Welcome back to our โMeet the Candidatesโ series, where District 2 supervisor candidates respond to a question in 100 words or fewer. Answers are published every Tuesday.
District 2 covers neighborhoods in the north of the city including the Presidio, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Anza Vista, and portions of the Western Addition and North of the Panhandle.
In 2025, San Francisco stepped up its arrest of drug users in an attempt to clamp down on public drug use on San Franciscoโs streets.
Arrests, some argued, would provide an opportunity to connect drug users to services to treat their addiction. The jail offers people opioid addiction medication, including a long lasting injectable. Some are released with medications, a treatment plan, and a referral to a substance abuse program.
But many do not end up in treatment and cycle in and out of jail, a Mission Local analysis found. Of the 1,000 people who were booked into jail in January of 2025, over 40 percent were booked again sometime last year โ half of whom had charges related to using or possessing drugs.
โIt is hard, even with the best of intentions, to operate a therapeutic program inside a facility whose larger purpose is focused around danger and control,โ Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, told Mission Local.
Meanwhile, the proportion of people in jail suffering from addiction has shot up to two-thirds, and the city is exploring alternatives to incarceration, including a โRESET Center,โ where people who are inebriated when detained can go to sober up. People at the RESET center would be warned that if they leave, they would be re-arrested and taken to jail or the hospital.
The city attorneyโs office found that the RESET Center poses a high legal risk to the city. Thatโs because the RESET Center would likely be determined to be a detention center that does not meet state standards for such facilities.
This weekโs question: Do you think that San Francisco should be increasing its arrests of drug users?
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.
Stephen Sherrill
- Job: Appointed District 2 Supervisor
- Age: 39
- Residency: Homeowner, has lived in District 2 since 2015
- Transportation: Driving, public transportation, biking
- Education: Bachelorโs degree from Yale University
- Languages: English
The issue is not random arrests of drug users. The city is now arresting people for public fentanyl use and severe drug intoxication on the street, then taking them to the RESET Center instead of jail or an ER. I co-sponsored this legislation because it pairs enforcement with a medically supervised setting, a 24-hour sobering period, and a warm handoff to treatment. San Francisco will not accept open-air drug use as normal. This approach pairs accountability with a real path to recovery โ thatโs what the RESET Center is supposed to provide.
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, GrowSF, Nor Cal Carpenters Union, San Francisco Police Officers Association, SF YIMBY, Northern Neighbors, San Francisco Democratic Party, Sierra Club … read more here.
Lori Brooke
- Job: President, Cow Hollow Association
- Age: 62
- Residency: Homeowner, moved to the district 31 years ago
- Transportation: Driving and walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara
- Languages: English
Safety and compassion both need to be part of the solution. The current situation, where people are suffering openly on our streets, is not working for anyone.
Enforcement can play a role in preventing harmful behavior and encouraging engagement with services, especially when help is repeatedly refused, causing unsafe conditions. But arrests alone wonโt solve the problem.
We need a coordinated approach that includes clear expectations, consistent enforcement, and real pathways into treatment.
That means expanding interim housing, mental health care, and addiction services to lead those struggling into recovery. The goal should be getting people off the streets permanently.
Endorsed by: Former District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, former State Senator and Supervisor Quentin Kopp, UESF, CA Working Families Partyย โฆย read moreย here.
Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at io@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
Im confused
Are not there laws on the books about selling and using drugs ? Last time I looked at the city state and federal level there are many laws .
They need to be enforced.
Lawlessness is lawlessness
Look at the recent nyt article about the facts and proof of the harm reduction programs tried .
Arrests and mandatory treatment are necessary .
At this point the debate should be over
Stop the killing and harm on the streets and everywhere . By allowing addicts to continue to use drugs , SF all who live here are supporting the death penalty .
Stop harming and killing people
So we got a bunch of D2 residents who don’t have to deal with any of this on a daily basis laboring under the misapprehension that the majority of fentanyl street users are 1) from San Francisco or 2) homeless and that we should spend scarce resources treating the region’s problems.
These problems will be treated, of course, nowhere near D2.
I doubt that the D2 voters care where the drug abusers are from. They just want them taken off the streets.
In fact that probably holds true for voters in most of th city, given that drug abusers tend to self-congregate in a few “bad” parts of town.
She just won my vote. Reset Center is all set for multiple lawsuits as it should be. Compassion and real care is needed over Gestapo action. Change only comes with long-term solutions. You canโt just throw everyone in jail. Wait and seeโฆ.