upper waypoint

SF Voters Likely to Approve $628.5M Earthquake Bond

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

Firefighters extinguish fire in the Marina District in San Francisco in October 1989 after the Loma Prieta earthquake erupted in the city.  (Jonathan Nourok/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated Friday, 4:30 p.m.

The latest election results, posted Friday afternoon, showed that San Francisco's Proposition B is breezing to passage with just over 82% approval from voters. Continued updates to voting results can be found on KQED's election results site.

The $628.5 million bond would pay for seismic retrofitting at police and fire stations, fix a deteriorating high-pressure water system, and improve the city’s disaster response by upgrading its 911 call center so it can handle an inundation of emergency calls.

If voters approve the bond, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, it will be the third time in a decade the city has passed an earthquake bond worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2010, San Francisco passed a $412 million bond, and in 2014, voters approved a $400 million bond.

A Yes on B poster at Tosca Cafe during an election-night party for both Prop B and Prop D on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in San Francisco.
A Yes on B poster at Tosca Cafe during an election-night party for both Prop B and Prop D on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in San Francisco. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)

City leaders argued the bond is needed to secure city infrastructure for the next major earthquake.

"This bond will make our neighborhoods more resilient in the wake of disaster by building up our safety infrastructure on the westside and in our public safety facilities," Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer wrote in an email. "I am proud to have fought for this crucial public investment on behalf of my residents."

Scientists with the United States Geological Survey estimate a 72% likelihood of at least one earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or greater striking the Bay Area in the next 30 years.

Election 2020

The measure was sponsored by San Francisco Mayor London Breed and approved in a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors, which put it on the ballot.

The bond was supported by most of the city’s political establishment, including San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 President Shon Buford, the San Francisco Democratic Party, former Mayor Willie Brown, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, State Assemblyman Phil Ting and San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu.

No individuals or groups officially opposed the measure. San Francisco Republicans took no position on the proposition.

Sponsored

lower waypoint
next waypoint
At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police EncountersPro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Bay Area College Campuses Amid Surging National MovementCalifornia Regulators Just Approved New Rule to Cap Health Care Costs. Here's How It Works9 California Counties Far From Universities Struggle to Recruit Teachers, Says ReportWomen at Troubled East Bay Prison Forced to Relocate Across the CountryLess Than 1% of Santa Clara County Contracts Go to Black and Latino Businesses, Study ShowsUS Department of Labor Hails Expanded Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Santa RosaAs Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for ImmigrantsCalifornia Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is 'Unconstitutional,' Judge RulesInheriting a Home in California? Here's What You Need to Know