By Magaly Muñoz

Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people.

Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

“By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

Friedenbach criticized the city for not fixing their housing problem or finding new ways to shelter people, instead they are further adding to the harm of the “humanitarian crisis that San Francisco is facing.”

The press conference was held before the monthly Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) meeting, where commissioners discussed a draft resolution to submit to city staff highlighting the importance of not separating people from their items as this might cause further distress.

The resolution lists ssential items that workers should be cautious of not destroying or throwing away including medical documents and medication, work permits, identification, and survival gear, such as blankets or tents.

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City policy instructs workers to “bag and tag” items left behind after an encampment sweep. These items are labeled by Public Works and kept at their operations yard for 90 days before being discarded.

But according to several reports and videos of the sweeps, the city has not always followed this policy and has on numerous occasions thrown away people’s medications or tents, leaving individuals without their essentials.

During the meeting, commissioners suggested adding school records and family related support items, such as diapers, to the resolution because of the increasing number of families living on the streets.

Virginia Taylor, senior policy advisor for Safe & Sound, said 531 families are waiting for housing in San Francisco. Many of these families are living out of their cars or in RVs, yet the city has limited safe parking spots where people can situate themselves.

Along with not throwing out people’s belongings, advocates are also continuing to ask the city to stop the encampment sweeps because all they are accomplishing is moving unhoused folks block to block without solving the root problem of lack of consistent housing.

“We need urgent action, more family shelter beds, a stop to vehicle sweeps, expanded safe parking programs and housing solutions that keep our multi-generational families together. Our children’s futures depend on it. Let’s build a San Francisco where no family falls through the crack and every child has the opportunity to thrive,” Taylor said.

Speakers referenced the RV sweep conducted in early August on Zoo Road, where dozens of people, many of them non-English speaking immigrants, were asked to leave the parking lot or else their vehicles would be towed and they would be cited.

While people were offered shelter beds or housing vouchers, some worried about where they would stay while the city processed their applications. This drew criticism of San Francisco’s method of not always having immediate options for people yet continuing to sweep unhoused folks with nowhere to go.

Commissioners of HOC agreed that the city is not trying to exacerbate the issue and the resolution is one of many steps to ensure that there are no setbacks in the progress to ending homelessness in San Francisco.

The HOC will approve the resolution at a later meeting once amendments and changes are made.

Oakland Post

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By Oakland Post Staff

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island.

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions.  Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation.  At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible.  I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure.  Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.  She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities.  In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART.  She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.

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By Ken Epstein

Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who is currently running for State Treasurer in 2026, has agreed to pay a $21, 000 fine for serious violations of election rules to defeat political opponents in 2018 and 2020 city elections.

Following a years-long investigation, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission last week concluded scrutiny of political wrongdoing by Schaaf and her political allies, saying she secretly plotted to organize, raise money, and lead campaigns in violation of election laws while she was still in office.

Investigators found that she secretly controlled several political committees that she used to attack elected city leaders who did not agree with her and to promote a ballot measure.

Ethics investigators also found that those who worked with Schaaf in violation of election law included the Oakland Police Officers Association, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, contractors, campaign consultants, along with others who were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Under the proposed settlement agreement issued earlier by the Commission, those who faced the charges waived “all procedural rights” under the law.

“If respondents fail to comply with terms of this stipulation, then the Commission may reopen this matter and prosecute respondents to the full extent permitted by law,” according to the proposed agreement.

The settlement agreement continued:

“The respondents’ violations in this case are serious. The strict rules applying to candidate-controlled committees go directly to the very purpose of campaign finance law. Candidates for office, and (because) particularly high-ranking office holders such as the Mayor, have a disproportionate ability to bring in campaign money.”

One commissioner said that the terms of the settlement were too weak, insufficient to deter further violations.

“I think the penalties are really inadequate, and I worry that the ends have justified the means here,” said Commissioner Alea Gage, according to Oaklandside.

Several commissioners were concerned that the majority of the penalties are to be paid by two campaign committees, Oaklanders for Responsible Leadership and the Committee for an Affordable East Bay. However, these committees no longer function and have no money, meaning that collecting the fines will be problematic.

Schaaf is no longer mayor and therefore under less potential scrutiny, but many observers say she is still using similar tactics to smear opponents of her pro-real estate developer priorities, which in the current election include District 3 incumbent Councilmember Carroll Fife.

Schaaf’s tactics include finding a staffer or former staffer to run against her target. She raises money from corporate benefactors, finds endorsements, and encourages media attack campaigns that include lies and misrepresentations.

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