See the NYT article here. Screenshot of article moving illustration by Glenn Harvey
It is entirely untrue that national loyalties prevail over local concerns--San Franciscans care passionately about politics at every level of government, but our elected officials do not always reflect public opinion. When Mayor Ed Lee gave San Francisco away to the tech companies and developers 6 or 7 years ago he sealed our fate and we have been suffering the consequences ever since (outrageously expensive commercial and residential real estate, untenable traffic, inadequate housing, Google buses, now the hideous scooters, and the sky obliterating abomination that is the Salesforce building-- the first of several such towers--who would have thought that San Francisco would become the first city to look Bladerunner) . How are grass roots citizens supposed to fight the bottomless bank accounts of those companies (scooters with billion dollar valuations???) who bend, flout, and rewrite the laws to their satisfaction? It has nothing to do with voter loyalty but rather the ability to fight back. I am one of the lucky ones who can afford to move away to lovely small town nearby where I serve on the local planning commission--that is to say I am involved in local politics. Time will tell whether the tech invasion destroys that place too.
In any event, I am taking my heart with me, I would never leave anything so precious in San Franciso--there is no heart there anymore. . .