$400M SF Muni bond falling short of 2/3rds majority in early returns
SAN FRANCISCO – A $400 million bond for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for street and transit improvements in the city appears to not have enough votes to pass, based on the latest unofficial results from Tuesday's election.
Proposition A received a little over 63 percent approval, below the two-thirds vote needed to take effect, after being proposed by Mayor London Breed and approved by the city's Board of Supervisors to go on the ballot.
The mayor and supervisors said in the ballot argument in favor of Prop A that it the measure is part of the city's capital plan to replace old bonds with new ones and to ensure access to matching federal infrastructure dollars.
Opponents of the measure included retired local politician and judge Quentin Kopp, who in the ballot argument against Proposition A identified himself as president of the San Francisco Taxpayers Association and said the measure's language "is designed to allow MTA to use bond proceed for disastrous projects or whatever they please," citing cost overruns and delays to the still-unopened Central Subway project as an example.
The city's voters did approve Proposition F, which the Board of Supervisors put on the ballot back in March to establish the city controller as the refuse rate administrator—rather than the Department of Public Works—to handle rates for Recology, the company contracted to collect waste and recycling in San Francisco.
The proposal came as part of the fallout from a public corruption scandal that included federal charges against former public works director Mohammed Nuru, who oversaw the rate-setting process. Recology last year had to pay more than $100 million in restitution, interest and penalties to ratepayers as part of a settlement with the city.
More than two-thirds of voters approved Prop F, which needed only majority approval, according to the latest results.
In other measures voted on by San Franciscans, Proposition B, a charter amendment to change the appointment process and qualifications for city Building Inspection Commission members and have the mayor appoint the department's director, got nearly 59 percent of the vote to pass.
Proposition D had more than 60 percent approval to create an Office of Victim and Witness Rights to provide or coordinate existing city services and seek to establish programs that provide free legal services for domestic violence victims, while Proposition E to change city ethics laws regarding behested payments from contractors received more than two-thirds support.
Proposition G, a measure specifying paid sick leave policies for employers in the city during a public health emergency, received more than 60 percent to pass.