Politics of San Francisco

Last updated

San Francisco City Hall illuminated in commemorative red, white, and blue lighting on Election Day November 6, 2018 SF City Hall Election Day 2018.jpg
San Francisco City Hall illuminated in commemorative red, white, and blue lighting on Election Day November 6, 2018

Following the social upheavals of the 1960s, San Francisco became one of the centers of progressive activism, with Democrats, and progressives dominating city politics. This continuing trend is also visible in the results of presidential elections; the last Republican president to win San Francisco was Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. Although the fight between Democrats and Republicans has been unequal for the last 40 years, it has become increasingly lopsided, with conservative commentators frequently attacking the city's politics using the ad hominem phrase, "San Francisco values". [1] Because of its heavy liberal leanings, San Francisco has the highest percentage of Democratic voters of any California county as of November 2024. [2] Campaign corruption is monitored by the San Francisco Ethics Commission and violations result in fines up to $5,000 per violation.

Contents

State and federal representation

United States presidential election results for San Francisco County, California [3]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 62,59415.53%323,71980.33%16,6844.14%
2020 56,41712.72%378,15685.26%8,9802.02%
2016 37,6889.23%345,08484.47%25,7696.31%
2012 47,07613.01%301,72383.40%12,9963.59%
2008 52,29213.66%322,22084.16%8,3532.18%
2004 54,35515.21%296,77283.02%6,3381.77%
2000 51,49616.10%241,57875.54%26,7128.35%
1996 45,47915.66%209,77772.24%35,12912.10%
1992 57,35217.80%233,26372.40%31,5929.80%
1988 72,50326.14%201,88772.78%3,0041.08%
1984 90,21931.44%193,27867.35%3,4751.21%
1980 80,96731.87%133,18452.43%39,87715.70%
1976 103,56140.31%133,73352.06%19,5947.63%
1972 127,46141.82%170,88256.07%6,4272.11%
1968 100,97033.66%177,50959.18%21,4687.16%
1964 92,99428.71%230,75871.24%1560.05%
1960 143,00141.79%197,73457.78%1,4840.43%
1956 173,64851.53%161,76648.01%1,5530.46%
1952 198,15852.88%172,31245.99%4,2301.13%
1948 160,13545.66%167,72647.82%22,8486.51%
1944 134,16338.92%208,60960.51%1,9590.57%
1940 122,44939.26%185,60759.51%3,8221.23%
1936 65,43624.69%196,19774.04%3,3681.27%
1932 70,15231.43%144,23664.62%8,8093.95%
1928 95,98749.11%96,63249.44%2,8491.46%
1924 73,49447.75%9,8116.37%70,61545.88%
1920 96,10565.18%32,63722.13%18,70812.69%
1916 63,09342.30%78,22552.45%7,8345.25%
1912 00.00%48,95348.40%52,19551.60%
1908 33,18455.19%21,26035.36%5,6809.45%
1904 39,81660.86%18,02727.55%7,58411.59%
1900 35,20855.71%25,21239.89%2,7824.40%
1896 31,04149.20%30,64948.58%1,3962.21%
1892 24,41641.78%31,02253.09%2,9975.13%
1888 25,70846.14%28,69951.51%1,3102.35%
1884 25,50953.46%21,20244.43%1,0082.11%
1880 19,08046.27%21,47152.06%6881.67%

In the California State Senate, San Francisco is in the 11th Senate District , represented by Democrat Scott Wiener. In the California State Assembly, it is split between the 17th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Matt Haney, and the 19th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Catherine Stefani. [4]

In the United States House of Representatives, San Francisco is split between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 11th District, represented by Nancy Pelosi ( D – San Francisco ). A sliver in the southwest is part of the 15th District represented by Kevin Mullin ( D – South San Francisco ). [5] Pelosi served as the House Speaker from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2023, a post she also held from 2007 through 2011. She has also held the post of House Minority Leader, from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019.

Local politics

The city is governed by a mayor and an 11-member Board of Supervisors, both elected using preferential voting. The current mayor is London Breed.

In the city, a progressive/moderate divide has become the organizing principle of local politics. While the specific policy differences between the two sides are widely disputed, the progressive/moderate formulation remains salient in the local media and in the deep network of political clubs and mutual endorsements that help determine elections. [6]

Issues

Housing is a frequent topic in San Francisco politics. San Francisco has the highest housing prices in the United States. [7] As of 2018, its median house price was $1.61 million, almost twice the average from five years earlier. [8] Many factors contribute to the housing situation in San Francisco. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of available homes to live in. The Bay Area, from 2011 to 2015, only created 1 home for every 8 jobs created. [9]

San Francisco has some of the most stringent housing laws in the United States. It ranks 3rd among cities in the United States as the hardest city to build in. [10] It has been estimated by San Francisco's chief economist that in order for prices in San Francisco to stabilize, the city would need around 100,000 units to reduce prices. [11]

Voter statistics

Total population [23] 797,983
  Registered voters [24] [note 1] 497,66362.4%
    Democratic [24] 276,85555.6%
    Republican [24] 42,9228.6%
    Democratic–Republican spread [24] +233,933+47.0%
    Independent [24] 8,9181.8%
    Green [24] 8,2151.7%
    Libertarian [24] 3,0280.6%
    Peace and Freedom [24] 1,7270.3%
    Americans Elect [24] 230.0%
    Other [24] 1,2840.3%
    No party preference [24] 154,69131.1%

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 San Francisco mayoral election</span>

The 1995 San Francisco mayoral election was held on November 7, 1995, with a runoff election held on December 12, 1995. Former Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie Brown defeated incumbent mayor Frank Jordan in a runoff election to become the 41st Mayor of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Ting</span> American politician

Philip Yu-Li Ting is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2024. He is a Democrat who represented the 19th Assembly District, which encompasses western San Francisco and northwestern San Mateo County. Prior to being elected to the Assembly, he was the Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Kim</span> American politician

Jane Jungyon Kim is an American attorney and politician, and the first Korean American elected official in San Francisco. She represented San Francisco's District 6 on the Board of Supervisors between 2011 and 2019. She is a member of the San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee. She is executive director of the California Working Families Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 San Francisco mayoral election</span>

The 1991 San Francisco mayoral election was held on November 5, 1991, with a runoff election on December 10 that year. Incumbent mayor Art Agnos, after having won nearly 70% of the vote in 1987, scraped by with less than a third of the vote in the first round and was narrowly unseated by Chief of Police Frank Jordan in the runoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Yee</span> American politician

Norman Yee is a former American elected official and educator in San Francisco, California. He served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing Supervisorial District 7 from 2012 to 2021 and was elected president of the Board in January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Breed</span> Mayor of San Francisco since 2018

London Nicole Breed is an American politician who is the 45th and current mayor of San Francisco, serving since 2018. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 San Francisco mayoral election</span>

The election for mayor of the City and County of San Francisco was held on November 5, 2019. Incumbent mayor London Breed, who had previously been elected in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, was reelected to a first full term in office. All local elections in California are nonpartisan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillary Ronen</span> American politician

Hillary Ronen is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 9, which includes the neighborhoods of Mission District, Bernal Heights, and Portola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election</span>

The 2014 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections occurred on November 4, 2014. Five of the eleven seats of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were contested in this election. Incumbents in all five districts successfully ran for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 San Francisco mayoral special election</span>

A special election was held for Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco on June 5, 2018, to fill the remainder of the term of Ed Lee, who had died in office on December 12, 2017. Upon Lee's death, London Breed, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became Acting Mayor of San Francisco, but a vote of six supervisors replaced Breed with Supervisor Mark Farrell. The mayoral election was held concurrently with the statewide direct primary election. In San Francisco, the election for the eighth district member of the board of supervisors was also on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election</span>

In 2018, five of the eleven seats of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were on the ballot in the 2018 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections. A special election was held on June 5 for one of the five seats, while the other four were decided on the November 6 general election ballot. The elections followed the ranked-choice voting format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Haney</span> American politician

Matthew Craig Haney is an American politician from San Francisco currently serving as a member of the California State Assembly from the 17th district, covering the eastern portion of the city. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, Haney had represented District 6 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2019 to 2022 and previously served as a commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2013 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 San Francisco mayoral recall election</span>

The 1983 San Francisco mayoral recall election was held on April 26, 1983, to determine whether mayor Dianne Feinstein should be removed from office. The recall measure was overwhelmingly defeated, and Feinstein remained in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 San Francisco District Attorney election</span>

The 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5, 2019, to elect the next District Attorney of San Francisco. The election, which was held alongside the 2019 mayoral election in which incumbent mayor London Breed won her first full term, was won by public defender Chesa Boudin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election</span>

The 2022 California 17th State Assembly district special election was a special election to fill the vacant 17th Assembly District. The special election was called after incumbent Assemblymember David Chiu resigned the seat to become City Attorney of San Francisco. Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, won the election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election</span>

The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7, 2022, concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilal Mahmood</span> American entrepreneur and politician

Bilal Mahmood is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civil servant based in San Francisco, California. He is a former policy analyst in the Obama administration, as well as co-founder of the Foundation 13 Fund and the software company ClearBrain, where he also served as CEO. ClearBrain was acquired by Amplitude in March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election</span>

The 2022 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections were held on November 8, 2022. Five of the eleven seats on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were up for election. The election was conducted with ranked-choice voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election</span>

The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election was held on November 8, 2022, following the successful recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It was held concurrent with the 2022 statewide general elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 San Francisco District Attorney election</span>

The 2024 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5, 2024, concurrent with the election for San Francisco mayor and the 2024 statewide general elections.

References

  1. ↑ Garofoli, Joe (November 3, 2006). "Three Dirty Words: San Francisco Values". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Historical Voter Registration Statistics" (PDF). 15-Day Report of Registration for the November 6, 2012, General Election. Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
  4. ↑ "Communities of Interest — County". California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ "California's 12th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Unpacking SF's Moderate/Progressive Divide". SF Weekly.
  7. ↑ "San Francisco has highest rent prices in the world, claims housing startup". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  8. ↑ "San Francisco's median house price climbs to $1.61 million". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  9. ↑ "Workforce Housing - Bay Area Council". Bay Area Council. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  10. ↑ "The Toughest Places to Build: Behind the Scenes of a Wall Street Journal Analysis". www.buildzoom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  11. ↑ Lamb, Jonah Owen (February 12, 2014). "Leveling SF housing field could take 100,000 new units". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  12. ↑ "California General Election County Reporting Status". California General Election Tuesday, November 6, 2018 Semi-Official Election Results. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018.
  13. ↑ "June 5, 2018 Election Results". sfelections.sfgov.org. June 27, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  14. ↑ "November 8, 2016 Election Results". sfelections.sfgov.org. June 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  15. ↑ "SFDOE Results November 8, 2016". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  16. ↑ "SFDOE Results June 7, 2016". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  17. ↑ "SFDOE Results November 3, 2015". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  18. ↑ "SFDOE Results November 4, 2014". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  19. ↑ "SFDOE Results June 3, 2014". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  20. ↑ "SFDOE Results November 5, 2013". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  21. ↑ "SFDOE Results November 6, 2012". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  22. ↑ "SFDOE Results June 5, 2012, Consolidated Presidential Primary Election". sfelections.org. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  23. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001. U.S. Census website. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 California Secretary of State. February 10, 2013 - Report of Registration Archived November 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2013-10-31.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.