City and County of San Francisco
Arguments and Rebuttals
B
Shall the City eliminate from its Charter the requirement that each member of the Board of Supervisors have two aides?
MAKE CITY GOVERNMENT WORK BETTER FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
VOTE YES ON B
In the years we served as San Francisco Supervisors, the most rewarding part was solving neighborhood problems. That was possible because of the incredible staff who worked in our office. Every day, they answered calls from City residents, attended neighborhood meetings and helped regular San Franciscans cut through the red tape in City government.
We also learned that the farther you live from City Hall, the more important it is to have staff members come to the neighborhood meetings and listen to resident concerns.
Unfortunately, the City Charter restricts the amount of help your supervisor can provide. An outdated provision limits the number of aides at the Board of Supervisors. When voters approved district elections, they demanded neighborhood constituent service and that is why Proposition B is so important.
We're asking for your vote for Proposition B because this is good government. As former Supervisors, we will not personally benefit from its passage --but the average citizen will.
Proposition B isn’t a quick fix, because the Board of Supervisors will not add additional staff during tough budget times. However, when our economy turns around, this measure will provide the needed flexibility to properly staff your neighborhood supervisor’s office.
Let’s make our democracy work better for all San Francisco. Vote Yes on B.
Former SF Supervisor Jake McGoldrick (2001-2009)
Member, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee
Former SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin (2001-2009)
Board President (2005-2009)
Chairman, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee*
Former SF Supervisor Leslie Katz (1996-2001)
Member, San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee*
*For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.
PROPOSITION B WILL NOT MAKE GOVERNMENT WORK BETTER
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B
Since returning to district elections in 2001, the Supervisors’ staffs of two (2) aides for each Supervisor has been augmented by a cadre’ of loyal and dedicated volunteers at no cost to the taxpayers. The system has worked well.
Proposition B is an attempt to allow the Mayor and Supervisors, present and future, to add an unlimited number of well-paid ($68,300 to $91,500 annually) aides to each of the eleven (11) offices. Proposition B will not lead to better government. It will lead to a bigger and more expensive City Hall bureaucracy.
In 2000, the voters turned down a proposition that would have allowed three (3) aides for each Supervisor. It was resoundingly defeated. San Francisco currently has over 26,000 employees. Let City Hall know that we need a more efficient government, not a more bloated government.
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B
San Francisco Republican Party
Howard Epstein
Chairman
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B
According to San Francisco's Controller, adding another aide for each Supervisor will cost the taxpayers between $751,300 and $1,006,500 annually. A similar measure, Proposition B of November 2000, was overwhelming defeated by San Francisco voters. The current Supervisors now wish to ignore that vote. Prior to 2001, when San Francisco Supervisors were elected city wide, Supervisors were allowed three (3) aides because they represented the entire city and needed more help to represent and communicate with their constituents. With the advent of district elections the third staff person was, and still is, not necessary. Enough is enough - San Francisco has the highest number of city employees per capita in the nation. We need to send the Supervisors a reminder that we don't need more unnecessary employees and costs when the budget is in such dire condition.
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B
San Francisco Republican Party
Howard Epstein
Chairman
Vote yes on Proposition B. for Better Service
When San Franciscans have a problem, they should be able to pick up the phone and demand their elected representatives help fix it. Today they can’t do that. You deserve better.
On average, citizens requesting help from their elected representatives wait days to hear back from Supervisor’s offices on critical neighborhood issues – street repair, clean local parks, and public safety. That’s because each supervisor's aide serves more than 33,000 people. By comparison, each aide in Los Angeles serves 11,000 people and in Sacramento, 12,000 people. San Franciscans deserve better.
Long Hours and No Overtime
Supervisors' aides in San Francisco work long hours and do not receive overtime pay. Because of the arcane limitation on the number of staff, supervisors’ offices are limited in the number of constituents they can serve.
No other city department has charter limitations on how they serve the public. It’s time to allow representatives the flexibility needed to best serve their communities.
Help your district supervisor’s office serve you better. Vote yes on Proposition B.
Jake McGoldrick, Former SF Supervisor, Member, SF Democratic County Central Committee*
Aaron Peskin, Former SF Supervisor*, Chair, SF Democratic County Central Committee
San Francisco Democratic Party
*For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.
Arguments printed on this page are the opinion of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency. Arguments are printed as submitted. Spelling and grammatical errors have not been corrected.