Breed’s performance numbers are mixed
With the November election just around the corner, San Francisco Mayor London
Breed’s job performance numbers show voters are still very much undecided about her effectiveness, with only about onethird of them approving of the job she’s doing, according to a new citywide poll.
The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 11 and 12, and found voters in a neareven, threeway split, with 35% of them firmly backing Breed, 30%
disapproving of her job performance and 35% “not sure.”
The results were part of a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling of North Carolina and paid for by backers of an ethics measure on the November ballot.
The poll queried 529 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%.
But while voters may have doubts about Breed’s job performance, they still seem to like her. The mayor scored a 56% “favorable” rating in a different poll of 525 telephone and online respondents commissioned by Breed supporters to test a possible future health and homeless initiative. It was taken by EMC Research of Oakland between Oct. 6 and 10. The margin of error was 4%.
But that poll also showed 57% of voters said the city is still on the “wrong track,” compared to 33% who said it is headed in the “right direction.”
“In light of 57% thinking the city is off on the wrong track, an unfavorable rating of only 34% means that most voters still believe in her ability to make improvements,” said Breed reelection campaign manager Maggie Muir. Ten percent either didn’t know or had no opinion.
Breed won the office last May in a special election following the death of Mayor Ed Lee. She beat former San Francisco Supervisor and state Sen. Mark Leno, Supervisor Jane Kim and former Supervisor Angela Alioto.
This time Breed has five challengers, but none of them is nearly as wellknown or experienced as her opponents last time so her reelection is virtually guaranteed.
Still, the numbers show that voters are looking for results.
Since taking office, Breed has been working on many of the same problems that Lee faced: homelessness, open drug use, high residential and commercial rents, increased traffic congestion and a high rate of property crime.
“The problems facing the city have been building for years,” Breed said Tuesday when asked about her performance rating. “But with time and work, people will see changes for the better. But it’s not going to happen overnight or in the first year in office.”
One move that may have cost Breed a bit of support was her decision to name former Police Commission President Suzy Loftus to fill out the term of outgoing District Attorney George Gascon, who resigned.
Breed is supporting Loftus in what is shaping up to be a tight, fourway race among Loftus, state deputy attorney general Leif Dautch, Alameda County prosecutor Nancy Tung and deputy public defender Chesa Boudin. Appointing Loftus to the D.A’s job was intended to give Loftus a boost just as voters were starting to focus on the race.
But a good chunk of voters surveyed in the Public Policy Polling survey — 40% — disagreed with the appointment. Only 25% agreed and 35% were “not sure” how they felt about the Loftus play.
Loftus’ appointment could have longterm consequences, as voters, by a 21 ratio, said they would support a ballot measure to bar the mayor from appointing candidates to the office they are running for within 90 days of the election. The poll reported 49% of voters said they would support that measure while 23% opposed it.
The poll was paid for by “Sunlight on Dark Money, Yes on F,” the committee backing an ethics reform measure on the November ballot that would require greater disclosures and restrictions on campaign donations in local races. The poll showed Proposition F winning with 65% of the vote.
“These numbers show voters overwhelmingly believe our ethics laws need to be strengthened to curb the pervasive influence of big money on City Hall,” former San Francisco Ethics Commission Chairman Peter Keane said. He is one of the authors of Prop. F. Railroaded: Not sure if congratulations or condolences are in order, but longtime Bay Area housing developer Jim Ghielmetti of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California HighSpeed Rail Authority board of directors.
Ghielmetti is the founder of Signature Homes, which since 1983 has been a major player in the Bay Area housing market. Ghielmetti was a member of the California Transportation Commission until last week.
“Brian Kelly, the new highspeed rail chief executive officer, asked me if I’d consider putting my name in,” Ghielmetti said.
Highspeed rail was intended to whisk travelers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours and 40 minutes. However, a barrage of planning and legal problems, coupled with a neardoubling of the cost to $77.3 billion has put the future of the line in serious doubt.
As for why he took the job, Ghielmetti said, “I’d like to see the train get back on track.”
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 4157778815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier