Mayor Daniel Lurie is teaming up with Board President Rafael Mandelman to reform San Francisco’s 548-page city charter, and the pair has assembled a 28-person working group to take on the issue.
They come from a variety of backgrounds: Six are City Hall officials, including Mandelman and Lurie’s policy chief, Alicia John-Baptiste; four are from political pressure groups that have spent heavily to lobby and campaign for different political figures; and four come from philanthropy, including one from the personal foundation of venture capitalist billionaire Michael Moritz.
Six are from the business and development sector, two are from urban think tanks, and five herald from universities and community nonprofits. Just one is from organized labor.
Notably absent is any personnel associated with TogetherSF, the defunct group behind a failed $9.5 million campaign last year to pass a ballot measure that would have drastically reshaped the charter. It was, however, heavily financed by Moritz.
Public pressure groups and wealthy donors told Mission Local last year that, despite the implosion of TogetherSF’s effort, charter reform would continue to be a major focus for the coming years. Lurie’s task force is in line with those goals.