Measure for Measure: Proposition A
Voting is an essential part of civic engagement, but it can be confusing, especially in local elections. There are some hyper-local issues that we’re deciding on in the upcoming election in SF on November 5th. That’s why we’re doing this round-up of the measures, to provide some insight into the 2019 ballot.
Check out our round-up page for more articles on the other measures.
What is Proposition A?
Proposition A would authorize a $600 million bond to fund affordable housing in San Francisco. This would be the largest affordable housing bond in San Francisco’s history and could add 2,800 affordable units in the city over the next four years. Originally, the proposal was for a $300 million bond but was doubled following a finding from the City Controller’s Office that the larger bond would not increase property taxes.
The bond proceeds would fund public housing ($150 million), housing for low- and medium-income households ($220 million and $30 million, respectively), purchasing and rehabilitating existing housing ($30 million), and construction of affordable housing for seniors and teachers ($150 million and $20 million, respectively). Eventually, the projects would generate annual revenues of $50 million for the city.
The proposition requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
Why does it matter?
San Francisco, as is well known, is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Building affordable housing in San Francisco is expensive (the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development estimated that it costs $700,000 to build one affordable unit), and unfortunately the state and federal government only provide limited funding for affordable housing.
Because of the steep expense and the scarcity of external funding, it is important for San Francisco to take action on its own. Proposition A would authorize the largest affordable housing bond in San Francisco’s history and would build on the $310 million housing bond from 2015. Proposition A sponsors argue that the proceeds could fund 2,800 affordable units targeted for seniors, teachers, veterans, and other public service workers.
What are the arguments for Proposition A? Who’s funding the measure?
Proposition A is supported by a diverse group of organizations and officials in San Francisco. Affordable Homes for San Franciscans Now! is leading the campaign in support of Proposition A. The backers argue that the proceeds from the bond will protect and create affordable housing for seniors, teachers, veterans, and other important public service workers.
The measure was placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors and co-sponsored by Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee and Mayor London Breed.
Initially, labor unions were hesitant to support the measure because the projects funded by the bond would be constructed by private contractors. This means the projects would not be subject to the city’s project labor agreement which sets wage and working condition standards for such projects. However, past affordable housing projects almost entirely employed union workers, which assuaged the unions’ fears.
Proposition A has been endorsed by elected officials including State Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymembers David Chu and Phil Ting, and Congresswoman Jackie Speier. Supporting organizations include the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, the San Francisco Labor Council, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. See the full list of endorsements here.
Major funding comes from Chris Larsen (executive chairman of payments company Ripple), Related California Residential, The John Stewart Company, Mission Rock Vertical Sub LLC, and Cahill Contractors. See more funding details here.
What are the arguments against Proposition A? Who’s funding the opposition?
There isn’t much organized opposition to Proposition A. The Libertarian Party of San Francisco is writing the opposition argument in the official voter information guide. The San Francisco Green Party opposes the measure because it funds “mostly private housing.”
What is TechEquity’s position on Proposition A?
This is an easy decision for us. We wholeheartedly support Proposition A. While this is only a one-time funding source, it will flush capital into the system immediately to help solve the crisis and is in complete alignment with our housing platform. Until we can develop other sustainable revenue streams, which we’re working on with Schools and Communities First and through our support of the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area, we must rely on bond measures. We will need much more revenue from a variety of sources to address the housing shortage. We say vote yes on Proposition A!
Check our round-up page for more measure articles as we publish them!
We’re uniting tech workers to create a more equitable economy. Join us!
We believe the tech industry, built on the internet — the most democratizing communications platform in human history — can and should contribute to broad-based economic growth that benefits everyone.
