Trusting the Government to Actually Govern
Often it feels like San Francisco has a government that’s grown way too inflated for a city of its size. Per the State Controller, SF had 38,403 city employees for 842,754 residents in 2021. This works out to 45 city employees per 1,000 residents for SF, while Los Angeles has a ratio of 17 city employees to 1,000. More problematic still, we don’t elect most of the people doing the governing. We rely on more than 100 commissions, run by hundreds of unelected volunteers, that make policy decisions that affect our daily lives.
Voters find themselves overburdened by propositions. The Board of Supervisors has a low barrier to put ballot measures before the public, needing only the signatures of four out of eleven members. That places the onus on us to decide major policy matters that a functional government would otherwise handle—policy matters many of us don’t have the time or expertise to adequately research.
San Francisco’s government should be in service to its constituents and operate with efficiency and excellence. From the lens of today, that feels like an impossibility.
The Way it is Now
-
No Tracking System
Our government lacks an effective monitoring and accountability process, resulting in initiatives whose continued funding is not tied to effective outcomes.
-
A Tendency to Deadlock
The Board of Supervisors throws up roadblocks around even the most common-sense proposals from the Mayor’s office. In recent years, it shot down three sorely needed proposals by Mayor London Breed to streamline housing.
-
Scandal Fatigue
Recent high-level resignations are part of a larger municipal crisis that has eroded effectiveness and public trust, while increasing citizen cynicism.
3 Keys to a Future We Want to See
Commissions That Pass the Smell Test
Noncritical commissions and commissions with dubious purposes are eliminated. The governance powers of those left are lowered, allowing them to focus on policy recommendations and investigations into malfeasance.
A Higher Bar for Ballot Measures
Reducing governance by proposition by requiring a majority of the Board of Supervisors’ approval before adding measures to a ballot.
An Accurate Barometer to Measure Success
Introducing performance-based contracting and budgeting with definitive success metrics that will restore public faith in the political process.
News and updates
