Legal experts, civil-rights advocates and community members took to the steps of San Francisco City Hall on Monday afternoon, condemning Mayor Daniel Lurie’s motion to oust San Francisco Police Commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone.
Carter-Oberstone is an outspoken progressive focused on police reform who infamously clashed with Mayor London Breed, who appointed him. This, he acknowledged today, has “not endeared me to the leadership of our police department.” In a letter to the Board of Supervisors, Lurie wrote that he will seek a replacement “who will work collaboratively to make our city safer.”
Tomorrow, the supervisors will hold a hearing on Carter-Oberstone’s removal, which requires six votes. It will be an uphill battle for Carter-Oberstone: Only a smattering of supes have expressed their intent to retain him.
Brian Hofer, the director of Secure Justice, a reform advocacy group, said before the rally that he expected three votes were secured in Carter-Oberstone’s favor. “You don’t know until you fight the fight,” he said when asked about the impact of Monday’s rally.
Hofer hoped for a delayed vote: Enough uncertainty amongst the supervisors, he added, could grant more time to garner support.
Supporters had already been organizing at a community level by calling their supervisors, said Erica Wang, one of the first to arrive outside City Hall with a poster.
“I sincerely hope that it has an impact,” she said before turning to a bride preparing for her photoshoot. “Pay attention, this is happening tomorrow,” she told the woman in white.
Former police commissioner Angela Chan told Mission Local she was unsure how the vote would go. But, she said, if it is against Carter-Oberstone, the reason would be “political” rather than “values-based.” Monday’s objective, she added, was to “create political space by holding a press conference.”
“My job is not to become popular with the agency that I’m supposed to be overseeing,” Carter-Oberstone said. “It is to serve the public and protect and defend the rule of law.”
Prominent advocates from the Public Defender’s Office, American Civil Liberties Union, and other reform organizations commended Carter-Oberstone for his independent judgment, policy experience and whistleblowing as a “public servant.”
He was recognized in 2023 by the Society of Professional Journalists for exposing then-Mayor London Breed’s practice of mandating commission appointees sign undated resignation letters, a since-discarded practice the city attorney later described as “inconsistent” with the city charter.
“When you see something, say something,” said former SFPD captain Yulanda Williams. “He’s been saying something.”
District 9 supervisor Jackie Fielder noted that Carter-Oberstone was a vocal opponent of Proposition E, the March 2024 measure that allows police to engage in vehicle chases more readily. On Super Bowl Sunday, six people were injured when a police chase ended in a car crash at a bar in the Mission.
Supporters also questioned Lurie’s motivations.
“Why is it suddenly so important to you that he be removed?” asked Williams. “What is truly going on?”
“Have you ever met him?” asked Paulette Brown, who has attended police commission meetings since her son was shot and killed in 2006, and was invited to Lurie’s inauguration. “You’re making your decision based on other people’s opinions. Talk to him and see who he really is.”
Carter-Oberstone had his own answer: “Daniel Lurie hasn’t bothered to justify why he is removing me, but he apparently has a different vision of the police commission than the one set out in the charter,” he said. The reasons supervisors vote on the mayor’s decision to remove commissioners, he continued, is to reduce politically motivated ousting of commissioners.
“He would prefer commissioners who follow his orders and do as they’re told.”
Carter-Oberstone began his remarks by thanking everyone who spoke before him for their “moral clarity.” He concluded by addressing a comment made by Supervisor Matt Dorsey “who said that my failure to resign at Daniel Lurie’s request was somehow ‘not classy.’”
“There is nothing classy about bending the knee to a mayor who would rather have a rubber stamp in my place,” Carter-Oberstone said. “Let the supervisors cast their votes and let history be the judge.”
“That’s right!” an unaffiliated woman shouted as she climbed the marble steps and entered City Hall.
““My job is not to become popular with the agency that I’m supposed to be overseeing,” Carter-Oberstone said.”
Maybe so but he should not be seeking out confrontation either. Someone who can work more constructively and collaboratively with SFPD is more in keeping with the voters, who have shown by recalling Chesa and electing Lurie that they want more toughness on crime and criminals, and more support for SFPD.
Tom has 0 concept of what the police commission actually does.
Tom,
Voters want a ‘tougher approach on crime’ because they have been programmed to want that as an unintended consequence of Corporate profit seeking.
Let me see if I can string some Chomsky with Yuval Harari …
You have a product you want to sell so you employ the latest scientific methods to get the Public to buy your product.
Today, those methods include Algorithms that have no empathy or morals or value of any kind.
They are just strings of commands tasked with returning the greatest profit to the employer.
The Algorithm sets out by surveying the target customer base and finds that what gets their attention is violence.
Toss in Sex and Greed and Envy and soon the programming and advertising are saturating the media with depictions of same.
Would you rather watch ‘The Flying Nun’ or ‘Breaking Bad’ ?
Hmmm, where was I when I interrupted myself ?
Ah yeah, the people get a rush out of appeals to what my S.C. students used to call a person’s “strong side”.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brown but we had to see your strong side.”
What I learned in over a half century of being reared in the projects and then teaching tough kids is that Reform works and Revenge only creates more criminals.
Too many criminals for too few Special Ed teachers.
Given that we already lock up a larger percentage of our population than any country on Earth the approach does not work.
Yet, the Algorithms have the populace programmed to vote for the Revenge course of action.
So, here we are.
Got a call from a nice lady doing Head Hunting for my brand of Specia Ed teacher (to teach ‘Severely Emotionally Disturbed’ – in short, a Reform School Teacher or if you’re gonna sugar coat it, I was a Behavior Teacher) for the Boston area and got my number from somewhere.
Folks, I’m 3,000 miles away and 80 years old.
You techies out there please give us some new Algorithms.
go Niners !!
h.
Actually when you’re in an oversight role confrontation is part of the job. How many advisory boards in an oversight role have you been a part of, Tom, to give such strident if oblivious advice? It’s not a political job. That literally means they don’t focus on what “voters” or SFPD want, they focus on the legal policy aspects of law enforcement as it relates to city business. SFPD is also not a hivemind, despite what the POA would advertise to clean-slate minds that don’t dirty themselves with the details at hand…
The traffic stop policy is the kind of garbage that inhibits cops from pulling over thieving thugs and armed gangbangers. It “prohibits officers from pulling over drivers for having one non-working tail light, an item hanging from a rearview mirror or one missing license plate, among other violations”. Why, because traffic stops are “racist”, of course. The commission is not supposed to be political but that’s all it has been because of pro-criminal members like Max Carter-Oberstone.
If you have nothing at all other than a tail light bulb (etc) to use as a “probable cause” to search a vehicle for “thieving thugs and armed gangbangers” etc, you’re kind of making the point that the policy authors were underscoring – that the power and authority to abuse the 4th amendment using pretext of an infraction was easily and constantly abused by rote. So if you disagree that we need a 4th Amendment, and you think anyone should be able to be stopped at any time for “suspicion” using dubious semi-legal maneuvers under the premise that those infractions are indicative of “serious crimes”, then absolutely Carter-Oberstone and the ACLU and all those legal scholars are wrong and you’re on the “strong” side. But either way, MCO had a single vote. Blaming him personally for any policy you don’t understand or care for is technically ignorant of the process itself. (Breed appointed him knowing his background, so are you calling Breed pro-criminal as well? Also you seem to blur your understanding of legal procedure as it relates to law enforcement with “politics” generally. Do you think you’re apolitical? Just checking lol.)
Bye bye
Change is good
You tried and failed
Lawlessness is lawlessness
When removed , if he still shows up at meetings and is involved that will indicate his motives
Breed and Preston are mia.
Once the stop getting taxpayer monies and benefits , they suddenly are not around .
MCO loves crime and supports criminals. He lies about the police commission’s policies to deflect blame for their decisions. Enough said, time for him to go.
Breed appointed him, therefore, Breed supports criminals by extension, according to your “logic” – and that then extends to Jenkins, doesn’t it? You’ve gone full circle, congratulations.
Trump is gaining milage from the fact that entrenched public sector bureaucracies see themselves as independent from oversight by elected and appointed officials.
I’ve seen the same thing happen here in San Francisco, where various bureaucracies jealously guard their veto power over elected officials.
When the hired help start accumulating and exercising political power over elected leadership, then that’s an ethical emergency. Like all of these defects in democracy, we can either fix them the easy way or watch them get fixed against us the hard way.
Actually the public sector bureaucracies should be independent and protected from the whims of people who get elected because they have unlimited funds to shape the message and convince people who can’t be bothered to look at facts and issues to base their vote on and instead rely on empty policies and media hype. That is why Lurie is wrong, that is why Trump is wrong, and that is why you are wrong Marcos. Carter-Oberstone is doing good work in the service of the people and justice on the Police Commission doing exactly what the police commission is supposed to do. Provide oversight of the Police force to ensure they do not abuse their position and power. In light of the SF Police kettling and terrorizing school children during the Dolores Hill Bomb non-event and the brutalizing and hospitalizing of a 50+ year old mother of 5 for crossing against the light on Geary, the Police need oversight. Please watch this video and understand why we need people like Carter-Oberstone in place and working for justice.
Judge Cordell speaks on SFPD’s history of Brutality and Racism at Board Hearing, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcj12Z09CV8
It’s literally an oversight board by appointed unelected officials. Trump is underwater in polling, has never broken 50% support in either term. Nice try though, trying to conflate totally unrelated things – I hear that works with the little red hat dudes.
This is San Francisco, so we’re going to do it the hard way, and at the same time this has nothing to do with Trump. Where is this ethical emergency, and on whose part? This is a political and distinctly a political procedure issue, and one of perception, which supervisor Dorsey exemplifies here. One shouldn’t confuse independent thought and outspokenness with the exercise of political power on Carter Oberstone’s part, irrespective of his positions.
Progressives have jumped the shark with their community destroying ideologies. It turns out empathy is toxic when it’s promiscuous and ignores the crime and violence of those marginalized, marginal humans.
Lurie wrote that he will seek a replacement “who will work collaboratively to make our city safer.” – Why not just force appointees to pre-sign resignation letters before you… oh, right. Because you’re DIFFERENT than London Breed, I had started to forget that…
Commissioner Carter Oberstone, appointed by former Mayor Breed, serves on the commission, but does not do so at the pleasure of the current administration. Supervisor Dorsey’s remarks about his “not being classy” and resigning at Mayor Lurie’s request are misplaced, whatever one thinks of Mr Carter Oberstone’s suspected or stated intentions.
Lurie’s move to remove is all highly unusual. Resignation or removal of a former Mayor’s appointee is not a customary action and SHOULD NOT be in order to prevent politicization of critical oversight of our City and Police departments. The National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement prominently underlines this point on its website, “One of the most important and defining concepts of civilian oversight of law enforcement is independence. In its broadest sense, it refers to an absence of real or perceived influence from law enforcement, political actors, and other special interests looking to affect the operations of the civilian oversight agency.”
Lurie’s politicizing the removal of highly qualified Police Commissioner Max Carter Oberstone without any apparent cause sends a chilling message to all other Mayor-appointed commissioners…… that those who demand transparency and accountability may also be removed. San Francisco needs 100 more Max Carter Oberstones. Lurie is dead wrong on this.
I see progressive and I want gone.
That movement has just pushed the city down over the past 20 years while championing niche causes.
Ok, so would you like to replace them as 2nd choice in SF voting:
Republicans, Greens, (China) Communists, or Billionaire Techies?
You do have to pick one or the word “moderate” means even less…
Carter-Oberstone’s latest financial disclosure (Form 700) shows that he owns between $100,001 and $1,000,000 of Airbnb stock. It’s hard to support someone that presents himself as progressive but invests in a company that makes the housing crisis worse by diverting needed longterm housing to tourist use.
Thank you for demonstrating the disingenuous use of logical fallacies. The red herring, tu quoque, and association fallacies thank you for your patronage.
I think it’s a fair critique of his holdings to know about. It does illustrate how complicated it is to get rich while repping social justice, somehow, whether serious or not. More information is more information. The fallacy is in extracting a false truth from the facts, but who decides what is true in this case? Time will tell. It is however removed from the issues which Oberstone calls Police power to task.
It’s a badge of honor. Congratulations Max Carter-Oberstone.
Campers,
Lurie has 8 years left as SF’s Monarch and Max has, what ? … a year left of his term on an oversight commission the previous mayor gutted at the Polls last year.
Seems Daniel has been infected with the insecure-paranoia virus that crawls under the carpets and all up and down the heavy drapes of Room 200.
I mean, there are about a thousand commissioners in this town and One Mayor and yet the mayors think that every commissioner should be loyal to them.
How friggin’ Trump.
He’ll change for sure.
Lurie, not Trump.
Daniel’s lots more like Max than he is like Matt Dorsey
Right now, Lurie is just doubling down on a bunch of Richard Nixon shit.
Give him a year or two and he’ll see that the Justice of Revenge is a loser and the Justice of Reform wins in the long run and he’ll be able to change because of his money.
Uh huh.
Not only does he not need the cops’ endorsement (they now have a dictatorship with only a single voter) … he can afford to jettison that whole scene and come away covered with glitter and confetti.
Yep, he can give the Power to Choose the San Francisco Chief of Police back to the City’s voters where it belongs and was for our first 85 years.
Let us listen to a dozen candidates present their Platforms and dissect their planks down to the last Promise of Foot Patrols and Police Kiosks at our BART stops.
Frankly, I like the cut of your jib, Daniel and it makes me grimace to see you get down in the mud and wrestle with Max when you should be having coffee with him and Peskin and Angela at Trieste.
Who’s gonna tell you not to if you decide to be a Peacemaker ?
Go Niners !!
h.
“Give him a year or two and he’ll see that the Justice of Revenge is a loser and the Justice of Reform wins in the long run and he’ll be able to change because of his money.”
Yeah. Go brown.
If anything needs reform, it’s San Francisco’s delusional progressives.
If anyone needs an original talking point, it’s San Francisco’s angry fascist impotent Republican 2%. Try without the slogans, have a human thought for once. You might even say something worth saying, who knows?
The Mayor, firmly seated in the establishment, is intent on taking down an uppity African American man performing his role as a Police Commissioner. There is no scandal. He is not advocating for policies that are out of step with other major Metros (NYC, LA, Philly).
Like MLK said, about the white moderate:
“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice;”