The Weekly Digest (April 23, 2023)
Happy Sunday, Brionies! Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:
City Hall
Tuesday, April 25 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)
Item 29 – The Board is laser-focused this week on voters’ top priorities, such as this resolution sponsored by Supervisors Chan, Peskin, Ronen, Preston, and Melgar urging “timely confirmation” of Julie Su as US Labor Secretary. What power or influence does the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have over federal cabinet appointments, you ask? We looked up the answer so you don’t have to and it appears that the technical term for it is, uh, “none.” But, hey, it’s worth a shot, especially to support a nominee whose crowning career achievement thus far has been paying out tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent EDD claims.
Item 33 – Speaking of gross incompetence, this resolution sponsored by Supervisor Ronen directs the clerk of the Board to purchase copies of the book, “Poverty, by America” for staff responsible for the City budget. We recommend “Fecklessness, Corruption, and Bewilderment, by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,” as an alternative.
Thursday, April 27 at 4pm: Special joint meeting of the Youth, Young Adult, and Families Committee and the Youth Commission Civic Engagement and Education Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)
Item 2 – A hearing to “examine resources and safety plans to address youth safety and school site violence.” This might be a good time to reflect on the fact that SFUSD booted School Resource Officers from San Francisco public schools a few years ago, issuing a statement that schools should be a “safe space” from law enforcement. Turns out law enforcement is actually what creates safe spaces. Who’da thunk it?
Friday, April 28 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Subcommittee (agenda and call-in instructions here)
Items 1-4 – Calling all nature lovers, this is a great opportunity to watch profligate spenders in the wild! Yes, San Francisco does have a $14 billion annual budget – 10 times larger than comparably sized major cities – but rarely do we taxpayers get to see this much of our money being handed out like candy to “nonprofits.” Collectively, these four items authorize $78 million(!) dollars in new expenditures by DPH and HSH. Could we use this money to hire 60 new teachers, or police officers, and pay them a quarter million dollars a year for five years? Or could we just give every homeless person in the city four thousand dollars? Why, certainly, but these funds are surely better deployed by City contractors, who will use them responsibly to deliver proven results lol.
Happenings around town
Log Cabin Republicans of San Francisco present Spencer Klavan on “How to Save the West”
Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30pm, location provided upon RSVP
Thursday, April 26 at 6pm, Grant & Green Saloon
Monday, May 1 at 6pm, online
4 Good Ventures presents ChatGPT & Brain-Based AI: How It Will Change Everything
Tuesday, May 2 at 6pm, Menlo School (Atherton)
Wednesday, May 24 at 2pm, online/Spark Social
What we’re reading
We’re mixing it up this week with a bit of shameless self-promotion. Hopefully, you saw our big announcement last Wednesday – the publication of the first issue of our policy journal, Briones Review! There’s a lot wrong with our city, and though we love to poke fun at the folks who led us into this mess, the Briones Society is also committed to being part of the solution, not – as so many others do – just complaining about San Francisco’s problems. Below, we summarize each of the articles in this inaugural edition, which focuses on detailed, thoughtful policy analyses and proposals to combat crime and improve policing (plus some bonus articles!):
Crime and Policing in San Francisco. Property crime is sky high in San Francisco; SFPD is short hundreds of officers; SFPD is spending less and less time on proactive policing.
A Shopkeeper’s Experience of Crime. The owner of two corner store markets in Pac Heights and the Mission talks about her daily struggle: frequent burglaries, violent transients, and a city government that doesn’t seem to care.
An Introduction to the SFPD. How SFPD is structured; the training cycle for new police recruits; how SFPD decides which 911 calls to respond to first.
An Insider’s View of the SFPD. “We arrested a person for a burglary recently and the person has 47 felony arrests just in San Francisco. How do you have 47 felony arrests and you’re still walking the street?”
More Police, Fewer Prisons, Less Crime. “Most crime are committed by a small number of individuals frequenting a few dangerous areas and engaging in a limited number of high-risk behaviors.” We can simultaneously have less crime and less incarceration, but we need to deploy proven strategies, not the left’s fashionable slogans.
Technology as a Force Multiplier. “Vehicle-mounted or handheld GPS trackers can enable an officer to follow a suspect’s vehicle without high speed pursuit.”
Imagining America’s Safest City. The Briones Society’s detailed platform to make San Francisco the safest city in the country by 2032.
Helping the Homeless While Reclaiming Public Space. San Francisco should tackle homelessness by establishing a real-time booking system for shelter beds, vigorously defending our laws in court, and enforcing existing laws against open-air drug use, trafficking, prostitution, shoplifting, and vandalism.
How to Fix San Francisco’s Broken Government. Elect at-large members to the Board; transfer authority back to the mayor; end the addback process.
A Conversation with Willie Brown. “I backed the police department but I didn’t hesitate, if I thought they were wrong, to deal with them – just as I didn't hesitate with regards to the school district or with regards to any other part of the city. I am the CEO.”
The Wonder of Diversity in Human Nature. Former school board commissioner Ann Hsu reflects on diversity that is more than skin-deep.
Why I Am a Briones Republican. “In other words, conservatives believe that the social contract is exactly that – a contract, not a kidnapping.”
Take action
Send a pre-drafted email to the Board of Supervisors before Friday, April 28, to let them know you support the implementation of CARE Courts in San Francisco (h/t RescueSF).