The 2024 election resulted in political changes for both San Francisco and the United States.
Former President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House against Vice President Kamala Harris and the Republican Party took control of Congress, gaining four seats in the Senate and two in the House of Representatives at the time of print.
In San Francisco, founder of Tipping Point Community Daniel Lurie beat incumbent Mayor London Breed for the mayoral seat, and Supervisor Dean Preston conceded his loss in District 5 to Bilal Mahmood, a tech start-up founder and former policy analyst for the Obama administration.
According to the San Francisco Department of Elections, as of the latest preliminary result release on Nov. 11, approximately 24,700 ballots are still to be counted. As stated on the Department’s website, “Election results are preliminary and will change as the Department counts remaining ballots.”
At the time of print, local Propositions A, B, C, E, G, I, J, K, L, M and O have passed, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Propositions D and F have not passed, while H and N are still too close to call.
“I’m happy to see that [the] police pensions didn’t pass,” said senior politics major Katie Thurman on Proposition F.
“It shows that a lot of grounded San Franciscans understand what’s going on. I think it’s hard when it comes to the moderate Democrat and progressive [split in San Francisco], because I think that’s kind of where [San Francisco] can fall through the cracks,” Thurman said.
As previously reported by the Foghorn, Proposition F would have allowed “police officers who have reached retirement age to stay on the force for up to another five years, earning their salary while deferring their pensions.” At time of publication, the proposition lost with approximately 45% of the vote.
California offered 10 state propositions for voters to decide on, the results of which will be certified by Dec. 13. At the time of print, Propositions 2, 3, 4, 34, 35 and 36 are set to pass, while 5, 6, 32 and 33 have fallen short, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Isaiah Raglin, a junior public health major and voter in Chicago, said on Proposition 6, “I think the slavery going on in California prisons and how that didn’t get abolished […] is a little bit insane to me. For me, it was like a real wake up call for me, being not a Californian, and having notions of […] how liberal California was, and seeing that outcome was a little bit eye opening to me.”
Proposition 6 would have “[amended] the California Constitution to remove [the] current provision that allows jails and prisons to impose involuntary servitude to punish crime,” as written on the California Secretary of State’s website.
“[It] definitely wasn’t the result I was looking for [with] that proposition in particular. But it kind of goes to show, all these states have duality. There are people within them who don’t necessarily align with popular thought,” Raglin continued.
The mayoral race has also been a contentious local issue. Thurman had her own critiques of Lurie, who branded himself as a political outsider. “Everybody sees a political outsider, and their eyes go wide. Just because you’re quote, unquote, a political outsider doesn’t mean you haven’t had an influence in politics before. Your massive amount of money has made you more of a political insider than any political science student, any grassroots organizer, any NGO worker could even dream of,” she said.
The results of the presidential election have had an impact on the Hilltop, too. Thurman said, “I was walking around campus and it felt like a funeral. Everybody just seemed vaguely upset. I saw people I knew, but I didn’t talk to them, because I was like, ‘It just doesn’t feel like the right day to be doing it.’ I can’t say that I’m entirely shocked [by Harris’s loss]. And frankly, I’m not surprised, but I also didn’t really believe it was going to be real, you know, like, this is always [the] worst case scenario for people.”
Ana Coronel, a sophomore mathematics major said, “[My reaction to Trump’s win was] ‘Oh my God.’ Because it wasn’t just that he got the presidency, right? The GOP was winning the House [and Senate]. So I’m like, oh, […] We’re destroyed. […] Mexican American women are f—ed.”
Kaylee Wright, a junior marketing major, felt similarly. “I’m still in denial, I won’t even lie. I’m hoping that something crazy will happen where it’s like, ‘Ah, gotcha!’ Like [a] big prank on America. But I know that’s not how life works.”
“I’m very nervous. I won’t even lie. I just got off the phone with my OB/GYN, because my Nexplanon expired back in October, so I’m trying to get it replaced.” Nexplanon is a hormonal birth control implant that’s inserted into the arm. “ I hate the timing, because now the [Planned Parenthood] office is filled and everyone’s frantic, so I’m just trying to be calm,” said Wright.
Raglin said, “[I think we need to] embrace whatever the future has to hold. Truthfully, we’re in a very interesting situation, where all three branches of government are heavily on one side of the political spectrum. It’s going to be interesting to navigate that, but I think it could also be a bit of a wake up call to analyze [things] […] and try to come back for the next election a little bit more invigorated.”
Amanda Hernandez contributed to the reporting of this piece.
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