District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio is hosting a free "SF Politics 101" session in the Mission, aimed at breaking down how the city's notoriously Byzantine political machinery actually functions. No fundraiser attached. No campaign rally disguised as civic engagement. Just a straightforward primer on how decisions get made — and, presumably, why they so often go sideways.

Let's be honest: San Francisco's government structure is one of the most bloated and opaque in the country. We have more city employees per capita than almost any major American city, a budget north of $14 billion, and a web of commissions, boards, and departments that would make a federal bureaucrat blush. Most residents couldn't name their supervisor, let alone explain the difference between the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission — and that's not really their fault. The system isn't exactly designed for accessibility.

That's what makes this kind of effort worth noting. Whether you agree with Engardio's politics or not — and he's drawn fire from both progressives and moderates at various points — demystifying how the sausage gets made is a net positive for accountability. An informed electorate is the single best check on wasteful spending and bad policy. When voters actually understand how land use decisions happen, where their tax dollars go, and who's responsible when things break, it gets a lot harder for officials to hide behind process and jargon.

If you've ever wondered why your street hasn't been repaved since the Obama administration, or why it takes three years to approve a coffee shop permit, this might be worth your time. The event is free and open to the public in the Mission.

We'd love to see more supervisors doing this. Transparency shouldn't be a novelty — it should be the baseline.