Nancy Wuerfel, The Indomitable San Franciscan
The Board of Supervisors honors Nancy for a lifetime of fighting for a better City
•••••••••• June 28, 2023 ••••••••••
Nancy Wuerfel, a long-time community activist as well as a frequent contributor to the Westside Observer, was honored June 13th, 2023 with a commendation from the Board of Supervisors. The Board celebrated “her exemplary advocacy and stewardship in promoting preservation and conservation efforts in the City and County of San Francisco, recognizing her significant contributions to historic preservation, environmental protection, and neighborhood-based planning, and expressing gratitude for her dedicated service to the citizens of San Francisco.”
... as this Board of Supervisors stood up to the Federal Aviation Administration who were dead set on filling in two square miles of the Bay for additional runway separation . . . Nancy was at the forefront of that fight.”
Supervisor President Aaron Peskin spoke about working with Nancy 22 years ago on stopping a proposal to fill the Bay for new SF Airport runways. He said, “She was in essence my secret weapon as this Board of Supervisors stood up to the Federal Aviation Administration [and others in both state and federal government] who were dead set on filling in two square miles of the Bay for additional runway separation . . . Nancy was at the forefront of that fight . . .” President Peskin quoted Tomasita Medal in saying, "Nancy Wuerful was the Sherlock Holmes of City bureaucracy for decades. She set her magnifying glass on obscure volumes of City records to find corruption, contradictions, incompetence, and malfeasance. She was a formidable champion of City efficiency. She is a legend and will always be remembered."
Nancy was unable to attend the meeting in person due to recent illness, but she avidly watched the presentation on SF Gov TV. Friends and fellow activists attended the meeting and spoke of her work during General Public Comment.
The commendation lists some of the many projects that Nancy was involved in over the past 22 years. The hearing can be replayed on sfgovtv.org, Items 52 and 59.
Katherine Howard and Sally Stephens are fellow environment activists.
June 2023
