In a Mission Local forum Wednesday night, it was clear San Francisco’s politics has shifted since the heyday of Black Lives Matter, even in District 9, one of the city’s most progressive districts: None of the seven candidates campaigning to succeed Supervisor Hillary Ronen mentioned defunding the police, including leading candidate Jackie Fielder, who had campaigned on doing so in 2020.
The District 9 hopefuls generally support more enforcement against sex work, and some took the position that crime data are false — an increasingly popular position among candidates running on a message of urgent public safety at a period when San Francisco crime is down, and violent crime is at near historic lows.
Still, District 9 remains a bastion for progressives. During much of the forum, all but Trevor Chandler said they support Proposition 33, which would allow cities to expand rent control. They overwhelmingly opposed the city’s nascent RV ban, and almost all endorsed Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin for mayor — only Chandler said he wanted to “stay out of” the mayor’s race.
The District 9 forum took place at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and was moderated by Mission Local reporter Oscar Palma. It was one of a series of district supervisor forums hosted by Mission Local.
Almost all of the candidates supported the stance of a group of Shotwell Street residents who recently sued the city regarding ongoing sex work and vagrancy in the area. Something needs to be done, they said, though some didn’t agree with suing the city.
Jaime Gutierrez, a transit supervisor for Muni, said he doesn’t agree with suing the city, but “you have to burn the feet of the people that are behind allowing this to happen in order for them to act.” Chandler nodded along.
Otherwise, Julian Bermudez (who works in his family’s appliance business) and h brown both support decriminalizing or legalizing sex workers, and Fielder said she wants to move prostitution off of residential streets into a sanctioned area. Roberto Hernandez, a longtime Mission activist, spoke of “wraparound services” for sex workers.
When Palma asked why public safety remains candidates’ No. 1 issue when crime is down nearly across the board, Gutierrez and Chandler both concluded that crime data is unreliable. Most candidates simply stressed that they want to respond to voters’ concerns.
“I believe that crime is not going down, but it’s actually going up,” Gutierrez blurted out.
Chandler took one step further by saying that “D9 residents are tired of being gaslit by leadership, including the mayor,” adding, “we’re not going to fall for a trap that says it’s going down.”
Stephen Torres, a bartender at Twin Peaks Tavern, was the only one to point out the absurdity of ignoring the data. “It is funny how, every election cycle, it ratchets up and it preys on your fears,” he said.
Similarly, regarding a question on new San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency restrictions that make it easier to tow RVs that many are living in, Chandler and Gutierrez differentiated themselves by being more supportive of tough-on-crime measures, with Chander reminding viewers that no one could be moved without an offer of shelter, and Gutierrez calling it a “very, very strange issue” that the city needed to “do something about it.”
Other candidates are generally unsupportive of the ban, which would allow for the city to tow RVs. In his most forceful moment of the night, Hernandez said some of the families living in RVs had, not long ago, been displaced from the Mission during the tech boom.
“It’s inhumane that we never took care of the people that got evicted in this community,” he said. “It is criminal what they’re doing to them now.”
Notably, four of the seven candidates, including Bermudez, Fielder, Torres and Brown, don’t find the new BART gates, aimed at reducing fare evasion, to be beneficial. Among them, Torres said “TBD,” and Brown equated the gates to “prison.”
Fielder, a democratic socialist who campaigned on defunding the police during her 2020 State Senate race against Scott Wiener, confirmed that her supervisorial campaign does not support defunding the police now.
Times have changed from the George Floyd moment, and now, after speaking to neighborhood residents, she said she is more interested in how the San Francisco Police Department is using its funding to get officers “out of their cars and into our streets.”
In the last four years, since 2020, Fielder added that the department has not seen “a single one of their requests for more funding” denied.
Among all seven candidates, Fielder is leading in fundraising with $460,686, followed by Chandler, who has raised $417,528, including $59,000 through an independent PAC backing his candidacy; Hernandez has raised $348,369.
Hernandez is campaigning on housing for everyone this year, despite having opposed housing projects in the past. Hernandez explained the contradiction, saying his oppositional stances happened “at the height of 27,000 people being evicted.”
“Today, what we need is housing for everybody, because we’re in a different time. It’s not a tech boom like it was before,” he added.
The forum was not without levity, often provided by h brown. Throughout, brown would refer to the “three Js” sitting to his right — Jackie Fielder, Jaime Gutierrez, and Julian Bermudez — as his top-ranking votes, even before himself.
Later, when asked for their favorite taco spots in the Mission, several said El Buen Sabor. “Safeway,” replied h brown, as the candidates and audience guffawed again.
But it was Bermudez who contributed the most joyous moment of the evening, and the debate couldn’t even continue until the audience’s applause died down.
Moderator Palma asked him to explain his endorsement by the San Francisco Republican Party. Not a frontrunner, “I take every single opportunity to go speak in front of a crowd. They had a pretty easy application,” Bermudez said. “Without even knowing what my platform was … they ended up endorsing me out of nowhere.”
“So you can just say here publicly: The San Francisco GOP endorsed a candidate without knowing their platform,” he added. “And they endorsed a progressive candidate.”
Bermudez started every answer by stating his full name. In the next answer, he said “Hi, my name is Julian Bermudez. I am the mistakenly endorsed GOP candidate.”
The audience burst into laughter.
I went to a D9 debate a few weeks ago in the Portola.
What bothered me were Jackie Fielder supporters booing and yelling at candidates’ answers they did not like. No one else did that. Reminded me of MAGA people harassing Republican candidates for not being right-wing enough. This time it’s just on the left. We’re all Democrats, people! We can be respectful.
Sean,
How can I call you a liar and not actually say that outright ?
Anyway, pretend I did that here.
I was not only at the Portola Neighborhood Association’s D-9 Forum but I was a candidate onstage and what you say absolutely did not happen.
Association President Maggie Weis was clear about the rules with both candidates and crowd before the proceedings began and no one violated them.
Why did you make that up ?
go Niners !!
h.
H brown, perhaps you didn’t hear it because you were on stage. A man next to me in a giants cap yelled “shut the f**k up”. A woman in the front row booed, at which point Trevor Chandler asked, “we’re booing now?”
Calling me a liar without considering the possibility that you didn’t hear it is exactly the nasty attitude that I’m referring to in my comments.
Chill out and keep an open mind that you might not see or hear everything that happens in a room.
It should be noted that this reporter is friends with Jackie Fielder’s campaign staff. She was in the front row with them taking zoomed in photos of Trevor and snickering together. I don’t know what the purpose was, but it’s not very professional. There’s clearly a bias here, and Mission Local isn’t even trying to hide it anymore. Though the moderators likely won’t let this comment through, I hope Ms. Zhou is able to read it so she can do better in the future.
Dear Sarah —
You’re wrong: We’re publishing your regrettable comment. But you’re wrong about more than that.
In fact, Yujie Zhou sat in the *second* row, not the first. The woman you saw was Xueer Lu, who was acting as timekeeper. Xueer has never met Jackie Fielder’s campaign staff before Wednesday night; they are not friends. Both Xueer and Yujie are visible in the third photo in the article. Xueer is in the front row, Yujie is in the second.
Xueer is seven inches taller than Yujie. They do not resemble one another. I find it unfortunate, in your comment about how, “there’s clearly a bias here,” you would simply assume that the Chinese woman you saw was the author.
Both Yujie and Xueer read your comment. But I don’t think it’s them that should be trying to do better in the future.
Yours,
JE
Touché.
I just listened to the audio and nowhere in Fielder’s answer does she confirm she no longer supports defunding the police. In fact, she references that “in 2020 there was a resurgence of the black lives matter movement” and “At that time, a majority of Americans also supported the burning of a police station.” This is simply not true. She expands that “Overtime has ballooned to 9000 to 14000, and so I am interested in making sure the police are actually doing their jobs and marking sure they are out of their cars and into our streets” which sounds a lot like a confirmation she is questioning how police in SF are currently funded and if deemed unnecessary, a possibility of…defunding.
From the jackieforsf campaign site:
“Real and enduring safety requires a more effective use of law enforcement resources, stronger crime prevention programs, real solutions to our fentanyl crisis, staffing up our public safety system, victim support services, community-led crime prevention programs and rehabilitation programs that disrupt the cycle of violence. To achieve this, we need to fully fund our public safety system while focusing on accountability at all levels.”
https://www.jackieforsf.com/publicsafety
Maybe I misheard her. The moderator gave Jackie Fielder a leading question as a clear opportunity to back away from her defund the police stance, but it sounded like she couldn’t bring herself to explicitly state this.
Question: “Jackie. In 2020 when you were running against Scott Wiener for state senate, you supported defunding the police. This time, however, your campaign – you say that – your campaign is not for defunding the police. What changed?”
Answer: “Yeah, in 2020 there was a resurgence of the black lives matter movement. That was originally one of the biggest movements in 2020– in 2014 the version – that inspired me to get involved in activism and politics. And we all saw through our screens, a police officer, kneeling on a black man, and suffocating him to death. At that time, a majority of Americans also supported the burning of a police station. Since then, I have gone door-to-door for thousands of voters in this district and I’ve heard from a lot of people that care about public safety, and I think in this climate there is no one talking about how we’re actually using police funding. Every single request to the SFPD has been granted to the tune of 200M since 2020. There is no question about how they are using their time. Overtime has ballooned to 9000 to 14000, and so I am interested in making sure the police are actually doing their jobs and marking sure they are out of their cars and into our streets.”
Word salad non-answer.
Full quotes would be helpful. Jackie seemed to question the funding of the police in her answer rather than distancing herself from the defund movement. Trevor said he wouldn’t vote for Prop 33, but specifically said he was for rent control. Jaime and Trevor also had different answers with regards to the police stats.
Mission Local clearly has a favorite (and a least favorite) candidate.
Joseph,
One thing Trevor didn’t claim to be last night was a Public School Teacher and that’s because I was sitting across the stage from him with 59 years experience to his 2 months.
Hey, he pulled a Fast-One on Arntz worth couple of thousand votes.
Should I assume that the Director of the Office of Elections of the City and County of San Francisco, John Arntz has a ‘favorite in the race’ too ?
That could be much more dangerous.
Don’t you agree ?
Ask Trevor and Arntz how well they know Jim Sutton.
h.
“San Francisco’s politics has shifted since the heyday of Black Lives Matter”
BLM turned out to be one of those 15-minute things like occupy wall street (remember that?)
I’d love to see some Mission Local reporting on crime statistics. Not merely parroting the SFPD top-line, but doing some investigation. I’ve mentioned in these comments before that if no one is reporting crime, of course statistics will show a decrease. But what if the crime is happening anyway? I read story after story about individuals and businesses *giving up* on the police, and not bothering to report crime. I could provide similar anecdotes of my own experiences, and those of others on my street.
I used to think that underreporting was true only of property crime; that violent crime would naturally be reported. After witnessing police responses to two recent assaults, I no longer believe that. The police *discourage* reporting.
So instead of taking the police’s word for it – “we’re doing a great job, everything is better,” maybe figure out a way to test those claims. Probably not easy, but worth the effort. And certainly better than doing what Mission Local has been doing all year, just credulously repeating the “crime is down” mantra based, again, entirely on the police version of events.
True dat, once your car gets broken into three times, nothing taken, you just do report it because nothing gets done about it.
Can you link to any of the “story after story” you’ve read regarding “individuals and businesses … not bothering to report crime,” or would we have to be within your nextdoor loop?
What is tiring is people making this claim and coming up with peanuts and pocket lint to back their assertion. It’s illogical that reporting has skewed meaningfully in the last years or decades.
OK, so you think it would be a bad idea to investigate the truth of “crime is down.” It has been said by the police and must be true. Got it. Don’t believe your eyes, believe the authorities. I think I read that in a book somewhere.
Just for fun, here’s one example from last month. Paragraph 6, so you don’t have to read too much.
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sf-bayside-market-closes-after-35-years-19748038.php
I think if SFGate could’ve come up with more than a sensational headline and hearsay, they would have. Producing analytics from anecdotes isn’t really a thing.
The D9 Debate revealed just how disconnected the D9 candidates are from the pressing issues facing the Mission. Rather than presenting a clear plan to address challenges like housing, prostitution, and the rampant lawlessness seen in illegal vending, open-air drug use, and the recent violence—including multiple shootings—they stubbornly cling to the failed policies of the Ronen administration. This disregard for the reality on our streets can only be described as willful myopia. The Mission and our diverse community deserve better.
That’s why I’m supporting Trevor Chandler for supervisor (#1), along with Hernandz (#2) and Gutierrez (#3). These three candidates genuinely understand the importance of common sense and are committed to the well-being of all Mission residents. Let’s vote for change this November.
Campers,
I find it easier to cover these things from the candidate’s perspective by being one.
I’ve been watching this Jim Sutton ‘avalanche’ of support for Trevor Chandler that was nowhere in either audience and the only disrespect he got was from me onstage and I paid 500 bucks for it and every bit was justified.
These operatives keep trying to shift to Fear by claiming Progs and Fielder will leave us unprotected in D-9 when it is the cops doing that and also proactively harassing us.
Very simple here.
Cops won’t walk beats and leave hundreds of positions blank for Overtime ?
Hire a few hundred of the Patrol Specials they forced out back to walk em.
h.
Campers,
As I keep repeating, I’ve met and spoken with Trevor Chandler several times out in the community from events ranging from an SFPD neighborhood meet at a Mission Dolores Church hall looking at the ‘Hill Bomb’ skateboard meets to one of his dog walks and outside the Women’s Building and he’s a nice guy recruited by Jim Sutton and the Billionaires’ Club to represent their interests.
Sutton has been top Elections Area legal rep for SF Swells since Willie Brown was in Sacramento and babysat their interests at every single Ethics Commission hearing for years much as Joe O’Donoghue looked out for RBA interests.
Twas Sutton who rep’d Dede Wilsey and Warren Hellman in their destruction of the Classic de Young Art Museum in Golden Gate Park and the construction of the new monstrosity that is just tall enough for a view that Dede chose from a certain height from a hovering copter.
A garage adjoining also that destroyed a hundred year old natural stone bridge.
Sutton promised for Hellman and Wilsey that the rich would pay for it all and they stuck you with most of the tab which you’re still paying and the garage is Private in our park and you pay for it coming and going.
That’s how good Jim Sutton is.
Like Walter Wong at DBI, Sutton was allowed freedom by the Elections Director to roam illegally through the counting rooms as the votes were counted.
Last year he folded his decades old highly successful private law practice and went Full Time working across the board on Billionaire propped candidates.
Each of them got a million dollar lawyer to show them how to do things like get a favorable Ballot Designation even if allowing same skirted the law.
SF DOE Executive Director John Arntz allowed Trevor to call himself a union dues paying ‘Public School Teacher’ when at the time John made the call Chandler had less than 3 weeks in his life of doing either and as a ‘Substitute’ (means ‘not the real thing’) at that.
Sutton counseled well, that calling yourself a teacher on the ballot was worth a couple of thousand lever tugs from voters who didn’t do their homework.
Jim Sutton is Trevor Chandler’s lawyer in this matter.
Says there right on the paper’s Trevor filed for Arntz’s consideration.
His work is worth more than that of all of the ‘Progressive’ Political Consultants in town stacked one atop the other.
When I spoke with (‘interviewed’) Trevor after the Portola Neighborhood Association Forum he told me fervently that I was going to be surprised at how much support he was going to get.
Surprise this ole dawg ?
The DOE hasn’t really done that since their waterproofed ballot box lids started being washed in by the Pacific tide from Stinson Beach (had couple hanging over a Surfers bar) to South of the City.
I’ve suggested to Lurie and Peskin that they have a presence at the last Department of Elections Commission meeting before the election to telegraph the news that this time if we get surprises that both the Left and the Right have the Resources to check it out.
What did Brecht say ?
Oh, yeah …
“I have been to the Jungles and the Lowlands beneath where tigers question jaguars about their teeth.
And, never forget the Moral that I trace …
this World is a dangerous place.”
Go Niners !!
h. brown (of the ‘D-9 Seven’)
is h proactively sowing doubt about the legitimacy of the election?
an elaborate operation taking place involving the DOE, a powerful lawyer, and a cabal of billionaires to fraudulently elect their chosen candidate
the political spectrum is a flat circle
sad irony is that the left is borrowing the tools of the far right and the maga means justifies the ends as long as the ‘good’ guys beat the ‘bad’ guys
the future is bleak
Kai,
Can I be any more clear !?!
I don’t believe that Breed has ever won a race.
You telling me she beat the best tenant lawyer in the State in a district that’s 75% renters ?
She began on a ‘Bond Oversight Committee’ via Willie where she rubberstamped every cost overrun put before her.
She went to Redevelopment and did the same for a few years.
I didn’t say I knew of any rigged elections.
I just know from my research that these Dominion machines that count our votes here run on a Proprietary set of Algorithms instead of being Open Source.
A 12 year old hacked a Florida machine at a Vegas convention in ten minutes and changed the outcome of a virtual state contest.
I don’t believe Biden beat Sanders in that Super Tuesday sweep in 2020.
Dominion machines in 28 states for that one.
I just work hard all day every day for my candidates and issues with just me and my dog and a trash bag.
It’s very Punk
h.