The Road to Washington Runs Through San Francisco
City Politics, Homelessness, and the Democratic Project
Political nihilism runs deep in California. In a political culture that increasingly focuses on national politics, a trend for decades, the fate of elections in such a safely blue state elicits a yawn. Presidential and senate races are nigh unassailable for Democrats. House races, of course, can be competitive in some places. But for large swathes of Californians living in coastal cities, House races are similarly uncompetitive.
And yet, state and local races carry incredible heft in this state. Consider: for the reasons listed above, California represents the liberal project in the American imagination. When newspapers run flashy headlines comparing California to Texas, everybody understands what we’re really comparing here. Wonder what the country would look like if Democrats ran it? Look at California.
So it matters how well the state is governed. And right now, it’s a mixed bag. On one hand, we have the fourth largest per-capita GDP of any US state, reflecting the state’s dominance in industries like Tech and Entertainment. But we also have the highest per-capita homeless rate of any US state1, owing to California’s decades of housing construction shortfall. The state’s homeless population numbered roughly 171,500 in January 2022, accounting for an astounding 30% of the national total.
The pitch that Democrats would like to make at the national level is: “look at how awesome California is. Let us run the federal government and we’ll make the whole country like that.” It should be a slam dunk — after all California is way richer than Texas (merely 15th highest GDP per capita), and Republicans love to campaign on the economy. But this argument is absolutely kneecapped by the endemic homelessness in the state.
San Francisco: Local Politics, National Impact
These distinctive characteristics of California, rich and short on housing, are even more prominent in San Francisco. Famously tech-wealthy and unaffordable, SF is also relevant to national politics — so much so that Ron DeSantis comes to the tenderloin to shoot political ads. And while there’s sparingly little that Ron and I will agree on in any context, it is true that the city has an outsized homelessness crisis, and that Democrats at the city and state level have presided over it for decades.
The mater of the fact is, high rates of homelessness2 are a consequence of poor governance, and we do know how to fix it. As laid out in Homeless is a Housing Problem, the variable that correlates most strongly (by far) with per capita homelessness is median rents. It feels banal to write this, but expensive housing is strongly linked to homelessness.
In terms of policy fixes, the simplest thing we can do is streamline our labyrinthine and sclerotic process for building permits and entitlements. In fact, the state is already demanding that we fix this, at legal gunpoint so to speak. Instead of working with the state to solve the crisis, our elected officials are digging their heels in and resisting new housing at every step. By fixing its housing shortage and therefore its housing affordability problem, San Francisco can live up to its potential — a literal City upon a Hill that Democrats nationwide can point to as an example of what they can accomplish.
So if you live in San Francisco, and you want Democrats to win races, this is the opportunity of a lifetime: local-sized political effort for national-sized effect. Anything you do to affect local politics is connected to a massive amplifier, all you have to do is reach for the megaphone.
What is to be done?
If you’re fired up by anything I’ve written here, get involved! Democratic systems are designed to be a participatory process, wherein citizens organize to influence elections and policies.
SF YIMBY and Grow SF are two organizations doing great work on housing abundance in the city. Both are easy to join or start volunteering for, and like any political movement really depend on new and enthusiastic members to drive change forward. I can’t stress enough how important it is to start talking to and connecting with like-minded people. For maintaining motivation, for learning about solutions, for figuring out the best ways to achieve change, it’s critical.
Aside from that, learn who your local representatives are, as well as their records on housing. Educate yourself and your friends on important upcoming races, right now the DCCC race in March. If you’re feeling wonky and up for some reading, check out the latest in the SF housing fight.
There’s work to be done, let’s get to it!
Well, technically DC is highest in both of these metrics, but I’m not counting that as a state. We also left Texas in the dust on both.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking up homelessness in this article — it’s far from the only problem SF has, but it’s a good one to start with. It’s an issue that’s deeply emotional and connects with voters, and also has well-understood policy solutions.