I don't understand how this happens. The tech industry is pretty much the only economic game in town. How does it fail so hard at politics, losing out to a relatively small amount of middle-aged homeowners?
It's not "pretty much the only economic game in town." It's big, but by no means anything like 'only.' SF is the banking capital of the west coast (Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab are HQ'd in SF. BofA was founded and still has a large presence there. And there used to be the Pacific Stock Exchange. So, fin svs/banking had and still has a huge presence), and tourism is another very big industry.
Secondly, the analysis that it's a few rich homeowners is not accurate. Since the early 1960s, Silicon Valley has been associated with low-density housing and low-slung office buildings. Which is why the space between SF and San Jose looks the way it does. It's an entire cultural perspective this issue is up against, not just a few homeowners.
The homeowners have votes and corporations don't. And the homeowners are either rich enough to have bought a Silicon Valley home recently, or have owned a home so long that they pay disproportionately low property taxes due to Prop. 13, and thus in either case have no incentive to let the city change from when they liked it.
Secondly, the analysis that it's a few rich homeowners is not accurate. Since the early 1960s, Silicon Valley has been associated with low-density housing and low-slung office buildings. Which is why the space between SF and San Jose looks the way it does. It's an entire cultural perspective this issue is up against, not just a few homeowners.