Made in SF with ❤️
2024 UPDATE: In just a week or so, San Francisco voters will have a whole host of things to vote for! I’ll be updating this article to try and help navigate through the issues at hand for the 2024 election.
San Francisco politics can generally be characterized by a commitment to progressive values, a focus on social and environmental issues, and ongoing debates over how best to address the city’s challenges. Difficulties in dealing with these challenges has likely driven some of the city’s policies towards what some feel are more moderate leanings. These are a few of the common lightning topics —
Overview of San Francisco Politics
Hot Topics in San Francisco Politics
- Housing Crisis/Homelessness: The city faces a severe housing shortage, leading to high rents/housing costs and homelessness. San Francisco is struggling to meet a statewide initiative to build 82,000 units in the next 8 years otherwise it stands to lose funding. Debates often revolve around how to address this issue while balancing concerns about gentrification and neighborhood character, often termed “NIMBY”-ism (Not In My Backyard).
- Tech Industry Influence: The tech industry and recent AI boom has a significant impact on San Francisco. Some residents criticize tech companies for driving up housing costs and contributing to income inequality. More recently, tech groups have been exerting more influence in local politics.
- Crime: Reports state that SF crime rates are trending downwards from the pandemic, though they certainly could be under-reported and public perception doesn’t always match statistics. However, there was certainly sentiment that the SF’s previous District Attorney, Chesa Boudin, was to blame for the city’s crime and he was subsequently recalled.
- Transportation: The city’s transportation system is a frequent topic of discussion, with debates over public transit funding, creation / modification of bike lanes, and the impact of ride-sharing services. Moving the Valencia Bike Lane to the center and traffic changes to West Portal due to a horrific car crash are similar lightning topics that San Franciscans have strong opinions about.
- Schools: Lowell is one of the top schools in SFUSD but came under fire for being predominately Asian and White. The school was changed over to be lottery-based to ensure fairness but greatly upset many parents, which in part spurred a recall of several SFUSD board members that supported the switch. It was returned to merit-based. There was a recent push to add Algebra to the 8th grade in a 2024 March proposition.
Board of Supervisors
The city has a fairly strong mayor system, where the mayor has significant executive authority. However, the Board of Supervisors, the city’s legislative body, plays a key role in shaping policy and are responsible for approving the city’s budget. There are 11 Board of Supervisors that are elected to represent each district. There was a redistricting in 2022, so it could have changed. You can find out your Supervisor by inputting your address on Grow SF’s site here (not affiliated but they have an informative map). The election terms of the Board of Supervisors are staggered between even and odd numbered districts. At times, the Board of Supervisors are at odds with the Mayor, and some believe that this curtails the powers of the Mayor for better or worse.
Voting Ranked Choice
SF votes in May and November on even-years (every 2 years). This was changed in 2022. SF also utilizes Ranked Choice voting for most of the local elections, which is meant to minimize votes being “wasted”. However, since this means that 2nd choice or 3rd choice options become aggregated, some adopt voting strategies such as voting for their 1st choice and the “obvious loser” for their 2nd choice. This leads to some interesting results. Listen more from KQED here.
Propositions and Voting Slates
If you are new to San Francisco or California, you might be surprised to learn there are a bunch of ballot initiatives that you can vote on. In addition to California’s propositions, there are even more propositions from San Francisco that you can vote on. It can be overwhelming to learn the pros and cons of each measure. San Francisco will mail you a booklet that outlines each proposition and points and counterpoints for each. However, there are also voting slates or voting groups that aim to make the process easier (and also sway you to their point of view). Either way, you should register to vote!
Ballotpedia will give you useful overviews and here are a few voter guides depending on where you fall on the political spectrum (from moderate to progressive):
- Grow SF – Moderate
- Together SF – Moderate
- SPUR – San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association – in-between
- SFDCC (San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee) – in-between
- Harvey Milk LGBTQ Club – Progressive
- League of Pissed Off Voters – Progressive
San Francisco Politics: Voting in 2024
Disclaimer: The intent of my update here is to provide a guide and help you be an informed voter since San Francisco politics can be confusing! I am attempting to be as neutral here as possible, even though I of course have my own opinions, so take everything with a pinch of salt! I reference multiple websites and sources because I think they are helpful but I am not affiliated with any of these groups.
Mayoral Election
The biggest, most contentious aspect of San Francisco politics in 2024 is the mayoral election. There have been some recent polls that show it’s a dead heat between several of them. If you are on the fence, the San Francisco Chronicle has a poll that might help you determine which candidate best matches your stance on issues. San Francisco Standard also has a quiz-style one that is fun but not too serious, like a BuzzFeed quiz.
These are the 4 front-runners with some very simple pros and cons below. This is obviously not meant to be comprehensive:
- London Breed
- For:
- Mayor Breed literally has the most on-the-job experience, as she has been mayor for 6 years. Whether you agree with how Breed handled her mayoral tenure, it coincided with a tough time with the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery. If you like the initiatives that Breed championed, this would be the easiest way to ensure those existing initiatives continue or expand.
- Against:
- Some residents are not a fan of what she has accomplished / or not in the last 6 years and the general perception of San Francisco. Mismanaged Dream Keeper initiative particularly calls ethics into question. Some other questionable aspects are handling of Breed’s brother’s incarceration, ties to Nuru / Recology scandal, and controversy on resignation letters and deleted texts
- Stances: Support housing, MUNI/Vision Zero/speed cameras, authorized sweeps of encampments
- For:
- Mark Farrell
- For:
- Mark Farrell does have prior experience in City Hall as a former Board of Supervisor and interim Mayor. As BoS, he advocated for Laura’s Law (program to compel mentally ill people to seek treatment).
- Against:
- There have been some questions about his campaign finance ethics (he received a fine in 2016), behested payments, and financing for his house. He has highlighted negativity about San Francisco under Breed’s leadership.
- Stances: Fire Bill Scott as the police chief, clear encampments, exempting small businesses certain taxes, and opening Market Street to rideshare.
- For:
- Daniel Lurie
- For:
- Daniel Lurie has no City Hall experience but worked on Tipping Point and Civic Joy Fund and the 49ers Super Bowl Bid Committee. Some feel that it is a good thing that he is an outsider and isn’t entrenched in City Hall. He grew up with wealth and influence from the Levi family.
- Against:
- On the flip side, he has no City Hall experience and it’s a demanding job. Some question if he has any experience that wasn’t handed to him. Also, Lurie has spent a lot of his own money in the race, leading some to believe that he is “buying” the election.
- Stances: Fully staff SFPD, speed up 911, build shelter beds, opposes Great Highway closure
- For:
- Aaron Peskin
- For:
- Aaron Peskin has been involved in SF politics for 20+ years and has termed out of representing District 3. He is known as a neighborhood preservationist / “NIMBY”.
- Against:
- On the flip side, he has worked in SF politics for 20+ years and similarly to Breed, not everyone considers this as a good thing. Known to berate staffers/city workers and is a former alcoholic.
- Stances: New affordable homes, community policing, inspector general prop (see Prop C), rent control
- For:
Board of Supervisors
The “odd” number districts are up for re-election this cycle, which means the Board of Supervisors for District 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. There was a redistricting in 2022, so it could have changed. You can find out your Supervisor by inputting your address on Grow SF’s site here. Mission Local has done a great job outlining the candidates and how they stand here.
- District 1: Jeremiah Boehner, Connie Chan (incumbent), Sherman D’Silva, Jenn Nossokoff, Marjan Philhour
- District 3 (Aaron Peskin termed out, running for Mayor): Wendy Ha Chau, Moe Jamil, Sharon Lai, Eduard Navarro, Danny Sauter, Matthew Susk
- District 5: Scotty Jacobs, Allen Jones, Autumn Looijen, Bilal Mahmood, Dean Preston (incumbent)
- District 7: Matthew Boschetto, Steven Martin-Pinto, Myrna Melgar (incumbent), Edward Yee
- District 9 (Hilary Ronen left post): Julian Burmudez, h brown, Trevor Chandler, Jackie Fielder, Jamie Guiterrez, Roberto Hernadez, Steven Torres:
- District 11 (Ahsha Safai termed out, running for Mayor): Chyanne Chen, Adlah Chisti, Oscar Flores, Ernest “E.J.” Jones, Michael Lai, Roger Marenco, Jose Morales
SF Propositions
Voice of SF created a really helpful cheat sheet that explains what these SF props are, the fiscal impact, and who the supporter and opponents are for these props are (PDF here). SF Endorsements is another great resource that compiles different organizations and their endorsements.
Below I have attempted to provide a quick overview and the for/against to each Proposition. KQED also provides a similar page if you would prefer:
- Prop A – School Improvement Bonds
- Quick explanation: $790M in bonds for school improvement
- For: Helps provide better infrastructure for schools, some of which are in bad shape
- Against: Could result in increased property taxes and higher rent, declining enrollment
- Prop B – Medical, Safety, Homelessness Bonds
- Quick explanation: $390M in bonds to improve hospitals, health centers, public spaces, shelters, etc.
- For: Help improve public infrastructure in SF
- Against: Could result in increased property taxes and higher rent, SF has spent a lot of money on homelessness
- Prop C – Inspector General
- Quick explanation: Add Inspector General position to centralize and investigate City Hall fraud/abuse
- For: May streamline and potentially reduce City Hall fraud/abuse
- Against: Another layer of bureaucracy
- Prop D – City Commission Reform (linked to E)
- Quick explanation: Reduce SF’s 130 commissions down to “essential” 65, establish a task force for recommendations, give Mayor right to hire/fire department heads. Conflicts with Prop E.
- For: Immediate action, SF has too many commissions and makes accountability challenging, more Mayoral input
- Against: Immediate action (cuts commissions including arts and small business commissions)
- Prop E – Commissions Task Force (linked to D)
- Quick explanation: Task Force to make recommendations on paring down commissions. Conflicts with Prop D.
- Pros: Perhaps a less drastic streamlining method
- Cons: No guarantee on changes
- Prop F – Deferred Retirement for SFPD
- Quick explanation: SFPD officers can choose to delay retirement in exchange for benefits
- For: May help with SFPD staffing shortage, gives officers options
- Against: May not help with SFPD staffing shortage, costs ~$3M/year while SF is facing a budget shortfall
- Prop G – Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund
- Quick explanation: $8.25M to help subsidize rent on affordable housing for low-income seniors, families, persons with disabilities
- For: Could help increase housing subsidies, assist with housing
- Against: Costly funding structure may disproportionately hurt budget, SF budget is facing a shortfall
- Prop H – Retirement Benefits for Firefighters
- Quick explanation: Set the retirement age for all firefighters to 55. It was 55 before Jan 7, 2012, when it was changed to 58.
- For: Makes it fair for firefighters hired before/after 2012. May offset health risks.
- Against: May not offset health risks. Costly and SF budget is facing a shortfall
- Prop I – Nurses and 911 Operator Retirement Benefits
- Quick explanation: Nurses can buy pension credits for per diem work, 911 operators can increase their pension benefits
- For: May help with 911 response times, helps nurses and operators receive more benefits
- Against: May not help with 911 response times, nurses recently received a wage increase, costly and SF budget is facing a short fall
- Prop J – Youth Services Funding Oversight
- Quick explanation: Create oversight initiative to evaluate how funding is evaluated for children, youth, and family programs.
- For: More centralized way to evaluate these different services
- Against: More control to Mayor and BoS
- Prop K – Close the Upper Great Highway
- Quick explanation: Close the Great Highway between Lincoln and Sloat (currently closed on weekends until 2026) and eventually turn it into an oceanfront park
- For: Could be good for businesses, good to have another park, often gets shut down anyway due to sand, costs the city a lot of money to move sand
- Against: Potentially higher car congestion on the west side and in neighborhoods, could be bad for businesses, no actual park funding in this Prop
- Prop L – Tax on Rideshare/Robotaxis to fund transit
- Quick explanation: Additional tax on Lyft/Uber/Waymo
- For: MUNI has a high budget deficit, may help prevent driver layoffs
- Against: Prop is too restrictive such that funds don’t go to improving MUNI reliability or cleanliness or safety, makes rideshare more expensive
- Prop M – Business Tax Reform
- Quick Explanation: Simplify business taxes in SF and reduce some taxes, particularly for small businesses
- For: Help small businesses and revitalize SF
- Against: Likely to reduce tax revenue for SF
- Prop N – First Responder Education Loan Payment Fund
- Quick Explanation: Reimburse certain city workers for student loans via city or private funds
- For: Could encourage job interest, city is not on the hook for reimbursement (could be entirely privately funded)
- Against: Requirements for loan repayment undefined, no clear funding
- Prop O – Support of Reproductive Rights
- Quick Explanation: Make it official that SF supports reproductive rights and services, expand services
- For: Support for reproductive rights
- Against: Pro-life arguments
