supervisors and also to the community to be able to continue the good work and hopefully um see a very much stronger and uh more efficient SFMTA. Thank you. Thank you so much, Director Henderson, and we will now go to public comment on this item, seeing nothing from my colleagues. Yes, members of the public wish to speak on this item. She's like speak at this time. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes. Are there any members of the public who would like to comment on this matter? There are no speakers. Thank you. Public comment is now closed. And I just want to say one thank you to Director Henderson for a continued willingness to serve. Uh there's a lot of obviously concerns that we have moving forward, MTA, particularly dealing with budget deficits as we move forward. Uh, and appreciate you willing to step up at this hard time. Uh, also just want to thank you as someone who I know uh is a true member of community and does actually spend time uh on riding muni and and time in community talking about people's concerns with MTA. So I want to appreciate you for that.
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