Council CEO Shares Ideas with Governor on Addressing San Francisco’s Many Issues

Gov. Newsom on Wednesday (March 24) focused his attention on the city he once led, convening top San Francisco business leaders for a discussion on paths forward in addressing the city’s struggles, including downtown revitalization, fentanyl, homelessness and more. The Bay Area Council was proud to be among the organizations invited and wasted no time sharing many of the strategies we are working on to improve the vitality of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area. 
 
On the topic of revitalization, Council CEO Jim Wunderman emphasized that thriving public transit is essential to fueling the engine of any downtown – including SF’s. Wunderman raised the results of our recent BART poll which found that most BART riders are concerned about safety on the system and 79% said they feel more comfortable riding when there is a uniformed police officer or security presence. These results show that while the Council and other organizations fight for funding to rescue transit from an impending fiscal cliff (see item above on budget negotiations), it is imperative that transit systems make improvements that will grow and sustain ridership. 
 
Importantly, while the media may speak of a “doom loop” or “death spiral,” the tone of this convening focused on solutions for a city still in its prime. “The city is still the center of the innovation economy,” Wunderman later stated in comments to ABC Channel 7, “this is one of those times where we’re in a bit of a lull, but I wouldn’t be surprised one bit to see San Francisco experience another boom cycle.”