Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, a new initiative of the allied group Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, premiered on June 18 with an announcement featuring appearances by moderate leaders, including State Senator Scott Wiener and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. They promise a focus on “educating and mobilizing residents to advance pragmatic solutions to challenges like public safety, homelessness, the fentanyl crisis, and downtown and economic recovery,” according to their press release. Blueprint’s mission will be driven by former District 5 supervisorial candidate Director Scotty Jacobs, along with Neighbors’ Executive Director Jay Cheng.
The Voice spoke to Jacobs and Cheng on June 26, 2025. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview, edited for clarity and brevity. (Read Part 1 here.)
What other issues are you working on? Will there be a successor to the “That’s Fentalife” campaign?
Jacobs: You’ll be on the list of people to know when we debut that next big campaign. However, Blueprint’s current focus is on what we call the three pillars, which form the blueprint for a better San Francisco. They’re in a very intentional order because we think there is, to a degree, an order of operations to how we get things right in San Francisco.
The first pillar is the road to recovery. We acknowledge by placing that pillar first that if we don’t address street conditions and some of the systemic challenges unfolding on the sidewalks of San Francisco, the rest of what we want to do as a city does not matter. So we are laser focused on continuing to make sure that we have a fully staffed police department, that we’re standing strong and in support of our incredible district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, that we’re focused on making sure that we are prioritizing recovery as the as the primary outcome of our interventions for people who are experiencing addiction and that we are putting forth pragmatic solutions for people having mental health crises on our streets.
The second pillar on which we’re focused is good governance. That reflects much of the work that TogetherSF did, focusing on ensuring the city is well run. Naturally, a balanced budget based on fiscal responsibility is a part of that. It means ensuring that we have a town where a duly elected mayor can govern effectively, and examining issues like commission reform.
And what’s the third pillar?
Jacobs: The third pillar is what we refer to as a vision of vibrancy. It’s all the factors that make living in San Francisco a great experience for residents, families, and businesses, and ensuring that we have a world-class public education system. It’s continuing to support the great work that people like Maria Su and Phil Kim, at the school district, are doing to get our public school system back on track. It’s about ensuring that small business owners can not only open a business on time, but also do so on budget, and operate profitably in San Francisco. It’s about ensuring that our merchant corridors are thriving and teeming with activity. It’s making sure that we have a downtown that looks like a downtown where people want to live, that sees nightlife as an economic engine, that is somewhere that doesn’t empty every day at five o’clock, but, you know, just evolves into the next part of the day. Those are the three pillars we’re focused on. Based on our conversations, not just with the community that formed TogetherSF, but also with people across San Francisco more broadly, it’s the issue set that people want to see us address as a city.
The balance of power on the board lies with District 4 now, whether we like it or not … it’ll be tough going.
— Jay Cheng
Where do you think housing falls in there?
Jacobs: Well, we have to have a city that’s affordable for people of all walks of life. One of the biggest drivers of affordability is housing costs. We’re supportive of building housing at all income levels, but in an intelligent way that reflects the character of our city and where it makes sense, frankly, to create more. So, not skyscrapers in the sunset, but in places where there is access to transit, it can support denser populations of people. Building housing at all income levels is the most effective way to reduce the overall cost of housing.
Speaking of the Sunset, what’s your position on the Engardio recall?
Cheng: We’re supporting Joel. We’re not financially invested in the race at this time, but we’re supporting Joel.
If he does get recalled, what do you think should happen next?
Cheng: We hope that the mayor appoints a centrist moderate, someone who reflects that district, reflects the concerns of that district around traffic and transit, and is aligned with that district, and we plan to be very supportive of that.
One seat could significantly set back the progress made at the Board of Supervisors.
Cheng: Absolutely. The balance of power on the board lies with District 4 now, whether we like it or not. This creates a tough situation. I think you and I are aware of the history of appointed incumbents and their track record of success in getting elected in their own right in the following election. An appointment by a popular mayor like Daniel Lurie brings some advantages. He’s very popular in the Sunset and with Chinese Americans. However, it remains challenging for appointed incumbents. Out of the last six, only two have won. The record there is not fantastic. So if Joel is recalled, there will be a lot of focus on District 4. It’ll be tough going.
On a related issue, what should we do regarding transit development and reassuring people who still rely on their cars? Do you have any thoughts there?
Cheng: Yeah, just like housing, we’re looking for sensible transportation policy.
We’re looking for an SMTA that listens, that recognizes that families are multimodal here, or that this is a multimodal city, and that there needs to be equal access across the board. When we don’t listen to families or constituents about that, we can see the repercussions, which is unfortunate. We’re looking for sensible policies across the board.
Any other political developments you see coming?
Cheng: You always go to where the open seats are. There will be open seats in District 10 and District 8. Both of those are going to be interesting. But we’re also very focused on the school board and the City College Board of Trustees. There’s still work to do at SFUSD. With City College, the new Chancellor seems excellent, but I think they’ve had transition struggles there. We’re examining the need for a robust and stable board of trustees at City College. Neighbors was focused on that, and Blueprint is as well.