The Weekly Digest (April 30, 2023)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies! Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:

City Hall

  • Tuesday, May 2 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Items 10, 15, and 16  – The first 17 items on the agenda are recommendations by the Government Audit & Oversight Committee regarding lawsuits against the City. Mixed in with the typical employment disputes and personal injury cases are three settlements with hotel owners for property damage caused by shelter-in-place (SIP) guests during the pandemic. These include the Kimpton Buchanan hotel ($3.8 million), the Executive Hotel Vintage Court ($760 thousand), and the Americania Hotel ($4.7 million, Item 16). These aren’t the first payouts of this kind. San Francisco previously settled with the Hotel Union Square ($5.3 million) and the Tilden Hotel ($3.4 million). At its peak, the SIP program included more than 20 hotels, so don’t be surprised if you see more claims like this in the future.

    • Item 18 – Ordinance repealing the policy restricting travel to states with laws considered by the Board to be anti-LGBT and restrictive of abortion and voting rights. This ordinance was approved last week but the supes are voting on it again before sending it to Mayor Breed’s desk.

    • Item 19 – Ordinance de-appropriating $62 million in permanent salaries for the fire department and appropriating $62 million to six departments seeking to increase their overtime budgets. The departments requesting funds include Fire ($20 million, 35 percent over budget), Public Health ($30.7 million, 119.6 percent over budget), and the sheriff ($9.3 million, 54.7 percent over budget). Read up on the overtime crisis here and here. 

    • Item 38 – Resolution approving the use of the City’s corporate seal for use on jackets worn by Supervisor Dorsey and his staff. Never underestimate this city’s ability to complicate ministerial matters. 

    • Item 42 – Citing the neighborhood’s “rich history of solidarity, self-governance, and activism,” Supervisor Dean Preston has proposed a resolution declaring “I Love Tenderloin Week.” Really feels like that should have a “the” in it to avoid the impression that Dean just likes to grill in his backyard.

  • Wednesday, May 3 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 3 – Resolution approving $550 thousand in emergency repairs at the Main Branch Library. In January, vandals flushed “foreign objects” down a toilet on the fourth floor of the library, causing a sewer overflow that affected the first three floors. Similar incidents happened in 2015, 2017, and 2019. 

    • Item 4 – Resolution retroactively authorizing the Office of Cannabis to accept a grant from the state of $1.5 million. We flag this mostly to highlight that our city has an Office of Cannabis. 

  • Wednesday, May 3 at 1:30pm: Regular meeting of the Budget and Appropriations Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 2 – Resolution calling on Mayor Breed to fund two thousand new shelter or temporary housing placements over the next two fiscal years. 

  • Thursday, May 4 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 3 – Hearing on the city auditor’s report about the nonprofit organization United Council on Human Services, which currently receives almost $28 million from the city. The auditor recommends that the Board “consider terminating” these grant agreements, which seems rather mild considering that the FBI is investigating the nonprofit and that its founder allegedly gave free housing to her friends and family.

Action Items

  • Sign this petition to return algebra to San Francisco middle schools.

  • Volunteer to serve on the Civil Grand Jury. This body investigates the operations of our City and County government. Applications are due May 12. 

Happenings around town

What we’re reading

  • Your aunt in Michigan probably forwarded this to you already, but if not: San Francisco is in the New York Times again. This time, reporters took a look at emergency calls from the recently closed Whole Foods on Market Street to explain what went wrong. Here’s a clue: “‘Male w/machete is back,’ the report on one 911 call states.” 

  • Supervisor Myrna Melgar took a stand against the “San Francisco is a hellhole” narrative by posting a sunny selfie taken in an area untainted by local mismanagement: the federally controlled Presidio. Point taken!

  • Something is amiss in our DA’s office. Just a reminder that there is absolutely nothing that is stopping the City from arresting people who are engaging in open-air drug use and drug dealing, shoplifting, public nudity, and aggressive behavior, confiscating their contraband, and sending them to jail for up to a year, at least. Not Proposition 47, not Martin v. Boise, nothing. All that stands between you and a safe, sane city are elected officials (including judges) who are unwilling or unable to fulfill their responsibilities as civic leaders. Vote accordingly.

  • Aaron Peskin and his fellow travelers are the reason that one of the best art schools in the country is shutting down. San Francisco really needs a Rogues’ Gallery Museum dedicated to preserving the story of how a cohort of politicians ran our city into the ground.

Quick hits

Palate cleanser

Bill Jackson
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