Prop B would impose lifetime term limits on mayors and county supervisors. Currently, term limits exist in San Francisco but are flexible: elected officials can return to office after serving two consecutive terms if they take a four year break.
But critics say that Prop B isn’t really about term limits.
“It's about keeping Aaron Peskin from ever running again on the Board of Supervisors,” said former mayor Art Agnos.
Proponents say that Prop B is necessary to bring new blood into San Francisco Politics and makes the city’s existing term limits law more intuitive.
Opponents say that the measure is a politically targeted move against former Supervisor Aaron Peskin and a waste of space on the ballot. Peskin is the only person to return to office in San Francisco after terming out, serving on and off for over 17 years between 2001 and 2025, but he says he doesn’t plan to run again.
Term limits on local offices are very rare in California and have historically been a conservative effort. If Prop B passes, San Francisco would have the strictest term limits in the state.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and over half of the current supervisors have endorsed prop B. Former Governor Jerry Brown called the measure “Trumpian” and is headlining the opposition effort.