Next week’s primary election is the third heat in our quadrathlon election year, and it’s going to be one of the bigger ones with contests for a wide range of state and federal offices, plus San Francisco City Attorney. (Recently appointed incumbent David Chiu is running unopposed.)
SF voters also face eight local ballot measures: a bond, two charter amendments, four ordinances and a recall. All pose significant policy choices, some more complicated than others. Apart from the District Attorney recall, which comes to voters by petition, all of these measures landed on the ballot by a majority of the Board of Supervisors.
$400 Million for Getting Around: The Bond Measure
Proposition A would drum up $400 Million to repair and upgrade Muni’s transit system and improve street safety and traffic signals.
DBI and Recall Reform: The Charter Amendments
Proposition B aims to bolster oversight of the Department of Building Inspection, the focus of recent corruption scandals.
Proposition C adds time restraints on petitions to recall elected officials, shrinking the available window to eight-and-a-half months in the second year of office. Additionally, any appointed replacement for a recalled official would be barred from running for election.
A New Crime Agency, Fundraising Rules, Garbage Rates, Sick Leave: The Ordinances
Proposition D would create a new Office of Victim and Witness Rights.
Proposition E is meant to crack down on corruption by tightening rules for when public officials solicit donations for a preferred charity.
Proposition F would change how the city regulates trash-hauling costs. It would reorganize the Refuse Rate Board and move responsibility for monitoring and proposing rates from the Director of Public Works to the Controller. Future changes to this law could be enacted by the Board of Supervisors.
Proposition G would essentially make permanent an emergency ordinance adopted during the height of Covid which requires larger private employers to provide two weeks of paid public health emergency leave. Companies with less than 100 workers are exempt.
DA Recall: The Main Event
Proposition H would oust District Attorney Chesa Boudin, allowing Mayor London Breed to appoint his replacement.
Each side argues that the other is promoted by special interests. Campaign finance issues around the recall have been subjected to significant scrutiny and debate.