The Weekly Digest (January 21, 2024)

Written By Bill Jackson

Happy Sunday, Brionies!

Here’s what you need to know about San Francisco politics this week and beyond:

City Hall

  • Monday, January 22 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Rules Comittee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 1 – Motion to approve or reject the mayor’s appointment of Greg Wagner as controller. In San Francisco, the controller is nominated by the mayor and confirmed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors. We’d prefer to see a truly independent, elected controller, for reasons we outline here.

  • Tuesday, January 23 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item  3 – Ordinance approving a modified Surveillance Technology Policy. 

    • Item 30 – Ordinance authorizing settlements of claims arising out of the September 10, 2023 break of the water transmission pipeline at Fillmore and Green Streets, for an aggregate total of up to $7,000,000.

    • Item 35 – Resolution urging Safeway Incorporated to reverse its plan to close the store at 1335 Webster Street. 

    • Item 36 – Resolution supporting a state bill to close the “locked door loophole” that creates barriers to successfully prosecuting auto burglary. 

  • Wednesday, January 24 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 7 – Resolution authorizing the Sheriff’s Office to amend a three-year contract with the nonprofit San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, for a total not to exceed amount of $19,763,114. Pretrial diversion programs were highly favored by recalled progressive D.A. Chesa Boudin, but Supervisor Stefani has challenged the efficacy of this organization. We hope the supervisors fully vet this program before amending its multi-million dollar contract.

    • Items 9-11 – Resolutions relating to affordable housing projects: 1000 Market Street ($12,781,730 loan from the city); 850 Turk Street ($8,091,600 grant for infrastructure improvements, $9,971,048 grant for public transportation improvements, and $22,000,000 loan for construction, all from the California Department of Housing and Community Development).

Action items

  • Volunteer and/or donate to support the Briones Society slate for Republican County Central Committee! 

  • Confirm your voter registration here. Remember: only registered Republicans can vote for RCCC race.

Happenings around town

What we’re reading

  • Why the long face, San Francisco budget director? Oh, right: “San Francisco’s annual budget deficit could climb to $1.4 billion by 2027 if costs continue to outstrip revenue.” We wonder how things would be different if San Francisco had an elected, independent auditor, objective performance metrics for nonprofit performance, supervisors who prioritize public safety, and a robust opposition party (ahem!) to challenge whackadoodle expenses like the failed $120 million Dream Keeper Initiative. 

  • Election season is heating up: on Friday, the San Francisco Standard published a hit piece on Assistant District Attorney Jean Myunjin Roland, candidate for Superior Court Judge. Ms. Roland’s alleged offense? Twenty years ago, she did not tell her supervisors at the district attorney’s office that her then-boyfriend and fellow prosecutor Robert Roland had a drug problem. Robert Roland was convicted of drug possession and lost his job as a San Francisco prosecutor in 2006 after he prosecuted two men with whom he had a conflict of interest. There is no evidence that Jean Roland had anything to do with Robert’s problems, and their supervisor confirmed that she was under no obligation to report his issues. Moreover, Robert has made a full recovery and was reinstated to the state bar in 2016. This mean-spirited attack has the fingerprints of uber-liberal Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who may not like the fact that Ms. Roland has the endorsement of moderate groups like TogetherSF Action and Stop Crime Action. 

Quick hits


Bill Jackson
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