Joaquín Torres came to the Assessor-Recorder's Office with a clear sense of what he wanted to do: make government something every San Franciscan can understand, navigate, and count on. That belief has shaped every role he has held across more than two decades of public service.
Rooted in San Francisco
Joaquín was raised on the belief that government, at its best, changes lives for the better. He is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, his grandfather a butcher, his grandmother a seamstress, who worked hard to build something lasting for their families. That is who he is working for. The immigrant entrepreneur starting from scratch. The family holding on to the neighborhood they have called home for a generation. The artists and cultural institutions that give this city its soul.
A Record of Service
As Assessor-Recorder, Joaquín leads nearly 200 professionals focused on fairly assessing all taxable property in San Francisco and keeping San Francisco's public records accurate and accessible.
New Systems
His tenure has been defined by rebuilding the way this office works from the ground up. He oversaw the replacement of a property tax assessment system that was nearly 30 years old and moved everything that used to require paper online. He also built the first free public records viewing system of its kind in California, so that any San Franciscan can access official documents without cost.
Rising Appeals & Paying Their Fair Share
San Francisco is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation surge in property tax assessment appeals. Joaquín's office has risen to meet it, now handling six times the volume of appeals it was managing just a few years ago, while making sure every property owner pays their fair share and San Francisco's finances stay on solid ground.
Financial Empowerment & Estate Planning
He has launched new programs to help families build and hold onto wealth, including free and affordable estate planning resources. He has made it easier for nonprofits to get the tax exemptions they are entitled to, and created new ways for residents to navigate the office and get the help they need.
He has launched new programs to help families build and hold onto wealth, including free and affordable estate planning resources. He has made it easier for nonprofits to get the tax exemptions they are entitled to, and created new ways for residents to navigate the office and get the help they need.
Before becoming Assessor-Recorder, he served as Director of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, where he led the city's COVID-19 economic relief effort for workers and businesses. He launched the city's first African American revolving loan fund and expanded resources for women entrepreneurs and minority and immigrant-owned small businesses, working to build a more equitable economy during one of the hardest periods in the city's recent history.
As President of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission for 12 years, he led the rehabilitation of more than 3,400 units of public housing with over $1 billion in improvements, ultimately placing them in the hands of affordable housing organizations to better serve low-income communities.
Beyond the Office
His commitment to the city runs deeper than any single role. As Board President of American Conservatory Theater, he brings the same investment to San Francisco's cultural life that he brings to its public institutions. Through the San Francisco Community Investment Fund, he helps direct resources toward development projects that serve the communities around them. He serves on the board of BALEO, the Bay Area's convener of Latino elected and appointed policymakers. And he leads a coalition of Latino civil servants in San Francisco city government dedicated to developing the next generation of public leaders.
Background
Joaquín is a graduate of Stanford University and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Earlier in his career he served as Director of San Francisco's Invest in Neighborhoods initiative, Director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services under Mayor Edwin M. Lee, and as Liaison to the Latino and American Indian communities and to Districts Nine and Eleven under Mayor Gavin Newsom. He lives in the Inner Sunset.