By Steven T. Jones
Mayor Gavin Newsom may be content with a “back to basics budget” that focuses on clearing the streets of trash, potholes, and poor people, but progressives are preparing to push for a more forward-thinking plan that addresses low-income housing and other long-term needs. Supervisors Chris Daly and Tom Ammiano (both of whom sit on the Budget Committee) today introduced a measure to restore some of Newsom’s proposed cuts to health services and the $33 million in board-approved affordable housing spending that Newsom blocked last month. Daly put out a statement today saying, “When Gavin Newsom claimed he couldn’t build affordable housing, because the City didn’t have the money, he was lying to the people of San Francisco. The money is available. It is only a matter of priorities.”
Image from www.onerinconhill.com
San Francisco has built lots of million-dollar condos on Newsom’s watch, but almost no affordable housing, a situation that threatens the city’s socioeconomic makeup.