Your SFGOP Newsletter
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September 2017
Your Tax Dollars at Work: Ed Lee’s Hiring Spree
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
Our July 2017, SFGOP Newsletter talked about San Francisco’s bloated budget. We mentioned that San Francisco’s government has the second highest spending per citizen of all major cities in the United States. We also mentioned that a study by WalletHub ranked San Francisco the fourth worst managed city of the 150 largest cities in the USA. We focused on the lack of real world management experience by our elected officials. An article titled “Mayor’s Hiring Spree Isn’t a Black Swan Event” by Patrick Monette-Shaw in the in this month’s West Side Observer newspaper shows some of the results of budgeting and hiring practices in the Ed Lee era that were approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Former Mayor Gavin Newsom’s final budget was $6.6 BILLION. Lee’s first budget increased the 2011-2012 budget by 4% to $6.8 BILLION. Lee’s 2017-2018 $10.1 BILLION budget is 54% higher than Newsom’s final budget. The Bay Area CPI increase from 2011 to the present is 15.9%. During the Lee era, the number of employees has increased by 22.5% to 41,267. The salaries have increased by 35.9% to $3,398,378,997. The number of employees being paid $100,00 plus has also greatly increased. Those making $100,000 to $149,000 has increased from 7064 to 9207, an increase of 2143 or 23%. Those making $150,000 to 199,999 has increased from 2047 to 3657, an increase of 1610 or 44%. Those making $200,000 and up increased from 267 to 1143, an increase of 876 or 75%.
For a list of upcoming events, please visit our calendar page.
Your Tax Dollars at Work: Ed Lee’s Hiring Spree
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
Our July 2017, SFGOP Newsletter talked about San Francisco’s bloated budget. We mentioned that San Francisco’s government has the second highest spending per citizen of all major cities in the United States. We also mentioned that a study by WalletHub ranked San Francisco the fourth worst managed city of the 150 largest cities in the USA. We focused on the lack of real world management experience by our elected officials. An article titled “Mayor’s Hiring Spree Isn’t a Black Swan Event” by Patrick Monette-Shaw in the in this month’s West Side Observer newspaper shows some of the results of budgeting and hiring practices in the Ed Lee era that were approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Former Mayor Gavin Newsom’s final budget was $6.6 BILLION. Lee’s first budget increased the 2011-2012 budget by 4% to $6.8 BILLION. Lee’s 2017-2018 $10.1 BILLION budget is 54% higher than Newsom’s final budget. The Bay Area CPI increase from 2011 to the present is 15.9%. During the Lee era, the number of employees has increased by 22.5% to 41,267. The salaries have increased by 35.9% to $3,398,378,997. The number of employees being paid $100,00 plus has also greatly increased. Those making $100,000 to $149,000 has increased from 7064 to 9207, an increase of 2143 or 23%. Those making $150,000 to 199,999 has increased from 2047 to 3657, an increase of 1610 or 44%. Those making $200,000 and up increased from 267 to 1143, an increase of 876 or 75%.
For a list of upcoming events, please visit our calendar page.
July 2017
Your Tax Dollars at Work: San Francisco's Bloated Budget
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
A June, 2016, survey by Ballotpedia shows that San Francisco’s government has the second highest spending per citizen of all major cities in the United States. Only Washington, D.C., spends more. On the other hand, New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Jose spend less per citizen. Philadelphia, also a city and county combined, spends far less per citizen than S.F. does. In July 10,2017 study by WallethHub, San Francisco was ranked the fourth worst managed city of the 150 largest cities in the USA. This should surprise nobody. So, the question is why? One reason is that the mayor and majority of the supervisors have no or very little experience working at private sector for profit companies, or as some may say, no real-world experience. They dictate Human Resources policies to all employers in The City. For the most part, we have people “who have never been there or done that” dictating policy to people “who are there and doing it that every day.” Here’s a look at the professional biographies of our elected leaders. Read more
Mayor Ed Lee: Upon graduating law school Lee went to work for the non-profit Asian Law Caucus where he worked for as a civil rights attorney and housing activist. After 10 years, he went to work at the City and County of San Francisco where he held various positions until being appointed mayor to fill the remainder of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term.
District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer: Prior to being elected supervisor she was a stay at home mom, education volunteer and PTA president. In 2001, she went to work at non-profit Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth as the Director of Parent Organizing and Educational Policy. In 2008, she was an elected to the School Board.
District 2 Supervisors Mark Farrell: Prior to being elected supervisor he had substantial private sector experience. He practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney in Silicon Valley for 3 years. From there he went to an investment banking firm for over 5 years. After that he cofounded a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on the hospitality and travel sector.
District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin: Prior to going into politics he was an environmental activists and water-rights negotiator for a non-profit organization which brokered passage and use water rights for tribal lands.
District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang: Before being appointed and subsequently elected to the Board of Supervisors she was a legislative aide to then Supervisor Carman Chu. Prior to that she worked in the Newsom Administration.
District 5 Supervisor London Breed: Prior to her election as District 5 Supervisor, she served as Executive Director of the non-profit African American Art & Culture Complex in the Western Addition for over a decade.
District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim: Prior to being elected to the Board of Supervisors as Democrat, she was a Green Party member. She was community organizer at the non-profit Chinatown Community Development Center, a civil rights attorney at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.
District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee: Biographical information on Supervisor Yee is very scant. Before being elected to the Board of Supervisors he was an elected member of School Board. He was Executive Director of a large non-profit social service organization. His professional experience also includes work as a foundation program officer and a community college and elementary school teacher.
District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy: Prior to being appointed to the Board of Supervisors he was a long-time HIV/AIDS activist. Most recently has led communications at UCSF AID Research Institute. He was the communications director for the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, and a board member for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He has also served as an HIV/AIDS adviser to then Mayor Newsom and as a victim advocate for the San Francisco district attorney's office.
District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen: For the last six years she was Chief of Staff for termed out Supervisor David Campos. After graduating UC Berkeley’s Bolt Hall Law School, she worked for non-profit La Raza Centro Legal leading the worker’s rights unit.
District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen: Her professional experience includes working for Power Forward Consulting, a public affairs, media and policy consulting firm and the Corporate Strategy and Communications team for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has worked as a field organizer and an Executive Assistant to Mayor Newsom and Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff.
District 11 Supervisor: Ahsha Safai: Prior to being elect to the Board of Supervisors he worked in several government positions. in his hometown of Cambridge, MA, he worked as an aide to a City Councilor. He then worked as an aid to an aid in the Clinton Administration. He has held several positions for The City, is the Political Director for the San Francisco Janitors Union and is Principal of Kitchen Cabinet Public Affairs
Your Tax Dollars at Work: San Francisco's Bloated Budget
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
A June, 2016, survey by Ballotpedia shows that San Francisco’s government has the second highest spending per citizen of all major cities in the United States. Only Washington, D.C., spends more. On the other hand, New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Jose spend less per citizen. Philadelphia, also a city and county combined, spends far less per citizen than S.F. does. In July 10,2017 study by WallethHub, San Francisco was ranked the fourth worst managed city of the 150 largest cities in the USA. This should surprise nobody. So, the question is why? One reason is that the mayor and majority of the supervisors have no or very little experience working at private sector for profit companies, or as some may say, no real-world experience. They dictate Human Resources policies to all employers in The City. For the most part, we have people “who have never been there or done that” dictating policy to people “who are there and doing it that every day.” Here’s a look at the professional biographies of our elected leaders. Read more
Mayor Ed Lee: Upon graduating law school Lee went to work for the non-profit Asian Law Caucus where he worked for as a civil rights attorney and housing activist. After 10 years, he went to work at the City and County of San Francisco where he held various positions until being appointed mayor to fill the remainder of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term.
District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer: Prior to being elected supervisor she was a stay at home mom, education volunteer and PTA president. In 2001, she went to work at non-profit Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth as the Director of Parent Organizing and Educational Policy. In 2008, she was an elected to the School Board.
District 2 Supervisors Mark Farrell: Prior to being elected supervisor he had substantial private sector experience. He practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney in Silicon Valley for 3 years. From there he went to an investment banking firm for over 5 years. After that he cofounded a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on the hospitality and travel sector.
District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin: Prior to going into politics he was an environmental activists and water-rights negotiator for a non-profit organization which brokered passage and use water rights for tribal lands.
District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang: Before being appointed and subsequently elected to the Board of Supervisors she was a legislative aide to then Supervisor Carman Chu. Prior to that she worked in the Newsom Administration.
District 5 Supervisor London Breed: Prior to her election as District 5 Supervisor, she served as Executive Director of the non-profit African American Art & Culture Complex in the Western Addition for over a decade.
District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim: Prior to being elected to the Board of Supervisors as Democrat, she was a Green Party member. She was community organizer at the non-profit Chinatown Community Development Center, a civil rights attorney at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.
District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee: Biographical information on Supervisor Yee is very scant. Before being elected to the Board of Supervisors he was an elected member of School Board. He was Executive Director of a large non-profit social service organization. His professional experience also includes work as a foundation program officer and a community college and elementary school teacher.
District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy: Prior to being appointed to the Board of Supervisors he was a long-time HIV/AIDS activist. Most recently has led communications at UCSF AID Research Institute. He was the communications director for the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, and a board member for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He has also served as an HIV/AIDS adviser to then Mayor Newsom and as a victim advocate for the San Francisco district attorney's office.
District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen: For the last six years she was Chief of Staff for termed out Supervisor David Campos. After graduating UC Berkeley’s Bolt Hall Law School, she worked for non-profit La Raza Centro Legal leading the worker’s rights unit.
District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen: Her professional experience includes working for Power Forward Consulting, a public affairs, media and policy consulting firm and the Corporate Strategy and Communications team for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has worked as a field organizer and an Executive Assistant to Mayor Newsom and Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff.
District 11 Supervisor: Ahsha Safai: Prior to being elect to the Board of Supervisors he worked in several government positions. in his hometown of Cambridge, MA, he worked as an aide to a City Councilor. He then worked as an aid to an aid in the Clinton Administration. He has held several positions for The City, is the Political Director for the San Francisco Janitors Union and is Principal of Kitchen Cabinet Public Affairs
May 2017
San Francisco Should Not Be A Sanctuary City and California Should Not Be A Sanctuary State
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
Your San Francisco Republican Party has taken strong stances against San Francisco’s sanctuary city and illegal immigration policies including The City dropping out of the areas Joint Terrorism Task Force that enforces immigration law. Making the situation worse, state senate bill SB54, currently working its way through the legislature, would make California a sanctuary state. The state’s county sheriffs have strenuously objected to SB54. To start, let’s take a quick look at how we got here.
In 1989, San Francisco passed the "City and County of Refuge" Ordinance (also known as the Sanctuary Ordinance). The ordinance prohibits the City from assisting federal authorities enforce immigration laws. In 2013, San Francisco passed the “Due Process for All” Ordinance. This ordinance limits when City law enforcement may notify ICE when illegal aliens are being released from county jail. (Note: the left and journalists have substituted “undocumented” and/or “unauthorized” for “illegal” to obfuscate the fact that the people being discussed are in the country illegally.) The best know victim of these ordnances is Kathryn Steinle, who was shot to death by an illegal alien who had been deported 5 times and was released from county jail even though ICE had asked the county to notify them when he was being released. And now, as mentioned above, to make matters worse, there is a move to make the entire state a sanctuary.
For the last few years the news media, electronic, print and online, has spent many hours covering arguments against and in favor of sanctuary cities. Now, sanctuary states will be added as the arguments are the same. However, there are a few questions that have not been asked of sanctuary city and state proponents that should be asked. Why do California and San Francisco elected officials believe they can pick and choose which federal laws and regulations they will obey and the federal agencies they will cooperate with? What would Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrats in Sacramento or San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the Board of Supervisors (BOS) do if they faced the similar circumstances? For instance, in 1970 California voters passed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA.) What would Brown and the Sacramento Democrats do if 6 or 8 of California’s 58 counties declared themselves Sanctuary From CEQA Counties? San Francisco has placed many mandates on employers. What would Lee and the BOS do if a few groups of neighborhood merchants declared themselves a Sanctuary From Minimum Wage and Health Care Mandates? They would be doing the same thing President Trump and Attorney General Sessions are doing. That is using all using any and all methods available to them to get cooperation from the counties and neighborhood groups who are not cooperating. Our elected officials at City Hall and The State Capital should remember, “what goes around comes around.”
San Francisco Should Not Be A Sanctuary City and California Should Not Be A Sanctuary State
By: Howard Epstein, Vice Chair Communications
Your San Francisco Republican Party has taken strong stances against San Francisco’s sanctuary city and illegal immigration policies including The City dropping out of the areas Joint Terrorism Task Force that enforces immigration law. Making the situation worse, state senate bill SB54, currently working its way through the legislature, would make California a sanctuary state. The state’s county sheriffs have strenuously objected to SB54. To start, let’s take a quick look at how we got here.
In 1989, San Francisco passed the "City and County of Refuge" Ordinance (also known as the Sanctuary Ordinance). The ordinance prohibits the City from assisting federal authorities enforce immigration laws. In 2013, San Francisco passed the “Due Process for All” Ordinance. This ordinance limits when City law enforcement may notify ICE when illegal aliens are being released from county jail. (Note: the left and journalists have substituted “undocumented” and/or “unauthorized” for “illegal” to obfuscate the fact that the people being discussed are in the country illegally.) The best know victim of these ordnances is Kathryn Steinle, who was shot to death by an illegal alien who had been deported 5 times and was released from county jail even though ICE had asked the county to notify them when he was being released. And now, as mentioned above, to make matters worse, there is a move to make the entire state a sanctuary.
For the last few years the news media, electronic, print and online, has spent many hours covering arguments against and in favor of sanctuary cities. Now, sanctuary states will be added as the arguments are the same. However, there are a few questions that have not been asked of sanctuary city and state proponents that should be asked. Why do California and San Francisco elected officials believe they can pick and choose which federal laws and regulations they will obey and the federal agencies they will cooperate with? What would Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrats in Sacramento or San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the Board of Supervisors (BOS) do if they faced the similar circumstances? For instance, in 1970 California voters passed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA.) What would Brown and the Sacramento Democrats do if 6 or 8 of California’s 58 counties declared themselves Sanctuary From CEQA Counties? San Francisco has placed many mandates on employers. What would Lee and the BOS do if a few groups of neighborhood merchants declared themselves a Sanctuary From Minimum Wage and Health Care Mandates? They would be doing the same thing President Trump and Attorney General Sessions are doing. That is using all using any and all methods available to them to get cooperation from the counties and neighborhood groups who are not cooperating. Our elected officials at City Hall and The State Capital should remember, “what goes around comes around.”
SAVE THE DATE!
San Francisco Republican Party Lincoln/Reagan Dinner
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Special Guest: John Bolton
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Fox News Contributor
Time and Location TBD.
San Francisco Republican Party Lincoln/Reagan Dinner
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Special Guest: John Bolton
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Fox News Contributor
Time and Location TBD.
VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE!
Sunday May 14, 21, and 28.
Location: Presidio Picnic at the Presidio Main Post in the grassy area in front of the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Meet at 11:00 AM
To attend or get more information, email: finance@sfgop.org
Sunday May 14, 21, and 28.
Location: Presidio Picnic at the Presidio Main Post in the grassy area in front of the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Meet at 11:00 AM
To attend or get more information, email: finance@sfgop.org
CALL TO ACTION - May 11
JOIN PROTEST AGAINST EXCESSIVE TAXES IN SACRAMENTO
Show up en masse. Drain the swamp.
County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park
1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, May 11, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
JOIN PROTEST AGAINST EXCESSIVE TAXES IN SACRAMENTO
Show up en masse. Drain the swamp.
County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park
1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, May 11, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
SAVE GEARY BOULIVARD
At our May 3, 2017 monthly meeting your SFGOP voted unanimously voted to join with San Franciscans for Sensible Transit (SFST) and Richmond District residents and businesses to oppose the SFMTA’s ill-thought out plan called Geary Bus Rapid Transit. SFST is currently suing The City to stop this neighborhood destroying plan.
Please check out their website and help them save The Richmond District.
At our May 3, 2017 monthly meeting your SFGOP voted unanimously voted to join with San Franciscans for Sensible Transit (SFST) and Richmond District residents and businesses to oppose the SFMTA’s ill-thought out plan called Geary Bus Rapid Transit. SFST is currently suing The City to stop this neighborhood destroying plan.
Please check out their website and help them save The Richmond District.
SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN!
The majority of Californians don't want a sanctuary state, but liberal elites are attempting to shove SB54 through the legislator and permanently make California a sanctuary state.
Support our campaign to stop this reckless bill!
The majority of Californians don't want a sanctuary state, but liberal elites are attempting to shove SB54 through the legislator and permanently make California a sanctuary state.
Support our campaign to stop this reckless bill!
