Measure F: F - Changes to Executive Branch Management
San Francisco County · San Francisco County · November 3, 2026
The question on your ballot
Shall the City amend the Charter to expand the Mayor’s authority to transfer responsibilities between departments, hire deputy mayors, and hire some and fire most department heads; and to allow City officials to remove members of boards and commissions without cause?
In plain language
Measure F would change San Francisco's Charter. It would give the Mayor more power over city government. A YES vote lets the Mayor move duties between departments. It lets the Mayor hire deputy mayors. It lets the Mayor hire and fire most department heads. It also lets city officials remove board and commission members without a reason. A NO vote keeps the Mayor's current, more limited power.
Impartial analysis
The Way It Is Now: The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the City. The Mayor directly supervises nearly 50 City departments, which are established by Charter or ordinance. Most City departments are established by Charter. • Transfer of Functions: The Mayor can transfer responsibilities between departments established by ordinance, as long as the Board of Supervisors (Board) does not object. The Mayor cannot transfer responsibilities for departments established by the Charter. • Deputy Mayors: The Mayor cannot hire deputy mayors to supervise most departments established by the Charter. • Department Heads: In most cases, the Mayor must select a department head from candidates recommended by the board or commission that oversees that department. Usually, the board or commission can fire the department head, but the Mayor cannot. • Commissioners: In addition to the Mayor, the Board and other officials appoint members to City boards and commissions. Appointed members can usually only be suspended or removed if the member engaged in official misconduct or committed certain felonies. The Proposal: Proposition F would amend the Charter to allow the Mayor to do the following: • Transfer of Functions: Transfer responsibilities between most departments or combine departments under a single department head, regardless of whether the Department was established by ordinance or Charter and as long as the Board does not object. The Mayor cannot eliminate any responsibilities established by Charter. The Mayor could also assign the oversight of these transferred responsibilities to that department’s commission. The Mayor cannot transfer responsibilities of these departments: • City Administrator, Controller, Board of Appeals, Port, Airport, Asian Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Public Utilities Commission, Civil Service Commission, Department of Human Resources, Retirement Board, Health Service System, Department of Elections, Ethics Commission, or departments headed by other elected officials. The responsibilities of the Department of Police Accountability cannot be transferred to the Police Department, and the responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Inspector General cannot be transferred to the Sheriff. • Deputy Mayors: Hire deputy mayors to supervise most departments established by the Charter. • Department Heads: Hire some and fire most department heads without board or commission involvement. The Mayor cannot hire or fire certain department heads that are exempt (see List of Exemptions in Words You Need To Know). • Commissioners: In addition to the Mayor, the Board and other officials who appoint board and commission members could remove them at any time without cause. This does not apply to the Board of Appeals, Civil Service Commission, or Ethics Commission. The Mayor cannot eliminate any board or commission established by the Charter. A “YES” Vote Means: If you vote “yes,” you want to expand the Mayor’s authority to transfer responsibilities, hire deputy mayors, hire some and fire most department heads, and allow City officials to remove members of boards or commissions without cause. A “NO” Vote Means: If you vote “no,” you do not want to make these changes.
Official ballot arguments
Filed for the official voter guide by each side, printed as submitted.
Argument in favor
Over decades, San Francisco’s governing system - or city charter - has increasingly grown to reward city insiders. Mayor Lurie is leading a citywide coalition to make the system more accountable to everyday San Franciscans. Clean Up City Hall is a package of Props A, D, E and F to improve neighborhood services, speed up permitting and reduce wasteful spending so we can invest in our great city. PROP F TACKLES CITY HALL CORRUPTION. The current system allows departments to operate as independent fiefdoms instead of coordinated parts of government. It protects the insiders instead of holding them accountable. Six department heads have been indicted or investigated for corruption in the last decade. The mayor can only hire and remove a handful of department heads when self-dealing is exposed or they fail to do their job. CLEAR LINES OF ACCOUNTABILITY. Allowing the mayor to hire and remove most of their department heads will ensure city officials are accountable to the public. BETTER ORGANIZED DEPARTMENTS FOR BETTER RESULTS. Better organized and more accountable departments will deliver faster permits, cleaner streets and projects done on time and on budget. EXPOSES SELF-DEALING. “Departments that act as their own kingdoms are where corruption can grow. F makes it clear that every department head is ultimately accountable to the people of San Francisco” - Louise Renne, former San Francisco City Attorney & CA Deputy Attorney General STRENGTHENS CHECKS AND BALANCES. The Board of Supervisors will still have oversight over city departments and a majority of the Board can reject any changes the mayor makes. Watchdog commissions like Ethics and police oversight remain fully independent. San Francisco works best when we work in coalitions together. Please join the citywide coalition to make the system accountable to all! Mayor Daniel Lurie Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi Nancy Tung, San Francisco Democratic Party Former Deputy City Attorney Jim Lazarus SFSU Associate Professor of Political Science Jason McDaniel Former City Controller Ben Rosenfield Former Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White Firefighters Local 798 SF Building Trades Dan Calamuci, Carpenters Local 22* Anthony Travis Jr., Laborers Local 261* Charles Lavery, Operating Engineers Local 3* Teamsters Local 665 Council of District Merchant Associations Chinatown History and Culture Association *For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.
NO ON F — FAILS TO SOLVE CORRUPTION. EMPOWERS BILLIONAIRES. Proponents say they want to stop corruption. But if that’s the assignment, Prop F gets an F. It concentrates power in the executive, stripping away checks and balances. That will only enable corruption - just look at Washington. PROP F GIVES MAYORS SWEEPING NEW POWERS to alter departments’ core objectives, merge and eliminate departments without a single public hearing. Even if you trust this Mayor, Prop F puts this power in the hands of all future Mayors. A Mayor could also fire appointed commissioners without cause, undermining independent citizen oversight. MAYORS CAN ALREADY EASILY REMOVE CORRUPT OFFICIALS. They need only demonstrate misconduct or convince a majority of the Board of Supervisors. But Prop F lets the Mayor unilaterally remove public servants who’ve done nothing wrong. That’s a recipe for politically-motivated removals of whistleblowers who would expose corruption. BILLIONAIRES BACK PROP F FOR A REASON. Local tech billionaires spent over $8 million to get Propositions D, E, and F on the ballot. The ultra-rich rarely bankroll campaigns out of the goodness of their hearts. Like the billionaires funding our President’s White House ballroom, they expect something in return. Prop F makes the Mayor’s office a one-stop shop for them to buy influence and override democratic input. Prop F deserves a failing grade. Vote no. Democratic Socialists of America - San Francisco Jackie Fielder, San Francisco Supervisor* Dean Preston, Former San Francisco Supervisor* Theresa Imperial, Former San Francisco Planning Commissioner* Sophia Andary, Commissioner, San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women* *For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. — Democratic Socialists of America - San Francisco; Jackie Fielder, San Francisco Supervisor*; Dean Preston, Former San Francisco Supervisor*; Theresa Imperial, Former San Francisco Planning; Commissioner*; Sophia Andary, Commissioner, San Francisco Commission on; the Status of Women*
Argument against
The Clean Up City Hall campaign has spent over 4 million dollars to put 3 Charter measures on the ballot favoring the Mayor and wealthy corporate interests. • These measures were never heard by the Board. • 5 of 11 Board Supervisors have declined to endorse them. • They had no public scrutiny and have had no cost analysis. • These are NOT consensus measures Prop F removes essential checks & balances. Today, the Board of Supervisors and Oversight Commissions have opportunities to hold public hearings and approve changes to department leadership, structure and spending. Checks and balances are essential to good governance and ensuring that the public has opportunities to give comment to substantial changes that will impact the delivery of services. EVEN IF you do like this Mayor & trust this Mayor to have your interests in mind, you may not like or trust the next Mayor or the one after that. And concentrating so much power in the hands of one person can lead to disastrous effects that parallel what we’ve seen in DC. Simply put, Prop F goes too far. • It allows the Mayor to remove Commissioners for any reason not just cause. Removing commissioner’s ability to effectively question the policies and spending of the departments they’re supposed to be overseeing. • It allows the Mayor to hire and fire Department Heads without Commission hearings • Even more problematic It allows the Mayor to re-arrange Departments, combining their staff – or eliminating Departments altogether. And the Board will then only have 60 days to object or the Mayor’s changes go into effect without a single public hearing. Vote No on F to keep essential checks and balances the Board of Supervisors and Oversight Commissions provide. Small Business Forward — Small Business Forward
PROP F CAME FROM AN OPEN, COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. Mayor Lurie and Board President Mandelman convened San Francisco’s first citywide Charter Reform Working Group in decades, followed by dozens of stakeholder meetings and labor negotiations leading to real compromise. The City Controller has completed a full cost analysis, and the citywide coalition of people across the political spectrum backing these common sense reforms is broad and growing. CHECKS AND BALANCES STAY INTACT. Watchdog agencies like ethics and police oversight remain fully independent. No department functions can be eliminated without a vote of the people. The executive branch can only combine services where costly overlaps slow down city services, like Planning and DBI. HOLDS DEPARTMENT HEADS ACCOUNTABLE. The system allows departments to operate as independent fiefdoms. Department heads have been indicted, and when self dealing is exposed, the mayor can’t easily remove them. COMMISSIONERS ANSWER TO THE PUBLIC. Commission seats have long been handed out as rewards, with no accountability to voters. F doesn’t eliminate a single commission, but lets the Mayor and Board remove commissioners who don’t show up, don’t do the work, or are corrupt. F isn’t about one person. It’s about making government work for everyday people, no matter who holds office. The insiders are misleading because they are being challenged. They think the system works great. San Franciscans know the system is broken. It’s time for a change. Mayor Daniel Lurie Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman Former Controller Ben Rosenfield — Mayor Daniel Lurie; Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman; Former Controller Ben Rosenfield
What supporters and opponents say — outside sources (not official ballot arguments)
Statements by campaigns, officials and news coverage, quoted with attribution and linked to the original. VoterDecoder did not write them and does not endorse either side.
Supporters say
No public statements in favor were found.
Opponents say
No public statements against were found.