The Weekly Digest (October 22, 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

  • Monday, October 23 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Rules Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Item 1 – Consideration of Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposed Full Police Staffing Act. Dorsey has proposed amending the city charter to establish minimum staffing levels for sworn officers. If the supervisors approve it, this measure will go before the voters on March 5, 2024. 

    • Item 3 – Proposal to amend the city charter to require SFMTA to seek approval from the mayor before implementing transit fare or parking meter rate changes. If approved by the full board, this measure will also go on the March ballot. See “action items,” below, for a related petition.

  • Tuesday, October 24 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda and call-in instructions here)

    • Mayor London Breed will make her monthly appearance before the supervisors, and is expected to address affordable housing goals; behavioral health and homeless services for the west side; and conservatorship laws.

    • Item 4 – Ordinance amending the tax code to add the Empty Homes Tax, Supervisor Dean Preston’s legally dubious pet project.

    • Item 7 – Ordinance amending the police code to prohibit armed guards from drawing or exhibiting firearms, other than a holster, to protect property. 

    • Item 8 – Ordinance to require retail pharmacies to stock at least two boxes of an “opioid antaganonist” (e.g. Narcan), to reverse opioid overdoses.

    • Item 21 – Ordinance to establish a graffiti advisory board to advise the mayor and supervisors on graffiti prevention and abatement, including the preparation of a yearly report. This ordinance, proposed by Supervisor Connie Chan, adheres to the supervisors’ standard playbook: identify problem → create committee of unelected volunteers to address it. Might we suggest empowering SFPD to enforce anti-graffiti laws that are already on the books?

    • Item 34 – Resolution urging SFMTA to work with community groups and relevant agencies to implement an automated speed program, starting with high-injury corridors, and present an implementation plan and budget before the end of 2023.

  • Wednesday, October 25 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee (agenda and call-in instructions here):

    • Items 8 -11 – Resolutions in favor of affordable rental housing and the expansion of homeownership opportunities via the addition of a $300 million bond measure to the March 5, 2024 ballot.

Action items:

  • Send an email to the Board of Supervisors to endorse a charter amendment that would give the mayor control over parking meter and transit fares, rather than an unelected head of the SFMTA. 

  • Express support for Supervisor Dorsey’s charter amendment to fully staff the SFPD.

  • Consider joining organizers of neighorhood groups SOAR, D2Unite, Iconic D3 and Advocates 11 to make public comment at meetings of the Police Commission.

Happenings around town

What we’re reading

  • Back in July, we told you about this story: Xavier Pittman, an auto burglary suspect who was accidentally shot in the wrist when police officers arrested him, received a $195,000 payout from the city as compensation for his injury, along with an apology from San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott. Surprise, suprise: it appears that Mr. Pittman was emboldened has not reformed his ways. This week, the SFPD named him as a suspect in connection with a shooting and burglary incident near Fisherman’s Wharf in which two people were hit by gunfire, three people were injured by glass shards, and two girls, age 10 and 16, were hit by vehicles.

  • Six years ago this week, San Francisco Police Officer Elia Lewin-Tankel was on bicycle patrol in the Tenderloin when he was hit by a fleeing motorist, causing a critical brain injury that continues to affect his quality of life. Officer Lewin-Tankel’s wife, a teacher at Mission High School, was pregnant at the time of the accident. We hope you take a moment to consider the sacrifices of SFPD officers and their families. 

Quick hits

Bill Jackson
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