Sonja Trauss

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Sonja Trauss (born 1980or1981) is an American activist known for YIMBY and advocating for more housing. Born in Philadelphia, Trauss founded the San Francisco Bay Area Renters' Federation in 2014. She ran for San Francisco District 6 Supervisor in 2018, losing to Matt Haney. She currently leads YIMBY Law, a legal advocacy and education nonprofit for more housing.

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Early life and career

Sonja Trauss was born in 1980or1981. She grew up in Germantown, Philadelphia. [1] Her father, Irwin Trauss, was a housing lawyer who represented homeowners facing foreclosure. She graduated from Temple University with a degree in philosophy after advocating for skateboarders in Love Park. [1] [2] She started a PhD in Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and left early with a master's degree. [3] Trauss moved to El Cerrito, California to care for a relative, and then moved to West Oakland, working at times in a bakery and then a math teacher. [3]

Housing advocacy

Bay Area Renters Federation

In 2013 or 2014, upset by housing costs, Trauss began writing letters going to government hearings in support of housing projects. [4] [5] She signed her letters as the Bay Area Renters' Federation (SF BARF). Trauss gained attention at public hearings and on Twitter for provocative statements. [6] SF BARF's mailing list grew to a few hundred and dozens began to attend public hearings to support housing. She received financial support from Jeremy Stoppelman. [7] [8] In 2015, Trauss raised enough funds to advocate full-time. [9]

In 2015, SF BARF launched a campaign to change the leadership of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, arguing that the chapter's opposition to development was detrimental to the mission. [10] [11] The campaign failed. [12]

In 2016, Trauss was an organizer for a political action committee to elect Scott Wiener to the State Senate, beginning to formalize a group that would campaign in elections. [13]

Supervisor candidacy

In 2017, Trauss announced she was running for San Francisco Supervisor in District 6, representing the Tenderloin, South of Market, and Mission Bay neighborhoods. [14] In the 2018 ranked choice election, she finished third with 19% of the vote, losing to Matt Haney.

In 2015, Trauss founded California Renters Legal Advocacy Fund (CaRLA) with others to sue cities that reject housing projects and violate the Housing Accountability Act. [15] CaRLA intervened on behalf of developers in Sausalito, Berkeley, and San Mateo—typically wealthier communities that reject new housing—and succeeded in getting project approvals. Their lawsuit in Lafayette on a set of apartments with 315 homes resulted in a settlement but no change in the project. [15]

As of 2022, Trauss is the Executive Director of YIMBY Law, a legal nonprofit that uses laws to ensure governments follow housing laws encouraging more new housing. In 2022, YIMBY Law raised money to hold San Francisco in compliance with housing law. [16] [8] In 2023, YIMBY Law sued cities for missing a state-mandated deadline for updating their housing plans. [17] In 2024, Trauss announced that YIMBY Law would be expanding outside of California. [18]

Controversies

In 2017, after Trauss equated opposition to a housing project in the Mission District to Donald Trump's hostility to immigrants, Supervisor David Campos credited Trauss for changing his mind and supported an appeal of a housing project. [19] [14]

In 2018, at dueling rallies over California Senate Bill 827, Trauss moved into the opposing crowd and was escorted away by a sheriff's deputy. [20] [21]

Personal life

As of 2018, Trauss is married and has one child. [21]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Shepelavy, Roxanne Patel (2024-11-11). "How Philly can avoid the housing disaster that plagues San Francisco". The Philadelphia Citizen. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  2. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 1 "She'd never really had it…"
  3. 1 2 Dougherty (2020) Ch. 1 "Sonja was a grad school dropout…"
  4. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 1 "By now Sonja had left the bakery…"
  5. ↑ Hammill, Luke (2016-04-15). "'Yes In My Back Yard': A housing conversation with @SFyimby". The Oregonian . Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  6. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 2 "By the standards of her future reputation…"
  7. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 2 "Jeremy Stoppelman was in his mid-thirties…"
  8. 1 2 Tong, Anna (2022-11-01). "YIMBYs ate the world—except for SF. Now its founders are up to new tricks". San Francisco Standard. Archived from the original on 2025-08-26. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  9. ↑ Clark, Patrick (2015-12-09). "The activist group suing the suburbs for bigger buildings". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  10. ↑ Montgomery, Kevin (2015-11-19). "Why Are Redditors and a Cyber Bully Trying to Take Over San Francisco's Sierra Club?". VICE. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  11. ↑ Green, By Emily. "S.F. chapter of Sierra Club faces challenge over housing stance". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2024-11-30. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  12. ↑ Dougherty, Conor (2016-04-16). "In Cramped and Costly Bay Area, Cries to Build, Baby, Build". New York Times . Archived from the original on 2025-09-30. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  13. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 6 "In the final months of the election…"
  14. 1 2 Swan, Rachel (2017-09-23). "Housing firebrand Sonja Trauss in race to represent District 6". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  15. 1 2 Dineen, By J.K. (2018-11-01). "In push for housing, YIMBYs sue suburbs — results aren't always fruitful". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2024-03-30. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  16. ↑ Tong, Anna; Wright, Sarah (2022-09-09). "Meet the Woman Stockpiling Cash to Sue San Francisco Over Housing Deadlock". San Francisco Standard. Archived from the original on 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  17. ↑ Gaus, Annie (2023-02-07). "YIMBYs Bombard Bay Area Cities With Housing Lawsuits". San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  18. ↑ Solovieva, Daria (2024-02-09). "YIMBY Law looks to expand its pro-housing message outside California". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  19. ↑ Dougherty (2020) Ch. 6 "Trauss began her own short speech…"
  20. ↑ Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (2018-04-05). "SB 827 rallies end with YIMBYs shouting down protesters of color". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  21. 1 2 Dougherty (2020) Ch. 9

References

Further reading

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