SF Guardians: We recalled the school board
VolunteerNewsletter
Prop C Strips Your Right to Recall June 7, vote NO on C
STAY INFORMEDRegister to VOTE
VOLUNTEER
Prop C is a naked power grab by SF politicians
Prop C restricts recalls to just 8.5 months
Under Prop C, Collins, Lopez, & Moliga would still be in power
Only a few recalls have EVER qualified for the ballot in SF... and Prop C would prevent nearly all of them.
If Prop C was law today – Alison Collins could run again but Ann Hsu couldn’t.
Prop C prohibits the appointees from running to keep their seat, which drastically limits the number of people interested in the job.
Prop C's prohibition on appointees running to keep their seat is bad for governance and terrible for democracy.
The right to recall is foundational to the Progressive movement -- Prop C eviscerates it.
Contrary to the Proponent’s assertions, Prop C won’t stop special elections …but it sure does stop recalls.
#10 Prop C won’t stop the Newsom recall either – that’s governed by CA law.
#11 Recalls have gotten progressively harder – Prop C makes them nearly impossible.
#12: SF spent $64 per student on the recall – Prop C proponents claim this is too high a price.
#13 By prohibiting appointees from running for office – Prop C hurts under-represented groups.
#14 The Bay Area Reporter calls Prop C undemocratic and endorses NO on C!
#15 The SF Chronicle rejects Prop C!!!
#16 Alice Toklas LGBTQ+ Dem Club Endorses No on C!
#17 MYTH: School board recall is low turnout. FACT: School Board recall participation is consistent with recent municipal elections.
#18 MYTH: Recalls only succeed in a special election. FACT: Recalls are more likely to succeed in a general election than a special election.
Voters have already rejected the caretaker appointment that Prop C proposes.
State Senator Scott Wiener & Mayor London Breed endorse No on C
Alice Toklas LGBTQ+ Dem Club endorses NO on C
Grow SF endorses NO on C
United Democratic Club endorses NO on C
The SF Green Party endorses NO on C
The Chinese American Democratic Club endorses NO on C
SPUR endorses NO on C
Families for SF endorses NO on C
The Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club & Ed Lee Asian Pacific Club endorse NO on C.
SF Women's Political Committee endorses NO on C
Supervisors Mandelmann, Melgar, Safai & Stefani voted NO on C!!!
Why NO on C?


We recalled the school board... in a landslide

Now politicians want to make sure it never happens again

1 Prop C Radically Restricts When You can Start a Recall

Currently, you can start a recall in
‍25 months of a 4-year term --
the green months:
Current law: 25-month window to start a recall
Show me the math
Hide the math

We're calculating when, as a practical matter, you can start a recall.

It wouldn't make sense to have the recall election at the same time as the regular election for that seat, so what's the latest you can start a recall and still remove them from office in an earlier election?

So, here's the math:
‍
Grey months at the beginning:
No recalls in the first 6 months after they're sworn in (but you can start the 3-week paperwork process to get the Notice of Intent ready)

Grey months at the end:
You can't recall them after they were re-elected. (2 months)
‍
A recall election scheduled within three months of the regular election will be combined with the regular election -- and there's no point having a recall & re-election for the same folks on the same ballot (3 months)

It takes 12-15 months from the start of the recall process until election day. (12 months)

2 months + 3 months + 12 months = 17 months
Prop C would reduce it to
9 months of the 4-year term:
‍
Prop C: 9-month window to start a recall
Show me the math
Hide the math

We're calculating when, as a practical matter, you can start a recall and still get your signatures turned in by the deadline -- 18 months before the next election for the seat.

Here's the math:

Grey months at the beginning:
No recalls in the first 12 months after they're sworn in (but you can start the 3-week process to get the Notice of Intent ready)

Grey months at the end:
You can't recall them after they were re-elected (2 months)

Signed petitions are due eighteen months before the regular election (18 months)

You have 160 days to circulate the petition (5.5 months)

Initial paperwork: campaign committee paperwork + notice of intention + officer’s response + public notice published in the physical newspaper + filing proof of publication + dept of elections reviews the format of the petition (2 months)

2 months + 18 months + 5.3 months + 2 months = 27.5 months
Under Prop C, the school board recall -- which passed in a landslide with up to 76% support -- would have been impossible Show me‍‍
On June 7, vote NO on C

2 Prop C Limits Your Voting Choices

If Prop C had been in place for the school board recall, the recalled officials could still run for school board this fall… 
Alison Collins
Gabriela López
Fauuga Moliga
…but their appointed replacements couldn't. No matter how good a job they're doing

If they're doing a good job, shouldn't you have the right to keep them?

Prop C takes away your right to choose the best person for the job
On June 7, vote NO on C

3 Recalls are a Vital Democratic Safeguard

The progressive movement was founded on the idea that people should have the right to directly participate in democracy

And that includes recalls

Without the recall, you have no way to directly remove incompetent or corrupt officials from office
Prop C protects bad leaders instead of voters and kids

Don't let politicians take away your democratic right to recall them
On June 7, vote NO on C

Join us: Vote NO on C

Mayor London Breed
State Senator Scott Wiener
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
Former CA State Senator Quentin Kopp

Bay Area Reporter
SF Chronicle

‍Grow SF
SF Green Party
Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic Club
Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club
Chinese American Democratic Club
United Democratic Club
Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club
San Francisco Women's Political Committee
Families for San Francisco
SF Parent Action
SPUR
San Francisco Taxpayers Association

Youth Commissioner Ewan Barker Plummer
But wait, aren't recalls expensive?

Elections do cost money -- the school board recall cost over $3 million

But they're not as costly as leaving bad leaders in place. The school board's incompetence nearly doubled our deficit to $125 million annually, and set back our most vulnerable kids. What cost our kids' future?

If you are concerned about the lack of spending limits in recall elections, then you should put in spending caps... but that's not what Prop C does

Prop C doesn't change the cost of a recall, it just makes recalls less likely.

Citywide recalls are already rare -- the last one before ours was 40 years ago... because it's $%#& difficult to get them on the ballot. Anyone who says differently hasn't run one

Also... the cost of the Newsom recall? Totally irrelevant. Prop C is SF law, so it would only affect city leaders, not state leaders like Governor Newsom

Elections do cost money -- the school board recall cost over $3 million

But they're not as costly as leaving bad leaders in place. The school board's incompetence nearly doubled our deficit to $125 million annually, and set back our most vulnerable kids. What cost our kids' future?

(Also... the cost of the Newsom recall? Prop C wouldn't have saved a dime. Prop C is San Francisco law... so it doesn't have jurisdiction over state leaders like Governor Newsom.)
What about having appointees be placeholders until the voter can choose?
‍
If you want voters to choose the replacements, then you should have replacements run on the recall ballot... but that's not what Prop C does

Prop C doesn't change the appointment system -- it just prevents you from choosing to keep the people who are already doing the job -- the people who you can most accurately evaluate, because you've seen them at work

‍If voters have the intelligence and judgement to elect candidates, then they have the intelligence and judgement to determine whether the appointed officials are doing a good job

MYTH vs FACT

MYTH: Prop C would have stopped the Newsom recall
FACT: Prop C only affects recalls of San Francisco officials, NOT state officials like Newsom. Anyone who says differently is selling something

MYTH: Recalls are an attack on democracy
FACT: Early Progressives fought for recalls to let voters directly remove corrupt or incompetent leaders. They are a democratic safeguard, and they are more likely to succeed in high-turnout elections

MYTH: Recalls are expensive
FACT: Not as expensive as leaving bad leaders in place. The school board recall election cost $3.25M ($1.1M for each politician). Meanwhile, the schools were short $125M annually, and failing to teach our most vulnerable kids to read. What cost their future?

Paid for by SF Guardians, FPPC #1448292. Ad Committee's Top Funders:
1. Garry Tan ($25,000)
2. Michael Moritz ($15,000)
3. Autumn Hope Looijen ($5,398)
Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.