Asking AI to help me decide how to vote for the SF mayor

Can AI help you make better decisions?

I asked Gemini to help me decide who to vote for in the upcoming SF mayoral election by reading through some relevant press coverage. I asked it to focus on four issues and make a recommendation on each issue: housing, homelessness, public safety, and downtown revival.

Here's what I have so far:

Housing

London Breed: Prioritizes "Housing for All," streamlining approvals, rezoning, and supporting housing bonds. (Source)

Mark Farrell: Limited information available. General focus on city revitalization and budget, which could impact housing. (Source)

Asha Safai: Limited policy details available. More research needed. (Source)

Dan Lurie: Focuses on building affordable housing, citing Tipping Point Community experience. (Source)

Aaron Peskin: Advocates for rent control expansion, shelter beds, and neighborhood development. (Source)

Recommendation: Breed/Lurie. Breed's experience and plans are strong. Lurie's affordable housing focus is promising but needs more detail.

Homelessness

London Breed: Increased shelter capacity, helped people exit homelessness, focused on encampments and conservatorship laws. (Source)

Mark Farrell: Wants to clear encampments, increase police hiring, address the opioid crisis. (Source)

Asha Safai: Limited detailed proposals available. (Source)

Dan Lurie: Plans to build more shelter beds, tiny homes, expand Homeward Bound, and designate RV parking areas. (Source)

Aaron Peskin: Supports more shelter and affordable housing, criticizes sweeps. (Source)

Recommendation: Lurie/Peskin. Lurie's plan is detailed. Peskin's focus on long-term solutions like affordable housing is commendable.

Public Safety

London Breed: Focused on reducing crime and drug overdoses. (Source)

Mark Farrell: Wants to fire police chief, hire more officers, deploy National Guard for drug dealing. (Source)

Asha Safai: Limited detailed proposals available. (Source)

Dan Lurie: Limited detailed proposals available. (Source)

Aaron Peskin: Limited detailed proposals, but focuses on supporting neighborhoods and community. (Source)

Recommendation: Farrell/Breed. Farrell's approach is aggressive but raises militarization concerns. Breed's experience may be preferred.

Downtown Revival

London Breed: "30 by 30" plan to attract residents and students, fill storefronts, support businesses. (Source)

Mark Farrell: Limited information, but stresses economic recovery. (Source)

Asha Safai: Limited detailed proposals available. (Source)

Dan Lurie: Limited detailed proposals available. (Source)

Aaron Peskin: Limited information, general focus on small businesses and neighborhoods. (Source)

Recommendation: Breed. "30 by 30" offers a concrete vision, though its feasibility needs review.

Endorsements

London Breed: SF Democratic Party, various officials, community leaders. (Source)

Mark Farrell: GrowSF, SF Firefighters, TogetherSF Action, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco. (Source)

Asha Safai: SEIU Local 87, UFCW Locals 5 and 648. (Source)

Dan Lurie: GrowSF, various officials, community leaders. (Source)

Aaron Peskin: SEIU 1021, various unions, progressive organizations. (Source)

If you're curious, the prompt is something along the lines of:

Please construct a table helping me compare the major candidates running for mayor of San Francisco on major issues. Consider the following candidates: London Breed, Mark Farell, Asha Safai, Dan Lurie, and Aaron Peskin. Focus on housing, homelessness, public safety, and downtown revival as the 4 major issues. Put each candidate in a separate column and each issue in a separate row of the table. For each issue, produce a final column titled “Recommendation” stating who might be the best candidate on that issue (and why). Finally, include a row called "Endorsements" and list any organizations or major public figures that have endorsed the candidate. Please cite your sources and list the URLs you are citing after the table.