After 17 years of holding power and influence on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Aaron Peskin is facing an existential moment:
Has this famously liberal city moved so far right that it can’t accept an old-school progressive like him as mayor?
Peskin, a thin, bearded and bespectacled 60-year-old, has spent his political life fighting for liberal causes. Large corporationsto secure adequate funding from them to promote community services. He is a vocal supporter of rent control and Neighborhood PreservationAs an alcoholic, he believes the city’s homeless issues should be addressed through a mix of compassion, affordable housing and services, not through a punitive approach that searches camps and uses criminal citations.
Despite his experience, Peskin entered the mayoral race as an underdog candidate against incumbent Mayor London Breed and three other Democrats — venture capitalist and former interim Mayor Mark Farrell, Levi Strauss heir and nonprofit executive Daniel Lurie and fellow Supervisor Asha Safai.
Peskin entered the race in April, several months after Breed and the other three contestants began campaigning. That put him at a financial disadvantage in what turned out to be one of the worst mayoral elections in years. The most expensive It was a historic moment in San Francisco history.
But more importantly, Peskin entered the race as the only candidate running on a progressive agenda, causing him to face growing opposition among voters and constituents. Tech Titans who want to see a more rigorous approach to the sprawling tent encampments and retail and property crime that have destroyed their sense of a safe, functional city.
In recent decades, it has not been unusual for San Francisco to elect mayors who are centrist Democrats as well as a more progressive Board of Supervisors. But this race has been inundated with tech money, as well as frustration with the city’s slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led many voters to question the wisdom of progressive policies and a city that governs with kindness.
Countless parents were upset that the city’s schools were closed for more than a year during COVID — longer than most schools in the country. Remote learning continued even as the school board engaged in a divisive effort. rename the third About the city’s public schools whose current names, critics say, honor historical figures associated with slavery or the oppression of women or “who have substantially diminished the opportunity for the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness among us.”
Resentment grew over progressive agenda Memory Three school board members were murdered in February 2022. Four months later, voters also recalled the then-District Attorney Chesa BoudinA leading reform advocate whose progressive policies on sentencing and incarceration were derided by opponents as a threat to public safety.
Last March, San Francisco made national headlines when voters Pair of ballot measures Breed had advocated broadening police surveillance powers and imposing mandatory drug treatment for some welfare recipients. That same night, List of Liberal candidates The local Democratic Party took control of the governing body.
Although the five major candidates for mayor are Democrats, all but Peskin now fall into that more moderate camp. Breed has notably moved to the right on issues such as Homeless and crimes committed in the past year.
Peskin celebrated this distinction, saying he joined the race to keep San Francisco a “beacon” for the artists, creatives, immigrants and LGBTQ+ pioneers who have shaped the city’s culture for decades, and that he fights for working-class people to make sure they can afford to live in the city.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think one of the most important things any government can do is make people safe,” Peskin said. “But, you know, that’s all the other candidates are talking about. They’re not even talking about making it safe and welcoming.”
Supervisor Aaron Peskin says he’s entering the mayoral race to keep San Francisco a “compass” for the artists, creatives, immigrants and LGBTQ+ pioneers who have shaped the city’s culture.
(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)
Peskin said Target Breed They have leveled charges against him since the beginning of his campaign, arguing that his leadership has been inconsistent and calling his recent crackdown on the homeless a cynical political ploy.
“They’ve actually bought into the Fox News narrative about San Francisco, rather than standing up and defending this city and embracing and strengthening our compassionate and get-the-job policies,” he told the Times.
Breed said compassion has its limits, and the city needs to take a tougher stance toward homeless people who refuse shelter or who don’t seek treatment for drug addiction.
During July Mayoral debates At an event hosted by the local firefighters union, Breed said her decision to take a tough stance on homelessness may not be popular, but it was necessary to move San Francisco forward.
“We’ve had to move from a compassionate city to an accountability city,” he said.
Peskin said he is focused on moving San Francisco out of the “doom spiral” disturbed the city This is the biggest decline at the national level in the last four years and it is now back on the path of recovery.
He has promised to prioritize low-income housing and expand rent control if elected mayor. On being homelessHe wants to open more treatment facilities and expand shelter capacity, not continue clearing encampments, which Breed has pushed for the past two months.
Peskin said he knows something about recovery.
In 2021, Peskin entered into treatment A drinking problem led to allegations that Peskin had attended a government meeting in an inebriated state. The episode sparked widespread complaints that Peskin had harassed colleagues and lower-level employees over the years, and that people feared retaliation if they reported his behavior.
Peskin eventually apologized. And after being embarrassed in the initial weeks following the uproar, he said he is now grateful for the warning and has been sober for more than three years.
“I always thought my job was to look after the community, and I never realised that people actually cared about my wellbeing,” she said. “The amount of support, love and encouragement I’ve received from the most unexpected places and people has been truly overwhelming.”
But as Peskin recounts his personal and professional journey, Local Survey Show him behind Breed, Pharrell and Lurie in the city’s ranked-choice voting system. All three have made tough stances on property crime, fentanyl dealing and homelessness central to their campaigns.
While Breed, Farrell and Lurie are receiving financial support from tech executives and wealthy business owners, Peskin promotes his campaign as a grassroots effort driven by working-class people. His endorsements include left-wing LGBTQ+ and tenant rights organizations, labor unions and progressive politicians including former Mayor Art Agnos, former Supervisor Jane Kim and former state Senator Mark Leno.
“Aaron Peskin was built for public service,” Agnos said. “Today we have tech multibillionaires. Tech multibillionaires who live like kings, and now we’re watching them try to rule San Francisco like they’re kings.”
“I think San Francisco has always been at the forefront of social issues,” said Kim, who unsuccessfully ran against Breed in 2018. “Where we struggle and fight as progressives has been on the economic agenda, and who benefits economically in this city. Is it the ultra-wealthy and the billionaires, or is it our working class and our low-income workers? And that’s the fight that Aaron is leading.”
Supervisor Aaron Peskin (right) says he wants to address homelessness by expanding treatment facilities and shelter capacity. He opposes the aggressive camping campaign launched by Mayor London Breed (center).
(Eric Risberg/Associated Press)
During his tenure, Peskin has had staunch supporters as well as harsh critics — particularly on the issue of housing.
Peskin represents some of the city’s most historic neighborhoods, including North Beach, Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf and downtown’s Financial District. He often identifies himself as someone who stands up for neighborhood identity — what some consider a dog whistle for “NIMBYism,” a colloquial term for opposition to large multifamily housing projects or other unwanted development. He has opposed efforts to amend zoning rules for some neighborhoods to allow for denser housing.
Peskin “would be an incredible step backward,” said Laura Foote, the advocacy coalition’s executive director. YIMBY ActionA housing organization that endorsed Breed. “We need to protect these people in our communities from the ever-rising cost of housing, and that means building more.”
The longest street in San Francisco is Housing approval process in the country, and in the thousands 100 units are behind the production target set by the state.
Breed has called for more housing development at all income levels in San Francisco as rental costs skyrocket and the median home price Over 1 million dollarsFarrell, Safai, and Lurie also support denser housing, though at varying degrees and in some cases only in certain neighborhoods.
Peskin dismisses the idea that he is anti-housing as a “developer-funded narrative.” But he also argues that it is possible to build more housing “without turning Ocean Beach into Miami Beach.”
The disagreement over the development highlights another layer of San Francisco’s shift toward the political center, with more leaders coming out in favor of multifamily housing projects despite progressive groups concerned about gentrification and neighborhood changes.
State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has written some of the state’s most powerful articles Housing Production Lawhas criticized Peskin’s devotion to the “existing broken housing structure.”
Wiener, who has endorsed Breed, praised Peskin as accomplished and “incredibly intelligent.” But he also warned that Peskin’s brand of progressivism would hold San Francisco back.
“People in San Francisco are very progressive. But there’s a strain among some people — I think it’s a minority, but there are some people — where they equate progressiveness with no change,” Wiener said. “A city that’s not changing is a city that’s dying.”
Peskin has at times been willing to eschew the progressive label. He has supported laws to retain police staff, and recently told the Times that he supports a controversial November ballot measure, Proposition 36That would roll back a 2014 voter-approved law that downgraded some nonviolent drug and theft offenses to misdemeanors. Critics of the initiative, including Wiener and Gov. Gavin Newsom, say it would mark a return to the era of mass incarceration.
Peskin uses these examples to argue that they can be compassionate while also being practical.
“I’ve always thought the core of progress is progress, and progress is actually getting things done,” Peskin said.
