Jackie Fielder Explained

Jackie Fielder
Birth Place:Long Beach, California
Alma Mater:Stanford University (BA, MA)
Office:Member-elect of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the 9th district
Term Start:January 8, 2025
Succeeding:Hillary Ronen

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.

Early life and education

Fielder 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.

She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in public policy and an MA in sociology.[5]

Activism

Fielder is part of the Democratic Socialists of America.[6]

Public banks

Fielder advocates for public banks. She advocated to pass California AB 857, which allowed local governments to create their own banks. She co-founded the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition, the first publicly-owned municipal bank in San Francisco.[7]

Dakota Access Pipeline

As 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. She noted indigenous Seattle residents had advocated for the city to divest from the pipeline, which led her to consider what she could do. She decided to try to do the same in San Francisco, which led to the public bank.[9]

Policing

While at Stanford, she joined the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014. 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.

Politics

In 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.

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.

Personal life

To pay bills, Fielder has been a server and bartender, as well as serving as a lecturer in ethnic studies at San Francisco State University.

She self-identifies as queer.

She has been homeless, relying on couch-surfing and sleeping in her car.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Taft . Molly . 2019-12-24 . What It’s Like to Run for Office Without a Permanent Address . 2024-11-08 . Teen Vogue . en-US.
  2. Web site: Firstenberg . Ian . November 2, 2023 . Indigenous organizer Jackie Fielder builds on grassroots support for District 9 campaign . 2024-11-08 . El Tecolote.
  3. Web site: 2020-08-11 . Why I Ran for the First Time: Jackie Fielder . 2024-11-08 . Shondaland . en-US.
  4. Web site: "We Deserve to Not Only Survive, but to Thrive" . 2024-11-08 . jacobin.com . en-US.
  5. Web site: Mark . Julian . 2019-12-11 . In state senate hopeful Jackie Fielder, San Francisco progressives see their Ocasio-Cortez . 2024-11-08 . Mission Local . en-US.
  6. Web site: Toledo . Aldo . 2024-11-08 . Will this new democratic socialist supervisor become the most progressive leader in S.F.? . 2024-11-08 . San Francisco Chronicle . en.
  7. Web site: Johnson . Sydney . 2023-09-08 . San Francisco Green-Lights Nation's First City-Run Public Bank KQED . 2024-11-08 . www.kqed.org . en.
  8. Web site: Stites . Catherine . SF State lecturer Jackie Fielder runs for State senate . 2024-11-08 . Golden Gate Xpress.
  9. Web site: 23-Year-Old Spearheads Indigenous Pipeline Fight - Brit + Co . 2024-11-08 . www.brit.co . en.
  10. Web site: Kost . Alexei Koseff and Ryan . 2020-11-04 . Wiener wins second term in state Senate . 2024-11-08 . San Francisco Chronicle . en.