Voters Pass $980M Transit Tax and Prop H as Wiener Leads District 11

Bay Area voters delivered a decisive financial lifeline for public transportation this week, approving a five-county sales tax and a San Francisco parcel tax while reshaping City Hall governance and the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Voters Approve $980 Million Regional Transit Measure and Muni Parcel Tax

Voters across five Bay Area counties approved the Regional Transit Measure (RTM) with 61.5% of the vote, establishing a 14-year retail transactions and use tax of 0.5% in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and 1% in San Francisco County, according to the Alameda County Transportation Commission. Authorized by state Senate Bill 63—authored by State Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2025—the measure required a simple majority and will generate approximately $980 million annually, with BART hoping to raise nearly $1 billion a year across the region and one-third supporting local transportation priorities.

In San Francisco, Regional Measure RTM received 134,191 Yes votes to 38,663 No votes, while city voters simultaneously approved Measure H, a parcel tax projected to raise $150 million annually for SF Muni, by a margin of 126,168 Yes votes to 47,995 No votes. Together, the funds will stabilize service across BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit while instituting new agency oversight requirements.

Watch Parties Track Mayor Lurie's Charter Measures and Local Propositions

Across San Francisco on election night, voters gathered at neighborhood venues to follow local ballot measures and national returns. At Anina in Hayes Valley, Mayor Daniel Lurie's supporters celebrated his backing of Propositions D, E, F, and H, according to KALW 91.7. As reporter Julia Haney noted, about $13 million was raised for Propositions D, E, and F—with Proposition D tightening signature rules for ballot initiatives and Propositions E and F expanding authority for the mayor and city administrator.

In the Mission District, San Francisco Public Press reporter Rosie Bultman reported from The Chapel, where Cocina Root hosted a lively crowd focused on national congressional projections, transit funding under Proposition H and Measure RTM, and preserving Sunset Dunes Park from vehicle traffic, according to KALW 91.7. Nearby at El Rio Bar in the Mission, Mission Local reporter Nicholas David found roughly 100 progressive attendees cheering Texas Democrat Talarico's federal win while backing Jane Kim for insurance commissioner, supporting Proposition B (laying groundwork for a public bank) and Proposition I (an affordable housing transfer tax fund), and opposing Lurie's Proposition D, according to KALW 91.7.

Scott Wiener Builds 55.4% Early Lead Over Connie Chan in Congressional Contest

In the race to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi, State Sen. Scott Wiener opened a 55.4% to 44.6% lead over District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan with 35% of ballots counted, according to The San Francisco Standard. With turnout projected to mirror November 2022, Chan—who addressed supporters at Gray Area on Mission Street alongside Chinese Community Development Center executive director Malcolm Yeung—would need roughly 57% of remaining ballots to overtake Wiener, who celebrated at the Swedish American Hall.

Wiener and allied political action committees spent $15.5 million compared with $4.6 million for Chan's camp, deploying 48 paid, full-time canvassers and hundreds of volunteers led on the west side by Olivia Reynolds to knock on more than 311,000 doors and operate a second field office on California Street in the Inner Richmond. Democratic Party official Joe Sangirardi credited Wiener's pro-housing YIMBY platform for capturing 60% in Haight Ashbury, 58% in Hayes Valley and Alamo Square, 52% in Bernal Heights, and 51% in Chan's own Richmond District, while Chan won 51% in the Mission and led in Chinatown and the Sunset District.