On this episode of the Curiosity Podcast, Immad and Raj explore the challenges facing San Francisco’s local politics with Sachin Agarwal and Steven Buss, co-founders of GrowSF. GrowSF is a nonprofit aiming to influence the local politics of San Francisco by informing and mobilizing voters. The discussion begins with a look back at how San Francisco’s most pervasive issues (homelessness, housing shortages, crime, etc) first arose and the impact they have had on residents. While faced with a difficult battle ahead, Sachin and Steven share their steadfast belief in the people of San Francisco and their hope for the city’s future. Tune in to explore San Francisco’s city governance and GrowSF’s efforts to drive positive change in the community.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:02:13] The influence of small groups

[00:06:47] Local governance vs. national politics

[00:10:33] Challenges facing San Francisco

[00:14:39] Local Elections in San Francisco

[00:18:10] San Francisco's far left contingent

[00:23:39] Unifying Bay Area governments

[00:26:37] Creating a “Rule of Law” city

[00:29:06] Insufficient public schools

[00:34:03] Public safety and traffic concerns

[00:37:26] Political factions

[00:41:23] Voter behavior analysis

[00:44:19] Politics in democratic societies

[00:49:00] Fixing voting issues

[00:54:21] Crime in San Francisco

[00:56:05] High stakes in democracy