NOVEMBER 2024 VOTER GUIDE
NO ON PROP N
First Responder Student Loan and Training Reimbursement Fund
ENDORSE-O-METER SAYS: NO
Supervisor Ahsha Safaí’s measure tries to fix the severe staffing shortage at San Francisco’s first responder departments by paying off first responders’ student loans. That’s a nice incentive, but it doesn’t solve the real reason why so many departments are understaffed, and this measure would duplicate federal student loan forgiveness programs that already exist. We’re voting no on Proposition N because this is a redundant program that doesn’t fix the problem it’s trying to solve.
The Context
San Francisco is struggling to recruit first responders, with hundreds of open positions at the police department, sheriff’s department, and 911 call centers. Supervisor Ahsha Safaí’s measure attempts to fix this by setting up a locally-run student loan forgiveness fund to forgive up to $25,000 of student loan debt for first responders. But the reason so many city departments are understaffed is that it takes an average of five months to hire a new city employee, not because new recruits can’t pay off their student loans. Those long hiring times force the city to miss out on a lot of qualified candidates as they’re hired away for other jobs. Mayor London Breed has made progress bringing hiring times down, but if the city truly wants to staff up first responder departments, efforts need to start with the hiring process. Plus, San Francisco’s first responders are already eligible for federal student loan forgiveness programs like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, so we’re not sure why San Francisco needs a bespoke program.
The Money
This is an ordinance initiative to create a fund. The goal is to build the fund up to $25 million and forgive up to $25,000 per person. The fund will not rely on a new tax.
The Controller’s analysis indicates that this measure’s cost to city government would be entirely dependent on future decisions made by the Board of Supervisors and Mayor to fund it—or not.
Support & Opposition
This measure has support from sponsor Supervisor Ahsha Safaí and District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, with no organized opposition at this time.
Other Organizations That Share Our Endorsement: The United Democratic Club.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.