Breed gets her answer:
SF Mayor Farrell won’t commit to her policy priorities
Saying San Francisco needs to manage its money carefully, Mayor Mark Farrell did not commit Tuesday to funding two of Supervisor London Breed’s legislative priorities: wage increases for contract workers and free attorneys for residents facing eviction.
Breed confronted Farrell during “Question Time,” the mayor’s monthly appearance before the board, which has become a rote ritual in which the mayor delivers a five-minute prepared speech. Breed’s budget question was the first since September 2016.
Stung, Breed said she took Farrell’s lack of assurance to mean “no.”
The supervisors unanimously approved funding for seven new immigration positions — attorneys and assistants — in the public defender’s office, at a cost of $882,500 between now and June. Going forward, Farrell is hoping to pass that burden on to the state.
Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Sandra Lee Fewer cosponsored the request for supplemental funding with four of their colleagues. They said it’s necessary to beef up legal services for immigrants given President Trump’s rhetoric against sanctuary cities.
And the board unanimously approved permitting fees for companies testing delivery robots.
The meeting lasted 90 minutes and was dominated by public comment.