2016 Postmortem

It may be 90% Democratic, but the infighting within the Board of Supes is legendary. It has a very large homeless population, since it's possible to live outdoors most of the year without dying (and there are documented cases of other localities dealing with their homeless by giving them a one-way ticket to SF) but there's not adequate shelter or support. The influx of so-called tech companies has driven the costs of housing and office space up so high that the former is no longer affordable for an average worker. And while new construction may be taxed at current market rates, California caps assessment increases to 2% annually, so revenue is not exactly flooding in.

Newsom, IMHO, did some innovative things as mayor (including allowing the first legally recognized same-sex marriages in the country), such as his attempts to address the homeless problems via vouchers and pushing for city-wide health care coverage, but his biggest liability in running for a national office is that he's a Californian (you know, from the land of fruits, flakes, and nuts). I'd lilke to see him go on to become our next governor - and if you think he's not going to have political opposition just because most of the state legislators have a D after their names, don't worry: I'm confident they'll find something to argue about.