-by Denise Sullivan
In case by any chance you’ve been following the story of San Francisco, in case by chance you care, our city of billionaires may be on the verge of everyday people making a comeback: President of the Board of Supervisors, Aaron Peskin, joined the race for mayor last week with the intention of shifting the narrative away from more high-rise luxury condos, downtown doom spirals and dirty and druggy streets and is focusing on a full recovery for the rest of us.
“I will be a mayor who loves this city, and does not beat it up for political gain…I will be a hands-on mayor, using 25 years of governmental know-how to once again make San Francisco the city that knows how,” he said at 1000-person strong rally in Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square on April 6.
Peskin is the supervisor (like a council person in our city) for District 3, North Beach and Chinatown, the only neighborhoods that really held their own during the pandemic and by the looks of it have made fantastic recoveries. My family spends a lot of time in the area: We enjoy its book and record stores, the weather, the coffee, the pasta, the cafes. I have never felt unsafe in its environs for the 40 years I’ve been a regular. And while you will definitely see drunks and deranged people making their beds on the street (It’s always been this way), this is an urban zone— stuff happens. The unfortunate reality is housing is scarce, unaffordable, and most of the people living unhoused are San Franciscans who lost their housing (not interlopers from elsewhere which is the perpetual cry from the center and the right). To those who care (the city doesn't) for people who live in tents, exposed to the elements like during this year’s rain, Peskin is offering what seems to be practical, sensible, hopeful solutions.
“My approach to homelessness will be based on four pillars: Prevention, shelter, treatment and housing. Prevention and shelter are critical. We often hear that substance abuse and mental health problems cause homelessness. But, just as often, these problems only become acute after people lose their homes and are forced to the street. By keeping people housed, we can stop the downward spiral before it happens.”
Recovery is Peskin’s byword for the campaign; it's also a parallel with his personal recovery from alcoholism, which you can bet his opponents have already used as one of his shortcomings. It’s not. His experience has provided a window on to a world that few in city government are willing to be forthright about, let alone understand or deal with successfully at the street level.
“I know that recovery is not something you do alone. You do it together. And recovery only works when we are honest with ourselves and each other. And I know that recovery is not about anger and hatred. It’s not about harboring grudges and pursuing petty vendettas. To recover, you need to be firm, and draw clear lines, but always stay compassionate,” said Peskin on Saturday.
His opponents (billionaire Daniel Lurie, law and order candidate Mark Farrell, District 11 Supervisor Asha Safai and poorly polling incumbent London Breed) would have you believe that Peskin is incapable, but it is they, with their billions to burn on recall elections, billboards advertising false narratives about rising crime rates in an effort to elect their buddies on the board, and on and on, are meant to distract us from the fact that the city has been bought and sold by tech and developers and venture capitalists who think they know anything about public service.They don't. And they have proven they can't govern effectively or with community participation.
This far west outpost is wild and the San Francisco born and Berkeley raised Peskin knows it; he knows his city. So he may seem like a long shot, he may be the dark horse, but for progressives, that we have someone to support and vote for that doesn’t make us want to hold our noses or puke or hang our heads in shame he is a godsend. That he is someone who offers hope and might even help us feel good about living in San Francisco again, or bring back some civic pride in our legacy as a city of love, tolerance and sanctuary, would be nothing short of miraculous. It's also how we'll recover as a city— together.
“It’s going to be an interesting 213 days,” said Peskin informally to a crowd of folks gathered at Caffe Trieste on Saturday afternoon. As of today it’s 207. Fingers crossed, prayers up, and away we go.
Read Peskin’s full speech at Mission Local.