Manny’s: Where is Our Economy Now? With SF Controller Wagner & Chief Economist Egan
Join Greg Wagner and Ted Egan in conversation about their roles shaping the future of the City’s economy and what is yet to come.
San Francisco’s economic recovery has been at the forefront of the national conversation around our City for years now. But who better to help us truly understand the recovery than the people measuring and shaping it directly?
SF Controller Greg Wagner and Chief Economist Ted Egan will help us understand where our City sits now. Where are we in the budgetary cycle? How is AI shaping current economic trends? How does the good governance conversation, like charter reform and commission streamlining, come into play? And what are risks we’re seeing from the State and Federal levels?
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Greg Wagner was sworn in for a 10-year term as the Controller for the City and County of San Francisco in February 2024.
Greg began his career with the City in the Mayor’s Budget Office from 2006 to 2011, serving as Mayor’s Budget Director under Mayors Gavin Newsom and Ed Lee. As the Mayor’s Budget Director, Greg led the development and approval of the City’s annual balanced budget through the financially challenging years following the Great Recession.
Prior to becoming Controller, Greg served the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) as Chief Financial Officer where he managed a multibillion-dollar budget, and then as Chief Operating Officer of SFDPH where he oversaw the finances and administrative operations of the City’s largest department, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), Laguna Honda Hospital, and a citywide network of primary care, mental health, and substance use programs. As both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of SFDPH, Greg was crucial in the financial management of key public health and citywide priorities over the last decade, including San Francisco’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was fundamental in managing the capital program to rebuild ZSFG and multiple outpatient service sites, the implementation of Mental Health SF, and the City’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Now, as the City’s chief financial officer and auditor, Controller Wagner, with the support of his team, is responsible for governance and conduct of key aspects of the City’s financial operations, including processing payroll for all City employees, managing the City’s bonds and debt portfolio, and processing and monitoring the City’s budget. His office is also responsible for providing policy and economic analyses, estimating the cost of ballot measures, administering the City’s Whistleblower Program, and directing performance and financial audits of City activities.
Greg earned his Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.
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Dr. Ted Egan is the Chief Economist of the City and County of San Francisco, and directs the Office of Economic Analysis in the City Controller’s Office. The office prepares independent economic analysis of major City legislation.
Since he joined in 2007, his office has published over 100 economic impact reports on policy issues like the minimum wage, affordable housing, taxes and fees, land use planning, sporting events, labor regulation, and short-term rentals. During this time at the City, he has served as an expert witness on the economics of same-sex marriage, and won a Good Government award for his work redesigning the City’s business tax. He currently serves on the Data Users Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Before joining the City, he spent ten years working for ICF International, managing economic development strategy projects across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and lectured in the Economics and City Planning departments at Berkeley for more than ten years.