The Weekly Digest (August 11, 2024)
Happy Sunday, Brionies! Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:
City Hall
The Board of Supervisors continues its recess through September 2.
Happenings around town
Northern District, Tuesday, August 13, 5-6pm
Central District, Thursday, August 15, 5-6pm
Tuesday, August 13, 6-7pm, Manny’s
Political writers from the Chronicle and Mission Local discuss the 2024 mayoral race.
Free the Market: How to Build Four Walls and a Roof Without Spending $48 Billion
Tuesday, August 20, 6-7:30pm. Location upon RSVP.
“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” California legislators have taken this famous quote by Republican Senator Everett Dirksen to heart, increasing our state budget by more than $120 billion in just the last five years — all of which comes out of your pocket. Now, an obscure regional agency, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA), has put a $20 billion bond measure (that will ultimately cost you $48 billion to pay back) on the ballot this November to fund and maintain subsidized housing. We here at the Briones Society agree that the Bay Area needs more housing that is accessible to low- and moderate-income residents. But is this the best way to get it? Spoiler alert: probably not! Join us on August 20 for a special event with Cato Institute Analyst Marc Joffe and Independent Institute Scholar Christopher Calton to discuss the problems with this bond (it’s a piggy bank for special interests) and explore better ways to increase the supply of housing for residents of all incomes in the Bay Area.
Thursday, August 22, 5-5:30pm
What is the Briones Society? Who is involved? What does the Society believe and do? Where does the name “Briones” come from? How can you get involved? Join us for a half-hour Zoom meeting to learn the answers to these questions and more. Sign up here.
What we’re reading
This week, the Chronicle, SF Standard, and Lou Barberini’s Substack newsletter all examined the sad situation of the recreational vehicle encampment on Winston Drive, a target of Mayor Breed’s renewed effort to clear homeless encampments. As many West Siders are well aware, Winston Drive has served as a “de facto shelter for the precariously housed” for at least five years. City officials say they have offered “an abundance of resources” to Winston Drive residents and that 23 households have exited homelessness through the homelessness department’s outreach, but District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar is focused on a different approach: legislation to force the city to create a safe parking site, which is supported by many in the RV community as well as the Coalition on Homelessness. “There’s no reason why this community of families — immigrant families with children — should be displaced, with the threat of their vehicles, aka their homes, being dispossessed,” said one organizer with the Coalition on Homelessness. To the contrary, there are many reasons why RV encampments are dangerous and should be cleared: risk of fire from improperly rigged generators; dumping of raw sewage into Lake Merced; blocking of access to public spaces, including the nonprofit Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center, which supports people with developmental disabilities and acquired or traumatic brain injury; and well-known threats of drug dealing and predatory practices of RV “vanlords.” Briones-endorsed challengers to Supervisor Melgar’s seat Stephen Martin-Pinto and Matt Boschetto have both criticized her approach.
Quick Hits
San Francisco Mayoral Debate Canceled After Candidates Drop Out
San Francisco’s Police Drones Lead to Lower Crime Levels and High-Profile Arrests