Sparks flew at a San Francisco mayoral debate featuring all five of the major candidates September 19, as incumbent London Breed defended her record in office against her challengers in the aftermath of a corruption scandal involving one of her signature initiatives.
As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Sheryl Davis — whom Breed has described as a friend — resigned September 13 as executive director of the city's human rights commission after allegations of misuse of public funds. Breed stated September 17 that she knew Davis was "very close" with a man who ran a nonprofit she approved $1.5 million in contracts with, according to media reports.
Davis oversaw the Dream Keeper Initiative, a citywide effort launched in 2021 to reinvest $60 million annually into San Francisco's diverse Black communities in the wake of the 2020 police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
At the debate, held at KQED-TV and sponsored by the public television station and the San Francisco Chronicle, Breed went on the attack, saying "some of my opponents on this stage think investing in the African American community wasn't a good idea and isn't a good idea."
"Tell that to the people who've been able to buy their first home in San Francisco," she added. "Tell that to the people who don't have angel investors and have a silver spoon in their mouth."
Breed also said that she can't be held responsible for the actions of everyone in her administration.
"San Francisco has 34,000 employees and, from time to time, we have had challenges with some of them, and I want to be very clear I have held myself accountable," she said. "Even before this probe started, we had already paused issuing funding out of the Dream Keeper Initiative."
Former interim mayor Mark Farrell was one of three candidates — along with Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí — who spoke with media outlets, including the B.A.R., after the debate in an adjacent room. Farrell said at that time that he was opposed to the money for the initiative coming from the police budget.
"I'm open to all ways to invest in our communities here in San Francisco — the source of that funding is to me what the problem is," Farrell said. "Instead of being more efficient and effective with the $4 billion in third-party contracting, this mayor stripped $120 million from our police department specifically to do that. For me, that's not a commitment to public safety."
For his part, Farrell and KQED-TV's Marisa Lagos, a moderator, got a chuckle from the audience after he answered — asked about allegations he had skirted financial ethics, resulting in a $191,000 fine in 2016 — that "every single thing that I have ever done with my campaigns has been approved, vetted by and signed off by my attorneys. Every single time."
Responded Lagos, "That doesn't mean it's necessarily legal though."
Farrell assured it was, saying in reference to the fine that he was "fully exonerated" after an investigation.
Peskin, the only major progressive candidate, promised to clean up what he characterized as a culture of corruption. He has called for investigations and hearings into the Davis matter.
"I am the only candidate on this stage that has consistently done the work around public corruption," he said. "Mayor Breed knew about the alleged illegal activities of her very close friend and political mentee Sheryl Davis."
Safaí said that he authored legislation that led to audits of nonprofit agencies contracting with the city — in this case, providing services on homelessness and housing issues.
"Corruption has embedded this mayor's administration since day one," he said. "When we did our mandatory audits, spring of last year, the very first one that was done, they had to call in the FBI because the group was selling vouchers to friends and family."
Safaí was referring to the United Council of Human Services, which was referred to an FBI probe by City Attorney David Chiu and former San Francisco controller Ben Rosenfield after "access to housing was illegally sold to some residents." Most recently, in spring 2023, additional funding to this nonprofit was blocked, the San Francisco Standard reported. The FBI declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing.
Recovering from the pandemic
Breed said the city is feeling better after a COVID-era malaise that saw thousands of people move away and longtime businesses shutter. She touted this week's Dreamforce conference, new night markets, and other street events as proof.
As for this summer, Breed said, "I don't know about you but this past summer has been one of the best summers in our city, and especially downtown."
"To be very clear, crime is lower than it's been in over a decade, and in fact property crime was 70% higher when Mark [Farrell] was temporary mayor, car break-ins were 150% higher when he was temporary mayor, and violent crime was almost 40% higher. Tent encampments were over 60% higher," Breed said. "So he wants to say I have overseen one of the most challenging times and not deliver the results?"
Then, the mayor repeated a campaign slogan used by her friend Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
"My results speak for themselves — we have record-low crime rates, we are seeing our city bounce back, and he [Farrell] is trying to take us backward," she said. "And we are not going back."
Breed 'gaslighting' on crime, Safaí says
The debate was broadcast on KQED-TV and moderated by the station's Lagos and Scott Shafer, a gay man, along with the San Francisco Chronicle's political reporter Joe Garofoli. Breed hadn't shown up to forums in recent weeks, specifically a District 8 town hall September 5 and a televised debate on KPIX-TV September 11.
Breed said, "I actually have a job" when Farrell attacked her absence at the prior events.
Breed's opponents pounced on her track record on public safety. Safaí went the furthest with his remarks, saying, "You know, what bothers me the most listening to the mayor is that to consistently tell people crime is down is gaslighting. Go tell that to the small businesses in my district — for the last three weeks have literally been broken into almost every night between 1 and 5 a.m. Tell that to the worker who was trying to come home, hotel worker, 42 years worked for the Westin St. Francis and was pushed into a moving train on a BART platform. Crime is happening at a brazen level. ... People don't feel it because they're seeing it on a daily basis."
Trevor Belmont, 49, was charged by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins with the homicide of Corazon Dandan on July 3 after he allegedly pushed the 74-year-old in front of a BART train, as United Press International reported.
Breed said that according to reported police metrics, crime is down. Crime is at its lowest level in a decade, she said, and her police budget is $200 million more than Farrell's was when he was mayor.
To top it off, "the police officers association endorsed me only," she said, referring to the powerful police union.
Farrell shot back, "If you believe those stats, I have a bridge to sell you." He added that the department was fully staffed during his time as mayor in 2018.
Peskin, speaking to the press after the debate, agreed with the "gaslighting" remark.
"To say with a straight face this is the greatest summer we've ever had — I agree with Supervisor Safaí — it is gaslighting or, maybe in the spin room, it's spin," Peskin said.
Safaí said after the debate that to address the deficit of about 500 police officers, he supports Proposition N, which would offer student loan forgiveness to first responders, and said that Proposition F, which would offer substantial retirement benefits to older police officers who stay on, will help address the city's shortage of police officers.
Lurie a 'dangerous' choice, Breed says
Breed called Daniel Lurie, the Levi Strauss heir who founded and was CEO of the nonprofit Tipping Point Community, "probably one of the most dangerous people on this stage, so we definitely should be scared."
"He has absolutely zero experience," she said, referring to his lack of holding elected office. "And when you think about it, this is a major city with serious problems where anything can happen at any given moment — pandemics, major fires, earthquakes; heaven forbid a terrorist attack. And what is he going to do with his one-experience job?"
Lurie said he advised Breed in the early days of the COVID pandemic — "We actually talked during COVID. I offered my support to this mayor," he said — and gave her props for her early handling of the crisis, while saying that lockdown restrictions lasted too long, particularly policies that kept students from in-person learning.
"We stayed shut down for too long, our public schools stayed shut down for far too long, and we started politicizing every single thing in this city and everything became a food fight," Lurie said. "We have the slowest recovery of any major city in this country. We tell people we're from San Francisco now — go to LA, go to New York, you go somewhere else — and they go 'are you OK? Are you safe?' She had her chance."
Also using an oft-repeated phrase by Harris as she seeks the White House, Lurie concluded, "It is time to turn the page on this mayor and all the City Hall insiders I'm running against."
For her part, Breed said, "Not to mention, I don't even remember that phone call. I don't remember."
Responded Lurie, "OK, we're just going to make stuff up now. OK."
Responded Breed, "I just don't. I just don't remember. I'm sorry."
Responded Lurie, "We had multiple phone calls."
Lurie promised that if he becomes mayor there will be a San Francisco downtown development corporation "bringing the best of the business, government and civic leaders just like lower Manhattan did after 9/11. We'll do the same thing here."
Peskin drew a distinction between himself and his opponents on a number of issues, including downtown recovery.
"I support the economic recovery of all of our neighborhoods," he said. "They just talk about downtown, downtown, downtown."
Peskin also criticized the recent sweeps of homeless encampments, saying, "I have a comprehensive homeless strategy with real solutions. They just talk about sweeps, which have been proven to be ineffective."
For her part, Breed defended the sweeps, which have been taking place since a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson. The court held that local government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment of homeless people.
"We are doing everything we can to make sure that people are so uncomfortable that they take us up on our offer to go indoors," Breed said.
Peskin touted his recovery from alcohol addiction after a question about his temperament due to his reported past late night inebriated phone calls to city staff.
"There are many things I have done in office I'm proud of, and some that I'm not proud of," Peskin said. "I'm grateful to be in recovery and I'm grateful to the community that has shown me the love and support to get me there."
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