New Faces at City Hall 

January 8, 2025, was inauguration day for several new San Francisco government officials including San Francisco’s 46th mayor, Daniel Lurie.  Along with Mayor Lurie, five new Board of Supervisors were sworn into office: Stephen Sherrill (District 2), Danny Sauter (District 3), Bilal Mahmood (District 5), Jackie Fielder (District 9) and Chyanne Chen (District 11). 

Re-elected to the Board of Supervisors are Connie Chan (District 1) and Myrna Melgar (District 7).  Supervisor Rafael Mandelman (District 8) was elected by his colleagues as Board President at the first official meeting of the Board of Supervisors held after the inauguration ceremonies. 

For full profiles of Mayor Lurie and each member of the Board of Supervisors as well as other elected officials please see their respective official profiles on SF.gov under Elected Officials. 

 

New District 19 Assemblymember in Sacramento 

Former District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani was elected as District 19 Assemblymember on November 5, 2024 and was sworn into office on December 2, 2024.  She succeeded the former Assemblymember Phil Ting.  Representing the western neighborhoods of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County, Stefani is focused on affordable housing, economic resilience and public safety.   

As a former prosecutor and supervisor, Stefani has fought for sensible gun laws, advocated for domestic violence survivors, and championed affordable housing policies. She is a founding member of the San Francisco chapter of Moms Demand Action; and as a supervisor was instrumental in introducing ghost gun legislation. Stefani is committed to continuing to take on powerful interest groups and entities to advance public safety reforms and ensure government accountability 

 

New U.S. Senator for California 

Former Congressman Adam Schiff was elected U.S. Senator on November 5, 2024 and was sworn into office on December 9, 2024.  He succeeded U.S. Senator Laphonsa Butler to serve in the U.S. Senate alongside U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in representing California. 

From Massachusetts to California, from Stanford University to Harvard Law School, from California State Senator to Congressional Representative, Senator Schiff is an experienced legislator who is committed to upholding and strengthening our democracy and the rule of law. Senator Schiff is a staunch supporter of the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which prevents the abuse of power by any president and strengthens checks and balances between the three branches of government. In addition, he has supported the expansion of voting rights for all Americans, and legislation to expand and protect the rights of all Americans, including women and LGBTQ individuals whose rights have been under assault.  

For further reading . . .

Every month we publish our new books list, Hot Topics in Politics and Government, on SFPL’s Bibliocommons.   

The booklist covers on average fourteen to sixteen titles on political science, government, and related topics that are hot, current, discussed, debated and of interest for further reading beyond newspaper and magazine articles.  In fact, many of the books we add to the collection are reviewed in the New York Times Book Review, Publisher’s Weekly, Choice and Kirkus Reviews among other peer-reviewed publications. 

We invite you to look through our monthly booklist to find selections which may both engage and entertain.  Check out our latest:  Hot Topics in Government and Politics – February 2025   

A Short Introduction to Government Docs and the GIC at SFPL

Welcome to For the Record, brought to you by the Government Information Center at San Francisco Public Library. 

The Government Information Center is home to SFPL’s federal, state, city and county depository of government documents. What's a government document, you ask? Government documents are the official publications that contain information or policies from government agencies.  

If you’re new to government information, some example of government documents that you can access online and in person at the library are: 

Congressional Record: A daily record of the debates and proceedings in the United States Congress. Up do date Congressional Records are also published US Congress website.

Federal Register: A daily publication of rules, notices, and executive orders from federal agencies. 

Hearings: Congressional hearings, including testimony. The GIC carries both federal and state hearings on all kinds of subjects. An example of a hearing you can request at the GIC reference desk is the Compilation of Hearings on the January 6th Investigation. The most current and up to date options for House and Senate hearings can be found via our Proquest Congressional Database (library card required) and at Congress.gov.

Agendas: A list of items to be discussed at meetings. In accordance with San Francisco Administrative Code § 8.16 the GIC makes agendas for upcoming meetings available on a bulletin board on the 5th floor. Bound agendas can be requested from the GIC reference desk. Agendas are available from all kinds of committees, councils, subcommittees, commissions and task forces. This Board of Supervisors agenda is one example of a type of document you might request from the reference desk at GIC.

Meeting Minutes: A written record of what occurred at official meetings. The GIC has bound minutes for meetings from current and past city committees, councils, subcommittees, commissions and task forces. These minutes from the San Francisco (Calif.). Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Hotel Health and Safety Task Force. Investigation and Prosecution Committee are just one type of meeting minutes you can request at the reference desk. 

For more information about the kinds of materials that the GIC posts and retains, please be sure to check out our Posting and Depository webpage. 

But that’s not all, the Government Information Center contains tons more information, including a circulating collection of political science related books. Be sure to visit the 5th floor on your next stop by Main and browse the collections. Materials in closed reference can be located via our catalog and with the help of a GIC librarian.

The GIC is dedicated to ensuring that people have timely, accurate, and transparent access to government information. We want our readers to know what’s happening at the local, state, and federal level. Every month we’ll deliver a variety of articles related to topics in government information, highlight interesting documents in the collection, connect readers to what’s going on in local, state, and federal government, help readers to navigate what kinds of materials the GIC offers in person and online, and everything government information related in between. 

We hope you’ll bookmark us and check back frequently. Leave a comment and let us know you’re here or if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover. Thank you for reading For the Record!