Elections
A woman walks out of the Chinatown Public Health Center.

Proposition B — Bonds to Enhance Health Care Facilities and Public Spaces

10.07.2024
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See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition B would let San Francisco borrow up to $390 million to carry out infrastructure and other projects, like upgrading health care facilities, creating homeless shelter, repaving roads and renovating Harvey Milk Plaza, the Castro neighborhood spot honoring the city’s first openly gay supervisor, who along with Mayor George Moscone was assassinated in 1978. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

Elections
A school bus parked in front of Mission High School in San Francisco.

Proposition A — Bonds to Improve SF Schools

10.07.2024
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See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition A would let the San Francisco Unified School District borrow up to $790 million to upgrade, repair and retrofit its campuses and other properties, and to build a facility that would produce high-quality meals for students. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

Elections
市參事殷嘉立（Joel Engardio）同當地商戶與市民會面。

三藩民選官員遭反對，因其提案關閉海洋公路

07.19.2024
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居住在舊金山西側，由市參事殷嘉立（Joel Engardio）代表的市民表示，他們對他於其他市參事共同發起一項投票提案感到措手不及。該措施旨在永久關閉海洋公路，禁止汽車通行，並將其改造為海濱公園。

民眾說，殷嘉立在支持這項措施之前應該先諮詢他們的意見。一部分正在敦促他修改這項提案或將其從投票中撤回。

(This story also available in English. Click to find it.)

Elections

SF Lawmaker Faces Growing Backlash for Supporting Great Highway Closure

07.17.2024
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Many of Supervisor Joel Engardio’s constituents, who live on San Francisco’s west side, said they felt caught off guard by his move to co-sponsor a ballot measure to permanently close the Great Highway to car traffic and turn it into a park.

They said he should have consulted them before backing the measure, and some are pushing him to alter or withdraw it from the ballot.

Community
从蘇特羅高地（Sutro Heights ）方向看過去的海洋公路，拍攝與2019年9月

商戶們反對將海洋公路改建公園的提案

07.03.2024
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一個代表日落區數十名商戶的團體公開反對一個投票提案。該提案將讓選民決定是否禁止車輛通行三藩市海洋公路（Great Highway）禁車，並將其改造為海濱公園。

該商戶團體表示，關閉公路可能會減慢城市西側的交通，以至於損害該市西側的商業。這可能會減少顧客人流量並延遲待售商品的交付。

(This story also available in English. Click to find it.)

Community

Merchants Oppose Ballot Measure to Turn Great Highway Into Park

06.28.2024
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A group representing dozens of merchants in the Sunset District is objecting to a ballot measure that would close San Francisco’s Great Highway to cars and transform it into a park. 

The closure could hurt businesses on the west side of the city, the group said, by slowing car traffic to them. That might reduce clientele foot traffic and delay the delivery of merchandise for sale.

Elections
Voting booths at San Francisco City Hall

Despite Controversy, Candidates’ Chinese Names Unlikely to Sway S.F. Voters

03.04.2024
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For months leading up to Tuesday’s primary election in San Francisco, debate has swirled around new rules allowing many, but not all, candidates to use authentic-looking Chinese names on the ballot. In the past, candidates have chosen names to communicate concepts, including political values and ethnic identity, to appeal to Chinese voters.

But how much will the names actually affect voters’ decisions?

Probably not much, some experts say.

“Just having a Chinese name on the ballot, that’s not going to do it for you,” said Jim Ross, a San Francisco-based political strategist and consultant who leads focus groups studying local Chinese voters. “You’re not going to win or lose because of that.”

“Civic” Podcast

Election Money Pours in for San Francisco Judges’ Seats That Used to Go Uncontested

03.01.2024
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In California, the governor appoints superior court judges to fill seats across 58 counties. Terms are typically six years, and judges keep their positions unless they’re recalled, which happens rarely, or someone decides to run against them in a local election. Usually, judges don’t face challengers.

But a pair of San Francisco judges are running to stay on the bench in the upcoming March 5 election. The last time sitting judges faced such challenges here was in the June 2018 primary election, and the challengers lost.

Voters might be wondering why they’re being asked to make this decision.

“Civic” Podcast
A metal ballot box covered with colorful decals featuring election information is located on a sidewalk in front of a green lawn with the tall columns of San Francisco's City Hall in the background.

What You Might Find on Your San Francisco Ballot: Party County Central Committees

03.01.2024
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If you vote in California and you’re registered with the Peace and Freedom, Green, Republican or Democratic parties, you’ll get to make some extra choices in the March 5 election that only come around once every four years — the representatives who run your party at the local level. 

In San Francisco, voters registered with those four parties received ballots that included candidates for their party’s presidential primary and also candidates for their respective county central committee, which the Green Party refers to as its county council. These are the people who officially run those parties in San Francisco. They decide which measures and candidates the party will endorse, and they support the formation of local political clubs. They also coordinate in various ways with their parties at the state and national levels.

For this “Civic” episode, we talked with representatives from the four parties that run county committees in San Francisco, and with Theo Ellington, vice president of Northern California for Strategies 360, a political strategy firm, to give a more general overview of the system.