A number of important decisions were made at the ballot this year, although the commotion surrounding Donald Trump has (understandably) overshadowed most of them. In light of this, here’s a rundown of some of the more significant election day news from San Francisco and around California.
Locally, voters passed most of the 25 ballot measures before them. New funding was approved for public schools (Prop A), for City College of San Francisco (Prop B), for the homeless (Prop J), for seniors and adults with disabilities (Prop I), and for BART (Prop RR). New taxes have been enacted on sugary drinks (Prop V) and the sales of high value property (Prop W). San Franciscans also voted to restrict affordable housing eligibility to low income residents (Prop U) and to allow non-citizen parents to participate in school board elections. The city has also officially banned the use of tents on public sidewalks (Prop Q).
Attempts to check the power of Mayor Ed Lee were roundly rejected. Proposition D, which would have restricted the mayor’s power to fill vacancies; Proposition H, which would have created a new watchdog office of public advocate; and Proposition L, which would have given power to the supervisors to appoint at least three members of the San Francisco Metro Transit Authority board all failed. A measure to extend voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds (Prop F) also failed.
In District 9 residents elected outgoing Supervisor David Campos’ chief of staff, Hillary Ronen, to succeed him as a progressive on the Board of Supervisors.
At the state level, new bonds were approved for public schools (Prop 51) and taxes for the highest incomes were increased (Prop 55) to help further fund schools and healthcare. The English-only restriction for public schools that was put in place in 1998 has been repealed (Prop 58), opening the door for bilingual education.
Voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21 (Prop 64), and passed a measure to change state laws so that nonviolent criminals will have greater chances for parole (Prop 57). Californians also voted in favor of the death penalty, rejecting a measure that would have abolished it (Prop 62) and adopting changes in procedures governing appeals and petitions (Prop 66) which will help expedite executions.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris completed her campaign for senator, becoming the second ever black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. And, in Nevada, Catherine Cortez defeated her Republican opponent to become the very first Latina U.S. Senator.
With a few important exceptions, San Francisco, and to an even greater extent California, remained true to the progressive values that have defined its modern history.