John Kaehny has written and successfully lobbied for the passage of state and New York City laws related to government transparency and accountability, including the first open data law in the world in 2012.
"She wants to regain stable health so she can thoughtfully and responsibly consider her options," her office told ABC7 Eyewitness News in a statement announcing her leave of absence and addressing the condition of her mental health.
Mamdani stated that the City Council's budget strategy effectively ensures this structural deficit will continue indefinitely, impacting vital city services and failing to solve deep financial problems.
Despite some idealistic intentions, that framework is in fact what put Muni in the financial hole in the first place. Working from a scarcity mindset, namely trying to preserve an already pilfered service, is a losing battle. To guarantee the service that citizens and workers expect from a city like San Francisco requires a committed vision of the future, one that centers Muni as the public good that it is.
CITY HALL - MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI said New York City faces a projected $12 billion budget shortfall across fiscal years 2026 and 2027, according to a press release. He blames the "staggering" fiscal mismanagement by former Mayor Eric Adams for underbudgeting core services like cash assistance, shelter operations and special education. Mamdani also points to what he called intentional understatement of future gaps - citing, for example, $860 million budgeted for FY26 cash assistance versus projections nearing $1.7 billion -
The total proposed 2026 operating budget amounts to $18.9 billion, with 31 per cent being covered by property taxes and 24 per cent made up of federal and provincial funding. The rest is made up of smaller measures, including rate programs (12 per cent), transit fares (six per cent), and reserves (nine per cent). Chow submitted her budget proposal on Feb. 1, based on a city staff proposal put forward on Jan. 8.
City law requires the council to approve all contracts above $250,000. But Oakland's city administrator, Jestin Johnson, has the power to issue contracts up to that amount without informing the council and the public. The mandatory annual report is meant to provide transparency into these purchases. The report also requires Johnson and his team to explain if any contracts were issued without a competitive bidding process, and how many awards went to local businesses.
"If we don't get what we need [in terms of extra government help] then a Section 114 Notice will come in, which is effective bankruptcy. We'd then get administrators come in, in effect - they'd then make a plan for where the money gets spent in Worcestershire. It would be a catastrophe. We're going to have to halt projects that were put into the budget by the previous administration, things that maybe were 'nice to have', but we can't afford them."
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