San Francisco's oversight commissions are essential to ensuring that our city government is transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of its residents. In June of this year, a Civil Grand Jury was convened to review the effectiveness of these commissions and issued an 81-page report with their findings. Prop E was developed as a result. It will create a deliberate process to streamline city commissions with public input. Prop D, by contrast, will completely eliminate almost half of the commissions. Core bodies such as the Commission on the Environment will be eliminated unless the Board of Supervisors opts to allow them to continue. In no event may the Board of Supervisors allow more than a total of 65 commissions to continue to exist.

Prop L would raise approximately $25 million per year to pay for Muni transit service and fare discount programs. The revenue would come from a new tax on transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber, Lyft, and Waymo. The tax would range from 1% to 4.5% of annual gross taxable receipts. The tax would apply only to receipts from fares for transportation within San Francisco.

Muni faces a financial crisis as federal pandemic relief funding ends in the near future. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which runs Muni, expects a budget deficit exceeding $220 million for fiscal year 2026-27. Such a deficit would likely trigger Muni service cuts and reduce free fare programs for youth and seniors.

A vote for Prop K, to create a new "Ocean Beach Park" at the Great Highway is a vote for critical environmental restoration as well as creative, joyful, and necessary climate change mitigation. The SFLCV endorses it enthusiastically. This measure represents a generational opportunity to create a truly world class public space in San Francisco - we should seize it!

This stretch of the Upper Great Highway immediately south of Golden Gate Park, running alongside Ocean Beach from Lincoln to Sloat, was closed to cars during the pandemic and quickly became a favorite destination for thousands of San Franciscans. Even now, the park attracts 10,000 visitors each weekend. Creation of the Ocean Beach Park will end the current “park on weekends, highway on weekdays” hybrid approach (which is set to expire in 2025 whether or not Prop K passes). 

Due to high median incomes in the City, most affordable housing rents in San Francisco are out of reach for extremely low income (“ELI”) households (15-30% of Area Median Income, or AMI). The majority of affordable housing produced in San Francisco since 2005 has only targeted very low (30-50% of AMI) and low-income (50-80% of AMI) households. As a result, seniors, parents, and people with disabilities making close to minimum wage cannot qualify for affordable housing, even when applicants win the affordable housing lottery. In most cases, applicants are required to have a monthly income ranging between 40-50% of the median income to qualify for affordable units.

Prop G seeks to secure $8.25 million from the general fund each year for 20 years to ensure access for ELI households to the City’s affordable housing.

A lesser-recognized aspect of the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters’ mission is to “promote…good government issues and political reforms.” In the interest of good government, we recommend a yes vote on Proposition C.

Prop C amends the City Charter to establish the position of Inspector General in the Audit Division of the Controller’s Office. It was placed on the ballot with the unanimous vote of all 11 supervisors and needs 50% +1 affirmative votes to pass. 

The Controller’s Office is already in charge of investigating financial impropriety by city contractors and departments and receiving whistleblower complaints, but there is no dedicated role within the Controller’s Office responsible for these functions. As the SF Chronicle notes, other functions, such as processing payroll, managing city bonds, and monitoring the budget, take priority.

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters (SFLCV) endorses a YES vote on Proposition B – Community Health and Medical Facilities, Street Safety, Public Spaces, and Shelter to Reduce Homelessness Bond. A YES vote will help secure critical funds for infrastructure upgrades that will improve biking and pedestrian safety, access to transit hubs on Market Street, and housing for unsheltered individuals and families. Together, these initiatives will make San Francisco a denser and more accessible city that is less reliant on carbon-emitting automobiles. Additionally, the proposition would provide funding that will improve a variety of health centers in the city.

In the upcoming San Francisco mayoral election, the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorses Mayor London Breed. At a time of critical importance to transit, housing, water quality and more, she is the best choice.

Mayor Breed has overseen substantial improvements at Muni during her tenure, even through the COVID-19 pandemic's challenges of reduced ridership and public unease. Under her direction, Muni has achieved historic levels of satisfaction and performance, a remarkable feat. And although Muni operates on a smaller scale post-pandemic, the focus on transit-priority lanes and enhancing service in equity priority neighborhoods has yielded positive outcomes, and the system is showing signs of growth. Despite these successes, Muni is now confronting severe financial difficulties, facing a projected budget deficit of $214 million as early as next July, posing a serious threat that Breed is best-equipped to manage.

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorses EJ Jones for District 11 supervisor, and we recommend a #2 vote for Michael Lai. We appreciated Jones’ alignment with our priority issues, and we were impressed by his demonstration of leadership, bringing opposing views together to come to consensus. While Lai usually aligned with our views, he seemed to be more cautious, reflecting existing views and concerns in his district rather than advocating for a path forward.

Jones sees housing as an environmental and climate issue. As the former Housing Development Director for Bernal Housing Corporation, he has a deep understanding of housing policy. He supports all types of housing development, especially workforce housing. He supports upzoning along transit corridors and sees mixed use as a good opportunity to improve vibrancy, bolster ridership in the transit system, and bring diversity of residents to the neighborhood. 

For the District 9 Supervisor’s race, the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters found itself faced with a difficult choice. The leading candidates each have different strengths and yet none met all of our expectations. In the end, we have made a dual endorsement of Trevor Chandler and Roberto Hernandez.

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorses Supervisor Myrna Melgar for re-election to the Board of Supervisors representing District 7 in the southwestern portion of the city. 

During her first term as supervisor, Melgar established a strong record addressing the most important environmental issue facing San Francisco and the world: climate change. Two of the key ways San Francisco can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change are through denser housing and increased transit use. As chair of the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee, Melgar has been a leader on both issues.

Environmental and Housing Record: District 5, encompassing diverse neighborhoods with varying housing needs and environmental challenges, demands a Supervisor who can balance development with sustainability. Bilal Mahmood has proven his dedication to these priorities through his leadership in initiatives like Electric Action and the Upgrade California campaign. By championing building decarbonization and advocating for state legislation to streamline green initiatives, Mahmood directly addresses the district’s pressing environmental concerns. His commitment to increasing housing density supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring affordable housing for future generations.

District 3 faces significant challenges, with a high percentage of residents without cars and a severe lack of safe bike infrastructure. The district also exhibits a stark housing dichotomy, featuring high-density housing for lower-income residents alongside low-density homes owned by some of the city’s wealthiest residents. To address these issues, Sauter supports increased housing density, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring future generations can afford to live in their neighborhoods.

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorses Jennifer Nossokoff for District 1 Supervisor based on her priorities to improve transit, increase housing development, and enhance parks.

SFMTA faces a looming budget shortfall, which threatens Muni’s future. To help restore Muni’s fiscal health, Nossokoff supports the Community Transit Act, which would fund Muni by taxing ride-share services and extending parking meter hours. Nossokoff recognizes that these revenues, if established, are not a complete solution to Muni’s budget challenges and seeks additional funding avenues such as advocating for additional state support, adjusting the City’s budget to prioritize transit, and getting creative on selling more advertising space on buses. Supporting this kind of multi-pronged funding portfolio would help ensure Muni has a balanced budget.  

While there are many qualified candidates & several noted political figures, SFLCV endorsed on the basis of the candidates' answers to our questionnaire and their record on environmental issues. We took into consideration that some candidates are not eligible to advocate on city issues due to current or former roles in city government. All candidate questionnaires are available on our endorsements page. We did not consider candidates who did not return questionnaires.

Dense, thriving cities where people live close to their work, schools, shops and other amenities are an essential way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a sustainable and equitable future for our planet. Prop C is a significant step in the right direction to help achieve that vision. 

San Francisco’s downtown, the once bustling hub of our City, has become a ghost town since the pandemic, due to the shift to work from home and the outsize reliance on offices in the downtown mix. Prop C is part of an effort to revitalize our downtown and address our housing shortage by incentivizing the conversion of vacant office buildings to housing. Doing so could help our downtown to rebound, make it more diversified and thus resilient to such shocks in the future, and create more badly needed housing.

San Francisco League of Conservation Voters urges a YES vote on Proposition A – the Affordable Housing Bond. Your vote in favor of Proposition A may be one of the most important environmental votes you make in this election because the proposition must receive ⅔ “yes” votes to pass. We need every vote on this critical step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping more people live closer to where they work. San Francisco’s Climate Action Plan sets a goal to build at least 5,000 new housing units per year, with not less than 30% affordable units. “[I]n order to solve the climate crisis, we have to solve the housing crisis. … ‘infill’ housing — that is, housing built in urban areas, near transit, jobs and services — can reduce greenhouse gas pollution more effectively than any other option.”

Proposition J will codify the permanent opening of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to alternative transportation. A car-free JFK creates a safe open space for recreation and encourages a transition away from fossil fuels.

Visits to the park are up 36% over the period before the pandemic, and 70% of people surveyed approve of a permanent JFK Promenade. San Francisco League of Conservation Voters was an active and vocal supporter of the Car-Free JFK Campaign that resulted in the permanent car-free status. Our support of a car-free JFK continues.

Proposition I would overturn the Golden Gate Park Access and Safety Program and reopen JFK Drive to motor vehicles. The initiative would overturn a consensus measure that created a permanent safe open space for people of all ages and abilities. Prior to the closure, 75% of trips on JFK were taken through, not to, the park. As a result, JFK Drive landed on the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network among the 13% of city streets responsible for 75% of severe and fatal traffic collisions.

In his four-year term as Supervisor for District 8, Rafael Mandelman has demonstrated strong leadership on many environmental issues in San Francisco, such as building decarbonization, Vision Zero, public transportation, waste reduction, and urban trees and green spaces. We at San Francisco League of Conservation Voters are excited to endorse him for another term.

Proposition H would consolidate San Francisco’s elections by moving odd-year elections to even years, when voter participation is much higher. San Francisco League of Conservation Voters supports this initiative to increase voter engagement in electing local officials.