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The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.

Spend more. Get less. We’re the city that knows how.

A A A Comments (7) By Benjamin Wachs and Joe Eskenazi Wednesday, Dec 16 2009

As long as San Francisco is an alluring destination where residents will tolerate lunacy as a tradeoff for living the city lifestyle, and tourists flood the downtown, the city will lumber along, inefficiently and without accountability. "San Francisco is like the really good-looking coed who can get away with being a jerk, while a less good-looking one couldn't," Kotkin says.

When everybody is politicking but nobody is accountable for the results, waste happens; unevaluated programs happen; Yomi Agunbiade happens — and nothing is done about it. After he resigned in disgrace, the Board of Supervisors, astonishingly, passed a resolution commending him for his years of service. He was offered the job of manager of San Francisco's wastewater improvement program. San Francisco tried to keep Agunbiade on the payroll, even after years of mismanagement, damning allegations of sexual and religious harassment, and potentially exposing the city to a massive lawsuit. The only reason he isn't working for the city today is that he apparently chose not to. He works at a private engineering firm, and did not return messages regarding this story.

Yomi Agunbiade’s time atop the Recreation and Park Department was marred by mismanagement.

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Rose Dennis, the target of Agunbiade's years of alleged torment, put the situation — and, when you think about it, many of San Francisco's problems — into perspective.

"The only thing I ever wanted was for this to stop and for me to be left alone to do my job," she says. "This all could have been avoided. This was all . avoidable."

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Guest 09/13/2011 11:58:00 PM

Every voter in San Francisco needs to read this before the next election...
09/08/2011 2:04:00 PM

Is this the guy that had the idea to turn Dolores Park into a mall? If so, he's a moron
Atlas 08/24/2011 8:23:00 PM

@Tonynot66 Sounds very Ayn Rand, and Atlas Shrugged influenced, though perhaps you've just come to the same conclusion as her, but yes - spot on. Their concern is of "Public Welfare" though they never truly identify what or who this "public" is. You're right, they're concerned about the image of "caring" and "equality," though eventually, it will all collapse - as that is all it is, an image. We can hope that the "public" they speak of will see the truth before the tower falls, but I'm not so naive as to think they will. Most don't realize that eventually, this "redistribution" of wealth, in systems like welfare, etc.. will leave everyone with nothing, and we will be in a worse - far worse - situation than we are today. Places that focus on these policies are a prime example. Though the people in charge like to tell us that these systems are working, that people are happier and more productive than they were before - no matter how untrue. The Status Quo must remain as it is. Which is all bullshit, I mean look at the senators and representatives that vote for these policies, they're richer, both in "friends" and money than most anybody else. So I leave you with this. What happened to the days where being a representative of government was a patriotic duty, a rational conclusion be it - literally a normal everyday american, and not a "profession" - a celebrity position, if you will?
03/12/2011 8:41:00 PM

You sure are an expert on what liberals think and believe.
01/18/2011 12:55:00 AM

Bravo! or Brava! ; as appropriate...
Tonynot66 01/06/2011 9:29:00 PM

Funny how lefties smell a conspiracy by Evil Nasty Republicans behind any and all criticism of their beloved liberal paradise. More proof positive of the rampant narcissism of self-proclaimed "progressives"...
Tonynot66 01/06/2011 3:18:00 PM

San Francisco is screwed up thanks to two character traits of narcissistic liberals. First of all, liberals believe it is their anointed duty to save the planet from the rest of the unwashed masses. Administering a city and handling the mundane tasks of fixing the streets, taking out the garbage, and getting the buses to run on time has no appeal to them. Instead, they spend their time and effort on pushing gay/lesbian rights, issuing statements about Palestine or Iraq or Myanmar, and campaigning against box store and junk food.Their agenda is about imposing their vision on others, not concentrating on the tasks that they were elected/appointed to do. Secondly, liberals believe that stated good intentions are more important than actual results. They want to be judged on how they project their "caring" and "compassionate" image w/r/t the homeless, poor, and people of color. Whether their policies actually HELP the same homeless, poor, and people of color or not is of secondary importance, and they don't view it as "fair" to be held responsible or accountable for the consequences of their own policies. Liberals have made a mess of just about every major city in the US where they have been elected. This will only stop when people understand the real motives of liberals...