Past Events
Virtual SF Budget Deep Dive with ConnectedSF: Can we address the shortfall?
Since 2017 the SF city budget has doubled. As of right now San Francisco has a $14.5B budget for a city/county of 800,000 people.
San Francisco leaders project am $800M shortfall for FYE June 2025. This is based upon the most optimistic scenarios. A more realistic analysis puts the coming year's shortfall at over $1B.
Mayor Breed will release her budget this week and will start a period of negotiations with the Board of Supervisors.
San Franciscans and taxpayers tend to be forgotten by politicians – but not by ConnectedSF. We are here to educate you on the inner-workings of the budget and analyze what the outcomes will be. A finance expert will dig in on the budget and help make sense of it, when it matters: BEFORE it is finalized. ConnectedSF exists to provide you information to make your views known before it is "reported on" and too late to have a say.
2nd Annual SOAR Members Meeting and Social
Monday, May 20, 2024, 6:30 PM 8:00 PM
Richmond Rec Center
251 – 18th Avenue (between California and Clement Streets)
Join us for an engaging evening with SOAR! Our 2nd annual members meeting will be a chance to catch up with old friends, meet new members, and discuss the significance of our shared mission.
At the heart of SOAR is our commitment to informed civic engagement. We'll delve into our mission, tracing our history and highlighting our dedication to open communication on crucial issues. We emphasize the importance of being well-informed voters, not only for District 1 but for the broader community of San Francisco.
Throughout the event, we'll explore our past successes in programming and unveil our plans for the future. From ranked-choice voting information to mobilizations on hot button SF issues, we're gearing up to provide you with all the information you need to be civically engaged throughout 2024..
Prepare to be enlightened as we give an update city budget numbers and the looming $740M deficit, and don't miss our "meet the candidate" discussion with Marjan Philhour, candidate for D1 Supervisor.
We’ll also be providing treats from a local restaurant so don't miss out on this engaging community experience!
San Francisco's Safety Crisis: A Deep Dive into Public Safety Challenges and the Role the Police Commission Plays
Wednesday, October 11th, 2023 from 6:30-8 PM
Public safety clearly affects every area of life, from tourism to industry to quality of life in the city. Without it, nothing seems to work. We have heard a lot recently about the staff shortages at SFPD and issues with judges and even some state laws…but we have not really heard about a small commission with an oversized impact on our public safety, namely the Police Commission.
At this event, we will look at what this group of appointees can and cannot do and how they impact public safety and our SFPD. Our experienced panelists will discuss why the Police Commission exists, their policies that are affecting public safety, what you can do to get involved, and where there’s hope for the future.
Lou Barberini, Investigative Writer and former SFPD
Lt. Tracy McCray, Police Officers Assn. President
Thomas Mazzucco, former Police Commissioner
October 11, 2023 - San Francisco's Safety Crisis: A Deep Dive into Public Safety Challenges and the Role the Police Commission Plays
Public safety clearly affects every area of life, from tourism to industry to quality of life in the city. Without it, nothing seems to work. We have heard a lot recently about the staff shortages at SFPD and issues with judges and even some state laws…but we have not really heard about a small commission with an oversized impact on our public safety, namely the Police Commission.
At this event, we will look at what this group of appointees can and cannot do and how they impact public safety and our SFPD. Our experienced panelists will discuss why the Police Commission exists, their policies that are affecting public safety, what you can do to get involved, and where there’s hope for the future.
Featuring:
Lou Barberini, Investigative Writer and former SFPD
Lt. Tracy McCray, Police Officers Assn. President
Thomas Mazzucco, former Police Commissioner
May 22, 2023 - SOAR Ice Cream Social
March 27, 2023 - “Where Does the Money Go?” Part Three
Current D1 Supervisor Connie Chan, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, joined Anna Duning, Director of the Mayor’s Budget Team, to unravel the budget process and ongoing influences and allocations during the approval process. One of the lingering questions has been, “Who is minding the store?” — what happens after the budget allocations are made and paid? This conversation sought to get hard-pressed answers.
February 27, 2023 - “Where Does the Money Go?” Part Two
Every day we read a new article about misuse, inefficiencies, and lack of results from government spending, particularly in the area of homelessness programs. For the second event in a multipart event series, budget-minded Supervisors will tell us what they plan to do to add accountability to the oversight of taxpayer money and rebuild public trust. We’ll also ask them for actionable steps residents can take to effect change.
Featuring guest speakers Supervisor Rafael Mandelman (Vice Chair, Budget & Finance Committee), Supervisor Catherine Stefani (Vice Chair, Government Audit & Oversight Committee) and Supervisor Matt Dorsey.
January 23, 2023 - “Where Does the Money Go?” Part One
September 28, 2022 - Webinar: November 2022 Ballot Explainer with the League of Women Voters
May 11, 2022 - Webinar: Breaking Down the Ballot for the June 2022 Election
April 20, 2022 - Webinar: DA “Debate”
March 23, 2022 - Webinar: A Talk on Restorative Justice
February 23, 2022 - Webinar: The Role of a DA
Webinar: Michael Shellenberger’s “San Fransicko” Book Launch
Webinar: Ranked Choice Voting
Webinar: Candidate Forum on Public Safety
Webinar: Candidate Forum on Economic Development and Accountability
Webinar: Candidate Forum on Homelessness
Webinar: Candidate Forum
Media
September 14, 2020
City Journal
San Francisco’s Deathly Compassion
July 2, 2020
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon
A New Group Soars into the Richmond Arena
June 1, 2020
The New Yorker
A Window Onto An American Nightmare
May 18, 2020
Richmond Review (SF)
Letter to the editor
March 19, 2019
KOMO News (ABC) (Seattle, WA)
Seattle is Dying (YouTube Video)
January 29, 2019
Forbes
Our top-five rank in pension taxpayer debt