Happy New Year from GrowSF
Thanks to you, 2025 was a year of real progress
Thanks to you, 2025 was a year of real progress. Optimism is alive and well in our city, and San Francisco’s comeback is just starting. Here’s a look back at what GrowSF helped accomplish this year:
A Board of Supervisors focused on Common Sense
Last year we fought to elect commonsense leaders. This year, with a pragmatic mayor and majority on the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco was finally able to move forward to make the city safer and more affordable. With a results-oriented majority that GrowSF helped fight for, the city was able to:
Refocus our city on clean and safe streets, with crime dropping dramatically, tents being reduced to the lowest levels since statistics have been kept, and more people being connected to treatment.
Focus on the city’s economic recovery, with tangible progress made to revitalize San Francisco’s ailing downtown.
Hire a new Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Directors of Public Health, MTA, and Planning
Advanced PermitSF initiatives to streamline business permits and cut red tape
Passed Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan, unlocking more housing across the city
Passed Mayor Lurie’s Fentanyl State of Emergency, allowing the City to act faster in the midst of a drug and behavioral health crisis
And much, much more.
What GrowSF delivered this year
With a results-oriented majority at the Board of Supervisors, here are some of the ways that GrowSF helped unlock the accomplishments above in 2025.
Charter reform: We launched a major research effort on charter reform because voters will soon be deciding on important structural changes to the city charter. And we built the only list of every charter reform since San Francisco adopted its current charter in 1995, to help voters understand how we got here.
Commission streamlining: We tracked every meeting of the Commission Streamlining Task Force, documented their recommendations, and built the only comprehensive tracker of every city commission.
Public opinion and polling: We published polls on downtown recovery, general public sentiment (it’s good!), autonomous vehicles, housing, and our first-ever tracking poll which show that most San Franciscans are feeling optimistic, but still want safer streets, increased police presence, cleaner neighborhoods, and more housing.
Family Zoning: We fought for the most significant zoning reform in decades to help make San Francisco affordable. And we’re making sure no one forgets who voted against it.
GrowSF Talent: We launched GrowSF Talent to identify, support, and develop the next generation of civic leaders.
News & Research: We covered nearly 200 important political stories and 17 research pieces on police staffing, the City Charter, housing, and health treatment to keep voters informed on the issues that matter most.
Looking Ahead
San Francisco is in a different place than it was a year ago, and that didn’t happen by accident. In our July poll, we found that for the first time since 2016, over 50% of San Franciscans say the city is on the right track.
We have a lot more work to do in the coming year. Passing good policy is only the first step. Implementation, oversight, and accountability are what determine whether change is real. In 2026, we’ll continue to push for policies that get more housing built, make streets safer, support businesses of all sizes, and ensure City Hall works for residents, not against them.
From all of us at GrowSF, we want to wish you the absolute best this holiday season. We’re excited to get to work in 2026 to educate voters and hold elected officials accountable to deliver results for the people of San Francisco.