San Francisco, like every other core county in a metropolitan area of more than 1,000,000 (with the exception of New Orleans) continues to lose domestic migrants. Between 2000 and 2008, US Bureau of the Census data indicates that more than 10 percent of San Franciscans have left for other counties. But if one is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (board of county commissioners), it may be convenient for only part of the family to join the exodus.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle Supervisor Chris Daly moved the wife and kids to exurban Fairfield, claiming that the environment was better there for the kids, since they would live closer to their grandparents. Doubtless the environment will be better there for the kids in a lot of ways – more places to play, a safer environment and probably better schools.
What’s more, the Supervisor moved the family to a cul-de-sac, that urban form most despised by the most orthodox urbanites.
It is understandable that Supervisor Daly himself did not move, announcing that he continues to “eat, sleep and bathe” in his San Francisco home. Don’t be surprised, however, if when Supervisor Daly’s term expires, he should find the shower and bathtub more to his liking in the exurbs.
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How does this reconcile with
How does this reconcile with the fact that San Francisco's population reached another record high last year? I don't understand how there could be an "exodus" from San Francisco, when in fact the city is growing.
Ironic yet not surprising
This news is ironic because his extreme-left political ideals exemplify everything that is the antithesis of a place like Fairfield (which itself embodies the exurban sprawl that everyone despises in San Francisco more than the devil). Yet it is not surprising because you would be hard-pressed to find a more two-faced civic level politician than SF Supervisor Chris Daly.
Since becoming Supervisor of District 6 (which includes the Civic Center, the Tenderloin, and SoMa-some of the worst neighborhoods in the city), Daly has done everything in his power to discourage small business and the middle class. Masquerading as a bleeding heart by pandering to the lowest rung, Daly's policies ensured that the transient homeless and drug addicts remained to scare away young families with children (like his own) and discourage businesses other than porn shops and liquor stores. If Daly himself does eventually end up following his family to Fairfield, he certainly will not be missed.