Proposition B is bad for public safety.
If you’re not angered about Proposition B on the March 5th ballot, you probably haven’t read it closely enough.
PROP B IS A DECEPTIVE ‘COP TAX’ SCHEME
Prop B is a dishonest “Cop Tax” scheme, masquerading as a public safety measure. It’s a political trick that actually blocked progress on police recruiting, and aims to fool San Franciscans into mandating that future taxes must be approved before even minimum police staffing levels can be set.
Prop B’s proponents are lying to voters. Their campaign continually fails to mention that even minimum police staffing levels in San Francisco would be contingent on “a future tax measure passed by the voters,” which must “generate sufficient additional revenue” to hire police — in other words, it’s a tax hike.
And when its proponents insist that “by passing Prop. B, we will achieve minimum police staffing levels,” it’s patently false. In fact, Prop. B could only achieve minimum SFPD staffing…
If voters approve some future tax…
In some future election…
With sufficient future funding.
PROP B OBSTRUCTS PROGRESS ON SAFETY
Prop B’s “Cop Tax” scheme would be a disaster for public safety in San Francisco.
It will needlessly obstruct and delay progress on police staffing by serving as a ploy for new tax revenue. Leaving aside the absurdity of needing additional taxes to fund our most basic municipal service…
Prop B “poison-pilled” a five-year plan co-authored by Supervisor Matt Dorsey and Mayor London Breed, thereby denying San Francisco voters of the opportunity to prioritize their existing tax dollars for police full staffing.
Prop B would delay voter-mandated progress on police staffing until late 2025 — at the earliest — and only if voters approve future taxes in the next election.
Prop B is a legally dubious end-run around constitutional restrictions on dedicated “Special Tax” funding — meaning that it risks costly lawsuits, which could delay police funding for years.
PROP B IS EXACTLY WHAT’S WRONG WITH CITY HALL
Prop B is emblematic of everything wrong with a Board of Supervisors majority more interested in performative politics than making the needed progress San Franciscans demand.
This “poison-pilled” scheme hijacked by flailing mayoral candidate, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, has rendered the entire plan ineffective. Now, instead of being a public safety measure, Prop B is a ploy for new taxes: “a Cop Tax Scheme.”
Backed by public sector unions that compete with police for limited dollars — and supported by a bare majority of supervisors — Prop B would enshrine into our City Charter an empty promise, devoid of meaning, until some future election.
Prop B is craven political trickery, which…
Aims to fool voters into believing its proponents are solving our police staffing crisis — when they’re in fact obstructing desperately needed progress.
Manipulates voters’ legitimate fears about public safety into political support for higher taxes.
Sacrifices urgent public safety imperatives that a fully staffed SFPD could solve for the near-term political advantage of competing unions and aspiring politicians.
TELL ‘COP TAX’ PROPONENTS TO STOP PLAYING GAMES WITH PUBLIC SAFETY
San Francisco is a $14.6 billion enterprise. We can afford a fully staffed police department. A fully staffed SFPD should be a baseline expectation for the taxes you already pay — not a fee-for-service add-on.