What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of November 8, 2026:
- Fastest General Election Count in a Decade
- San Francisco’s Public Bank Is Still Years Away
- Golden Gate Park Parking Fees Start January 1
- New Ethics Rules for $6 Billion in City Contracts
- SFUSD Has Yet to Recover Its Pre-COVID Academic Gains
- Scott Wiener Backs Matt Haney for State Senate
Fastest General Election Count in a Decade
Published November 13, 2026
The Facts
San Francisco counted more than 90% of ballots by Saturday, November 7, just four days after Election Day. The Department of Elections reported 332,467 ballots counted, or approximately 94.3% of an estimated 352,400 total ballots.
That makes this the fastest* November general election count in a decade. GrowSF’s analysis of historical results releases shows that reaching 90% took six days in 2024, seven in 2022 and 2018, and nine in 2016.
*excluding the November 2020 election, which is an outlier because most voters voted early in the pandemic
The Context
The reason for the speedup is pretty straightforward: more ballot sorting & counting machines, more staff, and overnight counting shifts.
As part of California $34 million grant to improve elections, San Francisco received a bit over $500k to implement its November Election Plan for vote-counting operations. Its equipment plan targeted bottlenecks: a third envelope sorter, a tenth envelope-opening machine, two more high-speed ballot scanners, and twice as many provisional-ballot and roster scanners (increasing from 6 to 12). The plan also called for additional staffing and the first post-election results update on Wednesday instead of Thursday.
The Department’s seasonal hiring notice called for overnight ballot-processing shifts during the three to five days after Election Day.
We’re excluding the November 2020 election during COVID-19, when California mailed every registered voter a ballot and San Franciscans voted unusually early. GrowSF’s earlier research documents that head start: roughly 78% was already reported on election night. This year, the election-night count covered just 52.5% of the estimated total, which fits historical trends.
The GrowSF Take
We’re absolutely thrilled to see a real effort to speed up the count, and for it to show results! Slow counts undermine trust, so speed is not just a nice-to-have. Close races can still require patience even with very fast counts, though.
Better equipment and well-organized staffing are sensible investments in a basic government responsibility. The Department of Elections should keep the faster post-election count as the standard for the next election, and continue to invest in more automation alongside randomized audits.
San Francisco’s Public Bank Is Still Years Away
Published November 14, 2026
The Facts
Voters backed Proposition B with about 53% voting yes, but San Francisco’s public bank remains years away. The measure provides no funding, and the Controller estimates capital and operating costs of $310 million to $460 million over eight years if the City proceeds, with substantial uncertainty.
There are a number of barriers standing in the way of an actual public bank:
Appropriations. Prop B created a pathway without funding it. If the Mayor and Supervisors don’t fund it and no outside money appears, then it doesn’t happen.
Operate for at least three years. After three continuous years of operations, the Municipal Finance Corporation’s (MFC) board or oversight commission could initiate the public-bank transition. If MFC operations begin in 2027, that transition couldn’t begin until 2030, followed by regulatory approvals. Funding delays push that date back.
Timing. California’s seven-year licensing window expires in 2028 before the MFC could finish the three years of operation Prop B requires. Even an MFC that opened tomorrow wouldn’t qualify until late 2029. Unless the Legislature extends the window, the state can’t license San Francisco’s bank.
Another Board vote. State law requires Supervisors to approve a viability study and vote, by majority, to move forward with a bank application. The Board accepted a viability study in 2023, but it has not voted to apply, and by the time an application is possible, that study’s financial projections will be over seven years old.
The FDIC is unlikely to insure it. The bank needs a state banking license and federal deposit insurance. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s published policy says applications from government-owned banks “will be reviewed very closely” because political control raises concerns about management stability, business purpose, and the ability to raise capital. The only two government-owned banks in the United States, the Bank of North Dakota and the Territorial Bank of American Samoa, both operate without FDIC insurance, and the FDIC has told American Samoa’s bank it won’t take an application while the government controls it.
The Context
The first institution would lend money, but could not hold deposits. Under Prop B’s two-stage structure, the lending corporation would finance housing, small businesses, and environmental investments before potentially becoming a deposit-taking bank. Its initial governance includes a nine-member oversight commission and a five-member corporate board; the bank would have a separate, larger governance structure.
Taking City deposits would bring another financial constraint. California generally requires banks to pledge collateral worth 110% of public deposits secured by eligible securities, with different requirements for certain collateral types. That protects taxpayer money, but limits how freely a public bank could use City deposits to fund loans.
The GrowSF Take
We opposed Proposition B, and we remain unconvinced that running a bank is a good use of City money. San Francisco should focus on delivering basic services within a reasonable budget.
Supervisors should decline startup funding until the Treasurer establishes a workable licensing path—or demonstrates that the lending corporation alone would justify the expense.
Golden Gate Park Parking Fees Start January 1
Published November 12, 2026
The Facts
Paid parking is coming to Golden Gate Park. Starting January 1, 2027, drivers will pay between $2.75 and $4 per hour, depending on location and time of day. There is no charge for vehicles with a disabled parking placard or plate.
Paid parking makes parking easier to find. A 2018 peer-reviewed study found San Francisco’s demand-priced SFpark program reduced time spent searching for parking by about 15% and search distance by 12%. And a 2014 academic study found a reduction in circling for parking by roughly 50%, though that modeled estimate was less certain.
The Context
The Board of Supervisors authorized paid parking in July 2025, with GrowSF’s support. The Recreation and Park Department projects $10 million annually for deferred maintenance and affordable recreation programs.
The GrowSF Take
We’re glad to see this moving forward! Charging for a parking space is a reasonable way to help pay for the park’s upkeep and to make parking more available. It may seem counterintuitive, but when scarce public goods are priced, overuse and waste decline, while availability and quality improve. And remember, there’s no such thing as free parking.
New Ethics Rules for $6 Billion in City Contracts
Published November 13, 2026
The Facts
City Administrator Carmen Chu has wasted no time using the new authority voters have granted her via Proposition E. Under her proposed new rules, City employees would be barred from giving favored vendors inside information, splitting contracts to avoid competitive bidding, or privately communicating with bidders, reports Dustin Gardiner at The San Francisco Standard. The rules would cover the city’s $6 billion in annual contracts.
Proposition E, approved by 63% of voters in the November 3 election, gives the city administrator sole authority to introduce most contracting legislation, subject to rejection by the mayor or supervisors.
The Context
Proposition E targeted a fragmented contracting system, scattered across more than 100 sections of city code, with many contracts taking six to twelve months to complete. Prop E put Chu in charge of setting citywide standards to simplify purchasing and ensure fair competition.
Chu’s proposed ban on insider assistance sounds inspired by the Mohammed Nuru corruption case. The former Public Works Director supplied favored contractors with early bid-document drafts and nonpublic information to help them pursue an asphalt-recycling plant deal. The proposed rules would expressly prohibit that kind of “assistance.” Whether they would have stopped it is unknowable: the bribery scheme already violated federal law, after all!
Supervisors or the mayor can reject the proposed changes for 60 days after introduction. If they don’t, it is automatically approved.
The GrowSF Take
We love to see it! The quick turnaround between granting new authority and implementing fixes ought to inspire confidence in voters. We endorsed Proposition E because centralizing rulemaking under one accountable office should make corruption harder to do and easier to detect.
SFUSD Has Yet to Recover Its Pre-COVID Academic Gains
Published November 13, 2026
The Facts
Two-thirds of San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) schools remain below their pre-pandemic academic performance. Ezra Wallach at The San Francisco Standard found 62 of 94 schools had lower combined English and math proficiency in 2026 than in 2019; among 24 schools where at least three-quarters of students are low-income, only four had recovered. Districtwide, state test results show just 46% meeting math standards and 54% meeting English standards.
The Context
SFUSD was making modest progress before COVID. From 2015 to 2019, English proficiency rose from 52.0% to 56.5%; math rose from 48.0% to 50.6%, with its improvement concentrated in the first two years. The pandemic-era decline erased all of those math gains and much of the English improvement. Since testing broadly resumed in 2022, math has stayed near 46%, while English declined through 2025 before a small uptick in 2026.
Share of tested students meeting or exceeding state standards, across grades 3–8 and 11 (rounded to one decimal; annual results compiled from state data):
Testing was canceled statewide in 2020; participation was too limited in 2021 testing to establish a comparable districtwide result.
GrowSF-backed candidates secured a 5–2 school-board majority in November 2024, with the newly elected members taking office in January 2025. The first two testing cycles under that majority show no broad turnaround yet.
There are promising signs among younger students: kindergarten reading proficiency rose from 65% to 69%, and first-grade proficiency from 52% to 59%, during the first year of the district’s new literacy initiative. Those gains use a separate district assessment, and the initiative launched in August 2024, before the new majority took office. Our earlier literacy coverage showed third-grade reading remained off track.
The GrowSF Take
The pre-pandemic gains show that improvement is possible. Recovering that progress should be the starting point, not the ceiling. The new board inherited substantial learning losses, and the early reading gains deserve encouragement, but families are still waiting for a broader recovery. Superintendent Maria Su and the school board should expand effective reading instruction and direct intensive reading and math tutoring to the schools with the largest losses.
Scott Wiener Backs Matt Haney for State Senate
Published November 14, 2026
The Facts
Congressman-elect Scott Wiener is backing Assemblymember Matt Haney to succeed him in California’s 11th Senate District, with a special election expected in early 2027 to fill the remaining two years of his term. Christine Pelosi, the daughter of retiring Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, is also running. George Kelly at The San Francisco Standard reports Wiener praised Haney’s record on housing and lowering costs for working families.
The Context
Wiener’s support predates this week: the Bay Area Reporter documented his endorsement back in June, when a special election still depended on Wiener winning his congressional race.
Haney has a concrete housing record. His Office to Housing Conversion Act, Assembly Bill 507, requires approval of qualifying conversions without discretionary hearings, subject to affordability, labor, and other conditions. Pelosi’s campaign emphasizes affordability, workers’ rights, and corporate accountability.
The GrowSF Take
Haney’s work removing barriers to new homes is a strong reason to take his candidacy seriously. We endorsed his Assembly reelection for that record and his work on downtown recovery and treatment access.
This race should turn on what candidates will deliver, not their surnames or political alliances. Both candidates should commit to faster housing approvals and lower costs to build.