San Francisco mayor touts possibilities after voters expand police powers, gets tough on drug users
SAN FRANCISCO– Mayor London Breed pledged even more improvements Thursday under a pair of controversial public safety proposals voters approved this week that expand police powers and force some welfare recipients into drug treatment, marking a shift from the staunchly progressive city policy.
In her annual State of the City address, she also made clear that San Francisco is on the rise, with more homeless tents cleared from sidewalks in recent months and more people arrested for breaking into cars or selling narcotics. She said property crime has also dropped dramatically.
The measures, she said, will install cameras in high-crime areas, use drones for car burglaries and reduce opioid overdoses.
San Francisco voters on Tuesday approved the two ballot measures she placed during the March 5 primary, despite opponents saying the proposals will lead to less accountability for police and more hardship for the homeless.
Breed, a centrist Democrat, is among leaders in politically liberal cities turning to tough-on-crime policies that were previously thought unthinkable but have grown in popularity amid crime waves. She faces three serious challengers in November who say her government has failed to tackle vandalism, shoplifting and rampant and public drug use.
“The re-election campaign started there, I bet you’ll see the same thing tonight,” said Patrick Murphy, faculty director of the Urban and Public Affairs program at the University of San Francisco, referring to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday evening.
“She made some big bets on the ballot, and they came out winners for her,” he said.
Proposal E gives police more leeway to pursue suspects in vehicles, allows the use of drones and surveillance cameras and reduces paperwork requirements, including in use-of-force cases. Proposition F would make drug treatment mandatory for adult welfare recipients if they use illegal substances, otherwise they could be denied cash assistance.
Murphy, the faculty director, says the measures won’t be implemented in time for people to see any difference — but they could be a boost for Breed if they change perceptions about conditions in the city in the fall.
The pandemic has decimated the city’s main economic engines, tourism and technology. Major retailers closed their downtown stores last year, leaving more and more empty storefronts in a neighborhood once bustling with tourists and office workers. Businesses complained of vandalism, shoplifting, burglaries and unresponsive police.
Yet there are enormous challenges, including a budget deficit and a downtown that remains largely deserted as office workers stay home.
To tackle the city center, Breed said she wants to bring 30,000 new residents and students to the city center by 2030 and is calling on universities and colleges for help. She vowed to veto any Board of Supervisors legislation that makes it harder to build housing.
And she rejected the idea that San Francisco has lost its progressive values.
“Building houses and adding treatment beds is progressive,” she said to cheers from the audience. “We are a progressive, diverse city that lives together and celebrates each other: LGBTQ, AAPI, Black, Latino, Palestinian and Jewish.”
Her challengers were quick to break up the speech with Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor of San Francisco, saying her efforts were anemic, too little too late. Philanthropist Daniel Lurie said Breed has not kept his promises despite his years in office.
For her critics, Breed closed with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt praising the person who strives despite adversity, rather than the naysayer who carves from the sidelines. She had a message for them.
“San Francisco no longer carries the shackles of your negativity,” she said.