Prop I Funded Social Housing. Mayor Breed Blocked It. Will Mayor Lurie Deliver?
San Francisco could be five years into the boldest social housing program in the nation. Instead, we’re starting from behind. All because for years, a YIMBY mayor who claimed to be “pro-housing” blocked the funds voters passed to build affordable homes. Now, with a new Mayor at the helm, the City has a second chance to lead the nation. Will Daniel Lurie rise to the occasion and do what the voters asked for and unlock hundreds of millions of dollars for social housing?
The Voters’ Vision for Housing and a Mandate Ignored
In 2020, San Francisco passed a groundbreaking tax on the mega-wealthy. Prop I was a transfer tax on high-end real estate sales of $10 million or more, with the intent that the revenue would fund social housing. Imagine if San Francisco had spent the last five years building affordable homes for teachers, Muni drivers, working-class families, and low-income seniors, all built by union labor. This is social housing: government-supported housing that makes sure everyone, regardless of income, has access to safe and stable homes. That's what the voters wanted and, to date, the measure has raised an estimated half a billion dollars.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously supported using these funds for social housing. The Housing Stability Oversight Board gave guidance on how to allocate the social housing money. We had the funds. We had the electorate and the entire Board of Supervisors. We had a plan. Despite everything being in place, one person shut it all down.
Former Mayor Breed made it known she opposed the measure when it was on the ballot, and refused to allocate the funding despite the mandate from San Franciscans. She invoked a technicality to defy the clear will of voters and the unanimous Board of Supervisors that Prop. I revenue should be used for social housing. From 2021 to 2024, she refused to follow the recommendations of the Housing Stability Oversight Board on how to allocate the social housing money. Breed allocated zero dollars in the budget for social housing, despite repeated calls from supervisors, labor unions, and anti-displacement advocates.
Through numerous battles, advocates were still able to claw back over $200 million, but only after organizing, public pressure, and budget battles. Even then, Breed’s administration effectively impounded the funds, keeping affordable housing projects in limbo. This obstruction had real consequences. The city missed key opportunities to acquire properties, lost time, and failed to scale up a desperately needed social housing program.
A Clear Win and Path Forward
Mayor Lurie has a chance to put San Francisco back on track. He campaigned on being a different kind of mayor, one who seeks to unite rather than divide. There is perhaps no bigger test of this than what he chooses to do with this year’s Prop. I revenue. The question is whether he will break new ground by doing the obvious: using affordable housing funds for affordable housing.
A key strategy suggested by the Housing Stability Fund Oversight Board is acquisitions. We were able to force some acquisitions through extended battles under Mayor Breed, but if Mayor Lurie makes clear that Prop. I funds will be used to launch a social housing program, the funds could be leveraged to generate billions of dollars for acquisitions and creating affordable homes.
It’s a win-win-win-win. The City ramps up social housing acquisitions. Sellers who don’t want to pay the transfer tax sell their property to the city or an affordable housing provider. Union workers get good-paying jobs. And working-class San Franciscans get homes they can actually afford. Let’s do this now.
San Francisco’s 2023–2031 Housing Element mandates the city permit over 82,000 new homes, including more than 46,000 affordable units. That’s nearly three times the affordable housing target from the previous cycle, and in that last cycle, the city barely reached 50% of its goal. The Housing Element, signed off on by all arms of city government, explicitly calls for the use of transfer tax revenue — i.e.Prop I funds — to help meet the city’s affordable housing needs. Without it, we’ll continue falling short.
This isn’t just about theoretical policy. It’s about whether working-class families can afford to stay in San Francisco. It’s about whether the city government respects voters, follows expert advice, and meets the moment.
A New Chapter: Leadership or Letdown?
Mayor Lurie now has a chance to prove he’s the unifying leader he promised to be. His budget will show whether he’s bringing people together to meet our Housing Element goals or continuing the Breed Administration’s petty obstruction of social housing for the sake of manufacturing political fights.
If the Mayor allocates Prop I funds for social housing in his first budget, he’ll not only honor the will of the voters and the Board of Supervisors: he’ll launch a transformational housing program when the city needs it most.