Commission Impossible: San Francisco Governance on the Ballot

10/18/24 • 35 min

San Francisco commission reform is on the November 2024 ballot. If either Proposition D or E passes, they will change the city’s commissions in different ways, which have had a vital role in how the combined city and county of San Francisco has been governed since 1898. Civic speaks to John Monson, the co-author of a civil grand jury report “Commission Impossible.” To create this report, the jury carried out an extensive examination of the commissions system before Proposition D or E made it to the ballot.

Find the Civil Grand Jury report here: https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/Commissions%20Impossible%20Report.pdf

Find the Civil Grand Jury report here: https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-06/Commissions%20Impossible%20Report.pdf

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Overdose Prevention Centers Save Lives, But Is SF Listening?

There’s a glimmer of hope in San Francisco’s overdose crisis as the rate at which people are dying appears to be slowing down. But the city’s health director warned the public that the death rate may not have peaked yet. Meanwhile, health and city officials who once advocated for a place where people could safely consume substances in case of overdose have gone silent on the topic. So we provide a reminder of what overdose prevention centers can achieve by revisiting New York City’s OnPoint, which is saving lives and cleaning up its surrounding neighborhood.

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Bonus: San Francisco Propositions November 2024

In the November, 2024 election San Francisco voters are being asked to decide whether to approve a wide range of issues in the form of 15 local ballot propositions, including ones on a major overhaul of the city’s commission system, bond measures and other program funding, changes to the business tax system, and incentives to bolster the ranks of police, fire and other emergency services employees. San Francisco’s list of ballot measures is long and complex. Here are Propositions A through O as explained by our reporting staff.

You can find more detailed information on our November, 2024 Election Guide.