During the outage, caused by a fire at a SoMa substation, residents worried<\/a> about getting in and out of buildings with non-functioning elevators, losing critical supplies like medications as freezers stopped working, and communicating once their phone batteries went dead. Businesses lost thousands of dollars<\/a> as they were forced to close for one of the busiest weekends of the year.<\/p>\n PG&E, the company that owns and operates San Francisco\u2019s electrical infrastructure, didn\u2019t restore power<\/a> until more than 24 hours later. Over the next ten days, several more outages<\/a> plagued San Francisco residents, including in the Presidio in District 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n As San Franciscans asked what could be done to prevent these outages from happening again, politicians had a suggestion: public acquisition<\/a> of PG&E\u2019s electrical infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Acquiring electrical infrastructure will be costly \u2014 PG&E turned down a $2.5 billion offer in 2019 \u2014 but proponents point out that with ratepayers as the priority, not shareholders, cities with public power tend to have lower electricity rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to power outages, people have been upset at PG&E<\/a> for high electricity prices, long waits for electrical hookups, and safety issues (its equipment has triggered several of California\u2019s worst wildfires).\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a new idea. The city has been laying the groundwork<\/a> for acquiring PG&E\u2019s infrastructure, either through a buyout or through eminent domain, since 2019. Most recently, San Francisco State Sen. Scott Wiener introduced legislation<\/a> this February to shrink the power of the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates cities\u2019 use of eminent domain.\u00a0<\/p>\n To use eminent domain to acquire PG&E infrastructure would require a two-thirds vote of the Board of Supervisors.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this week\u2019s answer, candidates were cautiously supportive of public power.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s question: Should San Francisco work to acquire PG&E\u2019s infrastructure?\u00a0<\/p>\n Mission Local color codes the answers to yes\/no questions. A green background means the candidate answered yes, a red background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.<\/p>\n Lori Brooke<\/p>\n Job: President, Cow Hollow Association<\/p>\n Age: 62<\/p>\n Residency: Homeowner, moved to the district 31 years ago<\/p>\n Transportation:\u00a0Driving and walking<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara<\/p>\n Languages: English<\/p>\n We need to modernize and improve our city\u2019s power grid to lower costs and stop the type of outages that recently caused a lot of harm to residents and small businesses. I support the idea of public power, but I want to first ensure that residents trust our city\u2019s ability to handle the management of a critical infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Franciscans want results now and redoing our whole system does not produce anything immediate. I will focus on holding PG&E accountable and helping residents and businesses get compensated for recent damages, and work to lower rates while improving services.<\/p>\n Endorsed by: Former District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, former State Senator and Supervisor Quentin Kopp, AFT 2121, Local 38 (#2) \u2026 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stephen Sherrill<\/p>\n Job: Appointed District 2 Supervisor<\/p>\n Age: 39<\/p>\n Residency: Homeowner, moved to the district 11 years ago<\/p>\n Transportation:\u00a0Driving, public transportation, biking<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree from Yale University<\/p>\n Languages: English<\/p>\n San Francisco should pursue any option that improves reliability, affordability, and accountability for residents \u2014 including but not limited to acquiring PG&E\u2019s local infrastructure if it demonstrably delivers better outcomes.<\/p>\n San Franciscans and Californians have seen firsthand the consequences of utility mismanagement from wildfires to blackouts. As climate change intensifies, resilient and well-maintained power systems are critical for public safety, small businesses, and emergency response. I support continued evaluation of municipalization efforts, provided they are fiscally responsible and transparent.\u00a0<\/p>\n My focus is simple: hold utilities accountable and back whichever model delivers the most reliable, high-quality service while reducing utility rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, GrowSF, Nor Cal Carpenters Union, San Francisco Police Officers Association \u2026 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at io@missionlocal.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Cartoon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Brooke-Green-640x640.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cartoon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sherrill-Green-640x640.png\")
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