SF Dems endorse charter-reform measure dividing mayor's race

Reflecting the tensions of the mayor’s race in The City, a divided San Francisco Democratic Party voted Wednesday to support Proposition D, the controversial and heavily funded ballot measure that would slash the number of city commissions and give mayors more power to hire and fire department heads.

The roughly two-to-one vote in favor, with some committee members abstaining, was one of nearly two dozen taken on candidates and upcoming ballot measures. It came just days after Mayor London Breed pulled her support for Prop. D, citing in part the flood of money that rival mayoral candidate Mark Farrell has raised — more than $1.3 million — for an independent committee backing the initiative.

The mayor’s about-face presented a potentially tough choice for her allies on the local Democratic party committee, which a month earlier gave Breed its sole endorsement in the mayor’s race. A half-dozen committee members had signed ballot statements in support of Prop. D before Wednesday, and all voted yes, while at least two appeared in opposition statements and voted no.

The party committee also voted strongly Wednesday night to oppose Prop. E, a competing measure pushed by another mayoral candidate, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a fierce opponent of Prop. D. Peskin’s alternative would set up a task force to identify possible reforms to The City’s sprawling system of commissions and boards by 2026 that could lead to legislative changes or charter amendments to go before voters.




https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/sf-democrats-endorse-proposition-d-after-mayor-pulls-support/article_88a78434-65c5-11ef-b646-0fbdc0fe0785.html