The GrowSF Report: We endorse the District Attorney recall
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of March 27, 2022:
- GrowSF endorses the recall of Chesa Boudin
- This bike shop’s plight is not about a dystopian San Francisco
- 100 city commissions? Oh, my!
- Chocolate and mango lassi sundaes? Oh, my!
- When BART was a science fiction dream
GrowSF endorses the recall of Chesa Boudin
GrowSF was the first major organization in San Francisco to endorse the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Now, we’ve been joined by two prominent Democratic Clubs: the Ed Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club and the Eastern Neighborhood Democratic Club.
We support criminal justice reform. We also want residents to feel safe. Both are possible, but not under Boudin.
Read our case for recall, which is about competency. We must replace Boudin with a reform-minded district attorney who helps victims first.
And don’t believe the line that this recall is “Republican-led.” It’s the only argument Boudin has and it is offensive to the tens of thousands of Democrats who signed the recall petition — not to mention the women of color who lead the recall effort and served as local Democratic party leaders.
This bike shop’s plight is not about a dystopian San Francisco
The owner of Warm Planet Bikes is our hero. Kash’s bike shop helped us through the pandemic. And we’re sad to hear about the immense challenges his business has faced trying to survive in San Francisco. Smash and grab robberies in high-end Union Square stores got all the media attention, but Kash’s bike shop was emptied of its entire inventory worth $100,000.
Yet Kash says he’s not leaving San Francisco. He doesn’t believe San Francisco is a dystopia or that downtown is dead. He wants to stay and make our city better. We agree with Kash. We’re grateful he won’t give up, which is why we are going to work really hard to make things better for him.
100 city commissions? Oh, my!
It’s well known that San Francisco’s $13 billion budget (larger than a dozen states) has doubled the past decade when our population has not. But few realize how many boards and commissions contribute to bureaucratic paralysis at City Hall. We have 100!
By comparison, Los Angeles (more than four times more residents than SF) has 50. And San Jose (also bigger than us) only has 26.
An explainer by the SF Standard breaks down all of our boards and commissions and what they do – and don’t do.
When BART was a science fiction dream
The Chronicle archive published drawings and photos of BART from when it was dreamed up in the mid-1950s to its actual construction in the late 1960s. From science fiction to reality, the images are fascinating.
Now, we want San Francisco to start building some new dreams for the future.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Affordable Homes Now Campaign Kickoff
San Francisco desperately needs to build more homes, but our Supervisors continue to block new projects. So we’re bringing this important issue to the voters!
Affordable Homes Now is a new ballot measure that will make it faster and easier to build new homes in San Francisco that are affordable to low and middle income San Franciscans.
Come join the kick off event with Mayor Breed and Senator Wiener!
Saturday April 9
10am
RSVP here.
Meet the school board replacements
Public school parents Lisa Weissman-Ward, Ann Hsu, and Lainie Motamedi were appointed to the school board by Mayor London Breed to replace the three school board commissioners ousted by voters in an historic recall.
Meet the new school board members, who must run for election this November to retain their seat for a full term. Hear a moderated discussion and ask questions.
Monday April 4
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Manny’s
3092 16th Street at Valencia
This will be an in-person event also simulcast on Zoom
RSVP here for in-person ticket or Zoom link
Vote by April 19 in the State Assembly Special Election
If you live in State Assembly District 17 (generally the east side of SF) don’t forget to vote for Matt Haney. You can see our voter guide here.
Celebrate San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city. Here’s what makes it great:
Chocolate and mango lassi sundaes? Oh, my!
In a sign of Chinatown’s renaissance, Jade Chocolates has opened at 607 Grant Avenue. We can’t wait to try all the Asian-inspired chocolates, baked goods and ice cream sundaes.
We need more innovative businesses like Jade Chocolates to open all over San Francisco, which means we must ensure City Hall makes it easy for entrepreneurs with good ideas to start the businesses that can save our local economy.
Jade owner Mindy Fong told the Chronicle that she plans to lure people to Chinatown with both her chocolates and special events like speed dating and mahjong nights.
“This used to be a neighborhood for nightlife in the ’70s,” Fong said. “I want to be part of its resurrection.”
We agree. We must support small business pioneers like Fong. They are what make our city a place to love.
Helmet (and waiver) required
Feel like indulging your inner child (or maybe just indulging your actual child)? SF classic Bring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW) is back on, after a two year hiatus. On Sunday, April 17th, you can take a big wheel down the street with hundreds of your friends, and earn some scrapes to prove it. Or maybe it’s better to just watch, and leave this one for the kids. Details here.
More Money for BART
President Biden has earmarked $200M more for an extension of BART through Silicon Valley, adding four stations and six miles of track. This extension is a part of Phase II, which is anticipated to carry over 54K passengers each weekday. Public transportation like this is crucial to addressing climate change, by keeping cars off the road.
Love the GrowSF Report? Share it
Help GrowSF grow! Share our newsletter with your friends. The bigger we are, the better San Francisco will be.
Topical Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
We thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but now we have proof: the Van Ness BRT is open!
Mayor Breed biked through Paris on her recent trip there. Our board member, Jane Natoli, writes about how SF could be the “Paris of the West”.
