San Francisco is odd in it's voting to me. Last year they voted no on taxing businesses, and this year they voted yes on giving money to roads and the City College.
But what really gripes me is that every election we have to deal with the ballot box budgeting. This time around it was about the Fire Stations. The poor firefighters have had to be cut back due to the city not having the money. They come up with the great idea to take the issue to the voters in a most devious way, set the number of fire departments and staffing levels in the city charter, a document that cannot be changed except by a majority vote of the electorate. So now we're stuck with this mandated level of fire departments, that will take money away from schools, Muni, and the police department. I'll be thinking of the fire fighters union when I get stabbed in the dark on a Muni bus.
What's next is that the police department will probably do the same thing and then we'll be stuck again. Or more likely on every election there will be an initiative to take this out of the charter.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/11/09/news/20051109_ne03_firehouses.txt
Oh yeah and now the people of this city don't care for the Constitution either.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/11/09/news/20051109_ne02_firearms.txt
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