Mayor, Unions Seek Ballot Language Change

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office and several labor groups tried last week to strip the words “affordable housing” from the ballot digest for a San Francisco transfer-tax measure headed to voters in November. The dispute played out before the city’s Ballot Simplification Council, which writes the short summaries printed in the voter pamphlet. Supporters of the measure said the change would obscure what the proposal does. On July 31, after a reconsideration hearing, the council voted 4-0 to restore the phrase. ### Which ballot measure set off the fight over wording? The measure at issue is the Affordable Housing Guarantee Act, a local ordinance that would require San Francisco to use revenue from the existing transfer tax on real estate deals above $10 million only for affordable-housing developments and housing assistance, according to Mission Local. The proposal would direct at least 60% of the money to affordable-housing production, including at least half of that amount to social-housing developments. (missionlocal.org) The November 3, 2026 election will include a local ordinance listed by the Department of Elections as “Changes to Real Property Transfer Tax,” while local charter amendments will also appear on the same ballot. The Department of Elections says local measure letter designations are scheduled for August 10. ### Who wanted the wording changed, and what did they want instead? Representatives from the Mayor’s Budget Office and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development argued that using “affordable housing” in the voter digest would be misleading because a significant share of the funding could go to social housing, Mission Local reported. (missionlocal.org) They pushed to use “alternative housing” instead. (sf.gov) Some labor groups took the same position. The July 31 Ballot Simplification Council agenda lists reconsideration requests from the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Council of Community Housing Organizations, Larry Mazzola Jr., Daniel Adams and Jack English, alongside requests from supporters of the measure. SFist, citing Mission Local, reported that Lurie and union leaders pushed for terms including “alternative housing” and “social housing.” (missionlocal.org) ### Why did supporters say “affordable housing” should stay in the digest? Jacob Mata, identified on the Ballot Simplification Council agenda as representing the AHGA campaign, asked the council to reconsider the earlier wording. In a request for reconsideration posted by the city, Mata said the measure’s approved title is the “Affordable Housing Guarantee Act” and that its text says the purpose is to dedicate existing transfer-tax revenue “exclusively” to the protection, preservation and production of affordable housing in San Francisco. (sf.gov) Sunny Angulo, executive director of the advocacy group Propel, told Mission Local that it was “befuddling” to see the mayor’s office try to redefine the city’s own housing programs. Mission Local also reported that Supervisors Shamann Walton and Jackie Fielder objected that removing “affordable housing” would itself confuse voters. ### Why did the clash draw attention at City Hall? (sf.gov) May 19 and July 23 statements from Lurie’s office described the mayor as backing a separate November 2026 charter amendment by Supervisor Myrna Melgar to expand and renew the city’s Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing. Those statements called the proposal a “transformative investment” and said it would more than double annual local funding for affordable housing production and preservation citywide. (missionlocal.org) That made the ballot-digest fight notable because the mayor’s office was publicly promoting one affordable-housing measure while city representatives were arguing against that phrase in the digest for another housing-related proposal. Mission Local reported that supporters saw the episode as a sign of broader opposition from the mayor’s office and some labor unions ahead of the fall campaign. (sf.gov) ### What happens next before voters see this on the ballot? July 31 was the deadline meeting for reconsideration requests on digests approved earlier that week, according to the Ballot Simplification Council agenda. The council’s final digest for the transfer-tax measure will be printed in San Francisco’s Voter Information Pamphlet, which the Department of Elections mails to registered voters before the election. (missionlocal.org) August 10 is the next public milestone listed by the Department of Elections, when local ballot measures receive letter designations. San Francisco voters will then decide the transfer-tax measure and the Housing Trust Fund charter amendment in the November 3, 2026 election. (sf.gov) (sf.gov)