We recommend voting for Scott Wiener for U.S. House of Representatives, District 11.

Scott Wiener has spent the last decade as one of California's most persistent and effective pro-housing legislators. As a former San Francisco supervisor (https://www.scottwiener.com/meet-scott) and now the state senator representing District 11 (San Francisco) (https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/district), he has built a record on the issues that most directly shape San Francisco's quality of life and cost of living: housing production, transit, and government's ability to actually deliver.

In this field, Wiener stands out because he has already passed big, controversial laws in hostile political conditions — and that matters in Washington, where rhetoric is cheap and follow-through is not. Like every candidate, there are things we don't align with Wiener on (his positions on AI regulation and public safety diverge from ours in places), but he's still the best choice for getting results.

"Results over rhetoric. My job isn't to maintain ideological purity; it's to improve people's lives."
Scott Wiener, State Senator, District 11

Why vote for Scott Wiener?

Scott Wiener's top policy goals are:

1. Build more housing to lower the cost of living

Wiener's strongest argument in this race is simple: he has actually passed pro-housing law at scale. SB 35 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB35) forced cities that weren't building enough housing to approve qualifying projects automatically. SB 423 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB423) extended and tightened that framework. And SB 79 (https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/governor-newsom-signs-senator-wieners-landmark-law-build-more-homes-near-public-transit), signed in 2025, legalized mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops throughout California. Those laws did not solve California's housing crisis on their own, but they changed the terms of the fight — making it harder for cities to dodge their housing obligations and easier to get badly needed homes approved.

But state law can only do so much. The country is short 8 million homes, and Congress controls the federal tools that decide how housing gets paid for and built — tax credits, Section 8 vouchers, and environmental review rules. Wiener wants to expand housing tax credits, fund rental assistance, reward cities that build, and cut through federal red tape. He treats housing as both a building problem and a rules problem. We need someone in Congress who gets how permitting, timelines, and financing keep homes from getting built.

2. Protect transit and urban infrastructure San Francisco depends on

San Francisco's affordability depends on whether people can get around the city and region reliably. In 2023, Muni and BART were staring down a multi-billion-dollar fiscal cliff (https://sfstandard.com/2023/05/31/public-transit-state-budget-scott-wiener-gavin-newsom-transportation/) that threatened service cuts across the region. Wiener built the coalition (https://sfstandard.com/2023/02/09/wieners-big-ask-in-sacramento-a-lifeline-for-bart-muni/) that kept both systems running — bringing together labor, environmental groups, suburban counties, business associations, and urban riders to secure $1.1 billion in emergency state funding (https://www.kqed.org/news/11952821/1-1-billion-state-bailout-proposed-for-transit-agencies-facing-fiscal-cliff).

That funding bought time, not a permanent fix. With federal COVID relief exhausted and ridership still well below pre-pandemic levels, Bay Area transit is now facing another fiscal cliff in 2026 (https://www.bart.gov/about/financials/crisis) — BART alone is staring at a $376 million deficit, and Muni faces 50% service cuts without new revenue. Wiener's response was SB 63, the Connect Bay Area Act (https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/senators-wiener-and-arreguin-announce-bill-authorize-bay-area-public-transit-funding-measure), which authorizes a regional sales tax measure on the November 2026 ballot that would generate roughly $980 million per year (https://mtc.ca.gov/news/governor-signs-bill-authorizing-bay-area-voters-consider-2026-transit-measure) to stabilize transit across five Bay Area counties. He has done this work twice now — and he is not done.

In Congress, he wants to fix how the federal government funds transit, fight for money to keep trains running (not just build new things), and protect clean energy transit programs from getting cut. Too many politicians talk about transit as branding. Wiener has spent years doing the hard work of keeping it alive.

3. A record of governing, not just campaigning

The next Congress will be a difficult environment for a junior Democratic House member from San Francisco. Wiener's argument for why he can still get things done is credible: he has passed over 100 bills (https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/biography) in the state legislature, often against powerful opposition. He has authored major laws not just on housing but also on mental-health and addiction treatment coverage (SB 855) (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/25/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-expand-access-to-quality-behavioral-health-care-for-all-californians-help-homeless-californians-suffering-extreme-mental-illness-on-our-streets-sidewalks/) and net neutrality (SB 822) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB822). That willingness to pick fights, including with his own party, and the discipline to come back with a revised version when a coalition falls short, is exactly what federal legislating requires.

Why not the other candidates?

Connie Chan has built her political career around opposing things — blocking housing, fighting development, and siding with the most obstructionist factions on the Board of Supervisors. She actively tried to weaken San Francisco's housing plan at a time when the city desperately needed to build more. She has no meaningful legislative accomplishments to point to. Sending someone to Congress whose primary skill is saying no is not what San Francisco needs right now.

Saikat Chakrabarti is running on vibes, not a track record. He talks constantly about his connections to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but you may have noticed that AOC herself hasn't uttered a single positive word about his campaign. There's a reason for that: she fired him. Chakrabarti has been in national politics for years but has no actual record of passing legislation or delivering results for any constituency. San Francisco deserves a representative who has actually done the work, not one who name-drops someone else's.

On other issues

Technology and AI: Wiener authored SB 1047, a first-in-nation AI regulation bill, which was opposed by SF-based tech companies big and small. Governor Newsom vetoed it in 2024. Wiener followed it up with SB 53, a much narrower transparency-focused bill that drew broader industry support. We think the Federal government has a role in setting up AI regulations and guardrails, and think Wiener's approach in California has been somewhat misguided. That said, voters in the tech sector should evaluate his track record on the merits rather than the headline, and importantly, compare him to the alternatives. Both Chakrabarti and Chan would sooner ban AI than regulate it.

Healthcare and treatment: SB 855 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/25/governor-newsom-signs-bills-to-expand-access-to-quality-behavioral-health-care-for-all-californians-help-homeless-californians-suffering-extreme-mental-illness-on-our-streets-sidewalks/) expanded mental-health and addiction treatment coverage, and his campaign platform continues to emphasize lower drug costs and broader access to care.

Civil rights and immigration: Wiener has made LGBTQ rights and immigrant protections a major part of his public record. San Francisco voters care about that, and they should.

Public safety: Wiener opposed Prop 36 (https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_36,_Drug_and_Theft_Crime_Penalties_and_Treatment-Mandated_Felonies_Initiative_(2024)), which GrowSF supported (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-november-2024-election/) and nearly 70% of California voters passed (https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/11/prop-36-california-election-result/). His approach to the fentanyl crisis emphasizes treatment access and federal interdiction funding over the accountability measures GrowSF favors. That's a real difference, but it doesn't change the overall calculus in this race.

Scott Wiener has shown he can pass hard laws on the issues San Francisco most needs solved. In a field where his opponents are defined by obstruction or aspiration, Wiener is defined by results. That's why he has our endorsement.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#house-district-11)

Rob Bonta has been an effective Attorney General, and we're happy to endorse him for another term.

For San Francisco voters, Bonta's most important work has been on housing. He co-sponsored SB 1037 (https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-issues-legal-alert-legislation-authorizing-new-civil) with Scott Wiener, which gave the AG's office real teeth to fine cities that block housing — and he has used them. His office has forced compliance from cities (https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-newsom-administration-reach-settlement-city-norwalk-over) across California that were illegally stalling housing plans, including settlements with Fullerton, Norwalk, Elk Grove, and Huntington Beach. When the city of Woodside tried to claim it was a cougar habitat to dodge SB 9, Bonta shut it down. Every home that gets built because a NIMBY city was forced to follow the law makes San Francisco's regional housing market a little less insane.

He's also gone after anticompetitive behavior in the rental market. His office got a $7M settlement from Greystar (https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-7-million-settlement-greystar-participating), the nation's largest landlord, for using software to coordinate rent prices with competitors — basically a cartel run through an algorithm. That kind of enforcement matters to every renter in the Bay Area.

Bonta has also been active defending California against the Trump administration, filing over 50 lawsuits on issues from immigration to environmental protections.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#attorney-general)

Preliminary endorsement — Shirley N. Weber has not returned our questionnaire.

Shirley Weber has done the job competently, and we endorse her for another term.

The Secretary of State's primary job is running California's elections, and Weber has done it without drama — which is exactly what you want. Under her tenure, California hit a record 22.6 million registered voters (https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statistics) in 2024, and over 5 million Californians (https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2024-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-announces-more-5-million-california-voters-signed-track-their-ballot) signed up for ballot tracking through the "Where's My Ballot" system. She's also expanded same-day voter registration and grown the number of Voter Choice Act counties, which give voters more flexibility in where and when they cast their ballots.

When the federal government demanded access to California's statewide voter registration database, Weber refused and won in court (https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-secures-win-against-threats-voter-privacy).

We'd like to see her push harder on campaign finance transparency. The state's Cal-Access disclosure database (https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/) is difficult to use and makes it too hard to trace certain types of electoral spending. Voters deserve full transparency around political money.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#secretary-of-state)

Cohen knows public finance, and she knows San Francisco.

Before becoming Controller, Cohen chaired the Budget and Finance Committee and the Audit and Oversight Committee on the SF Board of Supervisors. After that, she ran the San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (https://mysfers.org/about-sfers/investments/), a $35 billion pension fund. Now she sits on the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS (https://sco.ca.gov/eo_investments_and_pensions.html), the two biggest public pension funds in the country, with almost $1T in assets, combined.

She also went after California's largest-ever charter school fraud (https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/task-force-releases-report-in-wake-of-states-largest-ever-charter-school-fraud/3632211/). Cohen led a task force that came up with 20 fixes (https://www.bondbuyer.com/news/california-controller-releases-recommendations-to-prevent-charter-school-fraud) for how the state checks school finances — tougher rules for auditors, faster reporting, and more disclosure. Her office also publishes pay data for over 2 million government workers (https://sco.ca.gov/eo_sco_data.html) across 5,000+ agencies.

We would like to see the Controller's Office return $15B in unclaimed property (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-unclaimed-property-state-owes-charities-money/) such as forgotten bank accounts and uncashed checks that belong to Californians. Other states send it back automatically — California still doesn't. Overall, Cohen has brought transparency and accountability to the state's spending.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#controller)

We recommend voting for Eleni Kounalakis for State Treasurer.

The Treasurer chairs CDLAC (https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/newsletter/2019/apr/abcs-of-the-bcas.html) (which decides how billions in tax-exempt bonds get spent) and CTCAC (which hands out the federal tax credits that make affordable housing possible). If those agencies move slowly, housing doesn't get built. Kounalakis is the only candidate in this race who has actually built housing, financed infrastructure, and managed large-scale investments in the private sector.

Kounalakis named three measurable outcomes voters should use to judge her after two years: more housing units financed through state programs with faster time to delivery, pension returns that meet or exceed benchmarks with improved transparency, and significant growth in CalSavers, CalKIDS, ScholarShare 529, and CalABLE enrollment — especially among working families and underserved communities. That kind of accountability is rare in a statewide race.

"I will focus on lowering financing costs, unlocking capital, and partnering with local governments to move projects from approval to construction faster — because affordability depends on supply."
Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California

On fiscal discipline, she's specific: hold the state's debt-service-to-General Fund ratio at or below 6%, publish a public "California Balance Sheet" dashboard tracking bond debt, pension assets, and investment performance in plain language, and push for stable pension returns with downward pressure on fees. California's heavy reliance on capital-gains tax revenue creates boom-and-bust budget cycles — Kounalakis would align cash management with economic cycles, maintaining liquidity during downturns rather than borrowing at the worst time.

Before entering public life, Kounalakis spent nearly two decades as a housing developer at AKT Development (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleni_Kounalakis), building master-planned communities in the Sacramento region where thousands of California families now live. She has firsthand experience with the bond financing, tax credit programs, and capital market tools that the Treasurer's office controls. As Lieutenant Governor, she sits on the governing boards of the UC, CSU, and Community College systems — including voting to approve construction of over 60,000 new student housing beds (https://eleniforca.com/about/) statewide.

Anna Caballero has a strong housing record — she wrote SB 6, the Middle Class Housing Act (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB6), which lets developers build housing on commercial land across California, and she ran the state's Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for five years under Governor Brown. That experience is real, and California YIMBY (https://cayimby.org/endorsements/) has endorsed her. But the Treasurer's job is less about writing housing laws and more about managing the state's money — bonds, investments, pensions, and cash. Kounalakis brings the private-sector financial experience this job demands. That's why she has our endorsement.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#treasurer)

We recommend voting for Matt Haney for State Assembly, District 17.

Haney has been one of the most productive SF legislators in Sacramento. His biggest win is AB 507 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/10/governor-newsom-builds-on-this-years-historic-housing-reforms-signs-legislation-to-accelerate-housing-and-affordability/), signed by Newsom in 2025, which makes it easier to turn empty office buildings into housing statewide. The law started as a San Francisco fix — our downtown has millions of square feet of empty office space — and Haney got it expanded to the whole state. Projects that meet the rules now get approved automatically, no rezoning needed. He's also pushed hard on public safety: AB 2475 (https://a17.asmdc.org/press-releases/20241001-bill-preventing-state-hospital-patients-violent-criminal-history-being) stops state hospitals from releasing patients with violent criminal histories without a plan for supervision, housing, and treatment.

In his questionnaire, Haney lays out an ambitious but grounded agenda for a second term. On housing, he wants to end exclusionary zoning, accelerate office-to-housing conversions, and move toward by-right permitting for infill projects. On the fentanyl crisis, he's working to expand treatment access and guarantee drug-free recovery housing, while supporting enforcement against trafficking networks. And he's championing downtown revitalization — modernizing nightlife rules, supporting small businesses, and making urban cores places people want to spend time again.

Haney works across party lines and gets bills signed. He's running unopposed, and he's earned another term.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#assembly-district-17)

We recommend voting for Catherine Stefani for State Assembly, District 19.

Stefani has had a productive first term. She got two bills signed by Newsom in 2025: the Restitution First Act (AB 1213) (https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20251007-restitution-first-act-introduced-assemblymember-catherine-stefani-and), which makes sure crime victims get paid back before other fines are collected, and a license plate cover ban (AB 1085) (https://a19.asmdc.org/press-releases/20250417-assemblymember-catherine-stefani-introduces-legislation-crack-down-license) that closes a loophole criminals used to dodge toll cameras. Gun safety is her signature issue — she founded the SF chapter of Moms Demand Action (https://www.votecatherinestefani.com/meet_catherine) and wrote SF's first-in-California ghost gun ban (https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/sf-moves-forward-with-first-california-ghost-gun-ban/article_0adc5dd2-6419-58d3-b07e-94fb68d3221b.html) as a Supervisor.

We do have some concerns about Stefani's alignment with Sacramento special interests — particularly on issues where the priorities of state-level advocacy groups don't always match what's best for San Francisco. We'll be watching her second term closely. But on the merits of what she's done so far, she's earned our endorsement.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#assembly-district-19)

The California Board of Equalization has a fairly narrow role, after most of its powers were stripped in 2017 following an audit that revealed missing funds and signs of nepotism. Governor Brown signed legislation stripping the Board of most of its duties (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Board_of_Equalization#Programs). The real work the Board used to perform went to two new agencies the governor controls.

What's left of the Board of Equalization is primarily setting the taxable value of property owned by railroads and certain public utilities, administering the private railroad car tax, overseeing statewide property tax assessment practices for consistency across county assessors, and hearing certain tax appeals involving property tax, alcoholic beverage tax, and the tax on insurers. Voters won't really see the impact of this office in their day-to-day lives, and it doesn't have much power to affect policy. In fact, the office should probably be abolished.

But since it still exists, we recommend voting for the competent incumbent, Sally Lieber.

Source (https://growsf.org/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/#board-of-equalization)