San Francisco Sun

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed has issued an Executive Directive to initiate comprehensive Charter Reform in San Francisco. The current version of the San Francisco Charter was adopted by voters in 1995, and this would be the first comprehensive reform effort in 30 years.

“The current charter, with its layers of bureaucracy added over the years, has created inefficiency and diffused accountability across our governance structures,” said Mayor London Breed. “The good news is that we can fix this by stepping back and reconsidering the Charter as a whole. That time is now.”

The Executive Directive tasks the City Controller and City Administrator with working alongside good government experts and City officials to identify key areas for improvement. It also establishes a public outreach and education process involving City leadership, residents, businesses, and labor partners to consider changes to the Charter.

The objective is to develop, draft, and pass a Charter Reform measure at the Board of Supervisors for placement on the November 2026 ballot.

“Too often, our City government acts more like a collection of loosely affiliated departments than a unified municipal government with clear lines of accountability and oversight. Much of this dysfunction is baked into our Charter, and it’s high time for us to take a comprehensive look at that foundational document,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “I’m thrilled that Mayor Breed is taking on this project, and I’m looking forward to working with her on it. Common sense reforms can meaningfully improve how City Hall functions and most importantly ensure our local government delivers for the residents of San Francisco.”

Specifically, the Executive Directive sets forth several requirements:

- The City Controller and City Administrator shall establish a thorough outreach process outlining public meeting timelines and input requirements from various stakeholders.

- They shall collect data with support from the City Attorney and good government experts to analyze opportunities for reform aimed at increasing governmental effectiveness.

- They are tasked with proposing recommendations for improving identified areas such as consolidating city departments, overhauling commission structures, enhancing executive branch accountability, and updating legislative processes.

- Input will be collected from internal stakeholders through public meetings both inside and outside of City Hall.

- The final charter reform measure will be prepared in partnership between the Office of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and City Attorney for inclusion on the 2026 ballot.

“Today’s Executive Directive creates a valuable opportunity to examine how the Charter impacts our ability to deliver public services efficiently,” said Rachel Cukierman on behalf of Deputy City Administrator Carmen Chu who is currently on maternity leave. “We look forward to working with other city partners to improve service effectiveness.”

“It’s the right time to ensure that laws are keeping pace with our ever-evolving city,” stated Controller Greg Wagner. “Our office looks forward to reassessing our Charter alongside other city officials.”

Recently SPUR released a report titled "Designed to Serve," highlighting opportunities for comprehensive Charter Reform. Mayor Breed has invited SPUR along with other good government groups to participate in this process.

“At SPUR we believe that local government can and should be designed to serve the community,” said Alicia John-Baptiste, President & CEO of SPUR. “Sometimes it’s important to step back evaluate whether our system allows effective governance; if not how it should change."