The Weekly Digest (September 1, 2024)

Written By Bill Jackson

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

San Francisco City Hall

A fairly light docket this week as the Supervisors return from their August break.

  • Tuesday, September 3rd at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda here)

    • Item 7 – Ordinance banning the use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels for residential units. The progressives have found a corporate villain to blame for high rents: RealPage, a provider of rental price assessment and recommendation software. In its defense, the company argues that ​​“housing affordability is a national problem created by economic and political forces – not by the use of revenue management software.” The Board may not be RealPage’s biggest issue right now, though. The Department of Justice is suing it for violating antitrust laws.

    • Item 8 – Ordinance to authorize the sale of up to $29 million of Certificates of Participation (everyone gets a trophy!) to finance the acquisition of the Music Concourse Garage, an underground parking facility in Golden Gate Park.

    • Item 9 – Ordinance to cut tax rates for certain properties built by union labor that were also funded by union pensions. Time for City officials to pay the piper for all that political support.

    • Item 20 – Resolution declaring the Board’s intent to expand local rent control protections if the Costa-Hawkins Act is repealed via ballot measure in November.

Call to action

Consider sending a pre-written message to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors asking them not to waste valuable time and money deciding which of the city’s public monuments should be removed for offending the sensibilities of the usual crowd of pearl clutchers. It only takes three clicks: click this link, click the email client you prefer to use, then click send. Your email will go to all the supervisors’ respective inboxes. For background, read here and here about how the Arts Commission believes that “looking at San Francisco’s monuments and memorials as a whole shows ‘a concentration that talks about power, privilege, white supremacy, patriarchy and colonialism.’” Hard pass.

Happenings around town

  • Briones Society events

    • Monthly Happy Hour

      • Thursday, September 12 at 530pm, location provided upon RSVP

    • 2024 Asian American Republican Dinner

      • Tuesday, September 17 at 6pm, location in the Sunset provided upon RSVP

      • Whether longtime citizens or recent immigrants, Asian Americans understand the value of hard work, family, responsibility, and community. The Briones Society’s Jennifer Yan, the highest vote-getter in the latest Republican County Central Committee elections, is hosting dinner in the Sunset to discuss how the Republican Party can be a powerful advocate for these values in races on your ballot this November.

    • 2024 Excelsior/Outer Mission Republican Dinner

      • Wednesday, September 25 at 6pm, location in the Excelsior provided upon RSVP

      • Did you know: Republican voter registration is growing more quickly in the Excelsior and Outer Mission than anywhere else in San Francisco? It’s no surprise. Our neighbors understand the value of hard work, family, and community — and so does the GOP. Briones Society president Jay Donde is hosting a dinner to discuss how the Republican Party can advocate for residents of the city’s southeastern neighborhoods.

  • Other events of interest

What we’re reading

  • Just as we were putting together the Digest, news broke of the attempted-robbery-turned-shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in Union Square. The story is getting a lot of attention due to Pearsall’s celebrity (he was the 49ers first-round pick in the recent draft), so of course the politicos around town are weighing in, with mayoral candidate Mark Farrell stressing that we “need change in City Hall.” SFPD Chief Bill Scott says the department will beef up patrols in the area. Of course, we wish Pearsall the speediest of recoveries, and can’t wait to see him take the field.

  • In a far less publicized story, though just as tragic and infuriating, an 8-year-old girl was seriously wounded by a bullet that reportedly flew into her home in Crocker-Amazon while she was having dinner with her family.

  • Adding insult to injury, a hardware store in the Sunset that burned down was burglarized twice in the days following the blaze.

Quick hits

Palate cleanser (literally)

Bill Jackson
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