In anticipation of the San Francisco mayoral election, The Epoch Times is interviewing the mayoral candidates. This article is the third in the series. View the whole series HERE.
Dennis Herrera, who is the city attorney for San Francisco, has degrees from Villanova University and George Washington University. He has a background in maritime law and served in President Bill Clinton’s administration in the early nineties as Assistant to the Maritime Administrator. After returning to San Francisco in 1996 he started working for the city, and was eventually elected to be the city’s first Latino City Attorney in 2001. He lives with his wife and son in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. An abridged version of this interview was first published on June 9, 2011 in the San Francisco print edition.
The Epoch Times: Can you tell us when you began to be interested in public service? What inspired you to devote yourself?
Dennis Herrera: Well, I’ve always been professionally interested in public service. I moved out to San Francisco from the east coast in the late 80s, and soon after arriving here I got involved in public life. First in the early 90s, 1990 or so, with the waterfront planning advisory board, which was an advisory body that was supposed to come up with a land use plan for the San Francisco waterfront. It was done in reaction to Proposition H that was on the ballot in 1990. After that, I just continued with my public involvement, getting involved with local democratic clubs in San Francisco. I worked with the California Democratic Party. Then after President Clinton was elected in 1992, I went to serve in his administration in Washington D.C. for two-and-a-half years. Even doing that, I used to come home every six weeks to the home that I recently purchased in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco.
My being involved in public service has been long-standing for the entirety of my professional career, even before I ran for elected office. Even after I got back from the Clinton administration, I got my law firm; I’ve been on the transportation commission and the police commission before I ultimately ran for city attorney in 2001. So it’s been a big part of my career, at all different levels.
ET: What’s the most meaningful thing you’ve done while in public service? Can you give an example?
DH: I’ve had a tremendous opportunity at a lot of different levels of being involved in government. Really seeing the ability that one has to make a difference in their community and people’s lives through the power of the government, or in my case, most specifically, using the law to make a difference in people’s lives each and every day. You look at what’s going on in this country and the cynicism that people have about government at the federal and state level. I really believe that getting involved in the local government gives you the greatest opportunity to make a positive impact in people’s lives each and every day.
One thing that I always highlight is something that probably doesn’t get much press attention because we have a lot of big interesting cases. But the case that I’m most proud of—that has made the biggest difference in people’s lives is one that doesn’t get much press. I brought in the first seed money for the very first Boys and Girls Club in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. It was providing programming to 200 kids that previously didn’t have anything there to provide them with programming opportunities. Making a difference in kids’ lives—that’s what really inspires me and makes it all worthwhile.
ET: Are there any difficulties that you’ve struggled through?
DH: I think it’s dealing with a mindset that a lot of people have: “Government doesn’t matter, we can’t make a difference,”—frustration with government—and when you look at it, it shouldn’t be that surprising because for 40 years people have been told that government is the problem, it’s not the solution. I fundamentally disagree with that. Unfortunately, people are so cynical, and they don’t really have an understanding of how important government is to making a difference in people’s lives. … Those that are wealthy often don’t need them that much. … Those on the other end of the economic spectrum have lost all hope. But, the fact of the matter is, collectively as a society, we all need to come together and understand [that] there’s a real role for government to undertake enacting positive change that helps the broader community. Fighting through that cynicism that people have is probably the most difficult to deal with.
ET: You came from a working class family. What helped you be successful along the way?
DH: I think that we’re a country of democrats. We’ve gone through different periods of immigrant groups coming to the United States. But what I think we have to remember as a country are the contributions that all the different communities that have immigrated to America—how they’ve enriched our culture having expanded opportunity—have brought new skills. How they have contributed to the melting pot of what makes America so special. The European immigrants, Latino immigrants, and Asian immigrants—they all have had a tremendous role in defining who we are as a country and as a society. I think that’s the greatest strength that America brings to the world.
