We believe: The public sector can and should serve the collective good.
Our Goals
• Improve government’s capacity to provide services and address challenges effectively.
• Support voter engagement.
SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide
The SPUR Voter Guide helps voters understand the issues they will face in the voting booth. We focus on outcomes, not ideology, providing objective analysis on which measures will deliver real solutions.
The Good Government Awards honor outstanding managers working for the City and County of San Francisco, recognizing them for their leadership, vision and ability to make a difference in city government and in the community.
San José has the highest median household income of any major city in the country, but years of budget cuts and staffing reductions have left the city in a precarious position. SPUR and Working Partnerships USA explore how San Jose can bolster its resources and deliver high-quality public services.
The Impact Awards Luncheon, honors the outstanding contributions by employees of city and county governments, public agencies and nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara County. The awards celebrate significant accomplishments in the areas of housing, transportation, placemaking and urban design, community advocacy, and sustainability and resilience.
The 2016 Good Government Awards, held on March 21, recognized outstanding performances by managers working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Greg Kato for rolling out the gross receipts tax, a restructuring of the business tax that increased the number of taxpayers from 7,000 to over 15,000 and raised revenues to $500 million per year.
The 2016 Good Government Awards, held on March 21, recognized outstanding performances by managers working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Diana Hammons f o r implementing the Free Muni for Youth program, which later expanded to include seniors and people with disabilities and now serves approximately 100,000 low-income San Francisco residents.
The 2016 Good Government Awards, held on March 21, recognized outstanding performances by managers working for the City and County of San Francisco. The ceremony honored Jane Gong for launching the San Francisco Business Portal, an online tool that streamlines the permitting process to open and grow a business in San Francisco.
What will happen with the economy in the year ahead? Are we in for a correction or recession? Every year, SPUR’s Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee gathers expert economists to try to answer these kinds of questions. The expertise of independent economists and experts from key sectors — including real estate, hospitality and retail — helps the city staff develop revenue projections for San Francisco’s budget.
SPUR supports staff's proposal to create a Department of Transportation and Infrastructure in the City of Oakland. We think a well-run Department of Transportation is essential to the success of a 21st century Oakland.
From SPUR’s perspective, the November 2015 election was pretty close to perfect in terms of housing policy. The voters took constructive steps to add supply of both market rate and affordable housing, while at the same time rejecting a measure that would have reduced supply.