Welcome to the Bay Area Republican Reset Project

Over the next few months, I’m convening small groups of Bay Area Republicans—across counties, factions, and temperaments—who believe our party can do better here. The goal isn’t to debate ideological purity, but to listen, test ideas, and explore whether there is enough shared ground to meaningfully reset the Republican brand in the Bay Area. Here is my own thinking, offered in a spirit of invitation.

Dear Fellow Bay Area Republicans,

Are you like me in that you love our region, but you wish we had better governance?

If you’re like me, you see the same problems getting worse despite years of promises and steadily growing public spending. Thousands of people remain unsheltered on our streets, many struggling with addiction or serious mental illness. Housing remains unaffordable for middle-class families, with no realistic plan to bring costs down. Government agencies—from Muni in San Francisco to VTA in the South Bay—struggle to deliver reliable service, even as budgets are ballooning. In many Bay Area communities, schools are failing to consistently teach the knowledge and skills our children need to succeed in college and the workforce. Finally, despite notable progress, public safety remains a concern, with too much property crime and too little effective preparation for major fires and other looming disasters.

We Republicans have insights and instincts that could help move the Bay Area to a better place. For example, we understand that compassion must be paired with accountability when dealing with the homelessness problem. It’s not OK to be using drugs on our streets. That has to stop.

We recognize the basic laws of economics: the housing crisis is not going to get better until there is a lot more housing available. We need policies that encourage construction, along with a robust regional transportation system.

When it comes to government services, we naturally ask tough fiscal questions about what works and what doesn’t. Unlike many of our Democratic friends, we are willing to challenge systems that reward spending without results and to confront the outsized influence of public employee unions when they drive costs up and performance down.

We know that identity politics is no way to run a country. We Republicans, more diverse than ever, understand that we need to come together in our love and care for our country, and that everyone who follows the law and brings an attitude of “how can I contribute?” is welcome.

But we also have to be honest with ourselves. Right now, Bay Area Republicans aren’t being heard. We don’t yet have sufficiently developed, credible plans for the problems voters care about. We don’t yet have a strong bench of candidates who are deeply enmeshed in their communities and able to appeal to the typical Bay Area voter. Critically, we are weighed down by elements of the national Republican brand that make it harder—sometimes impossible—to earn a fair hearing here.

For our sake and the sake of everyone in the Bay Area, let’s fix this.

First, let’s do the work of developing serious, credible plans for the Bay Area’s biggest challenges—public safety, homelessness, housing affordability, education, and the basic competence of local government. Not talking points. Not outrage. We need plans that show we understand the problems and are prepared to govern responsibly, for the benefit of everyone in the Bay Area. This requires us to recognize that we live in a place where people like their government services. We need less emphasis on “let’s make government smaller” and more emphasis on “let’s make government work.”

Second, let’s clearly differentiate ourselves from parts of the national Republican brand that simply do not translate in the Bay Area.

I know this is controversial, fellow Republicans. Many of us admire President Trump. He took border enforcement seriously after years of drift and governed with a clear instinct to let innovation flourish rather than smother the economy with regulation. He pushed back forcefully against Iran while standing firmly with Israel. He challenged institutions that have grown complacent and unaccountable. For many of us, his combination of strength, clarity, and disruption has been—and remains—deeply appealing.

But I ask you this: even if you strongly support President Trump, do you see worrisome flaws? Are you concerned that, in moments of intensity, the line between strength and overreach can blur? Are you uneasy about an immigration crackdown that risks sweeping too broadly—or about enforcement tactics that could undermine due process and public trust? Are you concerned when political pressure appears to spill into the legal system in ways that feel more punitive than principled?

If you’re like many Bay Area Republicans I know, your answer might be: “yes, but…” You have concerns like these, but you’re more worried about Democratic abuses and overreach. Trump isn’t perfect, but Karen Bass is far worse. You might wish he’d keep his mouth shut more often, but at least he says what he means instead of defaulting to meaningless pablum.

Fellow Bay Area Republicans, let me invite you to consider this from another angle: regardless of how you feel about President Trump, his time at the center of national politics is finite. The question before us isn’t loyalty—it’s what kind of Republican leadership we want to model here in the Bay Area.

We have an opportunity to show that strength can coexist with restraint, and disruption with integrity. Let’s make it clear—to Bay Area voters and to Republicans around the country—that we’re not comfortable with corruption, performative cruelty, or the misuse of power. We don’t need to personalize this or relitigate the past. We simply need to be clear about what we stand for—and what we won’t defend.

If we do this, fellow Republicans, we win twice. We defend values that are indeed important to most of us! Most of us don’t want Presidents cashing in on the office, regardless of their political party. Most of us don’t want masked federal agents detaining people without clear accountability. Most of us believe in the rule of law, for everyone, all the time. Most of us believe that US foreign policy needs at least a touch of concern for the basic rights of all human beings.

In addition, we’ll turn heads here in the Bay Area and beyond in ways that will redound to our benefit. American politics is so polarized; in recent times, it’s been nearly impossible for members of either tribe to criticize their own. Bay Area independents will take note if we choose to stand for principles rather than partisan interests. Closed hearts and minds will begin to open a bit. Party registration will tick up—because people see something worth joining.

Finally, as more people notice and appreciate us, we’ll get the opportunity to recruit stronger candidates who, working with our well-developed ideas, will be able to get a fairer hearing. I’m not suggesting that we’re going to quickly win lots of races, but I do believe that, if we run well-prepared candidates in down-ballot races like school boards, we have the opportunity to break through and reverse the tide of Republican decline we’ve seen for the past 60 years.

Early small wins will beget more wins. As we attract more moderates and independents, we’ll have the intellectual and financial horsepower we need to lead on some of the most important issues facing the Bay Area and California. How should we revise our immigration policies so we can continue to attract the best and brightest from around the world? How should our economic and political systems evolve in the face of the rapid rise of AI? How can we protect against catastrophic wildfires and respond intelligently to the challenge of climate change?

To realize this vision, we’re also going to need resources. We need money to develop and communicate our ideas, build membership organizations of Republicans and independents committed to a Bay Area Republican agenda, and to recruit and support strong candidates. Investors have two ways to win: they’ll be improving the governance prospects of the Bay Area while simultaneously supporting the development of a forward-looking California Republican brand.

Fellow Republicans and Bay Area moderates, if any of this resonates with you, let’s talk! Please reach out to me at: bill@republicanreset.org. These ideas are just a starting point. Together, we can strengthen them further and maybe, just maybe, launch a significant new effort to improve governance around the Bay and reinvigorate the Republican Party here and across California.