The GrowSF Report: New poll shows widespread dissatisfaction
Plus, meet the new D6 Supervisor: Matt Dorsey
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of May 8, 2022:
- New poll shows widespread dissatisfaction
- Mayor Breed appoints Matt Dorsey to be District 6 Supervisor
- Update on A Place for All
- Boba shop was a front for car burglary operation
- Don’t forget to vote
- Bay to Breakers is back!
New poll shows widespread dissatisfaction
The San Francisco Standard released new polling this week showing that the average San Franciscan is unhappy with the state of the city, our elected officials, and the lack of progress being made to solve our most important problems.
Public opinion matches the GrowSF platform - we agree that people need to feel safe, that our public schools need help, and that leaving people to waste away on sidewalks isn’t compassionate. All we need to do now is vote!
Here are some stand-out stats:
On crime:
- 70% of San Franciscans think DA Chesa Boudin is doing a bad job
- 65% feel less safe than they did in 2019
- A majority supports the recall of DA Boudin
- 73% support arresting those who commit property crimes
- 66% support forced treatment for potentially dangerous drug users
On street conditions:
- 59% support compelling homeless people to go inside if there is shelter available (note: Supervisor Mandelman recently introduced A Place For All, which would help the city achieve this)
- 56% support the Tenderloin linkage center
On budget:
The top three programs that people think need more funding are:
1) Policing
2) Public schools
3) Homeless assistance
Read the full poll at the SF Standard.
Mayor Breed appoints Matt Dorsey to be District 6 Supervisor
This week Mayor Breed picked Matt Dorsey to be the new District 6 Supervisor. Matt has been working in and around SF politics for decades, most recently as the San Francisco Police Department’s director of strategic communications. Supervisor Dorsey will serve out the remainder of this term and have to run to keep his seat this November.
District 6 faces some extremely challenging problems including homelessness and drug dealing, but Dorsey is optimistic. “Our problems may seem intractable; solutions impossible,” Dorsey said. “I am convinced they are neither.”
SF Politics 101: Our 11 Supervisors vote on changes to our city, such as making JFK car free or outdoor dining permanent. Every supervisor affects you and your life, not just the Supervisor for your district.
Update on A Place for All
Supervisor Mandelman’s ambitious plan to end street homelessness was heard in committee on Thursday. Thank you to the hundreds of GrowSF supporters for signing the petition, emailing your supervisors, giving public comment, and letting our officials know that it’s not ok to make our most vulnerable sleep on the streets.
Unfortunately, opposition from organizations fighting to maintain the status quo on homelessness was fierce, and led to Supervisor Melgar (D7) introducing a compromise amendment that might cripple this legislation. In fact, Supervisor Mandelman is no longer sure he will support the bill he authored due to the amendment.
GrowSF strongly believes that outcomes matter most. We’re concerned that with the amendment, A Place for All may not be focused enough to achieve its goal of ending street homelessness, and instead just be an incremental tweak to the status quo.
A Place for All will be back in committee again on May 26th. In the meantime, we’re working with stakeholders to see if we can improve the proposal, and we encourage you to sign our petition to get continued updates on what you can do to help!
Boba shop was a front for car burglary operation
Car break ins are a major problem in San Francisco. Have you ever wondered where the stolen stuff goes? Some of it ended up at the Quickly boba tea shop on Larkin Street. Stolen items were sold at the shop, and then shipped off to other countries.
This week, an investigation by the DA’s office led to the bust of this theft ring, including the arrest of its leader, Quoc Le. The investigation included planting target cars and devices with GPS tracking to see where they ended up.
This is good news, but there’s another layer to the story. Quoc Le was arrested and charged for running a fencing operation back in 2019. So why was he able to continue to operate for 3 more years?
The DA’s office claims his first case was delayed by covid, and police didn’t bring new evidence to the table. But a former DA, fired by Boudin when he took office, claims more could have been done to stop the thefts.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Don’t delay: vote NOW in the June primary election
Ballots have arrived! We can fix San Francisco, but only if we vote together. Read and share the GrowSF Voter Guide.
The June 7 election has two very important items: the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin (Prop H) and an effort to make future recalls near impossible (Prop C).
Vote YES on Prop H to recall Boudin. We support criminal justice reform. We also want residents to feel safe. We believe San Francisco can have both — but not under Chesa Boudin. Read our case for recalling Boudin.
Vote NO on Prop C to stop a limitation of your democratic right to recall. If you voted for the school board recall, then you should vote NO on Prop C. It would have made the school board recall impossible. This is a cynical power grab by city supervisors to restrict the democratic rights of voters.
There are more than 20 offices and propositions on this ballot. Be an informed voter. Read the GrowSF voter guide to understand what all these votes mean.
Bay to Breakers is back!
The Bay to Breakers race/street party returns to San Francisco tomorrow! Be prepared for street closures and lots of merriment and revelry. Don your best costume, grab a drink, and walk or run the route across the city. We’ll see you at the finish line!
Celebrate San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city. Here’s what makes it great:
The Transamerica Building is turning 50 this year
The Chronicle has a fun history of the Transamerica Building including old construction photos and reviews of the design. “It certainly doesn’t belong in San Francisco, which is sensitive and easily hurt,” said Chronicle architecture critic Allan Temko when the design was unveiled. Ouch.
This building that was much hated is now a symbol for our great city; which is a great reminder that while change is hard, we have to grow, adapt, and build a city for the future.
Mayor Breed signs car free JFK into law
The 40+ year battle is over! JFK will be car free forever. Grab your bike, stroller, or just go for a run in our favorite new public space.
MythBusters pilot episodes were shot in SF
Did you know the pilot episodes were shot right here in SF? Given all the red tape you have to go through to do anything in San Francisco, we’re sure it wasn’t easy getting the approvals to blow sh*t up in the city. Read more here.
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Topical Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
GrowSF is working hard to make San Francisco a great place to raise a family. Hopefully one day we’ll have more kids than dogs!
California hasn’t built enough housing for decades, causing prices to skyrocket. Subsidizing home purchases isn’t the solution here, building housing is.
