Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting's Biography
As Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco, Phil Ting, is a solutions-focused, innovative reformer whose efforts have enabled him to generate over $160 million in new revenue for San Francisco and make sure everyone pays their fair share in property taxes.
Ting was appointed and later elected in 2005, becoming San Francisco's highest-ranking Chinese-American official. He has focused on reducing the assessment backlog from four to two years and every dollar that his office brings in means more money for the city to fund crucial programs for children, seniors and families.
Ting is a champion for innovative and good government policies in San Francisco.
· He launched GoSolarSF, San Francisco's first municipal solar energy incentive program, in July 2008. This ten-year program is the product of the San Francisco Solar Task Force which Ting co-founded and co-chaired. He had the distinct honor of being awarded the 2008 Solar Champion Award from Vote Solar for "outstanding efforts to bring solar energy into the mainstream." Read the press release here.
· He spearheads efforts to help homeowners and tenants facing foreclosure, including launching Don't Borrow Trouble, an education and outreach program; convening city officials and advocates to find local solutions to the foreclosure crisis; and creating a first-of-its-kind program that sends a letter providing resource information to at-risk homeowners and tenants once a Notice of Default has been recorded for the home. Read the press release here and here.
· He introduced groundbreaking "Real Estate Watchdog" legislation which is aimed at capturing unreported changes of ownership. In 2008, the Assessor's office's first unreported change of ownership brought in $1.34 million in additional revenue. Read the press release here.
· He chairs the San Francisco Advisory Board for ChinaSF, a new public-private partnership dedicated to creating economic development opportunities by making San Francisco the gateway for Chinese companies looking to establish business operations in the Bay Area. Read the press release here.
Ting began his career as a real estate financial advisor, gaining practical and hands-on experience in fiscal management and property assessments while working at Arthur Andersen and CB Richard Ellis. Prior to serving as the Assessor-Recorder, Ting also had a long history of civil rights advocacy - he was the Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, an organization founded in 1972 to advance and promote the legal and civil rights of the Asian Pacific Islander community. He is president of the Bay Area Assessors Association and serves on numerous boards including Equality California Institute and the California Alumni Association (Go Bears!).
Ting is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives in San Francisco's Sunset District with his wife, Susan Sun and their daughters, Isabella and Madeleine.
