Dennis Herrera will be retiring this December after a quarter century atop San Francisco city government.
He has been the manager of the Public Utilities Commission since 2021, and served as the elected city attorney for almost 20 years before that. Herrera ran for mayor in 2011, but came third after “caretaker” Ed Lee and John Avalos.
“This decision comes with a mix of emotions,” Herrera said. “It has been an incredible privilege to serve alongside so many dedicated people across San Francisco to help make our city even better. I will always cherish that, but now is the right time to start a new chapter in life.”
One of his biggest legacies as city attorney was championing same-sex marriage. After then-Mayor Gavin Newsom issued same-sex marriage licenses in 2004 in violation of state law, Herrera defended the city and filed a suit arguing that California’s marriage laws violated the state constitution.
That case reached the California Supreme Court, whose 2008 ruling legalized same-sex marriage in California.
But just a few months later, California voters passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. Herrera’s office fought that measure, and the case eventually went to the United States Supreme Court, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2013.
In the 2010s, he sued the Trump administration repeatedly, including to block its attempt to withhold federal funding to sanctuary cities and to strike down a new rule intended to discourage immigrant families from accessing food, housing, and healthcare assistance.
Herrera also sued the Trump administration over its expansion of “conscience rules,” which would have allowed doctors to refuse to provide care they disagreed with, such as abortions. This law was eventually struck down in court.
In 2021, Herrera was nominated by then-Mayor London Breed to lead the Public Utilities Commission. The PUC, which oversees the city’s water and power infrastructure, was in a dire state at the time — the former manager, Harlan Kelly, had just stepped down after facing federal bribery charges.
Herrera had decided he would not seek re-election as city attorney in 2023, so the opportunity to step into a new position gave him a new adventure — and a hefty pay raise. Herrera admitted he’d “left money on the table” as city attorney, but noted that, if money was his driving factor, he’d have left that job earlier.
Herrera will be 64 years old when he steps down in December. His pensionable income is around $472,000.
Though Herrera had little subject-matter expertise on water and power engineering, he did have some relevant legal experience. His office sued PG&E multiple times for anti-competitive practices, overly expensive equipment, toxins that its former factories had introduced to the bay, and more.
He was also an advocate for public power. In 2019, he and Breed offered $2.5 billion to PG&E in exchange for the company’s power infrastructure in San Francisco, an offer that PG&E rejected.
In his five years as the PUC head, Herrera has continued to work on public power. He has also overseen the PUC’s efforts to improve San Francisco’s sewer system and change water management so that fish have more places to migrate and spawn.
In 2011, Herrera ran for mayor but came in third.
Dennis Herrera’s retirement is well deserved, but it is a tremendous loss for the City. He leaves with an honest and competent government wherever he walked. Let’s hope he considers another run for Mayor one day.