Newsom Endorses Murase for Re-election

San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Emily Murase and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom

SAN FRANCISCO — Emily Murase, a member of the San Francisco Board of Education, announced this week that her re-election campaign has been endorsed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Not long after Gavin was elected mayor of San Francisco (he served from 2004-2011), he appointed me to my current position as director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women,” Murase said. “A key part of my position is working to end human trafficking. During his tenure as mayor, Gavin launched the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking, which continues today, as strong as ever.

“As president of the Board of Education in 2015, I authored a resolution requiring the district to train school administrators, educators, and support staff to identify indicators of human trafficking. The resolution also called for age-appropriate curriculum and student peer outreach to end human trafficking.

“I also partnered with Gavin on a school board resolution in support of the 2016 Safety for All ballot initiative, a gun safety measure he authored that banned high-capacity ammunition magazines and required permits for individuals seeking to purchase ammunition. It passed with 63 percent of the statewide vote.”

A graduate of San Francisco public schools, Murase and spouse Neal Taniguchi have two daughters who attended the district’s signature Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program (JBBP) at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Founded 45 years ago by community leaders and parents, including her own, JBBP continues to promote multiculturalism within the school district.

Murase was a member of the Rosa Parks School Site Council, the JBBP Parent Teacher Community Council, and the Lowell Alumni Association Board of Directors. Before her election to the school board in 2010, she chaired the SFUSD Parent Advisory Council. As a school board member, she has focused her efforts on responding to the concerns of families on an individual basis, expanding access to world languages and the arts, emphasizing opportunities for achievement, and strengthening the accountability of the school district to keep its promises to families.

Elected officials who have endorsed her include Board of Equalization member Fiona Ma; State Sens. Scott Wiener and Ricardo Lara; former State Sen. Mark Leno; Assemblymembers David Chiu and Phil Ting; San Francisco Supervisors Vallie Brown, Ahsha Safai, Catherine Stefani, Katy Tang and Norman Yee; District Attorney George Gascon; Public Defender Jeff Adachi; Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu; Board of Education Commissioners Matt Haney, Rachel Norton and Shamann Walton; City College of San Francisco Trustees Alex Randolph and Thea Selby; and Democratic County Central Committee member Mary Jung.

Newsom was elected lieutenant governor in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He announced his candidacy for governor in 2015, finished in the top two in the June 6 nonpartisan blanket primary, and will face off with Republican John Cox in November.