SAN FRANCISCO—A deep-pocketed organization on June 18 launched Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, an initiative with a $2 million annual budget, aiming to stop progressive ideology from gaining ground in the city.

Blueprint engages people via podcast, social media, and community meetings, calling for moderate solutions and pragmatism rather than ideology in city government. The initiative is a project of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco (shortened as Neighbors) and mostly evolved from TogetherSF, a former sister organization of Neighbors that merged with the organization earlier this year.

“Now we are in an era where we can build, we can be productive, we can be constructive, so we want to have [the name] to be Blueprint, for how a great American liberal city can be run,” Jay Cheng, executive director of Neighbors, said in a speech at the Blueprint launch event.

Established in 2020, Neighbors has funded the successful recall of three school board members, promoted a “centrist majority” on the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education, and campaigned for ballot measures such as the Restore 8th Grade Algebra initiative that was passed in 2024, according to its website.

The June 18 event attracted around 800 online registrations, Blueprint director Scotty Jacobs told The Epoch Times.

“It’s really a signal of the fact that San Francisco voters are craving pragmatism,” he said. “They’re done with the broken ideology that set our city back, particularly when it relates to public safety and downtown recovery and some of the dysfunction in City Hall in years past.”

A community center in Hayes Valley is expected to open this summer and will serve as a gathering point for Blueprint membership and host regular meetings, according to Jacobs.

“We want to help everyday San Franciscans become that friend who knows what’s going on in local politics and feel like they can make a difference,” Jacobs said in a statement. “That’s how we build civic power—through education, engagement, and a belief that good government actually works for the people and delivers results on our most pressing issues.”

Blueprint will focus on three main pillars: a road to recovery, good government, and a vision of vibrancy, according to its website.

Mayor Daniel Lurie has launched his own initiatives, aiming to help the city revitalize its economy.

Jacobs praised the progress the mayor has made in public safety, the fentanyl emergency, and efforts to fully staff the police department.

Former supervisor candidate Trevor Chandler told The Epoch Times: “We’ve made a lot of progress with the last election, but we have a long way to go in City Hall, with our hiring process, with getting rid of corruption, and just making sure that the government is working for everyone.

“It’s still not working well enough for the amount of taxes that we pay. We need folks around for the long term, because even with the great leadership of Mayor Lurie, we need a lot of people rowing in the same direction to make the change that we need over many years.”