San Francisco March 2020 Nonpartisan Election Guide
Propositions A to E, and Key State Measures and Races: In March 2020, San Francisco voters will weigh a tax on vacant storefronts, restrictions on office development, funding for City College and other issues, including some crucial races at the state level.
Propositions A to E, and Key State Measures and Races
San Francisco voters will weigh a tax on vacant storefronts, restrictions on office development, funding for City College and other issues, including some crucial races at the state level.
Below, you’ll find audio and text summaries of the measures and races as well as some relevant episodes from “Civic,” our radio show and podcast.
This page will be updated as more material becomes available.
Local Ballot
City College Improvements, Job Training
Proposition A would authorize the City College of San Francisco to issue up to $845 million in bonds to pay for repairs and upgrades to facilities, as well as training programs to prepare students for local jobs in the science, arts and technology fields. Property tax revenue would pay off the issued bonds.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition A.
S.F. Emergency-Response System Upgrades
Proposition B would authorize San Francisco to issue up to $628.5 million in bonds to pay for upgrades to its emergency-response infrastructure. Scientists predict that a major quake has a 72% likelihood of striking the Bay Area by 2043. Property tax revenue would pay off the issued bonds.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition B.
Retirement Benefits for Certain Public Employees
Proposition C would provide health care benefits to a small subset of City Hall workers upon retirement.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition C.
Tax on Vacant Storefronts
Proposition D would create a storefront vacancy tax, levied based on the size of the empty storefront and how long it has remained vacant. Beginning in 2021, if a storefront in a named neighborhood commercial district has been empty for more than six months, the landlord would be taxed $250 per street-facing foot of storefront, and more if the space remains vacant consecutive years.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition D.
Limits on Office Development
Proposition E would restrict new office development in step with the shortfall of affordable housing construction, put forward by the affordable housing nonprofit TODCO. It would restrict the existing cap on office production by the same percentage that the city is lagging behind its affordable housing production goal.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition E.
The Democratic County Central Committee is the local governing body of the Democratic Party. Only registered Democrats will be getting a ballot with this contest on it. This kind of committee exists for other parties as well, but in those races the number of seats matches or exceeds the number of people running, so the races won’t appear on the ballot.
The DCCC raises funds, registers voters and develops the party. But one of its politically most influential functions is to make endorsements for office. San Francisco State University Associate Professor of Political Science Jason McDaniel explains the form and function of the DCCC in an episode of “Civic,” below.
State Ballot
Facilities Construction at Public Schools
Proposition 13 would authorize a $15 billion state bond measure to provide matching funding to districts for renovation and construction of facilities. $9 billion are slated for K-12 schools, and $6 billion for public higher education institutions. The measure prioritizes districts that have health and safety needs, like lead in their water, or that are too small to raise adequate funds through taxes.
Listen below or read our text analysis for Proposition 13.
Two candidates are hoping to challenge incumbent State Senator Scott Wiener to represent District 11, which includes San Francisco and a few other cities to the south.
This is the primary for this race, which is voted on across party lines. The two candidates with the most votes go on to the final election in November. You can listen to interviews with all three candidates here:
Assemblyman David Chiu represents this district, which covers the eastern half of San Francisco, and is running unopposed. We spoke with him about his recent legislative work. You can listen to the interview here.
Phil Ting is the assembly member representing this district, which encompasses mostly western San Francisco. He’s being challenged by Republican John McDonnell, a tax and business attorney.
This is the primary for this race, which is voted on across party lines. The two candidates with the most votes go on to the final election in November, so Ting and McDonnell will compete then.
Listen to interviews with Phil Ting and John McDonnell.
Presidential Primary
The Public Press is not conducting interviews with candidates for federal office (Congress, U.S. Senate or President) for this election, but “Civic” did provide an overview of how voters can cast a ballot in the presidential primary of their choice this March. The discussion covers crossover ballots, provisional ballots, which parties allow voters with no party preference to participate, and how the Democratic party assigns delegates. Listen here.
How Voting Works in San Francisco
Staff from the San Francisco Department of Elections explain the voting machines, ballots and transparency measures that residents can expect when they show up to vote.