San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and leaders with the Stronger Muni for All campaign dropped off 18,000 signatures at City Hall on Thursday, more than the 8,000 needed to place the transit parcel tax measure on the November ballot.
The mayor was joined by San Francisco Chamber of Commerce President Rodney Fong, Teamsters Local 665 Principal Officer Tony Delorio, and public transit advocate Kat Siegal to drop off boxes with signatures to the Department of Elections for verification.
The Stronger Muni for All measure is a San Francisco-specific proposal to introduce a tiered annual parcel tax on commercial and residential properties, starting July 1, 2027, and continuing until June 30, 2042. If approved by voters, the base rate for single-family residences would be $129, multifamily parcel would be $249, and non-residential areas would pay $799 — with each having additional rates for larger properties.
If a proposed tax were placed on the ballot by lawmakers, it would require two-thirds of voters’ approval. However, by collecting signatures from San Francisco residents, the Stronger Muni for All measure now only needs a simple majority — lowering the threshold needed for the parcel tax to pass.
The measure has broad support from elected officials, transit advocates, and businesspeople. Delorio said everyone who lives, works, or is in San Francisco’s orbit is affected by public transit.
“It’s not common that labor, community, business, elected officials are all on the same page,” said Delorio. “Think it’s very safe to say that in this, we’re all in the mayor’s vision to bring San Francisco back starts with Muni, and if we don’t have Muni, then it’s not going to work.”
“From a business perspective, nonprofit perspective, it is a lifeblood of how the city moves around,” said Fong.
The Stronger Muni for All measure comes a few days after supporters of the Connect Bay Area Act, a regionwide sales tax measure, said they had gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Both measures, the parcel tax and sales tax, would funnel much needed funds to public transit agencies facing extensive fiscal deficits.
The San Francisco Department of Elections will now begin the process of verifying each signature, which is estimated to take a month.