By Sydney Dalske
A former interim mayor announced on Tuesday that he is going to be running again for his previous job. There is a group of competitive candidates vying for the role, saying that the current mayor London Breed, has failed the city.
Mark Farrell served as interim mayor of the city back in 2018 from January to July, and was not planning to return to politics but says that he believes he has the skill set in order to help the city turn itself around. His previous career also as a lawyer and city supervisor distinguish himself from the large number of candidates for the role.
Farrell told the San Francisco Examiner that, “What I offer to San Francisco voters is holistically different than anyone else in the race. It is a combination of over 20 years in the private sector in business, finance and practicing law, in addition to 7 1⁄2 years of effective leadership in City Hall.” But citizens question if 6 months in office is enough to judge him off of.
Breed, the mayor up for reelection, was the first Black woman to lead San Francisco and has been in office the last 5 years. The downtown area of the city has struggled to recover from the pandemic and there have been rises of vandalism, break ins, tent encampments and open drug use.
But it is important to note that when Farrell was a placeholder in office until a special election, it was his choice not to run for a full term and leave politics. Now he states that “I do not believe we can afford, San Francisco can afford, another four years of Mayor Breed’s failed leadership,”.
Farrell’s platform includes his pledge to fire police Chief Bill Scott will lure in new officers to turn the department around, clearing large tent encampments within his first 6 months, and involuntarily detaining fentanyl users who are revived using naloxone.
The city of San Francisco has a reputation for upholding progressive politics, but the 4 major candidates are all central Democrats who seem to favor police and business interests.
These 4 major candidates include both Farrell and Breed, along with Supervisor Ahsha Safai and philanthropist Daniel Lurie. Lurie leads in fundraising efforts but Breed has the support of Michael Bloomberg, former NYC Mayor.
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