Mayor London Breed has revealed her choice to be San Francisco’s next top accounting officer: Greg Wagner, a senior leader in the city’s Department of Public Health.
The controller is effectively San Francisco’s chief financial officer and plays an indispensable role in overseeing the city’s $14.6 billion annual budget while also managing City Hall’s financial accounts, processing payroll and conducting economic forecasts. Wagner would therefore find himself at the center of the city
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Breed and Wagner are expected to speak at a City Hall news conference this afternoon.
Wagner has big shoes to fill: Rosenfield, his predecessor, commanded respect from throughout the city’s fractious political circles. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said Rosenfield had “a magical way of bringing out the best in everybody” and former controller Ed Harrington said “everybody trusts him.”
Wagner has been a high-level financial administrator at the city for more than 16 years. He’s currently the health department’s chief operating officer, in charge of the financial and administrative operations for San Francisco General Hospital and the Laguna Honda public nursing home that recently staved off the threat of closure. Wagner also served as the department’s chief financial officer from 2011 to 2020.
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At the health department, Wagner was involved in the city’s COVID-19 response and led a major capital program to rebuild San Francisco General. He was also involved in helping the city implement the Affordable Care Act.
Before joining the health department, Wagner was budget director for former Mayors Ed Lee and Gavin Newsom and was charged with developing the annual budget during the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Wagner previously worked at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association. He has a master of public policy from UC Berkeley.
Reach J.D. Morris: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @thejdmorris
