San Francisco, CA – Today, Mayor London N. Breed appointed Greg Wagner to be the next Controller for the City and County of San Francisco. Wagner is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFPDH) and has over 16 years of high-level experience managing finances and administrative activities within the City and County San Francisco. Wagner would replace outgoing Controller Ben Rosenfield, who will plan to leave office at the end of February.
As the Chief Operating Officer of SFDPH, Wagner oversees the finances and administrative operations of the City’s largest department, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, and a citywide network of primary care, mental health, and substance use programs. He has served as SFDPH’s Chief Financial Officer from 2011 to 2020.
While at SFDPH, Wagner has led financial management of key public health and citywide priorities, including the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a capital program to rebuild Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and multiple outpatient service sites, the implementation of Mental Health SF, and the City’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Prior to joining SFDPH, Wagner worked in the Mayor’s Budget Office from 2006 to 2011, serving as Mayor’s Budget Director under Mayors Gavin Newsom and Ed Lee. During that time, he led development and approval of the City’s annual balanced budget through the financially challenging years following the Great Recession. Wagner previously worked at the nonprofit San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), where he led research and policy analysis for the organization’s government efficiency program areas.
Wagner holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood.
“Throughout his many years in public service, Greg has demonstrated the ability to make the right decisions to support our residents and our city, even in challenging times,” said Mayor London Breed. “He helped lead the Department of Public Health and our City through the pandemic, he has managed complex financial issues, and he has years of experience balancing budgets during the Great Recession when our city faced tough choices. He has the integrity, collaborative spirit, and technical skills we need in a Controller, and he has the commitment to the public and this city that we seek in all of our city leaders.”
“I am deeply honored by Mayor Breed’s appointment to serve as City Controller,” said Greg Wagner. “I have dedicated much of my professional career to strengthening San Francisco’s long-term financial health and improving public services to City residents. While San Francisco is facing challenging financial times, I believe deeply in our city’s future and our ability to work together to meet these challenges. If confirmed by the Board of Supervisors, I am committed to working with everyone across our City to meet the office’s critical mission of ensuring San Francisco’s financial integrity and accountability, and making San Francisco a better place to live and work.”
Wagner will replace outgoing Controller Ben Rosenfield, who has served as City Controller for 16 years. He was first appointed in 2008 by former Mayor Gavin Newsom. Rosenfield announced late last year that he would be leaving his position in 2024. If Wagner is confirmed by the Board of Supervisors, Rosenfield will work with Wagner to transition him into the new role with a planned departure at the end of February.
“I’ve worked with Greg for years and know firsthand the qualities he brings to challenges: he’s straightforward and even tempered; he is creative and focused on solving problems; he respects different viewpoints and works in a nonpartisan way to find a shared path forward. He simply wants the City to work,” said City Controller Ben Rosenfield. “With the Board’s approval, these qualities would serve him well as Controller, as they are core to the way we approach our work in the Controller's Office.”
In San Francisco, the City Controller is an appointed position that is nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors. Now that the Mayor has submitted Wagner’s name to serve, the Board will take up his nomination.
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