San Francisco Supervisors’ Mid-Year Progress Report

Massive budget cuts were targeted at the unions and community organizations whose staffs were among the foot soldiers in the Supervisors’ campaigns, and differences emerged on how to work with Mayor Gavin Newsom on addressing these cuts. Ultimately, the Board almost miraculously restored over $43 million in proposed cuts, leaving progressive programs in far better shape than anyone could have imagined only two months ago. But this budget success had a price: rising tensions between even longtime progressive allies, and a level of distrust that could make progressive Board unity much harder to achieve for the foreseeable future. After talking to a wide diversity of activists and City Hall insiders, here is my take on how the progressive Supes performed during this crisis.

Read More