San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie is proposing to overhaul the mayor’s office and bring in several “policy chiefs” to serve as his deputies, a bid to “enhance effectiveness and accountability” over the city’s sprawling 56-agency bureaucracy.
The move partly harkens back to a system that San Francisco had until the early 1990s in which “deputy mayors” supervised city departments. San Francisco voters did away with the system by passing Proposition H in 1991, a move largely fueled by anger about the high pay of deputy mayors at the time.
Since then, the mayor has leaned heavily on a single position to corral the city’s department heads: the chief of staff.
Currently, all department heads report to the mayor through the chief of staff. The proposed changes would add four more chiefs overseeing public safety, housing and economic development, public health, and “infrastructure, climate, and mobility.”
Those four chiefs would report directly to the mayor, sidestepping the chief of staff, and administer city agencies — with the public safety chief overseeing the police and sheriff’s departments, for example, and the public health chief overseeing the health and homelessness departments.
Each chief, Lurie said in a statement, would “provide strategic alignment” over their collection of city agencies and work as “a partner to department heads.” The “portfolio of agencies” under each policy chief would represent “between $2 and $6 billion in public spending.”
“The changes we’re making at the top will help break down barriers to effective governance that impact every San Franciscan,” said Lurie in his announcement.
Ed Harrington, the city’s controller from 1991 to 2008, supports the change and said it would make the mayor’s office “more robust,” particularly when coordinating across departments. The idea that the mayor and chief of staff can “have 56 direct reports and manage them well,” he said, is “absurd.”
Ben Rosenfield, another ex-city controller who earlier joined Lurie’s transition team, pointed to San Francisco’s status as a city-county, saying the arrangement “comes with a lot of good” but also “a remarkable amount of complexity.”
“For the last 20 years, we have organized those 50-plus departments in a very specific way: They are direct reports to the mayor, and they work day to day through a chief of staff,” Rosenfield said. “How can you have 50 direct reports and do more than manage the very top?”
Lurie, Rosenfield added, had “a number of specific goals and projects” to launch upon assuming office on Jan. 8, “but fundamental to all of those is, ‘How do you want to organize your office?’”
The specific responsibilities of Lurie’s new policy chiefs were unclear, and Lurie’s team did not yet say which departments each would oversee.
That is perhaps because Prop. H as passed in November 1991 has explicit prohibitions against “employing on behalf of the Mayor any employee … whose duties include supervising any City department.” The language in Lurie’s announcement seems to sidestep that restriction, stating that each policy chief will be a “partner” to department heads.
The 1991 ballot measure also capped all mayoral staff salaries at 70 percent of the mayor’s compensation — a direct rebuke to then-Mayor Art Agnos, who had a cabinet of seven deputy mayors each of whom earned $94,000 or more, according to a 1991 San Francisco Chronicle article. That’s about $220,000 in 2024 dollars.
The deputy mayor system was, at the time, criticized as being akin to “the commissar system in a Marxist dictatorship,” according to the 1991 Chronicle article. The campaign prohibiting deputy mayors was led by then-Sen. Quentin Kopp, partly in an attempt to hurt Agnos in the 1991 election, which Agnos subsequently lost to Frank Jordan.
Much of the successful campaign for Prop. H centered on the lavish salaries of Agnos’ deputy mayors, as recounted in this 1991 Chronicle piece. It’s unclear how much Lurie’s deputies will be paid, but 70 percent of the mayor’s $364,582 salary is about $255,000.
Kopp, for his part, said the proposal was “bullshit” and that if the “duties and responsibilities” of the policy chiefs violate Prop. H, his group, the San Francisco Taxpayers Association, “will file a lawsuit.”
The proposed change is directly influenced by the urban policy think tank SPUR, which in August published a report concluding that “the lack of clear, coordinated action to address big challenges has led to a growing perception that the city government isn’t responding quickly enough to meet the growing needs of the people it serves.”
SPUR’s top two recommendations: Eliminate rules restricting “mayoral staffing and management” by striking portions of the city charter instituted by Prop. H in 1991, and restructure the mayor’s office to allow for “a more manageable number of direct reports.” The report pointed to New York and Washington, D.C., as examples, which “use deputy mayors or other senior officials” to coordinate across departments.
“Delegating authority to deputy mayor-like roles would streamline the overall reporting structure and provide a clear chain of command and accountability,” the report continued.
The proposal is also similar to an aborted effort last year by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman to put a proposition on the ballot allowing for deputy mayors.
Lurie, for his part, is moving to fulfill a campaign promise he made repeatedly while stumping for votes: increasing accountability in City Hall.
The term, repeated six times in Lurie’s policy chief announcement, was also a buzzword of Lurie’s campaign — it was taped to the wall of his campaign headquarters and hung behind him on a poster at his election night party. During his acceptance speech, Lurie promised his administration would be about three things: Accountability, service, and change.
“The current way of doing business at City Hall is outdated, ineffective, and lacks focus on outcomes,” said Lurie in today’s announcement. “I am restructuring the office of the mayor so that your government is coordinated and accountable in delivering clean and safe streets, tackling the fentanyl crisis, rapidly building housing and ensuring a full economic recovery.”
About the author
Burglars ransack Southern California homes while posing as deliverymen
Residents are frightened and angry as a group of suspects continue ransacking San Fernando Valley homes, leaving a trail of destruction behind.A Valley Village resident said she was stunned and shaken up after thieves targeted her home on Dec. 17 between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.The break-in was captured on home surveillance cameras as a male suspect approached the house and appeared to be disguised as a delivery man.“Ten minutes after we left [our home], someone was knocking at the door and our dog was barking away,” she said. “Then within a minute, someone had broken into the back of the house, smashed the glass door, came in and locked the dog in a room and just trashed the house. They took all of my jewelry.”Photos of the aftermath showed drawers in every room were removed and emptied and all […]
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
Police bust man at Gwinnett McDonald’s they say tried to sell home he didn’t own
Gwinnett County police arrested a man at a local McDonald’s who they say attempted to sell a property he did not own by stealing the identity of its rightful owner.Police say 55-year-old Armond Long, of Lilburn, posed as the property owner and listed the land for sale on Zillow.The scheme unraveled when the actual owner discovered the listing while the sale was pending and contacted authorities.Records show the land was pending for $130,000 before law enforcement got involved.“He didn’t have any intention of selling that property, so he contacted local authorities,” said Cpl. Juan Madiedo.TRENDING STORIES: Authorities in Lake Havasu City, Arizona worked with Gwinnett County police to set up a sting operation.Long agreed to meet at a McDonald’s near the Mall of Georgia to sign final closing documents. An undercover Gwinnett officer, posing as a courier, handed Long documents […]
S.F. police shoot, kill Dior guard turned alleged hit-and-run driver
San Francisco police shot and killed a purportedly armed man they say they tracked down — after he allegedly hit pedestrians and a cyclist with a car on Thursday evening. Assistant Chief David Lazar, who gave a press conference this morning, said the man was believed to be a security guard at Dior, and said he discovered a firearm “on the ground” at the scene that he believed belonged to the guard. He did not give any details about whether the man was armed at the time police shot him. Lazar also could not confirm how many police officers fired their weapons at the man. The driver was allegedly driving on the sidewalk around 6:30 p.m. at Kearny and Post streets and hit two pedestrians, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, Lazar said, in pursuit of a man on an electric bicycle. After hitting […]
Mother of Olentangy High student that inspired sextortion bill hopes it saves lives
Editor's note: This story discusses suicide and sexual abuse. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988.Jennifer Markus spent much of Wednesday watching The Ohio Channel as a bill to make "sextortion" a felony wound its way among lawmakers.She's a pediatric care nurse at Nationwide Children's Hospital where her colleagues have offered comfort after her son Braden Markus took his life three years ago when someone posing as a high school girl on social media asked him for intimate photos and then demanded $1,800 so they wouldn't be published.He initially refused. But within 30 minutes, the boy who loved sports and fireworks and Japanese food, who was about to get his driver's license, was gone."It's bittersweet," Mrs. Markus told The Dispatch Thursday. "Holy crap. my friends and a lot of people just got this […]
Street sheet – Mission Local
Mission Local produces enterprise reporting on San Francisco's most critical issues: police reform, corruption, public health, housing and homelessness. Learn more about us, and donate below keep us reporting.Subscribe to Mission Local's daily newsletter Source: missionlocal.org
Related
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
S.F. police shoot, kill Dior guard turned alleged hit-and-run driver
San Francisco police shot and killed a purportedly armed man they say they tracked down — after he allegedly hit pedestrians and a cyclist with a car on Thursday evening. Assistant Chief David Lazar, who gave a press conference this morning, said the man was believed to be a security guard at Dior, and said he discovered a firearm “on the ground” at the scene that he believed belonged to the guard. He did not give any details about whether the man was armed at the time police shot him. Lazar also could not confirm how many police officers fired their weapons at the man. The driver was allegedly driving on the sidewalk around 6:30 p.m. at Kearny and Post streets and hit two pedestrians, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, Lazar said, in pursuit of a man on an electric bicycle. After hitting […]
Street sheet – Mission Local
Mission Local produces enterprise reporting on San Francisco's most critical issues: police reform, corruption, public health, housing and homelessness. Learn more about us, and donate below keep us reporting.Subscribe to Mission Local's daily newsletter Source: missionlocal.org
Supervisor Melgar won, now the trick will be to manage her constituents’ competing interests
District 7 incumbent Myrna Melgar faced a particularly bruising re-election campaign. She squared off against significant numbers of her own constituents by supporting hot-button issues like Proposition K to close the Great Highway to cars, and upzoning parts of her district that have been previously limited to single-family housing. “If I lose this election on this issue, then that’s the right thing to do,” Melgar said in June, after a particularly contentious meeting about zoning changes coming to her district, and the rest of the city. But she didn’t lose the election. No matter the ideological differences, most of her constituents agree: She’s good at the actual work of being a district supervisor. “When I call — somebody does get back to me,” said Peggy da Silva, a West Portal resident who has reached out to Melgar’s office over concerns like city […]
SFPD arrests woman for allegedly defacing murals across city
Police officers from Ingleside Station arrested the alleged serial Mission Street mural vandal Tuesday night. She had been filmed by bystanders on Sunday defacing a mural on Mission Street by deceased muralist Mario Cid Gonzalez. Witnesses said they observed a woman matching the suspect’s description defacing that mural months prior as well. Tuesday’s arrest of 33-year-old Ana Da Costa Pereira came after the defacing of more murals that night, including one on the side of the Excelsior District’s Central Drug Store at Mission and Santa Rosa streets. Da Costa Pereira was booked into the San Francisco County jail Tuesday night at 9:22 p.m. for vandalism of more than $400 and two counts of possession of graffiti instruments.Police said that Da Costa Pereira is responsible for multiple incidents of mural vandalism up and down Mission Street. An email sent by police to […]
Fielder goes for experience and new faces for her legislative team
District 9 Supervisor-Elect Jackie Fielder’s four picks for legislative aides includes two members from current supervisor Hillary Ronen’s team, and two from the campaign team that catapulted her to a 19-point victory over her closest contestant, Trevor Chandler.Fielder’s team will be composed of Jennifer Ferrigno, Ana Herrera – both current aides to Ronen – and political outsiders Sasha Gaona and Feng Han.“I’m so excited to work with these four amazing folks who are stars in their own right and are ready to fight for our communities,” said Fielder. Fielder praised the work both Han and Gaona did in the campaign that delivered her a victory with “stunning margins.” The supervisor-elect also celebrated the experience both Herrera and Ferrigno bring to her team, “Ana and Jennifer have been serving in Supervisor Ronen’s office on some of the district’s most pressing issues, and […]
Be the first to leave a comment