Hi! My name is Paul Bellar and I’m running for the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder. No, I’m not a politician, so if that’s what you were hoping to hear, no need to read any further. I’m just a guy; a dad, husband, a teacher and a small business owner who loves San Francisco and has big, actionable ideas to drive change in our housing market while, mitigating our property tax burden.

If I’m Not A Politician, What Makes Me Think I’m qualified To Run For The San Francisco Assessor-Recorder?

Since you asked, I’d like to share my story. I became enamored with San Francisco when I moved here in 2002. Getting off the plane, and feeling excited to finally live in San Francisco, I asked a friend if my rucksack and I could crash on his couch.

Couch surfing wasn’t a long-term goal, and I knew I wanted to return to teaching, but also knew it would be an uphill climb to establish myself in a city where I had zero “contacts”. But, to my surprise, San Francisco welcomed me with open arms. Within a week of arriving in the city, I landed a teaching job at Oakland School District and secured an apartment on Haight St. I was immediately embraced and woven into the fabric of a vibrant, growing San Francisco community.

So, What’s All This Have To Do With My Decision To Run For The San Francisco Assessor-Recorder?

A ton really. I grew up in poverty in Ohio and I have worked my tail off for everything I have. I’ve always known that the less you have, the harder it is to prove your worth to the world. But, when I came to San Francisco in in 2002, that’s not what I experienced.

No one cared how much money I had in the bank or who I knew at the country club. Back then, San Francisco was a community built on opportunity and the idea that together we could build one another up and work towards a better future for everyone, not merely the wealthy.

But today San Francisco is becoming a city I don’t recognize. SF feels as if its only embracing the wealthy; with most new construction going to the wealthy and rents too high to support long term goals in SF.

Instead of focusing on reducing gentrification and re-examining how the city organizes its housing to embrace multi-generational and/or multi-family housing, San Francisco is almost exclusively focusing on market production of homes.  The lack of leadership from the position of San Francisco Assessor-Recorder has taken a toll. The Assessor - Recorders over the last 20 years have failed to fully understand the possibilities of the position: the data it collects on housing in San Francisco.

Personally, I’m tired of standing back and watching the focus of Assessor - Recorder being only on money versus the overall good of the community. I want to rejuvenate our housing market through the combination of market based production as well as looking how we can stimulate our already-built infrastructure through density changes.  I don’t want San Francisco to lose sight of who we are, a city that welcomes every demographic and socio-economic status, not just the wealthy.

So, with the support of my awesome wife Molly and my two young kids, I will be asking for your vote in the upcoming San Francisco Assessor-Recorder election. If you agree with my interest in removing short-sighted politicians from office, agree with my push for change and agree with my desire for common-sense leadership in government, please monitor my site for updates and stay tuned for upcoming events where you can come out and meet me personally. Let’s end status quo government and wealthy entitlement in San Francisco.

Quick Stats:

  • 9 years of experience working as a licensed Property Appraiser in San Francisco

  • 9 years of experience working with the Assessor's Office data

  • 16 year resident of San Francisco

  • 19 years of experience working as a teacher in The Bay Area

  • San Francisco Small Business Owner

  • Married 10 years

  • Two kids ages 8 and 4 in the San Francisco Unified Unified School District      

  • A natural leader, with the ability to drive new ideas and guide individuals to work together for the greater good.

  • Tenacious, self-starter who understands how bureaucratic environments can both help and hurt a community. I will work to bridge that gap.

  • Former union representative in the Sequoia Union High School District

  • Masters of Arts in Teaching, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska

  • Bachelor of Arts, Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio Major: French Minors: Life Science and Psychology

  • A member of the Sequoia Union High School District

  • California Clear Teaching Credential in Life Science and French

  • California CLAD Certification

  • California Real Estate Appraiser License

  • Member of North Bay Chapter of Real Estate Appraisers Association (REAA)

  • Alaska Type A Teaching Certificate

  • French Foreign Exchange Program, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France

  • Sweet soccer skills, not super sweet, but legit.