The Weekly Digest (September 15, 2024)
Happy Sunday, Brionies!
Here’s what you need to know about local politics this week and beyond:
San Francisco City Hall
Monday, September 16 at 10am: Regular meeting of the Rules Committee (agenda here):
Item 1 – Ordinance approving the Police Department’s inventory and policy relating to the use of drones.
Tuesday, September 17 at 2pm: Regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors (agenda here):
Item 15 – Ordinance rescinding the sunset provision of City’s surveillance technology policy and approving the Police Department’s continued use of private surveillance devices.
Item 16 – Ordinance approving surveillance technology policy to permit Department of Emergency Management’s (aka “police dispatch”) use of ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection technology.
Item 21 – Ordinance approving site of new public library at 100 Orizaba Avenue.
Friday, September 20 at 1pm: Special meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee (agenda here):
Item 1 – Ordinance amending Police Code to prohibit the promotion, participation, and presence at vehicle sideshows, and giving police the authority to impound vehicles used in sideshows for 30 days. The background materials for this measure note that there have been at least 25 sideshows reported in San Francisco this year, and as of September 2024 the police department had seized 67 vehicles in connection with these incidents.
Happenings around town
Briones Society events
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.
Thursday, September 26, 5-5:30pm, online.
Wednesday, October 2 at 6:30pm, location provided upon registration. Space is limited.
This November, conservatives and independents like you will go to the polls and be the difference between more of the same in San Francisco and a new era of #Opportunity4Everyone. But with dozens of candidates, 10 statewide propositions, and 15 local propositions on the ballot, it can be more than just a bit overwhelming: How does ranked choice voting work? Which candidates should you rank (and in what order)? Why do some of these propositions seem identical? We’re here to help. Join the Briones Society for a guided journey through your ballot, where we’ll answer these questions and more so that you can vote your values with confidence.
Mobilizations
During Saturdays in October, members of the Briones Society will gather to support our endorsed measures and candidates. Our mobilizations begin with coffee and bagels, after which team members fan out to drop door hangers or make phone calls together. Please join us! Location provided upon registration.
First Saturday Mobilization, Saturday, October 5 at 9am
Second Saturday Mobilization, Saturday, October 12 at 9am
Third Saturday Mobilization, Saturday, October 19 at 9am
Other events of interest
Ingleside Station, Tuesday, September 17 at 6pm
Southern Station, Wednesday, September 18 at 6pm
Central, Thursday, September 19 at 5pm
Taraval, Thursday, September 19 at 6pm
Tuesday, September 25 at 6:30pm, St. Mary’s Cathedral
Wednesday, September 18 at 6pm, Manny’s
What we’re listening to
Another great edition of the Briones Society Podcast is ready to come to a pair of earbuds near you. This time we talked with District Five Supervisor candidate Autumn Looijen. We discuss the state of the race, state of the City, and Looijen’s experience working in San Francisco politics.
What we’re reading
San Francisco’s Board of Education faces a difficult decision: with a mounting budget deficit and dwindling enrollment, the district must close some schools. On Wednesday, September 18, the Board will announce which schools will be eliminated. The Board has been fairly silent on its decision-making process up to this point, however one intrepid community member has taken a deep-dive into the politics and data that undoubtedly will drive the closure decisions. It should go without saying: we are in this position due to decades of prioritizing ideology and union politics over the well-being of San Francisco children. And now the district must reckon with its ever compounding poor decisions.
Speaking of mismanagement, yet another San Francisco Department head has shamefully resigned following the discovery of even more non-profit graft. Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, Mayor London Breed created the “Dream Keeper Initiative”--a program designed to financially support the Black community. The program has been troubled since the beginning: one recipient spent nearly $700,000 on two Juneteenth parties, another recipient tried to get reimbursed for alcohol and cigars, and yet another recipient funneled money to her own shell company. Amid public outcry, the end finally came for the initiative’s head, Sheryl Davis, after it was discovered that she gave $1.5 million to a non-profit that she once ran and that is currently run by a person with whom Davis shares an address–a fact that Davis conveniently failed to disclose. Davis also purportedly directed $10,000 to rent a home in Martha’s Vineyard on her behalf. We are starting to wonder how many times San Francisco pols can write the same story. And how many times the public will fall for it.
What we’re listening to
Another great edition of the Briones Society Podcast is ready to come to a pair of earbuds near you. This time we talked with District Five Supervisor candidate Autumn Looijen. We discuss the state of the race, state of the City, and Looijen’s experience working in San Francisco politics.
Quick hits