San Fran Mayor And Board Member Lock Horns In Intense Battle To Save City From Drug Epidemic

Supervisor Preston criticized Breed's approach, which quickly led to dozens of arrests, stating that it contradicts the city's 2022 overdose prevention plan, which acknowledges that "Black, Brown and indigenous communities nationwide" have been disproportionately impacted by racist drug policies.

"Will you follow your own Department of Public Health advice and end punitive policies … or will you ramp up these strategies, ignoring the advice of public health experts and causing even more overdose deaths?" asked Preston, who is the first Democratic Socialist elected to the board in over 40 years.

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Breed responded by accusing Preston of being "another White man who's talking about Black and Brown people as if you're the savior of those people and you speak for them." The exchange occurred during Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting after Breed touted early results of the city's attempt to crack down on open-air drug markets.

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Breed reported that over the last week, police arrested or cited 38 people as part of these efforts, with 12 suspects having other warrants and only three of the people detained identifying as San Francisco residents. Breed said everyone arrested was offered services, but "zero have accepted." She added, "We will offer people help, but when they refuse, we won't just let them put themselves and others in danger."

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June 17, 2023

Preston, who represents the city's troubled Tenderloin District, pointed out that Breed had previously promised to open the city's first "wellness hub" to prevent overdoses and offer other resources. He criticized Breed for closing the Tenderloin Center, which he called the city's "only safe consumption site," and asked her to commit to moving forward on plans for a Tenderloin wellness hub by the end of the month.

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"Interestingly, you say you want this in the Tenderloin," Breed responded, adding that every constituent she has talked to is "adamant about opposing" more services. "They want to see safety. They want to see police. They want to see a change in their neighborhood," Breed said. "They don't want any more services to continue to dominate their community and then provide an additional layer of problems that have continuously plagued the Tenderloin community."

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When Preston had a chance to respond, he brought up racial equity and suggested Breed's new police-heavy policies would cause "even more overdose deaths." Breed fired back, accusing Preston of acting like the "savior" of "Black and Brown people."

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"I have a sister that I lost to a drug overdose in the city. I have friends and family members who have been lost in the Tenderloin with no aggressive action, no changes to policies," she said. "Have you ever spent time talking to any of those same Black and Brown people who are addicted to drugs on our streets in San Francisco to understand their challenges and what they need and what we need to do as a city to turn their lives around?"

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Overdoses have surged in San Francisco, which saw 647 drug deaths last year and is on pace to surpass that figure again this year. According to the medical examiner's office, a fifth of the deaths occurred in the Tenderloin. Breed said the solution is "not just services, it's also force."

"At the end of the day, when we need to make arrests because someone's breaking the law and needs to be held accountable and can potentially be forced into treatment services, I'm going to do so," she said.