S.F. mayor pushes new safety proposals
Drug tests for welfare recipients among policies
SAN FRANCISCO — The Democratic mayor of San Francisco is pushing a pair of controversial public safety proposals on the March 5 ballot, including one that would require single adults on welfare be screened and treated for illegal drug addiction or else lose cash assistance.
Mayor London Breed also supports a ballot measure that would grant police more crime-fighting powers, such as the use of drones and surveillance cameras. In November, she’ll face cranky voters in a competitive reelection bid.
San Francisco is in a struggle to redefine itself after the pandemic left it in economic tatters and highlighted its longstanding problems with homelessness, drugs and property crime.
Opponents say both measures are wildly out of step with San Francisco’s support for privacy and civil liberties and will only hurt marginalized communities.
But Breed, the first Black woman to lead San Francisco, said at a January campaign stop that residents from poorer, Black and immigrant neighborhoods are pleading for more police, and recovery advocates are demanding change as more than
800 people died of accidental overdose last year — a record fueled by the abundance of cheap and potent fentanyl.
While Breed’s name isn’t on the presidential primary ballots going out now — San Francisco uses a method where residents rank mayoral candidates by preference a single time in November — the two measures she’s pushing are. They serve as an opening salvo for her reelection campaign as she faces off against fellow moderates who say her approach to the city’s problems has been weak.
Violent crimes are low, but the city has long struggled with quality-of-life crimes.
Breed said rates of retail theft and auto smash-ins have declined, thanks mainly to strategic operations by city police. Similarly, police have stepped up enforcement of drug laws, including by issuing citations to people using drugs in public as a way to disrupt the behavior and an opportunity to persuade the person cited to seek help.
But she said San Francisco needs to do more.
If approved by voters, Proposition F would offer another way to compel treatment, by allowing the city to screen single adults on local welfare for substance abuse.
People found to be abusing illegal drugs would be required to enroll in treatment if they want to receive cash assistance, which maxes out at just over $700 a month.
Opponents say coercion doesn’t work and homelessness may increase if the measure passes.