Measure A: School Bond

Bonds are an excellent way to pay for infrastructure projects: we get to build today and pay it off later with inflated dollars. And, bonds in San Francisco are designed to not raise taxes - we only pass new ones as old ones get paid back. On average, the cost to homeowners is about $7.45 per $100,000 of assessed value (so about $80 per year for a home assessed at $700,000).

The Potrero Yard bus facility is 110 years old and seismically unsafe. Fire stations across the city are in need of retrofits to withstand a major earthquake. And the Westside's firefighting water system still lags behind the rest of the city. This bond will fund critical upgrades to all of these facilities.

San Francisco sits on top of major earthquake faults, and much of the city's west side still lacks a dedicated high-pressure firefighting water system. If a major earthquake hits, firefighters in the Sunset and Richmond won't have reliable water to fight the fires that follow. Prop A directly addresses this with $130M for the Emergency Firefighting Water System (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/measures/prop-a/legal-text/#prop-a-efws) — expanding pipes, cisterns, and tunnels to neighborhoods that are currently unprotected.

That isn't to say that the Westside lacks any firefighting water infrastructure, though. In fact, the firefighting infrastructure out there is about on par with most other cities. But San Francisco is still traumatized by the 1906 earthquake and fire, leading policymakers to want to overbuild our fire fighting systems. This desire was bolstered by the Pacific Palisades fire, where the hydrants lost pressure (https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-12-17/la-fires-water-system), leaving firefighters unable to effectively combat the blaze. The same thing will happen to the Westside if there's a similar conflagration to fight.

Seasoned SF voters may say "I swear I've voted for this before..." and they'd be right. In fact, San Francisco voters have approved three previous ESER bonds since 2010 — $412M in 2010, $400M in 2014, and $628.5M in 2020 (https://sfpublicworks.org/eser). While those bonds delivered real results (25 fire stations renovated, new stations built, and approximately 30 cisterns constructed (https://onesanfrancisco.org/the-plan-2018/accomplishments-public-safety-accomplishments)), the Westside improvements from the 2020 bond didn't happen. Post-COVID inflation nearly tripled construction costs (https://westsideobserver.com/24/2-west-side-emergency-firefighting-funding-falls-short.php) from roughly $15M per mile to $42M per mile, leaving large portions of the Richmond and Outer Sunset "unfunded." (https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/BLA_Policy_Report-Emergency-Firefighting-Water-System%2012.02.20.pdf) That's a real failure, and Westside residents have every right to be frustrated and skeptical.

Prop A is how we fix it. The $130M EFWS allocation in this bond picks up exactly where the 2020 bond fell short, with cost estimates that reflect today's construction reality — not pre-pandemic wishful thinking. The bond also funds $100M for fire station retrofits (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/measures/prop-a/legal-text/#prop-a-firefighting), $72M for police stations (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/measures/prop-a/legal-text/#prop-a-police), and $200M to replace the 110-year-old Potrero Yard (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/measures/prop-a/legal-text/#prop-a-potrero-yard) so Muni can keep running after a major quake. A citizens' oversight committee (/voter-guide/san-francisco-voter-guide-june-2026-election/measures/prop-a/legal-text/#prop-a-oversight-committee) will audit spending annually.

The next major earthquake isn't waiting for us to get our act together. Vote Yes on Prop A to finish the Westside fire safety system and make sure our first responders have what they need when the big one hits.

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

Prop A asks voters to authorize the city to take out $535 million in bonds in order to fund projects including the retrofitting of the Emergency Firefighting Water System, the repairing and retrofitting of fire and police stations, and the seismic retrofitting of the SFMTA Potrero Yard.

First, the scary: in the event of a major earthquake (something that scientists seem to think is pretty damn likely) San Francisco’s domestic water system could suffer enough damage to render it unusable for large-scale firefighting. Those readers who were here in 1989 for Loma Prieta will remember the Marina engulfed in a sea of flame, and any readers old enough to vote on this bond can recall the horrific fires last year that swept through Los Angeles County. A revamped emergency water system is a critical infrastructure investment which will help San Francisco prepare for the inevitable hell of an earthquake/tsunami/fire.

Now, the good: part of this bond will go toward the construction of thirty new emergency cisterns city-wide, including fifteen on the under-repaired West Side. It will also strengthen fire stations across the city in need of significant upgrades and retrofitting, so they can stay functional in the next disaster. 

And now, the crappy: the other sticking point is Prop A’s money for the police department. Police stations will also be upgraded using money from this bond, on top of the department’s already bloated budget.   

And finally, the weird: Prop A has a set-aside for a seismic retrofit of Potrero Yard, which has been the object of ire from all sides of the political spectrum. Folks who really hate SFMTA are, of course, enraged at the idea of any more bond money going to a public transit system that they don’t use and viscerally dislike. But many activists in the Mission are disappointed by the downscaling of affordable housing at Potrero Yard. This project has already cost the city $612 million, making some nervous about providing even more money for the Potrero Yard.

Sadly, we’re faced with a sort of crappy bond to face off a possible hellish future. The League feels firmly that crappy is better than hellish. Vote Yes (following a deep sigh) on Prop A.

Source (https://www.theleaguesf.org/blog#PropA)

Proposition A would authorize the City and County of San Francisco to issue a $535 million general obligation bond to finance projects that increase San Francisco’s ability to respond to and recover from a major earthquake or other disaster. The bond would fund seismic upgrades and other improvements to buildings and infrastructure.1 (#1) It would allocate

• $200 million to replace the 110-year-old Potrero Bus Yard with a modern facility
• $130 million to expand and seismically upgrade the city’s Emergency Firefighting Water System, including service to the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods
• $100 million to repair and replace seismically unsafe neighborhood fire stations
• $72 million for seismic, safety, and operational improvements to police stations and support facilities
• $33 million for upgrades to other public safety facilities, including roofs, plumbing, and electrical systems

General obligation bonds are a way for cities to borrow money to finance capital improvements that cannot be easily funded through the General Fund. San Francisco’s policy is to issue new bonds only as older ones are retired or as assessed property values increase; therefore, Prop. A would not increase existing property tax rates above the city charter-set limit of 3% of the assessed value of taxable property.2 (#2) San Francisco’s Citizens’ General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee is responsible for auditing bond implementation, ensuring transparency in spending.

The Backstory

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there is a 72% chance that a major earthquake (6.7 magnitude or greater) will strike the Bay Area within the next 30 years.3 (#3) San Francisco’s emergency response system depends on a citywide network of critical infrastructure, including first-responder facilities (fire and police) and water infrastructure (cisterns, water pipes, and so on).

Voters overwhelmingly approved Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) bonds in 2010, 2014, and 2020. These bonds funded critical seismic upgrades to aging public safety infrastructure, ensuring essential facilities can remain operational after major disasters. Because the city owns hundreds of aging municipal buildings in need of upgrades, ESER bonds are proposed on a four- to eight-year cycle.

The proposed bond is part of San Francisco’s 10-year Capital Plan, which anticipates $2 billion in bond funding for capital improvements.4 (#4) Introduced by Board of Supervisors President Mandelman, the bond measure was placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors. It was originally scheduled for the ballot in 2028, but it was advanced to replace a previously proposed transportation bond. With a Muni parcel tax likely headed to the ballot in November, the city moved up the ESER bond to replace the transportation bond (which would not have addressed the system’s operational funding needs) in the capital plan bond schedule. The bond’s proposed upgrade of the Potrero Bus Yard is likely a rollover project from the failed 2022 Muni general obligation bond (/voter-guide/2022-06/sf-prop-a-muni-and-street-safety-bond) and may also have been in the previously scheduled transportation bond. The upgrade would be part of a larger transit-oriented development project.

As a general obligation bond, Prop A needs a two-thirds vote to pass.

Equity Impacts

Disasters disproportionately impact low-income communities of color, where residents generally have fewer resources to aid recovery. The proposed bond would significantly reduce individual and community losses and restore critical services more quickly, minimizing burdens on low-income residents. Furthermore, Prop. A would upgrade the Potrero Bus Yard, which is critical for running Muni service to low-income communities of color across the city.

Pros

• The projects funded by this bond would continue to improve San Francisco’s ability to respond to and recover from a catastrophe as climate disasters become more common and the federal government seeks to shift more disaster recovery costs and responsibilities onto local jurisdictions and states through reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• Updates to the Potrero Bus Yard would be part of a larger transit-oriented development project to develop affordable housing and commercial retail near transit.
• The bond would be part of the city’s capital improvement program, which sequences investments without significant increases in property taxes.

Cons

• Bond repayment would cost the city about $933 million over the next 25 years.5 (#5)
• Past bond investments in the Emergency Firefighting Water System have not yielded significant expansion into the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods.
• San Francisco has many capital improvement needs that compete for relatively few spots in the general obligation bond cycle. This bond measure, like any other, impacts the city’s ability to fund other priorities.

SPUR's Recommendation

The seismic resilience of public safety infrastructure deserves continued public investment because it’s critical to disaster response. That’s why SPUR supported the 2010, 2014, and 2020 ESER bonds, which have already invested $1.4 billion in earthquake safety. The proposed 2026 ESER bond would ensure that the city’s first responders are prepared to save lives, would help keep residents safely housed and public transportation infrastructure running, and would limit the social and economic burden of disasters on households and public institutions.

Source (https://www.spur.org/voter-guide/2026-06/sf-prop-a-earthquake-bond)

Authorizes $535 million in general obligation bonds to strengthen San Francisco's disaster preparedness and emergency response infrastructure. Funding would support upgrades to the Auxiliary Water Supply System for firefighting, seismic retrofits and repairs to fire and police facilities, and replacement of aging, seismically vulnerable transit infrastructure, including a Muni bus yard. The measure continues the city's long-running earthquake safety capital program and is structured to align with expiring bonds, with no projected increase to the property tax rate. So, Yes on A.

Source (https://www.milkclub.org/endorsements)

YES

There are issues with this $535 million bond. It’s sold as earthquake safety, but includes $200 million to rebuild the Potrero Bus Yard, which is a valid project but only marginally related to earthquake safety. The city badly needs an upgrade to the emergency water system on the West Side of town, which this promises, but previous bonds promising the same thing passed, and the system still isn’t functioning properly. And yet, we rarely oppose infrastructure bonds, and this one, on balance, is worth supporting. Vote yes.

Source (https://www.sfbg.com/2026/05/06/endorsements-for-the-june-2-election/)

Yes on Proposition A: $500M Earthquake Safety Bond

This bond is supported by Mayor Lurie and makes needed investments to firefighting capacity in the west side of SF. GrowSF has a detailed writeup in support, and SPUR likewise endorses it.

DSA San Diego endorsement - Vote YES

Prop A authorizes $535 million in general obligation bonds to upgrade critical public safety infrastructure, including emergency fire fighting water systems, fire station repairs, police facility improvements, and replacing the seismically unsafe Muni bus yard. This is the fourth voter-approved ESER bond since 2010, structured to replace expiring predecessor bonds with no projected tax increase for property owners.

The measure passed the Board of Supervisors unanimously and is sponsored by Mayor Lurie. Endorsers include the SF Democratic Party, the state legislative delegation, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and the Firefighters, Plumbers, Laborers, and Teamsters unions. 

Vote YES on Prop A. Keep San Francisco safe and prepared.

Source (https://sfciti.org/june-2026-sf-citi-voter-guide/)

San Francisco's aging emergency response infrastructure needs safety upgrades. Proposition A is a bond measure that funds critical projects to prevent and respond to earthquake damage, and includes public oversight and transparency. The League of Women Voters has endorsed similar bonds in previous elections and supports revenue that meets the needs of local government services. Proposition A is a responsible, necessary commitment to our community’s safety and future, and we support it.
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Vote YES on Prop A
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Source: https://lwvsf.org/ballot-recommendations

VIG listing; $98 parcel tax for 12 years providing ~$4M annually to support student learning and retain qualified teachers

Measure A would extend successful limits on environmentally insensitive sprawl development for another 25 years

Prop A is a bond to fund seismic retrofits on city-owned buildings – a combination of fire department, police department, and Muni facilities. Despite the dubious performance of the fire and police departments, it would be bad if their buildings fell down in an earthquake (to say nothing of Muni). The city regularly issues bonds for infrastructure construction and rebuilding and this is a pretty standard use of this power.

June 2026: The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters (SFLCV) supports Proposition A, which funds critical investments in earthquake safety and emergency response infrastructure.

San Francisco is in one of the most seismically active areas in the world. The earthquake in 1906 and the fires that followed it destroyed much of the city. Although improvements have been made, key infrastructure vulnerabilities still exist and pose threat to San Franciscans.The Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond is a chance to fill that gap. SFLCV urges a YES vote. From an environmental perspective, the bond supports climate resilience through investments in infrastructure.

Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including conditions that exacerbate urban fires. Climate resilience requires more than emissions reductions. It requires that cities be structurally prepared for the emergencies that a warming world will deliver. Investments in fire suppression infrastructure, efficient emergency facilities, resilient transportation facilities, and reliable water access are climate investments that protect the homes, neighborhoods, and ecosystems San Franciscans depend on.

The bond accomplishes this without raising property tax rates, and it creates more than 2,000 construction-related jobs in the process. These are the kinds of public investments that demonstrate fiscal discipline and environmental seriousness.

San Francisco cannot build a sustainable future on a fragile foundation. Vote YES on Prop A.

Source (https://www.sflcv.org/blog/2026/4/28/prop-a-vote-yes-on-the-earthquake-safety-and-emergency-response-bond)

We need this. Our city's leaders all agree.

Proposition A - NO Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond

Breakdown of this 535 Million Bond:

• 130 Million – Strength firefighting water system
• 100 Million retrofit fire stations
• 72 Million retrofit police stations
• 200 Million Upgrade Potrero Muni Yard Project

Even though the Controller said there is no new taxes, the biggest portion of this bond is spent on building housing at the Potrero Muni Yard.  This proposition is misleading and still does not address the lack of comprehensive firefighting water system West of 19th Ave for Sunset and the Westside.

Source (https://www.sfcadc.org/6_2_26_endorsement_partial)

Due to the passthrough of costs to tenants we cannot support this measure. SFTU hopes to be able to support similar measures that do not include tenant passthroughs in the future. Tenants deserve safe, stable homes and infrastructure in their communities to support that. Property taxes, however, are specifically designed to tax those who will also financially benefit from improved community resources. Taxes on ownership must not be passed on to those who do not own property.

Source (https://sftu.org/endorsements)

This important ESER bond needs to be pulled and rewritten with a sole focus on a fully built-out Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) serving the western and southern neighborhoods of the city and seismic rebuilds for firehouses. The $200M (40%) allocated to MUNI for rebuilding the Potrero Bus Yard must be pulled out. Then it needs to be put back on the ballot in November. Otherwise, this is just another MUNI bond and should be sold as such.

WHY NO ON PROP A?

Since 2010, San Francisco voters have approved three prior Emergency Firefighting and Earthquake Safety general obligation bonds intended to strengthen San Francisco’s disaster readiness.

The first, the 2010 ESER Bond, authorized approximately $412 million. Its stated focus was seismic upgrades to fire stations, improvements to the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS), and initial planning for an Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) to expand water access beyond downtown. Funding primarily went toward fire station retrofits and enhancements to the existing high-pressure system serving the northeast quadrant of the city. Not one pipe was laid in the 60% of the unprotected parts of the city for EFWS.

The second, the 2014 ESER Bond, authorized about $400 million. Allocations included additional fire station seismic work, street cistern construction, and early-phase EFWS design. While planning and limited components moved forward, a citywide EFWS buildout was still not completed.

The third, the 2020 ESER Bond, authorized roughly $628.5 million. That measure included funding for fire station rebuilds, continued AWSS improvements, and further EFWS planning and segment work in the western neighborhoods. Despite repeated commitments across all three bonds, a fully realized, citywide EFWS network, particularly serving outer neighborhoods vulnerable to post-earthquake fires, has not been delivered at scale. So, to recap, since the first ESER authorization in 2010, no comprehensive, continuous EFWS pipeline network serving the west side has been completed, despite voters voting for that very line item.

This ESER bond measure totals approximately $535 million and continues the tradition of using an important infrastructure bond for post-earthquake readiness to fund projects other than the stated purpose of the bond; in this case, to help MUNI rebuild a bus yard. We will take a hard pass on this and hope it returns in a purer form on the November ballot. Those of us who live on the westside and in the southern parts of the city are counting on our government to build a functional EFWS. This should have happened in 2010, and while it’s not an emergency now, it never is until it is. Don’t be fooled again. Vote NO on this measure, and let’s demand its rewrite and reappearance in November.

Source (https://www.connectedsf.com/prop-a-earthquake-safety-emergency-response-eser-general-obligation-bond)

Recommends NO. Tax on non-primary homes vacant 182+ days ($8K first year; $10K following year; additional $4K-$5K for corporate entities). Revenue goes to General Fund not housing (Bait & Switch). Punishes homeowners for not using property as city desires which is not a role of government. Should instead make it easier to build homes.

VIG listing; $98 parcel tax for 12 years providing ~$4M annually to support student learning and retain qualified teachers

Just had one,