San Francisco Mayor Sparks Outrage With Christmas Eve Signing Of Reparations Bill

In a move that has sparked intense criticism for its timing and lack of transparency, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie quietly signed the city’s highly controversial Reparations Bill just two days before Christmas.

The ordinance establishes a dedicated reparations fund, creating a legal framework to address what they deem to be historical systemic harms against the city’s black community, including a proposal that could eventually grant eligible residents lump-sum payments of $5 million.

The timing of the signing — tucked away during the peak of the holiday season — has been characterized by critics as a calculated attempt to avoid public scrutiny and bypass the inevitable backlash associated with such a divisive policy.

San Francisco journalist Erica Sandberg and conservative activist Richie Greenberg were among the first to sound the alarm, with Sandberg noting the hypocrisy of making such a “unilateral decision” that appears fundamentally at odds with general public sentiment.

The bill stems from the 2023 report by the African American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC), which outlined over 100 recommendations. Beyond the $5 million payments, the plan suggests debt forgiveness, city-funded homes for $1, and a guaranteed annual income of $97,000 for qualifying black residents.

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While the Mayor’s office emphasized that the bill currently allocates no taxpayer dollars and serves only as a “structure” for future city or private funding, the legislative move signals a massive potential shift in city policy. In 2023, the Hoover Institution estimated the cost, “presented on a per-household basis, will be nearly $600,000 per non–African American San Francisco household.”

Lurie defended the quiet signing by citing the city’s dire financial situation, noting a looming $1 billion budget deficit that prevents immediate funding. He suggested that the city “stands ready” to facilitate private donations instead. However, the “sly” nature of the passage has reignited concerns regarding the city’s history of financial mismanagement.

Critics have pointed to the “Dream Keeper Initiative” — a similar program plagued by allegations of “grift and cronyism” — as a cautionary tale of how such funds can be mismanaged by local officials. Even the local NAACP expressed skepticism, calling the $5 million figure “arbitrary” and warning that the Mayor’s quiet endorsement of the framework may be providing residents with “false hopes” while avoiding the difficult public debate such a massive proposal requires.