Sup. Gordon Mar made his first big statement today, demanding that Mayor London Breed open up the budget process to community advocates.
During Question Time, Mar asked Breed what she was going to do to include stakeholders who have been left out of the process in the past:“Our budget is a statement of our values, and as a Board, this is the single most important item we vote on,” said Mar. “Community members struggle for a seat at the table and an opportunity to express their priorities, which often only occur during the add-back process, if at all, when most of the budget has already been set.”
Breed said all the right things, promising that her staff will reach out to community-based organizations and hold “targeted meetings” in vulnerable communities.
That would be a big change from how mayors have crafted budgets in the past; we shall see if it actually happens.
Board President Norman Yee released his committee assignments today, and they reflect his promise that progressives will control the key policy bodies:
Budget & Finance Committee
Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, Chair
Supervisor Catherine Stefani, Vice Chair
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Member
Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Member*
Supervisor Norman Yee, Member*
Land Use & Transportation Committee
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Chair
Supervisor Ahsha Safai, Vice Chair
Supervisor Matt Haney, Member
Rules Committee
Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Chair
Supervisor Shamann Walton, Vice Chair
Supervisor Gordon Mar, Member
Government Audit & Oversight Committee
Supervisor Gordon Mar, Chair
Supervisor Vallie Brown, Vice Chair
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Member
Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Chair
Supervisor Catherine Stefani, Vice Chair
Supervisor Shamann Walton, Member
*Pursuant to Section 3.25.1 of the Board of Supervisors’ Rules of Order, Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Norman Yee will join the Budget & Finance Committee on March 1, 2019.
Peskin and Fewer both supported Yee, and it’s no surprise that they are in charge of the two most influential committees. Peskin has more experience with land-use issues than anyone else on the board, by far, and Fewer will work with Mar on budget accountability.
Ronen, who was Yee’s opponent for board president, still winds up with a committee chair and a seat on Budget during the key time when the committee holds hearings and votes on the mayor’s proposal.
