Sophie Maxwell

Sophie Maxwell (April 9, 1950)[1][2] is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing District 10.

Sophie Maxwell
Member of the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
from District 10
In office
January 2001 – January 2011
Preceded byN/A
Succeeded byMalia Cohen
Personal details
Born (1950-04-09) April 9, 1950
San Francisco, California
NationalityAmerican
ResidenceSan Francisco, California
OccupationPolitician

Early life

Maxwell has lived in the Bayview district in San Francisco, California for the last twenty years.[3]

Prior to her election, Maxwell worked as an electrician for Amtrak.[4]

Political career

Campaign

Maxwell defeated San Francisco Planning Commissioner Linda Fadeke Richardson, who was supported by mayor Willie Brown, in the 2000 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election. As a result of the shift from at-large to district elections, she served a transitional two-year term.[4] She ran unopposed in the 2002 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election.[1] She won re-election in the 2006 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election against six other candidates.[5]

Tenure

Some themes of her work cover issues such as:[2]

  • environmental justice
  • clean energy
  • equitable distribution of public resources

Maxwell supported housing development at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, believing that it would bring 10,000 jobs to the area. Environmental activists have called for the preservation of the neighboring Yosemite Slough wetlands.[5]

During her tenure, there were three failed recall campaigns against Maxwell by her constituents.[5] In the second attempt in 2004, half of the 6000 signatures were deemed invalid and the petition was later thrown out.[6] The 2010 recall campaign was partially motivated by Maxwell's vote against advising the United States Navy from re-establishing the Restoration Advisory Board, founded in 1994 to inform the neighboring communities around the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard cleanup. Maxwell has stated that she offered the Navy the choice of either reinstating the board or finding new ways to engage the community, however her critics found that to be weak stance.[7][5]

She termed out in January 2011[8] and was succeeded by Malia Cohen.

Epilogue

In the 2010 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election, Maxwell endorsed Bay Area Rapid Transit board member Lynette Sweet in a race that consisted of 21 candidates.[9]

Maxwell was appointed by Mayor London Breed to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in April 2019.[8]

Personal life

Maxwell's mother, Enola D. Maxwell, was a neighborhood activist and former executive director of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. Potrero Hill Middle School at 655 De Haro Street was renamed Enola D. Maxwell Middle School of the Arts in 2001.[1] The building was then converted to International Studies Academy, which closed in 2016, and is now the site of San Francisco International High School.[10] Her son Rama died of Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 30.[2] She is divorced.[5]

References
  1. Hoge, Patrick (2003-06-25). "Enola Maxwell -- activist, advocate / Supervisor's mom championed neighborhood". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  2. "In Depth with District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell". Neighborhood News Wire. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, San Francisco city and county government web page. Retrieved on 2007-02-26 from http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=4641.
  4. Ganahl, Jane (2002-02-03). "PROFILES / Reinventing life after 50 / From electrician to politician". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  5. Gordon, Rachel (December 12, 2010). "Sophie Maxwell fights for environmental justice". SFGATE. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  6. Herel, Suzanne; Gordon, Rachel (August 18, 2004). "SAN FRANCISCO / Elections officials reject petition to recall embattled supervisor / More than half of the signatures were ruled invalid". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  7. Castañeda, Adrian (February 3, 2010). "Recalling Sophie Maxwell". San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966–2014. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  8. Sabatini, Joshua (April 15, 2019). "Sophie Maxwell, Tim Paulson appointed to city's public utilities commission". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  9. Wildermuth, John (2010-10-12). "Lynette Sweet get's Maxwell's endorsement in D-10 supes race". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  10. Zimmer, Jessica (June 15, 2017). "What's in a name: Potrero Hill's parks and schools". SFUSD. The Potrero View.
Political offices
New district Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
District 10
January 8, 2001 – January 8, 2011		 Succeeded by
Malia Cohen


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