SF wants democracy Not Lurie's Power Grab: NO on A, D, E, F
SF WANTS DEMOCRACY NOT LURIE'S POWER GRAB: NO on A, D, E, F. Let’s stop our beloved City from falling to the billionaires at the expense of the rights and freedoms of everyday San Franciscans. The SF Charter is our constitution and defines our citizen rights. We have rights of public comment, commissions, initiative petitions and voting. Vote NO on the Mayor’s power grab of our rights.
Because ISF’s core value is to preserve and strengthen our democracy, we oppose ALL of Mayor Lurie’s power grab (aka “Charter Reform”) ballot initiatives: Propositions A, D, E and F.
The Mayor’s “Clean Up City Hall” ballot initiatives and part of Mayor Lurie’s Charter Reform on the November 2026 ballot is backed by what have been called ”astroturf “ (fake grassroots) campaigns. While sporting names like GrowSF, Abundance Network, Belief in SF, Mayor Lurie’s ballot initiatives are funded by his billionaire backers. As of September 2026, ballot initiatives A, D, E and F have received $9.3 million in hard-to-trace money from SF billionaires (Moritz, Pritzker and Larsen), private equity, tech executives and “philanthropists”. Their main goal is to downsize democracy, and steal citizen power and public oversight for their own benefit.
But the many CAN defeat the money. The Preserve Fair Ballot Access Committee, composed of the San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU and over 20 unions, tenant rights, anti-displacement and housing rights organizations, is organizing to oppose and defeat this power grab for the wealthy. The No on D campaign and Fair Ballot Access say people's power, not wealthy interests, should decide on our lives and our futures.
NO on A: Limits oversight of independent commissions : “Commission Streamlining” was put on the ballot by Supervisor Mandelman and Mayor Lurie. Prop A amends the charter, moving commissions out of the City Charter and into the municipal code with a simple majority vote of the Board of Supervisors, effectively allowing the removal of commissions put in place by voters. For example, the Commission on Homelessness which has taxed the wealthy to prevent homelessness could be removed. With the current conservative tilt to SF government, claims of promoting efficiency over the will of voters is suspect. San Francisco needs a peoples’ charter reform to protect people's power more than ever. VOTE NO ON A.
NO on D: limits our rights to ballot initiatives and to vote on what’s important to us. (Already endorsed by ISF.)
NO on E: Limits opportunities for public comment: ‘Modernizing Contracting’ consolidates power to the Executive, City Administrator. By increasing the money thresholds on the contract revenue, expenditures, amendments and CPI calculations, E lessens contract reviews by the Board of Supervisors. E will limit opportunities for Board members and public comment on contracting decisions before they are executed. Vote NO on E.
NO on F: Limits public comment and independent department head’s oversight. Gives the Mayor the power to hire and fire at will all city administrators and policy chiefs. F will consolidate more power in the Mayor. Some positions will become "deputy mayors” 100% controlled by the executive. More power at the top, makes checks and balances less durable. Currently, department heads provide independent oversight and can resist bad decisions and preserve expertise. Without our Ethics commission, SF would not have public financing of elections. Vote NO on F.
Resources
https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/phoenix-review