Good Government
Our goal: Support a high-functioning public sector that serves the collective good.
SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:
• Provide voters in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland with in-depth analysis and recommendations for all ballot measures at the state, regional and city level.
• In each of our policy areas and cities, develop the government capacity necessary to address the region’s most pressing challenges.
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.
SPUR Event
Good Government Awards
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.
SPUR Report
Back in the Black
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.
SPUR Event
SPUR Impact Awards
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.
Updates and Events
SPUR Submits Comments to Oakland City Council on Proposed Good Government Charter Amendment Ballot Measure
Advocacy LetterSPUR and a coalition of organizations recommends adopting the Sugary Drink Tax Advisory Committee (SDDTAC) Budget recommendations in a letter to the Board of Supervisors.
Candidates Share Their Views at SPUR’s San José Mayoral Forum
News /The next mayor of San José will take the lead in guiding policy decisions that will shape the region for decades to come. SPUR and six partner organizations held a forum on April 28 to help voters get to know the frontrunner candidates and their positions on some of the city’s most pressing issues. We’ve compiled the candidate’s answers to questions spanning equitable planning, regional transit, parks and open space funding, affordable housing and senior housing.
SPUR Advocates for Peer Review and Design changes for BART Phase II
Advocacy LetterSPUR believes BART to Silicon Valley Phase II is a critical project to the region and SPUR is invested in its success. At the same time, we are concerned about VTA's current project design, particularly for the downtown San Jose station and Diridon station. SPUR lays out design changes that could make for a better project and recommends an independent peer review of design alternatives, assumptions, and organizational capacity.
Making Government Work
SPUR ReportMany of the challenges Oakland faces are worsened by its unusual government structure, which makes it harder for the mayor, city council and other officials to do their jobs well. SPUR’s latest report diagnoses the problem and offers 10 recommendations for how the city can adapt its governance structure to better serve Oaklanders.
Where Do We Go From Here? SPUR Sets New Vision and Long-Range Goals
News /With vaccines rolling out and stable national leadership in place, we can trust that we will, eventually, reemerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The question now is: Reemerge into what? To return to “normal” would be to reembrace a way of living that was neither sustainable nor equitable. To meet this moment, SPUR has articulated a bold vision statement and evolved our organizational mission.
November 2020 Election Results
News /This year, SPUR’s Voter Guide provided Bay Area voters with analysis and recommendations on 35 local, regional and state measures. Now that the dust has settled, a historic election in a historic year has produced a number of critical local wins in the Bay Area, despite some significant defeats.