What Can the SF Mayor Actually Do About Homelessness?

With about 90 days until the November general election, KQED reporters are here to answer your questions about local, state and national races to get you ready for Election Day. Next Tuesday, Marisa Lagos will answer questions from readers about Vice President Kamala Harris, who officially became the Democratic presidential nominee this week. Sign up for KQED’s free News Daily email so you don’t miss any answers.

Keep reading for answers to your questions about the San Francisco mayoral race, or jump straight to:

• • What can the San Francisco mayor do to actually help address homelessness?

• • Which candidates are the tech billionaires bankrolling this election?

• • What happened to remote public comment in Board of Supervisors meetings? Can a mayor bring that back?

What can the San Francisco mayor do to actually help address homelessness?

The San Francisco mayor has the ability to craft budgets, appoint department heads, introduce or veto legislation, and issue emergency orders to more efficiently direct resources — all important tools for tackling homelessness, one of the most pressing and complex issues facing both the city and state.

But many factors can lead someone to become unhoused — such as an eviction or illness — and that means tackling the issue requires a wide variety of approaches, from prevention to street outreach.

Under Mayor London Breed’s tenure, San Francisco’s temporary shelter supply has increased by more than 60%, according to the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing; thousands of new permanent supportive housing units have come online, and the city has invested millions of dollars into affordable housing.

Breed has also directed city agencies to clear tent encampments from sidewalks and public spaces. According to the city’s own policies, crews are required to offer unhoused people shelter before forcing them to move, and if no one is present at the location, to “bag and tag” personal items so they can be picked up again.

However, the city does not have enough shelter beds or housing slots for everyone who is experiencing homelessness in the city.

Breed’s opponents have suggested that the next mayor should do more to reduce homelessness. Supervisor Ahsha Safaí has proposed changing how the city collects data on the unhoused population and expanding the city’s existing program for providing bus tickets out of the city for people living on the street who want them. (Breed also recently directed street crews to offer people bus tickets first before offering shelter or housing.)

Mark Farrell, a former supervisor and interim mayor, has said he would order police crackdowns on homeless encampments and drug markets across the city.

Daniel Lurie, meanwhile, has focused on the city’s need to create more shelter beds and housing to move people off of the street rather than “pushing encampments from one block to another.”

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin has taken a more prevention-focused approach than the other major candidates in the race, saying the city needs to keep more people housed by fighting evictions and increasing the number of rent-controlled units while also expanding housing and shelter options. Contrary to common narratives about unhoused people in San Francisco, about 71% of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco had been living in the city when they lost their housing, according to 2022 federal homelessness data.

Which candidates are the tech billionaires bankrolling this election?

To be sure, tech billionaires in San Francisco are funding multiple candidates and initiatives in San Francisco’s mayoral race.

Mayor London Breed has received major support from billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, who has donated $200,000 to her reelection campaign, and crypto entrepreneur Chris Larsen, who has donated more than $400,000.

Breed’s courtship of the tech community is not new — for example, she opposed Proposition C in 2018, a ballot measure, approved by voters, that imposed a tax on businesses earning more than $50 million in total annual income, in order to fund homelessness services and housing.

Breed’s not alone in accepting donations from billionaires. Lurie, a nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir, received a $1 million campaign donation from his mother, Mimi Haas.

But billionaires are also heavily influencing this race behind the scenes. For example, tech billionaire Michael Moritz has contributed heavily to TogetherSF Action, a moderate political advocacy group supporting a ballot initiative to overhaul the city’s commission system. Farrell has recently come under scrutiny for allegedly funneling funds through that initiative to his mayoral campaign. He has also received donations from billionaire Republican donor William Oberndorf.

What happened to remote public comment in SF Board of Supervisors meetings? Can a mayor bring that back?

Before the pandemic, showing up in person to local government meetings was the primary way for residents to speak directly to elected officials on city issues. That shifted in 2020, during the pandemic when San Francisco and governments across the globe transitioned to online and call-in meetings. During that time, public comment in the city was entirely remote.

As vaccines became available and public meetings began happening in person again, San Francisco voted to keep remote public comment, instituting a hybrid system that allowed people to participate in person or call in.

That didn’t last, however, after a number of city meetings were derailed by callers spouting racist, antisemitic comments.

“We did not want the Board of Supervisors to be a form of hate speech,” Peskin said. “I don’t think these callers were from San Francisco, and it was abhorrent.”

The Board of Supervisors would have to approve bringing back the call-in option. Lurie said he would support doing so. Supervisor and mayoral candidate Ahsha Safaí said he would not.

“It may be time to reconsider having remote public comment again,” Peskin said. “We want as many people to participate in the democratic process as possible.”

Next Tuesday, Marisa Lagos will answer questions readers have about Vice President Kamala Harris. Subscribe to KQED’s News Daily to follow along.