Asian American and Ethnic Studies teacher, Eric Mar, is running for supervisor of San Francisco's Richmond District in the November 2008 election.

Mar, a community activist, began as a student at SF State in 1984, and then became a lecturer in 1992. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Education in 2000 and recently announced his candidacy for Supervisor for the Richmond District.

"The attraction to the Richmond was its unique and special ethnic diversity and cultural character and as a student at the time it was an exciting place where you could just stumble out your door and walk down the street to really exciting fun places," said Mar.

He is currently teaching four Ethnic Studies classes at SF State and said he encourages his students to get involved in organizations outside of school and to work together to change public policies.

"It takes social movements of students being really active and demanding no more fee hikes or changes in the state policy so students can have a brighter future," Mar said.

By working with groups like the League of Young Voters, Mar is trying to persuade more youths to pick a worthy candidate and vote.

If elected, Mar has many plans to change the developmental standards in the city by getting rid of 'big box' stores so that smaller businesses can thrive.

Among other jobs, Mar has also worked as an immigrant lawyer and was the leader for the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights. He said he began fighting for immigrant's rights since he came to San Francisco in 1984, working at the Chinatown Youth Center helping people find employment.

"I hope it comes out of a sense of keeping San Francisco for working families, youth, and seniors. That's the kind of campaign I want to run," Mar said.