San Francisco Board of Supervisors | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | 2 terms (8 years), resets after 4 years out of office |
Leadership | |
Aaron Peskin since January 9, 2023 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 11 |
Political groups | Officially nonpartisan
|
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
Instant runoff voting Single-member districts | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 |
Next election | November 5, 2024 |
Meeting place | |
San Francisco City Hall San Francisco, California | |
Website | |
San Francisco Board of Supervisors |
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California.
The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a charter city and charter county with a consolidated government, a status it has had since 1856. Since it is the only such consolidation in California, it is therefore the only California city with a mayor who is also the county executive, and a county board of supervisors that also acts as the city council.
Whereas the overall annual budget of the city and county is about $9 billion as of 2016, various legal restrictions and voter-imposed set-asides mean that the Board of Supervisors can allocate only about $20 million directly without constraints, according to its president's chief of staff. [1]
Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are paid $163,878 per year, as of fiscal year 2023-24. [2]
There are 11 members of the Board of Supervisors, each representing a geographic district (see below). The current board president is Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3.
How the Board of Supervisors should be elected has been a matter of contention in recent San Francisco history. Throughout the United States, almost all cities and counties with populations in excess of 200,000 divide the jurisdiction into electoral districts to achieve a geographical distribution of members from across the community. [3] But San Francisco, notwithstanding a population of over 700,000, was often an exception.
Prior to 1977 and again from 1980 through 2000, the Board of Supervisors was chosen in at-large elections, with all candidates appearing together on the ballot. The person who received the most votes was elected President of the Board of Supervisors, and the next four or five (depending on how many seats were up for election) were elected to seats on the board. District elections were enacted by Proposition T in November 1976. [4] The first district-based elections in 1977 resulted in a radical change to the composition of the Board, including the election of Harvey Milk, only the third openly gay or lesbian individual (and the first gay man) elected to public office in the United States. (Previously in 1961, José Sarria's run for the Board had made him the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States. [5] [6] ) Following the assassinations of Supervisor Milk and Mayor George Moscone a year later by former Supervisor Dan White, district elections were deemed divisive and San Francisco returned to at-large elections until the current system was implemented in 2000. District elections were repealed by Proposition A in August 1980 by a vote of 50.58% Yes to 49.42% No. [7] An attempt was made to reinstate district elections in November 1980 with Proposition N but it failed by a vote of 48.42% Yes to 51.58% No. [8] District elections were reinstated by Proposition G in November 1996, taking effect in 2000 with a November runoff. [9] Runoffs were eliminated and replaced with instant-runoff voting with Proposition A in March 2002, taking effect in 2004. [10] Under the current system, supervisors are elected district to four-year terms. The City Charter provides a term limit of two successive four-year terms and requires supervisors to be out of office for four years after the expiration of their second successive term before rejoining the Board, through election or appointment, again. [11] A partial term counts as a full term if the supervisor is appointed and/or elected to serve more than two years of it. [11] [12]
The terms are staggered so that only half of the 11-member board is elected every two years, thereby providing continuity. Supervisors representing odd-numbered districts are elected every fourth year counted from 2000. Supervisors representing even-numbered districts were elected to transitional two-year terms in 2000, thereafter to be elected every fourth year beginning 2002. Terms of office begin on the January 8 following the regular election for each seat. Each supervisor is required to live in their district, and although elections are held on a non-partisan basis [13] without party labels on the ballot, as of 2018 all 11 supervisors are known to be members of the Democratic Party. The most recent supervisorial elections were held on November 8, 2022. The President of the Board of Supervisors, under the new system, is elected by the members of the Board from among their number. This is typically done at the first meeting of the new session commencing after the general election, or when a vacancy in the office arises.
Members of the Board of Supervisors are elected from 11 single-member districts. The districts cover the following neighborhoods, approximately.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is an agency created by consolidation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT), and the Taxicab Commission. The agency oversees public transport, taxis, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure, and paratransit for the City and County of San Francisco.
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms. Because of San Francisco's status as a consolidated city-county, the mayor also serves as the head of government of the county; both entities have been governed together by a combined set of governing bodies since 1856.
Elections in California are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. In California, regular elections are held every even year ; however, some seats have terms of office that are longer than two years, so not every seat is on the ballot in every election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Recall elections can also be held. Additionally, statewide initiatives, legislative referrals and referendums may be on the ballot.
The government of the City and County of San Francisco utilizes the "strong mayor" form of mayoral/council government, composed of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, several elected officers, and numerous other entities. It is the only consolidated city-county in California, and one of only thirteen charter counties of California. The fiscal year 2019–20 city and county budget was approximately $12.3 billion.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body of San Francisco, California, United States. The body consists of eleven members elected from single-member districts through ranked choice voting.
The 2003 San Francisco mayoral election occurred on November 4, 2003. The incumbent, Willie Brown, was termed out of office and could not seek a third term. The general election included three top candidates including then Supervisor Gavin Newsom and then president of the board of supervisors, Matt Gonzalez and former supervisor Angela Alioto. No candidate received the required majority, so the race went into a run-off of the two top candidates, which were Gavin Newsom and Matt Gonzalez. The run-off occurred on December 9, 2003, where Gavin Newsom was elected mayor of San Francisco.
The June 2008 San Francisco general elections were held on June 3, 2008 in San Francisco, California. The elections included the primaries of two seats in the United States House of Representatives, one seat to the California State Senate, two seats to the California State Assembly, seats to various parties' county central committees, one seat to the San Francisco County Superior Court, two California ballot propositions, and eight San Francisco ballot measures.
John Avalos is an American politician. He served two terms as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2008 to 2016. Avalos represented District 11 in San Francisco, consisting of the Crocker-Amazon, Excelsior, Ingleside, Oceanview, and Outer Mission districts. Avalos was elected on November 4, 2008, in the 2008 San Francisco election and took office on January 8, 2009. He was re-elected in the 2012 San Francisco election with 94 percent of the vote, and termed out of office in January 2017.
General elections were held on November 6, 2007 in San Francisco, California. The elections included those for San Francisco mayor, district attorney, and sheriff, and eleven San Francisco ballot measures.
The 2000 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections occurred on November 7, 2000, with a runoff election held on December 12, 2000. All eleven seats were contested. Elections to odd-numbered districts were to four-year terms, while elections to even-numbered districts were to transitional two-year terms, then four-year terms thereafter.
The November 2006 San Francisco general elections were held on November 7, 2006 in San Francisco, California. The elections included five seats to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, positions for San Francisco assessor-recorder and public defender, and eleven San Francisco ballot measures.
The June 2010 San Francisco general elections were held on June 8, 2010 in San Francisco, California. The elections included seats to various political parties' county central committees, two seats to the San Francisco County Superior Court, and seven ballot measures.
The November 2010 San Francisco general elections was held on November 2, 2010, in San Francisco, California. The elections included five seats to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a runoff election for a seat on the San Francisco County Superior Court, assessor-recorder, public defender, and fifteen San Francisco ballot measures.
The 2011 San Francisco mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, to elect the mayor of San Francisco. The incumbent Ed Lee, appointed to fill the vacant mayoral seat, succeeded in his bid to become the first elected Asian-American mayor of a major American city.
The 1977 San Francisco general elections occurred on November 8, 1977, for all 11 newly created electoral districts to be represented in the Board of Supervisors for the 1978 fiscal year, as well as the position of City Attorney, the position of City Treasurer and a roster of 22 propositions. It was the first time in San Francisco's history that Board elections were held on a districted basis rather than on a citywide at-large basis; in the November 1976 general election, voters in San Francisco decided to reorganize supervisor elections to choose supervisors from neighborhoods instead of voting for them in citywide ballots when they voted for Proposition T, which included the definition of the district boundaries.
The 1975 mayoral election was held to select the 37th mayor of San Francisco, and was held in two parts. In the November regular election, then-Speaker of the California State Assembly George Moscone placed first with conservative city supervisor John Barbagelata second and moderate supervisor Dianne Feinstein coming in third. Moscone and Barbagelata thus both advanced to the mandated runoff election in December where Moscone narrowly defeated the conservative supervisor by 4,400 votes, a margin of less than 1%.
In California state elections, 2014 was the first year in which the top statewide offices were elected under the nonpartisan blanket primary, pursuant to Proposition 14, which passed with 53% voter approval in June 2010. Under this system, which first went into effect during the 2012 election year, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the primary, voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. The top two finishers, regardless of party, then advance to face each other in the general election in November.
Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2016 for mayor, city attorney, city council, and ballot measures. The primary election was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Five of the nine council seats were contested. Two city council incumbents ran for reelection.
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.
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.