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Crosscurrents

KALW Live: Connie Chan and Scott Wiener debate

Courtesy of Lorie Leilani Shelley
Connie Chan and Scott Wiener

All month long our reporters have been breaking down and explaining some of the most important propositions, measures and races on the ballot. And one fight in particular has dominated headlines. The race between San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and State Senator Scott Wiener to be the Congressional Representative for CA’s 11th District.

The two Democrats are running for the House seat held for nearly four decades by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. This election will mark the first time in years that the race has been truly competitive. The winner will be a consequential voice for San Francisco in Washington on issues such as foreign policy, taxation and federal regulation.

To help Bay area voters decide, KALW’s Executive Director James Kass moderated a panel between the candidates at Book Shop West Portal. We bring you a portion of that conversation.

James Kass is an award-winning writer, educator, producer and media maker. He is also the Founding Executive Director of Youth Speaks, a position he held for 21 years (1996-2017), and is widely credited with helping to launch a global youth spoken word movement, working with tens of thousands of young people from across the country - and helping launch close to 100 programs nationwide. James is an advocate for arts, youth, equity, access, and inclusion.

He joined KALW as Executive Director in August 2023.