San Francisco has a lot of smart, effective people in the city, but too few of them ever switch careers and enter public service. That’s why we’re excited to endorse Bilal Mahmood for District 5 Supervisor. Mahmood is a co-founder of analytics startup ClearBrain and the 13 Fund, a philanthropic foundation that has supported San Francisco’s Asian-American community. He’s a strong climate advocate who has worked with State Assemblymember Matt Haney on climate legislation. And he’s ready to hit the ground running—he was just elected to the Democratic County Central Committee in the March primary election, and it took him all of one meeting to propose a resolution to use public health funds to support hate crime victims. We support Bilal Mahmood for supervisor because his entrepreneurial track record, combined with his results-first policy platform will make him the leader that District 5 has lacked for years.

Marjan Philhour is a practical, straightforward advocate for San Franciscans, and as someone who was born in the Richmond and raised her family there, she knows her district’s needs inside and out. She’s also an expert in local issues, having just been elected to the Democratic County Central Committee in the March primary election. Her campaign priorities (public safety, education, housing, and street conditions) line up well with San Franciscans’ top priorities. We support Marjan Philhour for supervisor because we need someone with the energy, ingenuity, and courage to tackle the issues facing District 1.

At TogetherSF Action, our main goal is making San Francisco’s government more effective and accountable to voters. Helping voters really understand the candidates and issues in each election is a big part of that—our voter guides are used by tens of thousands of San Franciscans, and our endorsements move the needle. In the March 2024 Primary, we helped flip the DCCC, and San Franciscans voted with us on every one of our endorsed measures. These endorsements matter, because being an elected official in San Francisco is a difficult job if you do it right, and it’s especially difficult right now. Candidates for office need to have the political experience to navigate City Hall, and the managerial experience to navigate the city’s crises. It’s a tough, but necessary balance to master.

San Francisco public schools are in serious trouble. SFUSD faces a $420 million budget deficit due to years of declining enrollment and inefficient use of resources, and the school board of Education needs to make difficult decisions in the next year. TogetherSF Action endorses the best Board of Education candidates for the SFUSD school board in the November 2024 San Francisco general election.

It can be hard to stay on top of everything that happens in San Francisco politics—City Hall Digest navigates all the latest developments to make sure you’re in-the-know. This week’s City Hall Digest investigates the grand jury report that confirms SF’s government oversight system is a mess, and the WalletHub survey that found San Francisco is the worst-run city in the country, and how TogetherSF Action’s commission reform ballot measure can help.

It can be hard to stay on top of everything that happens in San Francisco politics—City Hall Digest navigates all the latest developments to make sure you’re in-the-know. This week’s City Hall Digest breaks down the political games Supervisor Ahsha Safaí is playing with the Police Commission, the suprise DJ set downtown from Fred Again and Skrillex, what’s in Mayor London Breed’s proposed budget, and the new legislation to curb illegal street vending.