# GrowSF **GrowSF** is a San Francisco moderate political group founded in **2020** by former tech workers **Steven Buss** and **Sachin Agarwal**. GrowSF's team page now lists Buss as "Steven Bacio," and the SF Standard uses "Steven Buss Bacio." It runs a widely read voter guide, endorses candidates, and sets up candidate-specific PACs. Its politics are pro-housing (YIMBY), pro-police-staffing, and anti-progressive. It is one of the three main moderate pressure groups funded by tech money, alongside [[TogetherSF]] and [[Neighbors for a Better San Francisco]], and the one most closely tied to [[Garry Tan]]. ## Money and people - **[[Garry Tan]]** sat on the board and gave at least $54,500. He stepped back from the board in **January 2025** and remains a supporter *(Wikipedia; single-source)*. - [[Chris Larsen]] is reported as a top donor *(Mission Local, 2024)*, and [[Ron Conway]] gave "tens of thousands" to GrowSF's PAC in 2024. - Board as of 2026: Sachin Agarwal, Steven Bacio, Jan Chong, Ryan Brown. - 2024 spending: about **$2.6M** *(SF Standard; single-source)*. The organization's legal form (c4 vs. other) was not confirmed. ## Record | Year | Campaign | Position | |------|----------|----------| | 2022 | [[Chesa Boudin Recall]], school board recall | Yes on both | | Aug 20, 2024 | Mayor | Endorsed Mark Farrell, [[London Breed]] and [[Daniel Lurie]], to be ranked "in any order." It rated Farrell best on 3 of 6 issues and Lurie best only on homelessness | | Dec 2025 | Lurie's Family Zoning Plan (passed 7–4 on Dec 2) | Strong support. Afterward it ran 30-second ads against the four no votes: Supervisors Fielder, Chan, Walton and Chen | | 2026 | Board races | Candidate PACs backing Lurie appointees Alan Wong (over $300K) and Stephen Sherrill ($262K) | | Jun 2, 2026 | [[San Francisco Overpaid CEO Tax]] | Yes on Prop C ("the reasonable, moderate solution"); No on Prop D. Both failed | | Nov 3, 2026 | [[San Francisco Charter Reform]] | Yes on Prop D | ## Why it sits in this KB GrowSF backed three candidates in the 2024 mayor's race rather than picking one. In 2025–26 it became one of Lurie's most dependable outside allies, attacking the supervisors who voted against his upzoning plan. Its history follows the tech-moderate donor class as a whole: it hedged in 2024, then lined up behind Lurie once he won. ## See Also - [[Garry Tan]] · [[TogetherSF]] · [[Neighbors for a Better San Francisco]] - [[Daniel Lurie]] · [[Chesa Boudin Recall]] · [[California Tech Exodus Ecosystem]]