Opinion: Progressive Housing "Solutions" Have Failed San Francisco - Here's How We Actually Fix It

As a longtime publisher in Santa Monica and now a candidate for Congress representing San Francisco, I've watched progressive experiments in housing play out up close - and the results are painfully clear. While my opponent and others tout zoning reforms and density mandates as victories, the data tells a different story: doubled median home prices, record homelessness, fewer homes built in key periods, a persistent statewide shortfall, and shrinking homeownership opportunities for working families.

Downtown Santa Monica's new high-density projects, like The Caroline, stand half-empty - luxury "stack-and-pack" units that failed to deliver affordability or vitality. In San Francisco, the picture isn't identical but the flaws run deep. While overall apartment vacancy has tightened recently (around 4-5% citywide in recent reports, with strong absorption in tech-driven areas like SoMa and Mission Bay), this masks deeper problems. Many new buildings cater to high-end renters fueled by AI/tech demand, yet broader affordability remains elusive. Downtown's real crisis is offices (often 30%+ vacant), not apartments - but the progressive push for more density without addressing root causes risks repeating Santa Monica's mistakes here. institutionalpropertyadvisors.com

The Core Problems with Progressive Approaches

Progressive leaders like Scott Wiener have pushed state overrides of local zoning (SB 50, SB 79, etc.) to force more multifamily housing near transit. The intent sounds good on paper: build more to lower prices. But in practice, it creates mismatches:Misaligned Supply: Top-down density mandates produce expensive luxury or inclusionary units that don't match demand. When jobs lag or regulations inflate costs, buildings sit under-leased. Melissa Toomim, a fellow California candidate, nails this: Sacramento's usurpation of local control created a "housing glut" of ugly stack-and-pack apartments that remain empty for years while families flee the state. ocregister.com

Cronyism and the Homeless Industrial Complex:

Billions flow to connected developers for "affordable" projects that deliver little actual relief. Funds disappear into bureaucracy instead of bricks-and-mortar. Toomim rightly calls for clawing back money from cronies who fail to deliver on time and price, and prioritizing targeted transitional housing (e.g., halfway houses for former inmates with job placement and mental health support) over one-size-fits-all mandates.

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Ignoring Market Signals and Local Needs: Forcing upzoning burdens infrastructure, drives up costs elsewhere, and displaces communities without solving homelessness. Prices stay high because supply doesn't truly meet demand - working families, teachers, and young people get priced out. Empty units get hoarded to prop up values, as Toomim has observed in coastal LA County.

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Distraction from Fundamentals: Focus on new luxury towers distracts from cutting red tape, reforming permitting, and restoring public safety - which actually attract residents and jobs.

These aren't compassionate policies; they're ideological failures that exacerbate inequality.My Plan: Pragmatic, Market-Driven FixesAs your Congressman, I'll fight for real solutions rooted in supply, accountability, and local empowerment - not more Sacramento mandates:Slash Red Tape and Streamline Permitting: Cut excessive regulations that inflate costs and delay projects. True affordability comes from abundant supply, not subsidies. I'll push federal incentives for cities that fast-track approvals while protecting neighborhoods from over-densification that strains services.

Restore Local Control: Support efforts like Toomim's to return zoning power to communities. Charter cities or historic protections can prevent blanket state overrides that ignore local character and infrastructure limits.

Targeted Solutions for Homelessness: End the blank-check approach. Convert underused buildings (especially offices) into transitional housing with services - not luxury apartments masquerading as "affordable." Prioritize veterans, former inmates, and those with mental health needs, as Toomim advocates. Audit programs to ensure dollars reach people, not contractors.

Penalize Hoarding and Manipulation: Back measures to discourage large-scale vacancy without justification - empty buildings hurt everyone.

Economic Growth First: Housing thrives with jobs. Keep tech talent in San Francisco by improving safety, cutting taxes/regulations that drive businesses out, and making the city livable again.

San Franciscans deserve better than failed experiments that raise costs and hollow out neighborhoods. Progressive supply-side tweaks without market realism or accountability haven't worked. It's time for pragmatic conservatism: more homes through less bureaucracy, targeted help for the vulnerable, and policies that let working families actually afford to stay.Join me in delivering results on housing, safety, and opportunity. Visit ganezerforcongress.com to learn more. Let's fix this - for good.