Time to Vote!
PLUS: Wiener, Chakrabarti, Chan Split on Housing
It’s Time to Vote!
Did you vote yet? Get to it! There’s still 3 days until the June 2 SF Primary Election, and turnout has remained below expectation. Voting is apace with past turnout trends, clocking in at around 70,000 ballots cast. We estimate turnout will land around 200,000 to 220,000 voters.
So if you’re one of the ~150,000 people who haven’t voted yet, now is the time!
Read the GrowSF Voter Guide for fiscal analysis of each ballot measure, deep dives into what they do and annotated legal texts (check out Prop D!), detailed questionnaires for candidates, and our arguments for how we think you should vote.
Here’s a quick rundown of GrowSF’s endorsements:
San Francisco
Supervisor, District 2: Stephen Sherrill
Supervisor, District 4: Alan Wong
Board of Education: Phil Kim
Superior Court Judge: Phoebe Maffei
California
Governor: Matt Mahan
Lieutenant Governor: Josh Fryday
Attorney General: Rob Bonta
Secretary of State: Shirley N. Weber
Controller: Malia M. Cohen
Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis
Insurance Commissioner: Patrick Wolff
State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Josh Newman
Board of Equalization: Sally J. Lieber
State Assemblymember, District 17: Matt Haney
State Assemblymember, District 19: Catherine Stefani
Federal
House of Representatives, District 11: Scott Wiener
Ballot Measures
✅ Yes on Prop A: Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond
✅ Yes on Prop B: Lifetime Term Limits for Mayor and Supervisors
✅ Yes on Prop C: Decreases to Business Taxes
❌ No on Prop D: Increases to Business Tax Based on Comparison of Top Executive’s Pay to Employees’ Pay
Read our full endorsement rationale in the GrowSF Voter Guide.
After you’re done voting, party with GrowSF on election night at Anina in Hayes Valley. There will be great drinks, a live election results dashboard that we’re beta testing, and there will surely be guest appearances by some elected officials, so don’t miss it!
What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of May 24, 2026:
- Wiener, Chakrabarti, Chan Split on Housing
- Mahmood Targets Hidden Rental Fees
- Aly Bonde Is Lurie’s New Chief of Staff
- Muni Funding Tax Qualifies For November
Wiener, Chakrabarti, Chan Split on Housing
Published May 28, 2026
The Facts
When asked if SF needs more market-rate homes (which is what about 90% of SF residents live in), only Scott Wiener gave an emphatic “yes.”
Wiener says the private market “has built the vast majority of new housing” in the US, and supports government subsidized housing as an additional tool to help lower income people afford to live in high-opportunity areas. Saikat Chakrabarti says market-rate housing is just “part of” the solution, but favors huge government programs. While Connie Chan argued San Francisco does not need more market-rate housing (forgetting to mention that she lives in market-rate housing like almost all of us), and SF should only build government subsidized low income housing.
Wiener’s campaign platform promises 8 million homes over ten years, while Chakrabarti’s housing plan calls for millions of new homes, faster approvals, and much larger public-housing investment.
The Context
Connie Chan voted against Mayor Lurie’s Family Zoning Plan last December, and has consistently blocked construction of new homes.
Scott Wiener, on the other hand, has authored dozens of pieces of legislation to unlock new home construction, and qualifying developments in the city now get nearly automatic approval under Wiener’s SB 423 bill, which sharply limits the old discretionary process for new housing.
The GrowSF Take
GrowSF’s view is simple: San Francisco cannot subsidize its way out of a shortage. It would require 100% of San Franciso’s budget for five full years just to hit out 8-year construction goals. That means zero money for the airport, for roads, for schools, for libraries, for police, for healthcare, for literally anything but construction costs. Anyone who seriously pitches this as a solution is delusional, lying, or both.
The serious housing lane is one that recognizes the importance of market-rate homebuilding. Candidates who oppose market-rate supply are offering a scarcity strategy that San Francisco has already tried, and which has failed.
Mahmood Targets Hidden Rental Fees
Published May 28, 2026
The Facts
Renting an apartment shouldn’t come with surprise fees. Supervisor Bilal Mahmood will make sure renters know what they’ll owe and not get hit with hidden fees with his No Hidden Rent Act, which will require rental listings and the first page of leases to show total monthly housing costs, with tenants allowed to exit without penalty if recurring charges were not disclosed.
The Context
In San Francisco, the advertised rent is not always the full monthly bill. Landlords can separately charge for parking or storage and other add-on services if the tenant agrees, so two apartments listed at the same base rent can end up costing very different amounts each month. In a city where one-bedroom asking rent just topped $4,000, that kind of price opacity matters. Other states are starting to respond too: Colorado’s 2025 law requires clearer total-price disclosure and bans some landlord fees.
The GrowSF Take
We’re big fans of fee transparency - from rent to restaurant bills, people should know the real price before they commit.
Aly Bonde Is Lurie’s New Chief of Staff
Published May 28, 2026
The Facts
Mayor Daniel Lurie named Aly Bonde his new chief of staff, replacing outgoing chief of staff Staci Slaughter. Bonde had been serving as deputy chief of staff and led policy for Lurie’s campaign.
The Context
Bonde is a high agency policy wonk. She was the Lurie campaign’s policy lead, a former government-relations director at Planned Parenthood Northern California, and a leader at Oakland Thrives who helped secure a $100 million public-private partnership for East Oakland.
The GrowSF Take
This is a promotion for a proven operator. Bonde has already proven herself in the Lurie administration, showing she can move ideas from campaign promise to City Hall execution. San Francisco needs more of that.
Muni Funding Tax Qualifies For November
Published May 28, 2026
The Facts
About $160 million a year for Muni is headed to San Francisco voters after the Stronger Muni for All campaign submitted 18,469 signatures for the November ballot. Under a 15-year parcel tax with size-based rates, most single-family homes would pay $129 a year starting July 1, 2027; apartment buildings would start at $249 and commercial properties at $799. In rent-controlled units, landlords could pass through up to half the tax, capped at $65 per year, or about $5.42 a month.
The Context
SFMTA has spent the past year cutting its projected deficit through hiring freezes, function consolidation, management cuts, and modest service adjustments. Its balanced two-year budget preserved core Muni service, paratransit, and discount fares. Without new revenue, however, SFMTA says up to 20 Muni lines could be cut and waits on many other routes could double.
The GrowSF Take
We support this measure. SFMTA has made real cuts and operational changes, and San Francisco cannot have a strong downtown, less traffic, and reliable transit without paying for transit. Voters should fund Muni and keep demanding fast, clean, accountable service.
Paid for by GrowSF Voter Guide. FPPC # 1433436. Not authorized by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.