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San Francisco Earthquake Safety Bond, Proposition B (June 2010)
A San Francisco Earthquake Safety Bond, Proposition B ballot question was on the June 8, 2010 ballot in San Francisco, where it was approved.[1]
Proposition B authorized the city to sell a $412 million bond to retrofit some buildings for earthquake safety reasons. Buildings targeted for earthquake safety upgrades include neighborhood police stations, fire stations and the Hall of Justice.
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for approval. (In California, a 55 percent supermajority vote is required to approve school bond measures, but a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required to approve city bonds.)
Election results
| Proposition B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 117553 | 79.41% | ||
| No | 30484 | 20.59% | ||
- These final, certified results are from the San Francisco County elections office.
Supporters
Supporters of Proposition B included San Francisco's Democratic and Republican parties, the Labor Council, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.
The San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition B: "Two words should be sufficient to explain the need for this measure: 'Haiti' and 'Chile.' A disaster in San Francisco - most likely an earthquake - could destroy the infrastructure needed by basic emergency services."[2]
Opponents
Opponents of Proposition B included San Francisco County Supervisor Chris Daly. His objection to the measure was that it doesn't go far enough, because it doesn't include the jail at 850 Bryant.
Text of measure
The question on the ballot:
| To improve fire, earthquake and emergency response and ensure firefighters a reliable water supply for fires and disasters, through projects including: improving deteriorating pipes, hydrants, reservoirs, water cisterns and pumps built after the 1906 earthquake; improving neighborhood fire stations; replacing the seismically-unsafe emergency command center with an earthquake-safe building; and to pay related costs, shall the City and County of San Francisco issue $412,300,000 in general obligation bonds, subject to citizen oversight and regular audits?[3][4] |
Stripped down
San Francisco's Board of Supervisors originally considered a $652 million bond. That would have allowed the city to build a new forensic sciences center to house crime labs and the medical examiner's office. However, after due consideration, the supervisors decided to remove that $240 million project from the proposal.[5]
External links
- Legal text of Proposition B
- Official ballot proposition list for San Francisco's June 8, 2010 election
- June 8, 2010 election results, San Francisco
Footnotes
- ↑ Beyond Chron, "June Ballot Measures Reflect City’s Political Fault Lines," March 24, 2010
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "San Francisco's ballot measures," May 16, 2010
- ↑ San Francisco elections office archive
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Fox Reno, "Police Chief Argues For Quake Bond Measure," February 12, 2010 (dead link)
