A Sea Change in San Francisco

In the better-late-than-never category the mayor of San Francisco, one London Breed, has just thrown over leftist politics and policing. She has declared a state of emergency in one of the city’s most crime ridden neighborhoods.

Things were so bad that even the New York Times is reporting the policy change. In truth, the mainstream media has long since attempted to cover up the problem, even citing bogus statistics showing that crime is not really a problem. Mayor Breed, to her credit, has dismissed the statistics, given that those who have been compiling the statistics are corrupt.

So, the siege of San Francisco may be over. The siege of America’s big blue cities, laboratories for defunding the police and for not prosecuting crimes, might be coming to an end. For the sake of the inhabitants of these cities, we can hope.

The New York Times reported the story. And note well that the Times, to its credit, has declared that Mayor Breed is breaking with leftist political dogma:

The mayor of San Francisco on Friday made a sharp break with the liberal conventions that have guided her city for decades, declaring a state of emergency in one of its most crime-infested neighborhoods.

Mayor London Breed’s announcement came just days after she emphasized the need for the police to clean up what she has described as “nasty streets.” At a news conference at City Hall, steps away from where drug dealers openly peddle fentanyl and methamphetamines, she said, “We are in a crisis and we need to respond accordingly.” She added, “Too many people are dying in this city, too many people are sprawled on our streets.”

The neighborhood, the Tenderloin, has been ground zero for drug dealing, overdose deaths and homelessness for years. But Ms. Breed said in an interview that she reached her “breaking point” in recent weeks after meeting with families with children who live in the Tenderloin and said they felt constantly threatened.

Her actions and startlingly blunt language were a marked change in tone and policy in a city that has been polarized over homeless encampments and open-air drug use. Elected as a liberal Democrat, she spoke this week about “a reign of criminals,” trash strewn across neighborhoods full of “feces and urine,” and shoplifting at high-end stores that she called “mass looting events.”

It sounds like she has joined the vast right wing conspiracy:

The announcement of a state of emergency specifically targeted the drug overdose crisis: More than twice as many people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco last year as died from the coronavirus. But Friday’s announcement is part of a broader, aggressive push to crack down on drug dealing and improve conditions. In practical terms, Ms. Breed said the city would no longer tolerate illicit drug users in the streets — giving them a choice between treatment or arrest.

And she is talking like a Fox News host-- the horror of it all:

The conditions in San Francisco have been fodder nationally for Fox News and other conservative outlets as signs of disarray supposedly created by liberal governance. In San Francisco, opponents of the district attorney, Chesa Boudin, have tried to leverage a perception of disorder and high-profile incidents of retail theft to further a recall effort. This week, Ms. Breed used more strident language than even her city’s harshest critics.

Of course, the voters of San Francisco need now to rid themselves of the pathetic fool named Chesa Boudin-- a district attorney who has sent out a clear message that he does not want to prosecute crime.

As for the crime statistics, Mayor Breed had this to say:

In an interview at City Hall after her news conference on Friday, Ms. Breed brushed aside critics who say that the statistics do not show a crime wave in San Francisco.

“The data doesn’t matter when somebody randomly walks up to you who is on crystal meth and socks you in the face and puts you in the hospital,” she said. “The data doesn’t matter when you are here in San Francisco on vacation and all your belongings were stolen because someone broke into a car right in front of you.”

“At the end of the day people have to feel safe in this city,” she said.

It's good to see that someone on the political left is taking responsibility for the problems caused by the political left, and is doing something to solve them.