San Francisco voters in Tuesday’s election appear to have approved a measure to change some Police Department policies and sharply rejected another measure that sought to set a minimum officer staffing level for the department.
Proposition E, which proposed modifying SFPD’s use of force and vehicle pursuit policies, among other changes, had nearly 60 percent approval as of late Tuesday, well above the simple majority needed to pass. Mayor London Breed, who had put the measure on the ballot, thanked voters for its apparent passage.
“I am grateful to the voters for their passage of Proposition E, which will allow us to build on the progress we are delivering on public safety in San Francisco. By supporting the work of our police officers, expanding our use of technology and getting officers out from behind their desks and onto our streets, we will continue in our mission to make San Francisco a safer city,” Breed said.
Proposition B was the other police-related measure on San Francisco’s ballot and voters did not back it. Less than one-third of voters approved Prop B, a charter amendment supported by some members of the Board of Supervisors like Ahsha Safai and board president Aaron Peskin that would have set staffing levels at certain numbers of officers in the coming fiscal years.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey was among those who opposed Prop B, arguing that the amendment would essentially put the cart before the horse by requiring expenditures for new officers that would result in the need for new taxes.
Among other measures on San Francisco’s ballot Tuesday was Proposition A, a bond issue that would generate about $25 million annually. The measure needed two-thirds approval to pass and was narrowly above that at 67.74 percent as of late Tuesday.
Voters also appeared to approve Proposition C to exempt properties converted from commercial to residential uses from being assessed a transfer tax, Proposition D to tighten ethics laws for public employees to further prohibit bribes through third parties, Proposition F to require screening and treatment for recipients of city public assistance, and Proposition G, an advisory measure on whether the city’s schools should offer Algebra 1 by eighth grade.
