League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Proposition C Housing Trust Fund San Francisco County Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required Pass: 211674 / 65.15% Yes votes ...... 113214 / 34.85% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition C

Arguments Against Proposition C

MORE JOBS. MORE HOUSING. San Francisco faces significant challenges in developing ways to boost our local economy to create jobs, and responding to the need for more homes in our city. Proposition C directly addresses both issues. Each year, Proposition C will invest between $20 and $50 million to build more homes in San Francisco. Proposition C is projected to create thousands of good-paying jobs over the next 30 years. NO NEW TAXES. Due to budget cuts, the state eliminated the Redevelopment Agency--the source of funding for much of San Francisco's housing construction that helped keep City rents and homeownership affordable. Proposition C restores money previously designated for housing construction to remain dedicated toward building more homes. This is accomplished without raising any sales or property taxes. EXPAND HOME OWNERSHIP. Proposition C will establish a $15 million homebuyer assistance program to help first-time homebuyers obtain interestfree loans. This measure will expand middle-class home ownership opportunities to support hard-working professionals like our teachers and nurses, and will provide rental options for lower-income individuals. HELP EVERYDAY SAN FRANCISCANS. Proposition C will provide more housing options to help San Franciscans stay in the city. It will: Secure a long-term funding stream for the construction of modern housing. Develop over 9,000 homes for working-class San Franciscans. Establish a housing stabilization fund to help distressed residents stay in their homes. PLEASE JOIN US IN VOTING YES ON PROPOSITION C. Mayor Edwin M. Lee* Board of Supervisors President David Chiu* Supervisor Eric Mar* Supervisor Mark Farrell* Supervisor Christina Olague* Supervisor Jane Kim* Supervisor Scott Wiener* Supervisor David Campos* Supervisor Malia Cohen* Supervisor John Avalos* For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments For Proponents claim Proposition C will require "no new taxes." Who are they kidding? City Hall would spend an additional $1.5 billion over 30 years but there would be no new taxes? That statement doesn't pass the laugh test. Will the $1.5 billion grow on trees? Seriously, do Supervisors intend to fund redevelopment by cutting existing programs and services? Are they promising to repay any money borrowed via new bond measures out of the City's general fund? According to the San Francisco Examiner (http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/07/board-supervisors -vote-housing-fund-november-ballot ), $13 million would come from Proposition E, the gross receipts tax, if that measure passes, which would be a new tax. I guess when it's "other people's money" then it doesn't really count? Having municipal government involved in the mortgage business by giving taxpayer-financed home loans to people who could not otherwise afford to buy is a bad idea. This is the same kind of thing the federal government did via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that resulted in billions of dollars of bad debt written off at taxpayer expense and massive amounts of foreclosures which helped create the current economic mess. Why should renters be asked to subsidize buyers? A much better approach to creating affordable housing would be to cut the red tape and bureaucracy surrounding development, and let developers convert unused city buildings and property into homes for the working poor. Let's not inflate another housing bubble. Vote NO on Prop. C! Libertarian Party of San Francisco Starchild

Last year, governor Jerry Brown signed a bill passed by the legislature's Democratic majority and upheld by the state Supreme Court shutting down California's redevelopment agencies. The action was justified. Redevelopment agencies developed a reputation for waste, cronyism, racism, and lack of accountability. The Orange County Register called them "engines of corporate welfare" that "use eminent domain to confiscate private property and typically sell it cheaply to developers, who sometimes build shopping centers and auto malls" ( http:// http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/agencies-293985-redevelopment -government.html ) The sad legacy of San Francisco's redevelopment agency includes destruction of the Fillmore, once a thriving African- American neighborhood: "883 businesses were shuttered and 4,729 households were forced out," according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and around "2,500 Victorian homes were demolished." ( http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Sad-chapter-in -Western-Addition-history-ending-3203302 .php#ixzz23SxGJw3L ) Proposition C attempts to bring redevelopment back from the dead. Its text admits "the measure is structured as a revenue capture mechanism" like that "previously used by the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency." Before it was abolished, the Redevelopment Agency had plans to "redevelop" over half of Bayview-Hunters Point, the city's major remaining black neighborhood, in part to "build affordable housing"-- the same rationale being used to sell Proposition C. But Proposition C won't make San Francisco homes more affordable. It would actually reduce affordability requirements for new projects, while subsidizing housing for people earning more than the median income. Worst of all, Proposition C would commit San Francisco to increasing payouts through 2042 + hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that won't be available for other priorities like schools, parks, infrastructure, or health care + plus an open-ended authority to issue bonds without voter approval! San Francisco needs affordable housing, not more unaccountable and unaffordable government schemes. Redevelopment was killed for good cause. Let's not bring it back from the dead! Vote NO on Proposition C. Libertarian Party of San Francisco Starchild Rebuttal to Arguments Against The opponents of Proposition C --the Libertarian Party --are uninformed regarding how this proposition works. Their arguments lack substance. Opponents of Proposition C spend the majority of their argument bashing the former Redevelopment Agency. But Proposition C does not "bring redevelopment back from the dead", as they claim. In fact, it does not establish any new agency or bureaucracy at all. DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES Here are the real facts about Proposition C. Proposition C creates thousands of homes for middleincome earners and working families. Proposition C doubles the funding for middle-income housing assistance and doubles the funding for affordable housing construction. Proposition C will create jobs and grow our local economy. Proposition C restores funding that was eliminated by the closure of the Redevelopment Agency. Proposition C has accountability safeguards --including an independent audit --to assure that money is being well spent. BROAD SUPPORT FOR PROPOSITION C A diverse coalition of community groups has united to support Proposition C. These supporters include: SPUR, the Council of Community Housing Organizations (CCHO CCHO), San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, Mercy Housing, Community Housing Partnership, Chinatown Coalition for Better Housing, and Coleman Action Fund. Vote YES on Proposition C! Mayor Edwin M. Lee* Board of Supervisors President David Chiu* Supervisor Eric Mar* Supervisor Mark Farrell* Supervisor Christina Olague* Supervisor Jane Kim* Supervisor Scott Wiener* Supervisor David Campos* Supervisor Malia Cohen* Supervisor John Avalos* http://www.propc2012.org For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.