Election Wrap-Up: SF Public Bank Wins, LA Elects a Champion, East Bay Fights On
CPBA Admin
November 12, 2026
Public Banking’s Big Win in San Francisco!!
An impromptu celebration on the night victory was certain.
It’s official! San Francisco voters answered the question posed by Proposition B, “Shall the City amend the Charter to authorize the City to establish a municipal finance corporation and a public bank?” with a resounding YES. Over 52% of the electorate decided that the time to start a SF public bank is now.
The San Francisco Public Bank Coalition has worked since 2017 to garner support for a public bank. In 2021, Democratic Socialist Supervisor Dean Preston, working with the Coalition, was able to gain the support of the SF Board of Supervisors, passing an ordinance that created the SF Reinvestment Working Group tasked with producing business plans for a municipal finance corporation and a public bank.
The Coalition co-founder Jackie Fielder was elected to the SF Board of Supervisors in 2024 and worked together with Supervisor Chyanne Chen to put Proposition B on the ballot this year. Prop B supporters distributed informative and attractive literature that reached over 100k doors. Additionally, the campaign sent mailings, video messages, texts, print ads, and radio messages in multiple languages to reach voters. Proposition B earned endorsements from the majority of voter guides for San Francisco.
Despite all this firepower, Prop B was opposed by the popular Mayor and allied billionaire-backed conservative groups that combined their efforts to defeat it. Considering that this was the only progressive measure on a very long local ballot which secured a victory, the Coalition was particularly elated with this spectacular result. Congratulations to the Coalition on a hard-won victory!
Read the press on Prop B’s win:
- Mission Local: San Francisco can now create a public bank after measure declares victory
- NextCity: San Francisco Just Approved a Path to a Public Bank. Now What?
- 48 Hills: Prop. B victory represents a huge step toward reimagining municipal financ
East Bay: The Fight Continues
A valiant fight from Public Bank East Bay. Berkeley’s Measure Z, a parcel tax that would have helped capitalize and launch the bank, fell short with about 44% of the vote. But the campaign sparked thousands of conversations, put in hundreds of volunteer hours, and landed public banking in the New York Times and Fortune. We’re also encouraged that Richmond’s Mayor-elect Claudia Jiménez is an endorser of public banking. As PBEB put it in their statement, It’s Never Possible. Until It Is. The fight continues. Onwards!
LA Elects a Public Banking Champion
Congrats to Mayor-elect Nithya Raman on her historic win as the first South Asian American mayor of Los Angeles! She’s backed public banking since her first City Council run in 2020, and we’re thrilled to have a longtime ally in the Mayor’s office.
LA pays hundreds of millions of dollars a year in interest and fees to Wall Street banks. A public bank would keep more of that money here, funding affordable housing, small businesses, clean energy, and infrastructure faster and cheaper. By partnering with local credit unions and community banks, it can also help reach unbanked Angelenos.
LA already runs LAX, one of the busiest airports in the world; the Port of LA, the busiest container port in North America; and LADWP, the largest municipal utility in the country. These public enterprises keep revenue working for the city instead of flowing to outside shareholders. We look forward to working with Mayor-elect Raman and the Public Bank LA coalition to build a bank for people and planet!
