San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie promised a “new era” of cooperation with the Board of Supervisors.
It looks like he’s been able to deliver, so far.
In a show of unanimity, the supervisors voted 10-1 Tuesday to approve Lurie’s first proposed law, intended to cut red tape to address the fentanyl crisis, homelessness, and public safety. A second vote is scheduled for next week but is seen as a formality.
The legislation asks the supervisors to give up some powers to approve hiring in the fields of public safety and mental health and to approve leases and contracts below $25 million and fewer than 10 years in duration. It also waives rules around “behested payments,” allowing the mayor’s office to solicit private donations from entities that have business before the city.
The holdout vote, however, sounded a warning.
Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents southeast neighborhoods like the Bayview and Visitacion Valley, said Lurie’s plan lacks specifics. Walton and other supervisors questioned where Lurie would put his promised 1,500 shelter beds, the source of the private donations he wishes to solicit, and specifics on which contracts he would be able to move through the city government without public scrutiny.
In the face of uncertainty, the supervisors are giving up their responsibility to serve as a check on the executive branch, Walton said. During the peak of the Covid pandemic, when the supervisors similarly gave up some oversight powers, they knew how the money was going to be spent, he pointed out.
“I have not seen a plan, so of course I cannot vote yes to these allowances in the absence of a plan, strategy, or something besides strong words,” Walton said.
The supervisors aren’t the only ones in the dark. The Standard has asked the mayor’s office for details on his plans but has yet to see any.
While details are scant, Lurie laid out his goals in broad strokes on inauguration day: hire more public safety officers and public health professionals, create drop-off facilities for people in crisis as an alternative to jail, and build small housing sites for homeless people.
Lurie celebrated the broad support behind his fentanyl legislation.
“As a candidate for mayor, I promised San Franciscans that I would work in partnership with the Board of Supervisors to take action on the critical issues facing our city. As mayor, I am proud to be delivering on that promise today,” Lurie said in a statement. “The Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance gives us the tools to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands.”
The law focuses on contracts addressing homelessness, drug overdoses, and substance use disorders, mental health needs, and public safety. Lurie’s new powers could speed up approvals of funds to buy property to build a homeless shelter or hire a nonprofit health contractor to provide free checkups.
At a committee hearing last week, the supervisors’ Budget and Legislative Analyst warned that there is board oversight for a reason. Nicholas Menard, a budget legislative analyst staffer, called the process of competitive bidding the “gold standard” for preventing corruption in contracting.
“Even at the height of the pandemic, FEMA required the city to require competitive bidding,” Menard said. “I just want to be clear that you’re giving up significant power.”
In approving the emergency legislation, the supervisors gave up oversight on roughly $1 billion in contracts and lease agreements, according to the Budget and Legislative Analyst. They could still weigh in on some contracts within a 45-day period, what Lurie staffers call a “shot clock.”
At the same hearing, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a recovering addict with a personal stake in supporting Lurie’s legislation, noted that there’s inherent danger in waiving checks on government overreach.
While “there’s a lot of inefficiencies” at the board that slow down solutions, Dorsey said, the city’s recent corruption scandal — in which department heads were found to have taken bribes in order to approve multimillion-dollar contracts — held important lessons. “I also know from my time in the city attorney’s office those rules and processes and oversight are there for good reason.”
The broad support from the board came after it won concessions from Lurie in recent negotiations led by Supervisor Connie Chan, the budget chair, and aided by Supervisor Jackie Fielder.
Chan wanted the scope of Lurie’s emergency powers winnowed. He initially asked for them to last until 2029; the two sides landed on 2026. Fielder flagged another constraint: Instead of granting the hundreds of employees of the mayor’s office a waiver from seeking private donations for government use — tapping wealthy donors that may be in Lurie’s network — Fielder ensured that only top staffers may do so. Those amendments were approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.
While Chan has publicly stated that she was concerned about the lack of specifics from Lurie’s office, she said Tuesday that the concessions will at least allow the board to change course if it is not satisfied with the results in a year.
“This should give all of us a way to see what the mayor’s plan and vision is, and if he will deliver on it,” she said.