Democratic San Francisco mayor London Breed is facing multiple challengers due to retail crime and drugs in the city, with a majority of the city disapproving of the mayor’s performance, according to The New York Times.
Breed faces multiple challengers with Ahsha Safaí, a former San Francisco Board of Supervisors member who is framing his campaign around rising crime in the city, and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune Daniel Lurie who is also reportedly planning a mayoral run. The city is suffering an onslaught of issues under Breed, such as rising retail theft, homeless encampments and downtown fentanyl markets, according to the NYT.
“Anything less than 10 people running in a race for mayor is a small field for San Francisco,” Jim Ross, a Bay Area political consultant who advised former Democratic San Francisco mayor and now Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, told the NYT.
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Safai’s campaign centers around homelessness, public safety and rebuilding trust in local government, according to his campaign’s website.
San Francisco, a hub of tech activity, has seen its downtown office usage drop after the pandemic, with a third of offices in commercial buildings now vacant, according to the NYT. San Francisco has seen an increase in crime over the last 12 months with homicide up 11.5% and motor vehicle thefts up 8.7%.
Voters have also grown discontented with some left-wing policies, according to the NYT. A local school board had three of its members recalled last year for keeping students out of class too long and prioritizing social justice policies.
A large majority of San Francisco voters feel the city is on the wrong track, with 73% of voters agreeing with the statement, according to Probolsky Research. The poll also revealed that 57% of voters view Breed unfavorably.
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“It’s an incredibly difficult environment to be an incumbent in,” a spokesperson for Breed’s campaign told the NYT.
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