The leftist mayor of San Francisco who presided over a shocking rise in crime and homeless over the past six years will soon leave office, having lost her re-election bid to a businessman with no political experience.
London Breed, 50, became mayor of San Francisco after winning a special election in the wake of the passing of Mayor Ed Lee in late 2017. Since then, she has implemented a radical agenda.
‘Over the coming weeks, I plan to reflect on all the progress we’ve made.’
She was among the first mayors of a major city to strip law enforcement of funding in keeping with the BLM cry to “defund the police” following the death of George Floyd. In 2020, Breed announced that she would cut a whopping $120 million from the budgets of both San Francisco’s police and sheriff’s departments, the New York Post reported in December 2021.
Within a year, she had reversed course about funding law enforcement, but by then, homelessness and crime, particularly property-related crime, had soared. In March, residents from the Tenderloin district even sued the city for failing to address these problems.
“Every day, at all hours, people are dealing drugs and using drugs in front of [the plaintiffs’] apartment building. There are encampments. People are lighting bonfires. Their sidewalks are filthy with all kinds of problems from used syringes to human waste,” said Matthew Davis, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Facing a tough re-election battle this year amid a slate of eager challengers and ranked-choice voting, Breed then tacked toward the center. At a debate in front of a crowd of unionized firefighters in July, Breed announced that she would crack down on homeless encampments following the Supreme Court ruling Grants Pass v. Johnson.
“We have had to move from a compassionate city to a city of accountability, and I have been leading the efforts to ensure that we are addressing this issue differently than we have before,” Breed said at the time.
“We will continue to lead with services, but we also can’t continue to allow people to do what they want on the streets of San Francisco, especially when we have a place for them to go.”
Such gestures were too little, too late, apparently.
On Tuesday, voters decided to go with Daniel Lurie, the 47-year-old heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and the current CEO of the anti-poverty nonprofit Tipping Point, KTVU reported.
Because of his wealth and quick rise from relative obscurity, critics accused him of trying to buy his way into office. Lurie dismissed those allegations.
“You can’t buy an election in San Francisco. You’ve got to go out and earn every vote,” he said.
Though voters often ranked both Breed and Lurie on their ballot, as of Thursday, Breed trailed Lurie considerably, 43.8% to 56.2%. Breed then called Lurie to concede.
She also posted a concession message to X, claiming to have done her best and made significant “progress” during her time in office.
“I answered the call and always gave San Francisco and its people my heart and soul.”
Breed also expressed optimism about the future.
“I am the Mayor – but you all are doing the hard work every day and the City is on the rise. Over the coming weeks, I plan to reflect on all the progress we’ve made. But today, I am proud that we have truly accomplished so much and my heart is filled with gratitude,” she wrote.
Lurie, a political neophyte, has already pledged to secure 1,500 more housing units for the homeless within six months of taking office. He also wants to hire 450 new police officers within three years, according to KTVU.
However, he also cautioned that the city will not turn the corner “overnight.”
“I’m deeply grateful to my incredible family, campaign team and every San Franciscan who voted for accountability, service and change. No matter who you supported in this election, we stand united in the fight for San Francisco’s future and a safer and more affordable city for all,” he said in a statement.
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San francisco crime, San francisco, London breed, Defund the police, Homelessness, Ranked-choice voting, Grants pass, Politics
