Former Mayor Ed Lee worked with stakeholders to create a bold vision that restored Market Street’s historic role. The Board of Supervisors overcame the mayor’s initial resistance to moving former shelter residents and those living on the streets into temporary hotels. Although the fight between Democrats and Republicans has been unequal for the … There’s a difference between an agency not performing as it should—and I can name several in San Francisco—and claims that the agency’s inadequate performance is due to “corruption.” Like all organizations DBI makes mistakes; but blaming the high cost of housing and planning department delays on DBI is simply wrong. By July the tent count had fallen from 420 to roughly 30. A routine funding measure turned into a provocative debate about the Marina Times, and whether it represents free speech or feeding the trolls with taxpayer dollars. The alleged spy was an Eric Swalwell fundraiser and Ro Khanna volunteer, but some Midwestern mayors are likely more nervous because the FBI has footage of her having sex with them. Such talk exposed why the city has long maintained the Tenderloin as a containment zone. Politics in the San Francisco Bay Area is widely regarded as one of the most liberal in the country. The 87-year-old senator has visibly lost a step, but a new report features stories from (mostly anonymous) aides saying that her mental deterioration is a lot further along than we realize. I don’t see any evidence of “corruption” or illegal “pay to play” amidst the hard working employees of the Department of Building Inspection. Following the social upheavals of the 1960s, San Francisco became one of the centers of liberal activism, with Democrats, and progressives dominating city politics. Hiring experts to process permits is no more “pay to play” than retaining an attorney to help with a lease or other business transaction. Lee got many skeptics to invest in building new housing along Mid-Market as part of this visionary future. Lincoln Mitchell teaches in the political science department at Columbia University. This continuing trend is also visible in the results of presidential elections; the last Republican to win San Francisco was Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. Bigger fish are frying in the ever-expanding Mohammed Nuru DPW scandal, as the head of SF’s Public Utilities Commission has his home raided, gets charged with fraud, and possibly faces 20 years in prison. The Bay Area is home to California's largest income gap.Residents in the area's 90th percentile earned 12.2 times more than those in the bottom 10th percentile. Sup. Even progressives who support expanded government ownership and control believe many public officials are “corrupt.” But phrases like “corruption” and “pay to play” were completely misused in San Francisco 2020. For what's believed to be the first time, a San Francisco district attorney has filed a homicide charge against a police officer for shooting a citizen while in the line of duty. Gavin Newsom’s pick to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is "a real blow to … The district attorney is making a renewed push for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to release his long-jailed father, as a COVID-19 outbreak hits the maximum security prison where he's incarcerated. Gordon Mar. It also proves how radical San Francisco Jon Ossoff really is. San Francisco, CA local politics, local officials, government and campaigns … It remains just a list of recommendations that hasn't been formalized, but a SF school district committee's push to strip Abraham Lincoln's name from a school is drawing national outrage and laughter. Nevertheless, the political world —-public hearings, meetings of elected officials and a local, state and national election—-proceeded. Multiple projects—the Central Subway, Van Ness BRT, and repairs to the Muni light-rail system—fell way behind schedule. If the Board of Supervisors want to expedite renovations and new construction, they can vote to do so in January. SFMTA made no effort to consult with stakeholders prior to reversing Mayor Lee’s and the community’s vision. The national implications of the Georgia race go from coast to coast. Have a safe and healthy holiday season. Programs in San Francisco and Alameda counties to house the homeless in hotels tend to have some draconian rules for those who accept shelter, and several individuals who have experienced these hotel accommodations say they're not worth the cost their freedoms. Reporters can joke about all this complexity but stories about decks collapsing, disabled access ignored, and restaurant customers going home sick when strict code requirements are not mandated is not funny. The Republican Party holds a voter registration advantage in one State Assembly sub-district (the portion of the 4th in Sol… Ossoff and Warnock expected more … People love corruption scandals. The mystery, which I raised last week (“Mayor Breed’s Challenging Year”), is why the Breed Administration is not moving to secure this permanent housing. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist's Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. Let’s hope the Biden Administration will financially rescue urban transit systems like San Francisco’s. "There’s been growing public outrage that this important public health institution was named and the naming rights were sold to the highest bidder and to somebody as controversial as Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook," says Sup. Governor Gavin Newsom has put an end to all the palace intrigue and any backroom wrangling that may have been going on and he's tapped California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be the next senator from California, to take Senator Kamala Harris's seat. Get all the latest & greatest posts delivered straight to your inbox. Here’s our take on the key San Francisco political dynamics of 2020. D6 is fortunate to have another great supervisor in Haney but the health and safety of a neighborhood should be a citywide concern. It suddenly announced this fall that it was eliminating two of the plans core features: fully protected bike lanes and the replacement of the rundown red sidewalk bricks with beautiful gray pavers. It’s a game changer because the city cannot return those temporarily housed to the streets. San Francisco’s transit crisis is even worse. A local economy built on tourism saw its hotels, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues entirely closed down or restricted. Record cash pours into Georgia Senate races, with a large chunk from California. It was a product of years of stakeholder input. In a show of unity Wednesday on a live-streamed Zoom session, SF Police Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin discussed recent charging decisions implicating SF police officers, and the growing role of the DA's Independent Investigations Bureau. 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