Hundreds of people, including San Francisco’s mayor, current and former supervisors, health care workers and older adults from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community stood side by side at Portsmouth Square in Chinatown on Wednesday to advocate for a $390 million public health bond on the November ballot.
If passed by San Francisco voters on Nov. 5, Proposition B would pour money into restoring infrastructure of public health care facilities, renovating public spaces, improving street safety conditions and acquiring new sites for homeless shelters.
The bulk of the funding, approximately $205.1 million, would go toward expanding and repairing the Chinatown Public Health Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco City Clinic.
“We have an opportunity to invest in the infrastructure of our hospitals and ensure they continue serving their patients for generations to come,” said Theresa Rutherford, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and a health care worker at Laguna Honda.
“These are not just ‘feel good’ measures, but critical investment for the resilience preparedness of our entire city and everyone who lives, works and visits here,” Rutherford said.
Money needed for safety improvements
Critical health care facilities in the city are in need of structural improvements in order to properly function, like the Chinatown Public Health Center. The building has not been renovated since the 1970s and needs seismic retrofitting in preparation for earthquakes, said Susan Ehrlich, CEO of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
“Prop. B is going to help us at San Francisco General update basic things like fire alarm systems. These cannot fail, and if they do, they jeopardize our ability to provide care,” Ehrlich said.
If passed, property tax rates for San Franciscans will remain the same and not be increased.
“We crafted this in a way that does not raise anybody’s taxes,” said Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin. “We are going to retire as much old debt as we issue new debt and this is not going to cost tenants or property owners one penny.”
Supporters of the bond used public health crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and the HIV/AIDS crisis as examples to demonstrate the importance of investing in public health care facilities.
“Zuckerberg San Francisco General and our city’s Department of Public Health have been at the forefront of many public health crises,” Ehrlich said. “We were a national model in the COVID-19 pandemic. We are a worldwide model in AIDS and HIV care … We need these hospitals to be resilient and strong in case of any crisis or emergency.”
$63.9 million will be designated for remodeling the designs of sidewalks and intersections to enhance safety and traffic circulation.
“This bond will also go to Vision Zero and street improvements,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who represents District 7 where Laguna Honda is located. “If the values that we have as our city in San Francisco include taking care of our elders, taking care of our disabled people, taking care of our kids crossing the street, please vote for Proposition B.”
Vision Zero is a citywide effort to eliminate pedestrian and traffic deaths.
$71 million will be allocated toward revitalizing and renovating public spaces such as Harvey Milk Plaza, Hallidie Plaza and the cable car turnaround at Powell Street. Finally, $50 million will finance acquiring locations for new homeless shelters and repairing existing ones.
A difficult task
Proposition B needs two-thirds of voters to approve it unless California voters in November also approve Proposition 5, which would lower to 55% the supermajority needed to approve affordable housing and public infrastructure bonds.
That is not an easy task, but in a city where ideological differences can stifle certain plans from moving forward, Wednesday’s rally showed Proposition B’s broad support from a diverse coalition of community members.
“This is pretty amazing because all of these various elected leaders and folks that are part of the community have all decided to put aside whatever small differences we may have in order to make sure that we are addressing some of the challenging needs of our city,” Mayor London Breed said while glancing at Peskin, her rival for the mayoral race also happening in November. District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who is also running against Breed and Peskin for mayor, also came to the rally to show his support.
Breed and Peskin spearheaded getting Proposition B on the ballot. All 11 members on the Board of Supervisors passed the measure unanimously.
“Even though we have a disagreement in the mayor’s race, we are all united behind Proposition B as a way to move our city forward for our economic recovery, for the health and the safety and the wellness of the people of San Francisco,” Breed said. “Politics aside, we need Proposition B, so let’s get it passed this November!”
