SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 1.11.2024
Today’s post comes under the “Better late than never” category.
Just today Liz pointed out an article which appeared in The New Yorker last October which took Mayor London Breed to the political woodshed. Blasting her “cynical” right wing turn as a political ploy to gain favor with the ascendant law and order venture capital crowd burrowing its way into Breed’s City Hall with deep pockets. Into the political life of San Francisco.
The Lede in the piece came at the end.
It’s something San Franciscans who watch the action know all too well.
Excerpted from The New Yorker 10.2.2023
There is no question that homelessness and addiction in the state should be the top priorities for any elected official—not just because voters care but because the crises deserve real solutions.
Blaming people battling addiction and threatening them with potential financial ruin might satisfy someone like Elon Musk, but the game that San Francisco Mayor London Breed is playing now is both cynical and a waste of everyone’s time.
Maybe all of this will teach Breed the lesson that she should have learned when she cheered on the recall of Chesa Boudin: if the problems—homelessness, crime—stay the same once you’ve disposed of your political enemies, the next backlash is coming straight for you.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/london-breeds-cynical-swing-to-the-right
Top photo: San Francisco Mayor London Breed takes a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds in honor of George Floyd at City Hall, Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in San Francisco, Calif. Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the Bay Area and protesters in the nation continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of Floyd. Chauvin had kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle
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