The GrowSF Report: Poll: Mayor Breed’s favorability is rising, voters want to fund & hire police
PLUS: Just 8% of voters have voted!
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of February 9, 2024:
- Poll: Mayor Breed’s favorability is rising, voters want to fund & hire police
- Vote by March 5th
- Waymos are getting safer
- An end to unexpected dining charges
- Taxpayers funded a $71,000 trip to Japan for SF officials
Recent & upcoming openings:
- Dark Bar lights up the Line on Market
- Komaaj Mazze Bar is a must-try
Poll: Mayor Breed’s favorability is rising, voters want to fund & hire police
Our February poll is out, and it shows voters have gotten a little bit happier with Mayor Breed (increasing from 34% to 40% favorable since our September 2023 poll), overwhelmingly want to fund the police, and think Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie are both viable options for the Mayor’s race in November.
The big news for those vying to be Mayor is that Mark Farrell has emerged right out of the gate into a tie with Daniel Lurie. Farrell and Lurie are both relatively unknown to voters, but Farrell was able to immediately catch up to Lurie without spending a dime. Farrell also raised an impressive $200,000 within the first 48 hours of announcing his candidacy.
In some good news for Proposition E (and, by proxy, Mayor Breed), an astonishing 75% of voters support funding the police and hiring an additional 500 officers. Perhaps even more astounding is that 65% of San Franciscans support more than doubling the size of SFPD, from about 1,500 officers to about 3,600. It’s safe to say that “defund the police” is officially dead.
Check out the results, and stay tuned for more next week!
Vote by March 5th
Have you voted?
Election Day is on March 5th, and a paltry 8% of voters have returned their ballots so far.
The GrowSF voter guide is your key to voting for positive change in SF — we make it simple to elect results-focused leaders and vote for meaningful policy change. This March will be one of the most important SF elections in years. So please dive in!
Waymos are getting safer
According to new data shared with the Chronicle, incidents of disruption for emergency personnel by robotaxis are way down.
Waymo attributes the success to improved predictability of first responder behavior, enhanced response to active emergency vehicles, and overall emergency understanding. But it’s also because the cars continue to get software updates.
David Margines, Waymo’s director of product management, said to Ricardo Cano of the Chronicle, “...we were able to bring the number of (robotaxi interferences) down while gradually scaling our operations to now serve tens of thousands of rider-only trips in San Francisco each week.”
The number of disruptions reported by the San Francisco Fire Department peaked last year with at least 85 incidents (from January to September) down to only five this year. The vast majority of those incidents were by Cruise, which halted operations in August 2023 following a collision with a person who was first hit by a human-driven car.
We’re thrilled to see this exciting new technology continue to improve!
An end to unexpected dining charges
But here’s the inside scoop: tips are a gratuity paid to staff, but service charges go to the restaurant, which can then allocate the extra money however it’s needed.
All these fees have been getting more attention and pushback from consumers. Responding to this, Governor Newsom just signed a bill to eliminate “junk” fees. Now, undisclosed fees at restaurants, bars, delivery apps, and ticket sales apps will be prohibited. Service charges will still exist – but they have to be disclosed. (But that extra 18% fee for large parties is dead.)
Restaurant & bar owners have told us they’re concerned that the higher menu prices will drive customers away, leading to lost jobs. We hope not! But we’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Taxpayers funded a $71,000 trip to Japan for SF officials
Last year we covered the taxpayer-funded two week trip to Japan to understand how Japanese kids learned math.
Now the price tag is in: $71,000 for 13 administrators and Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Hillary Ronen.
Siva Raj and his partner Autumn Looijen, who ran the School Board recall campaign, told Josh Koehn at the Standard, “Are there not cheaper ways to get to know the program? Do you actually have to travel to Japan to learn about it? Can they not get on Zoom?”
In absolute terms, $71,000 for 13 people to spend two weeks in Japan isn’t really that much. It’d be one thing to spend this money to boost our math curriculum, but receipts showed resort buffet meals and a trip to Lake Kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji.
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Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
Dark Bar lights up the Line on Market
WHERE: 33 Turk St
Dark Bar’s vision is to “celebrate the rich Asian culture” of San Francisco, and its menu more than impresses! It boasts elegant fermented drinks with fruit infusions, like Cloud Nine cocktail with “koji whisky with smoked tea, lacto-fermented apricots” designed by Danny Louie. The bar menu is prepared by Executive Chef Joe Hou and will offer vegetarian options. But not gonna lie, the wagyu ribeye sandwich with a side of beef pho jus sounds just about right to pair with a strong drink.
Komaaj Mazze Bar is a must-try
WHERE: 20 29th Street, at Mission & 29th
The menu at Komaaj Mazze Bar features Northern Iranian cuisine and is bursting with color and flavors (even the decor is bright!). Arranged by chef Hanif Sadir, the menu offers savory plates like pomegranate rice and chicken, eggplant and walnut dip, and of course, hummus. Don’t miss the wine menu, focused on selections from the Caucasus region!
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Come to our Ballot Party!
Join GrowSF-endorsed DCCC candidates Carrie Barnes and Michael Lai for a ballot explainer. Bring your ballots, ask questions, and hear more about the March 5th election! Mark your calendar for Wednesday, February 28.
WHERE: The Commons, 540 Laguna St, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN: February 28, 7:30-9:15 p.m.
Join us on Election Day!
We plan to celebrate the hard-working candidates running for Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) on the Democrats for Change slate. Mark your calendar for Election Night on Tuesday, March 5.
WHERE: ANINA, 1482 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN: March 5, 6 p.m.
The Spirit of San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city and the Bay Area. Here’s what makes it great. Brought to you by The Bold Italic.
What we’re doing this week
Community Music Center’s Grand Open House
Rediscover Community Music Center and explore their newly expanded campus. Experience a range of musical opportunities for musicians of all ages. Both kids and adults can take a free demo class, join a jam session, enjoy outdoor performances, and join art making activities with our neighbors at Ruth's Table. The Open House offers a wide variety of opportunities for instrumentalists and vocalists in jazz, Latin, classical, rock, R&B, from young beginners to experienced players. Bring your friends, family, and instrument. Read TBI’s profile of CMC.
WHERE: 544 Capp Street San Francisco, CA
WHEN: Feb. 25 from 3 - 5 p.m.
Swan Lake with SF Ballet
Ballet’s greatest love story returns. Deeply moving and visually stunning, Swan Lake is the quintessential classical ballet, steeped in themes of temptation, jealousy, deception, and drama. Set against Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, Tomasson’s strikingly modern production updates this story of love and betrayal and features sleek and elevated designs by Tony Award–winning Jonathan Fensom.
WHERE: 301 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco
WHEN: Feb. 23 - March 3
What we’re writing about
Grace Cathedral’s Carnivale 2024: An evening of divine elegance
If ever a party felt like a religious experience in San Francisco, it was the recent Carnivale at Grace Cathedral. The sold-out event brought the evening’s total attendance to more than 450 people, yet for us it felt more like a private school dance — in the best way. A band played a hybrid of DJed tracks accompanied by live instruments while a fire twirler did an indoors-safe LED version of his performance.
Date night for any persuasion: ‘AfterDark’ titillates with talent
AfterDark lures you in with the promise of it being “provocative, intriguing, daring.” There’s even a warning at the beginning of the show that yes, there will be nudity. So while burlesque-style sexiness is certainly expected, it’s actually the beautiful athleticism of the acrobatic, contortion, circus, and pole dance performances that take the entire production up a notch. The last remaining shows run just today and tomorrow.
‘Ode to San Francisco’ — a poem
“In the Mission, Sunday sunlight made churches out of people and bright
slopes of grass. At Land’s End, piercing green on the ruins of the Baths, we walked through caves, our hearts ruined for all but the rushing of waves. Were all of our kisses on hills? If we had a picture of our first kiss, you would see Coit Tower lit up like a candle.” Read this poem by OG writer for The Bold Italic, Melissa Chandler.
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