San Francisco fixed itself. Los Angeles can too.
Just up the road, San Francisco is undergoing a civic revival. New leadership has embraced pragmatic policies, tough love, and a renewed sense of civic pride. Encampments and open-air drug markets are giving way to clean parks and revitalized business corridors. The city boosted funding for street cleaning and mental health services. Crime is down, and hope is in the air.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues to stumble. We’ve sleepwalked through elections and embraced policies that have deepened our crises. The results of an alphabet soup of taxes and bonds—from Prop HHH to Measure ULA—have been dismal. A recent UCLA survey showed Angelenos’ satisfaction with our quality of life at a record low.
Our decline has been paved with good intentions and poor outcomes. Take Measure ULA. Sold to voters in 2022 as a “mansion tax” to fund housing and reduce homelessness, it has done the opposite. Studies show it has chilled housing production, driven up rents, and discouraged investment. Homeowners are holding off on selling. Developers are pausing projects. Revenue projections have fallen short. Instead of spurring new construction, ULA has stalled it.
At the same time, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority—charged with leading our regional response—has spent billions as the crisis worsens. Sidewalks and parks are overrun. Addiction is rampant. Public spaces feel unsafe.
Despite record funding, transparency is missing. A recent audit ordered by federal Judge David Carter revealed the city couldn’t account for how $2.4 billion was spent. Angelenos are left wondering: with more resources than ever, why does the problem feel more entrenched?
LA’s broader civic infrastructure is also in decline. Small businesses face layers of red tape and rising costs. Storefronts are empty. Landmark restaurants are shuttering. Public transit is avoided due to crime and open drug use. Parks are no longer family-friendly. Pacific Palisades is still recovering from wildfires, while City Hall appears unprepared for the upcoming Olympics. We’re now facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, with service cuts and layoffs already underway.
At the core is a lack of focus on outcomes. City Hall seems more committed to ideological signaling than practical solutions.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. LA can course-correct—if we choose courage over posturing.
First, revisit Measure ULA. The goal—funding affordable housing—is right. But the tool is wrong. ULA should be amended to target only true “mansions,” or replaced with strategies that actually promote building: density bonuses, expedited permitting, and public-private partnerships. Affordable housing isn’t produced by punishing transactions—it’s produced by building more, faster.
Second, we need a full forensic audit of homelessness spending. Every dollar should be traced. Every program is judged by outcomes, not promises. We need real metrics: how many people are housed, for how long, and at what cost. We also need renewed emphasis on addiction and mental health. Sunlight is the best disinfectant—let’s shine it on this opaque system.
Third, LA must get back to basics: clean and safe streets, a reliable power grid, working roads, and transparent governance. That means listening to residents—not lecturing them.
Los Angeles is worth fighting for. But we must be honest about what’s broken—and bold enough to fix it. If we want a livable, thriving city, we can’t keep doubling down on failure. We need to start copying what’s working.
LA is a city of dreams. But dreams require stewards who will make hard choices, admit what’s not working, and pivot. Either we demand that our leaders change course—or we elect bold new ones in 2026 who will.
Sam Yebri and Christy Vega are board members of Thrive LA, a civic organization focused on restoring public safety, affordability, and quality of life in Los Angeles.