Wong’s Legislation Seeks to Keep Veterans’ Voices at City Hall

City Hall Wong’s Legislation Seeks to Keep Veterans’ Voices at City Hall By featureseditor027d778c78 on November 11, 2026 • ( Leave a comment ) By Neal Wong District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong wants to give San Francisco’s Veterans’ Affairs Commission back its name and remove a 2029 termination date placed on the body earlier this year, as he rallied veterans and supervisors on the steps of City Hall ahead of Veterans Day. Wong’s ordinance, introduced on Nov. 3 and co-sponsored by Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Matt Dorsey, would rename the Veterans’ Affairs Council as the Veterans’ Affairs Commission and strike a provision that would dissolve the body on July 1, 2029, unless the Board of Supervisors votes to extend it. Wong also introduced a resolution recognizing November 2026 as National Veterans and Military Families Month, honoring veterans and service members along with their families, caregivers and surviving loved ones. The new name and sunset date came out of a citywide overhaul of San Francisco’s boards and commissions. Voters created the Commission Streamlining Task Force by approving Proposition E in November 2024, and the board approved the task force’s ordinance in May. That law defined the group as an advisory body, renamed it a council and set it to expire in 2029. The new name took effect in June. The task force recommended adding sunset dates of no more than three years to most advisory bodies, matching a board rule for bodies it creates, so supervisors would have to reauthorize them to keep them going. It also recommended calling advisory bodies “councils” and reserving the names “commission” and “board” for decision-making bodies, though it said some bodies could keep their names for historical significance. Wong, a captain in the California Army National Guard, said the body gives veterans a direct way to bring their concerns to the mayor and the board through hearings and recommendations. “That work requires continuity,” Wong said. “Members build relationships, follow issues over time and bring experience that city government needs to hear. Veterans’ needs will continue beyond July 2029. Their representation at City Hall should continue, too.” Hanley Chan, the advisory group’s vice president and a Navy veteran, argued against the name change in a June op-ed in The Voice of San Francisco. “A council does not carry the same meaning, authority or public recognition,” Chan wrote. In August, the Council sent a letter drafted by Chan to S.F. Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors asking for a corrective ordinance. The letter argued that many similar advisory bodies kept their names without comparable restrictions, while the veterans’ body was renamed, given a sunset date and assigned additional requirements. Closing Tuesday’s event, Chan asked current and former members of the advisory group to raise their hands and made a point of using the body’s old name. “I also want to take a special moment to recognize and thank my fellow veterans affairs commissioners,” Chan said. “Not council – commission.” Supervisor Melgar, who represents District 7, said her younger sister, an Air Force officer now in the reserves, deployed to Kuwait and Iraq as a medic and was later diagnosed with breast cancer, which Melgar said is common among those exposed to burn pits. She said getting her sister’s care reimbursed was very difficult. “Veterans have the highest risk of PTSD, mental health issues, homelessness,” Melgar said. “We as the City can do so much more to support this community. It all starts with a Veterans Affairs Commission.” Supervisor Dorsey, who represents District 6, spoke about his father, an Air Force veteran who served during the Korean War. “It meant the world to him to serve his country, and he was always so proud to be part of the veterans community,” Dorsey said. William “Bill” Barnickel, president of the advisory group and a former Air Force servicemember, spoke about the importance of housing veterans. He credited Wong, then an aide to D-4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, with helping pass a priority for veterans in the city’s below-market-rate housing programs. Wong’s resolution, co-sponsored by Supervisors Melgar, Dorsey, Rafael Mandelman, Stephen Sherrill, honors veterans and service members along with their spouses, children, caregivers and surviving loved ones. Wong said military service shifts responsibilities onto families. Spouses adjust work schedules, relatives help care for children and family members may become caregivers while managing jobs and households. He said he wants City departments and community partners to help those families find the benefits and support they may qualify for. “Those responsibilities deserve recognition,” Wong said. “They also deserve support.” Gerardo Carr, the City’s County Veterans Service Officer, urged veterans, dependents and survivors to learn about benefits available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and community partners. He said people often don’t know what they qualify for. Simone Lundquist, founder and executive director of Open Doors to Future Possibilities, said she started the group about eight years ago after carrying survivor’s guilt for 30 years over eight friends killed in an IED explosion. Lundquist worked with the Red Cross and Red Crescent in war zones. She said recognizing the month reminds community organizations to ask how they can include families in their support. “Families often become very good at getting through the day,” Lundquist said. “They make the arrangements, keep the household running and help everyone else adjust. Does that mean they never need the support themselves?” The resolution was adopted without objection at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The ordinance will go to the board’s Rules Committee no sooner than early December, before going to the full board for votes to reach the mayor. Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Like this: Like Loading… Related Categories: City Hall Tagged as: alan wong , City Hall , Sunset Beacon , Sunset District , wong