San Francisco voters may see three major charter reform measures on the November 2026 ballot — proposals that would reshape how City Hall works while drawing early criticism from labor leaders who say the changes could concentrate power and limit public participation.San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lur ie and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman filed notices of intent Wednesday to gather signatures for the measures, which would overhaul the city’s contracting rules, tighten the initiative process for ballot measures, and expand the mayor’s authority over city departments and commissions, according to a statement from the mayor's ballot measure committee, dubbed Clean Up City Hall."San Franciscans deserve a City Hall that works for them, not for insiders or special interests,” Lurie said in a statement. "Our city charter is so bloated that it slows down basic services, breeds corruption, and wastes taxpayer dollars. San Franciscans elected me to clean up City Hall, and these reforms will strengthen accountability, deliver better results, and end the excuses."Lurie and Mandelman say the reforms would streamline government and improve accountability, but critics say the proposals could reduce checks on executive power and make it harder for ordinary residents to bring issues directly to voters.Making it harder to put measures on the ballotAs the SF Examiner reports, the most controversial proposal would make it significantly harder to qualify local ballot initiatives. According to a news release from the Clean Up City Hall committee, the measure would increase the signature requirement for citizen initiatives from roughly 2% to about 8% of registered voters and require a majority of supervisors — six of the 11 members, instead of four — to place a measure on the ballot. It would also eliminate the mayor’s unilateral authority to place initiatives before voters.Supporters say the changes would reduce confusion and bring San Francisco in line with other California cities that have a higher threshold for putting measures on the ballot. In 2024, voters faced 15 local ballot measures, compared with one in San Jose and three in Oakland.But labor leaders argue the proposal would raise barriers to participation, benefitting the wealthy over working people. The SF Examiner reports that San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Kim Tavaglione said the higher signature requirement could price grassroots campaigns out of the process.Tavaglione said public access to ballot measures “is an equity issue that is ingrained in our charter for a reason, because people in San Francisco believe they have a right to participate in government, and that a lot of these charter reforms are aimed at reducing their involvement.”“Anyone who tries to do that should be looked at with huge skepticism,” Tavaglione said, per the Examiner.Concerns about concentrating power in the mayor’s officeAnother proposal would expand the authority of the mayor over city government, allowing the mayor to hire and fire most department heads directly, remove many restrictions on removing commissioners, and reorganize city departments and reporting structures, according to the press release. It would also allow the mayor to appoint deputy mayors to oversee departments.Critics say the change could weaken the role of independent commissions that currently oversee many city departments.As Mission Local reports, some participants in the charter reform working group warned the proposal could be a difficult sell to voters. Tavaglione said voters may view the plan as “a consolidation of power and possible corruption” if too much authority is shifted to the executive branch.Supporters argue the change would clarify accountability. Mandelman has said voters expect the mayor to be responsible for city services but that the current charter disperses authority among multiple bodies. The Examiner notes that the charter currently only gives the mayor authority over 50 of the city’s department heads, and the mayor’s hands have been tied during recent ethics breaches. Per the Examiner, only 10% of SF’s departments can be changed or renamed without adjusting the city’s charter.An overhaul of city contracting processesA third proposed measure would overhaul San Francisco’s procurement rules and expand the authority of the city administrator, according to the press release.The measure would allow the city administrator to set contracting rules across departments and raise the dollar threshold for contracts that require approval by the Board of Supervisors. City officials say the threshold has not been adjusted for inflation in nearly four decades.The mayor’s office argues the change would reduce delays and streamline projects that currently require approvals across numerous departments. Per Mission Local, critics such as Tavaglione find it worrisome.“I think voters are going to be very concerned with what will appear to be a consolidation of power and possible corruption come November,” said Tavaglione.Making it onto the ballotAs Mission Local reports, each measure must gather roughly 51,000 voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. If approved by voters in November 2026, the proposals would amend the city charter — the city’s governing document, which has grown to more than 500 pages after decades of amendments.The Examiner reports that the reforms stem from a charter review effort launched by Lurie and Mandelman in late 2025 with input from a working group of civic leaders, labor representatives, and policy experts.The proposals also echo recommendations from the policy group San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), which has argued that San Francisco’s charter has become overly complex and difficult to manage, per Mission Local.Image: Daniel Lurie/Facebook ...read more read less