San Francisco supervisor Jackie Fielder is in a hospital and said she is planning to resign her post. The supervisor and District 9 representative said she is stepping down 14 months into the job.
Fielder has been absent from City Hall for about two weeks. She said she was not well in a brief phone conversation Friday before saying she would only take in-person interviews on her resignation from a city hospital. Front-desk workers at the hospital told reporters that Fielder could not take visitors and that she was in the care of medical staff. Her condition was unclear.
“Jackie Fielder is going through an acute personal health crisis right now and we are not at liberty to share details, but we appreciate the support people have given us and are proud of her for taking care of herself,” read a statement from Fielder’s office.
The Board of Supervisors clerk’s office said it had received no notice of any resignation.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, in a statement, did not speak to the possible resignation but wished Fielder a fast recovery.
“I am sending Supervisor Fielder my best wishes for a speedy recovery,” the statement read. “She is a dedicated advocate for her community. I am encouraging everyone to give her the time and space to get better so she can do that work fully, and I’m wishing her strength and all the best for her health.”
Similar messages poured forth from Mission District groups like Calle 24 and the Latino Task Force, congressional candidates, and even current and former political rivals.
Lurie would have the power to appoint Fielder’s replacement if she goes through with a formal resignation, giving him a highly sympathetic bloc on an already-moderate Board of Supervisors. He exercised this power last year to replace outgoing District 4 supervisor Joel Engardio in what became a fiasco — his replacement, Beya Alcaraz, resigned just seven days into the job after reporters unearthed damning details of her past work.
Fielder is San Francisco’s left-most supervisor, a democratic socialist elected to represent the Mission District, Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods in a 2024 election that saw the city’s Board of Supervisors swing to the right after years of progressive control.
Fielder won her election easily, however, beating her chief rival, who had the backing of the city’s Democratic Party establishment and tens of thousands in third-party spending, in a 60-40 landslide.
Her tenure has been marked by acts that went against Mayor Lurie’s policies: Last year she pushed a law to end the city’s 90-day limit for homeless family shelter stays, voted against Lurie’s housing upzoning plan, and sought to probe an “eyebrow raising” $5.9 million contract signed by Lurie’s office with a favored tech firm.
She also called for an audit into the troubled Parks Alliance nonprofit, successfully passed regulations on drone delivery, and proposed a new city tax to fund what would be the city’s first public bank.
Fielder graduated from Stanford University in 2016 and became a public-bank organizer and a Dakota Access Pipeline protester before turning to electoral politics. She ran against Sen. Scott Wiener in an unsuccessful 2020 bid for California State Senate. At 31, she is one of the city’s youngest ever supervisors.
Disclosure: This reporter briefly worked with Jackie Fielder in 2018 at The Worker Agency, a communications firm.
Is it not a bit early to speak of her position in past tense? Seems reasonable that she could change her mind and should be given leeway considering possible scenarios and likely sedation.
She said she was going to resign to be fair, so not really assuming she won’t try to come back but taking her word at face value?
Joe kindly made the minor edits.
Dan White tried to roll back his resignation in 1978 and that did not work out too well for anyone involved.
Never heard of him.
I genuinely wish Supervisor Fielder strong health, a strong recovery, and that she pulls through with whatever she’s facing. Nothing, not even politics, should get in the way of that.
Boy, I sure hope she’s able to recover in full from whatever she’s facing. I’ve disagreed with nearly everything she’s said and done, but she is certainly smart and capable and I hope she has a long, happy career to come.
Burn out, tragedies, addiction, brouhahas, etc, are soul killing pitfalls. You’re no good to anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first. Best wishes for a speedy recovery
Btw, if she resigns soon, there’s just enough time (180-ish days) to field candidates for a special election this November, 222 days from now.
Illness knows no time
At least she is no so selfish to try and remain in her position
I think she is young and doesnt have the knowledge or experience to be helpful to help SF at this point
Once she recovers maybe she will try again and have a more realistic pragmatic approach to trying to help here
Really unfortunate news. I wish Jackie the best in recovery, and the time and space to make a considered decision about whether she can continue to serve. Whatever happens, I’m thankful for her service to our city, and as a D9 resident I’m proud to have been represented by her on the board of supervisors. Jackie has consistently stood up for working people, has never given in to big-money pressure groups, and has worked hard every day for our neighborhoods, providing by far the best representation I’ve had in my time in San Francisco.