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Supervisors introduce multiple charter amendments on governance, elections and oversight
Summary
Board members introduced several charter amendment proposals addressing local voting rights for noncitizen parents, reconfiguration of the Rent Board and Rec & Park commission appointments and an overhaul of governance and oversight for the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).
Multiple supervisors used the meeting’s introductions period to present charter amendments aimed at changing local governance structures and expanding voting or appointment processes.
Supervisor Mirkarimi introduced a charter amendment to split appointments to the Recreation and Park Commission so that three members would be appointed by the mayor, three by the Board of Supervisors and a seventh member appointed jointly by the mayor and board president; the amendment would also allow limited appeals of Rec and Park permit decisions to the Board of Permit Appeals. Several public commenters and neighborhood groups testified in support of changes to create additional oversight and community representation for Rec and Park.
Supervisor Chu introduced a charter amendment to allow parents of San Francisco public-school students to vote in school-board elections regardless of citizenship status; he described it as a “modest experiment in democracy” intended to increase parental participation and station citations to historical precedents where jurisdictions allowed immigrant voting. Supervisor Campos introduced a charter amendment to expand the Rent Board from five to seven members with a composition of three tenants, two landlords and two neutral members, with a split appointment process designed to increase balance in rent-board decision-making.
A large multi-sponsor charter amendment to restructure the Municipal Transportation Agency’s governance was also introduced. The proposal would reshuffle appointments so the SFMTA board of directors would include three members appointed by the mayor, three appointed by the board of supervisors and a seventh selected jointly by the mayor and board president; it would also create or strengthen an inspector-general (independent auditor) function, require better work-order contracts and financial oversight, and include proposals for revenue set-asides and route-abandonment definitions. Supervisors stressed the audit-driven impetus for reforms and noted the proposal is at the introduction stage and subject to committee review.
All of these measures were introductions only and require committee review and a future ballot process or further board approvals to take effect.
