Amid San Francisco’s growing housing crisis, some now see mediation as an alternative to nasty, expensive court fights to keep tenants housed and property owners content. For more than 20 years, that approach has staved off evictions in the capital of Wisconsin.
Category: Series
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Housing, Labor, Land use, News, Remaking Rent Control
Housing Speculators Again in Political Crosshairs
In their 2018 mayoral campaigns, former state senator Mark Leno and Supervisor Jane Kim emphasized the role of speculators in driving gentrification and displacement in San Francisco. A tax or lawsuits would target ‘flippers’ to protect tenants and rental housing. A 2014 measure failed. But S.F. voters may again be asked again whether speculators should be taxed.
Posted inBay Area, Census, City Hall, Housing, Land use, News, Remaking Rent Control
Cities Sic the Taxman on Vacant ‘Ghost Homes’
Is an abundance of vacant units worsening the Bay Area’s housing crisis? That’s what some politicians have suggested. Their solution: a new tax on landlords who leave residential and commercial properties unrented. Oakland will vote in November and an S.F. measure is being planned for 2019. Vancouver, Melbourne and Paris already levy such taxes.
Posted inBay Area, City Hall, Elections, Government & Politics, Housing, Land use, News, Remaking Rent Control
Remaking Rent Control — if Voters Approve
Cities would regain power to regulate rental housing if Proposition 10 passes in November, repealing Costa-Hawkins. But would that help or hurt the affordability crisis?
Posted inCity Hall, June 2018 Special Election, News
Finally, Data Map S.F. City Hall’s Progressive-Moderate Divide
Exclusive: A data-driven analysis has, at last, mapped the progressive-moderate divide at San Francisco City Hall that political observers have known in their guts for years.
Posted inCity Hall, Education, Homelessness, Housing, June 2018 Special Election
As Mayor, Breed Would Centralize Tent Camps to End Them, Boost Housing Density
In her bid to reoccupy the mayor’s seat she held briefly after Ed Lee died, London Breed lists a bevy of accomplishments and proposals in the realms of housing and homelessness. In many cases, the Board of Supervisors president openly states that she did — or would, if elected — play a support role to craft or implement city policy. For other initiatives and proposals, Breed’s ownership is undeniable. Last in a series analyzing the eight mayoral candidates’ records and pledges on housing and homelessness.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, June 2018 Special Election, News
Mayoral Candidates Respond — or Do Not — to Our Issues Questionnaire
Three of the eight candidates for mayor answered our policy questions and offered feedback. The questionnaire was inspired by an analysis of key political issues that have come before the Board of Supervisors.
Posted inHealth, June 2018 Special Election, Public Safety
A Mayor Bravo Would Prioritize Housing for First Responders, Holistic Health for Homeless
San Francisco mayoral candidate Michelle Bravo wants to win, but that is not her first priority. A political neophyte, the holistic-health practitioner admits she has much to learn — in fact, her main reason for entering the race was to get a crash course in the local issues. Seventh in a series analyzing the mayoral candidates’ records and pledges on housing and homelessness.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, June 2018 Special Election, News
Data-Driven Questions for the Mayoral Candidates
Exclusive: The San Francisco Public Press partnered with faculty at the University of California, Davis, to produce a unique questionnaire — inspired by an analysis of the key political issues that have come before the city’s legislators.