With a background in public policy and political science, Greg Wagner will become Mayor Gavin Newsom’s budget director at the end of August. The 33-year-old Minnesota native has a master’s degree from UC Berkeley and has spent four years in the budget office.
The mayor just signed a $6.6 billion budget, closing a $576 million shortfall. What was different about this one? It’s the size of the deficit, but I think what’s also different is because of the economy the budgeting process has been more of a year-round activity where we’re responding to economic news and dealing with that as it comes.
What are your most immediate challenges? The biggest challenge will be the state budget. It’s our short-term challenge to come up with creative ideas to deal with that impact. We will probably, like most local governments, do some borrowing to finance the state’s property tax take-away.
Would increased taxes help solve the budget deficit? It’s always a balancing act to decide, No. 1, how much a new revenue measure would help and, No. 2, depending on what kind of revenue measure it is, you want to be careful that you don’t raise taxes in a way that you are stifling economic growth.
What made you come to San Francisco? I fell in love with The City and just decided to pack up and come here. The social and cultural diversity is a huge draw. I also think it’s a very urban city, but it’s an urban city where it’s great to live.
