SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Edwin Lee on Jan. 9 named Christina Olague as District 5 supervisor, filling the vacancy left by Ross Mirkarimi, who was sworn in as sheriff after representing the district since 2005.
“Christina Olague is my appointment for District 5 supervisor,” said Lee. “As a low-income tenant and immigration advocate, she shares my values in making government more fair and responsive for San Francisco residents. She has been a voice for our neighborhoods and has proven through her voting record on the Planning Commission that what San Francisco needs most right now is job creation and revitalizing our local economy.”
Supervisorial District 5 is composed of a variety of neighborhoods, including the Inner Sunset, Haight Ashbury, Lower Haight, Fillmore, Western Addition, Parnassus Heights, North Panhandle, Anza Vista, Lower Pacific Heights, Japantown, part of Hayes Valley, part of Ashbury Heights and part of UCSF Parnassus Heights.
As president of the San Francisco Planning Commission, Olague has spearheaded plans for growth and development in San Francisco and developed policies related to land use, transportation and neighborhood planning.
Olague is currently the senior housing action collaborative coordinator at the Senior Action Network (SAN), an umbrella coalition of more than 150 member organizations representing more than 30,000 seniors and persons with disabilities. Through leadership development and community organizing, SAN empowers residents, fights senior evictions, supports homeless seniors, and advocates for improved conditions for seniors in living in single room occupancy (SRO) buildings.
The daughter of a Latino farm worker, Olague grew up in Fresno and moved to San Francisco to attend college and worked in a number of San Francisco stock brokerages before pursuing a career in nonprofit. She worked for the Mission Anti Displacement Partnership, empowering low-income residents in the Mission District with education on planning policies and issues.
Olague has also been involved in the community through the South of Market Community Action Network; LYRIC, an organization for LGBTQQ youth; and the Mayor’s Office of Community Development Advisory Committee.
In 2003, Olague was the co-chair of the Living Wage Campaign (Proposition L), which voters approved to increase the minimum wage in San Francisco.
Olague holds a bachelor’s degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies with a concentration in liberal studies.