Local Government
Federal and State Government Activity
San Francisco is home to several key regional federal headquarters. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—the largest of the thirteen courts of appeals—is located in San Francisco. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco administers the federal banking for the twelfth district, its largest, encompassing nine western states. The United States Mint located one of its four facilities in San Francisco in response to the mid-nineteenth century California Gold Rush. In addition, the City serves as the headquarters for several California state agencies including the State Public Utilities Commission, the State Supreme Court, and numerous regional state offices.
Local Governance
San Francisco has the unique distinction of being the only consolidated city-county in the state of California. Governing both the City and County of San Francisco, the Mayor and Board of Supervisors exercise broad powers. The Mayor acts as County Executive and the Board of Supervisors acts simultaneously as City Council. Their jurisdictions extend beyond the technical boarders of the City, most notably to SFO airport, just south of the City. In addition, San Francisco has one of the highest-quality water systems in the country, supplied by the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park.
The local governmental structure for San Francisco is a “strong mayoral” system in which the mayor, as head of the executive branch, can sign or veto legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors. The Board is an elected body of eleven members that serve as the legislative arm of the government responsible for passing ordinances, resolutions and budgets. Eleven Supervisors are elected to no more than two consecutive four-year terms. Each Supervisor is elected by their home district to represent one of the eleven City districts. The Board self-selects a President who would succeed the Mayor in case of absence. San Francisco also makes use of direct ballot initiatives that allow citizens to vote directly on initiatives which concern them.
The Office of the Mayor executes or vetoes legislative initiatives passed by the Board and is responsible for proposing a yearly budget. Appointing individuals to City offices and commissions is also a primary duty of the Office of the Mayor. Some of the most coveted appointments must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. The Mayor is elected City-wide to no more than two consecutive, four-year terms. Mayor Gavin Newsom, originally elected in 2004, is currently serving his second term after winning a successful, uncontested mayoral race. He will serve until 2011.
The City Attorney, District Attorney, Assessor and Sheriff are all elected by the public. Furthermore, the City Public Utilities Commission has local jurisdiction over water and sewer services in the City. Finally, there are several other City appointed commissioners and commissions including the police, fire, City planning, transportation, building inspection, and small business commissions.
For more information, please visit www.sfgov.org.