Silicon Valley company moving it's tech show out of San Francisco over drugs, homeless crisis
California Republican Party former chairman Tom Del Beccaro reacts to the city's problems with drugs and homelessness.
California's former Republican Party chairman said Thursday that the worse the homeless crisis becomes on San Francisco streets, the more big events and businesses will pull away from the liberal-run city.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends First," Tom Del Beccaro reacted to major Silicon Valley tech company Oracle's decision to relocate its annual OpenWorld conference to Las Vegas next year.
"It is progressively worse. I walked down the street for a quick dinner on a break the other day and you can see the nastiness on the street. To the average person coming to visit, they're having to walk around these things and they're not liking it," he said.
"This is a case of policy gone wrong, but they still haven't awakened to it," he added, expressing skepticism that the situation will improve under new liberal district attorney Chesa Boudin.
The conference, which has been held in San Francisco for roughly two decades, cited expensive hotel rates and the city’s “poor street conditions" as reasons for the move, according to reports.
The city had recently invested $551 million in a renovation and expansion of the downtown Moscone Center.
Oracle addressed the move in a statement to Fox News.
“Oracle is excited to offer a modern, state-of-the-art experience for attendees at Oracle OpenWorld and Code One 2020 in Las Vegas," the company's statement said. "The city and its vast amenities are tailor-made for hosting large-scale events, and we look forward to bringing the industry’s most comprehensive technology and developer conferences to America’s premier hospitality destination."
"Oracle continues to enjoy a strong relationship with the City of San Francisco and our partners such as the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors. We look forward to working with our longstanding counterparts in San Francisco on future events,” they concluded.
Del Beccaro, who hosts a TV show which films in the city, said Boudin and city leaders need to take a tougher stance and stop "glorifying" the situation.
"These people need not just a handout, but they need care and they're not getting that sort of thing. Just to leave them in place? That's the wrong policy," he said.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the loss of OpenWorld is raising further concerns about whether the city’s struggles with homelessness, open drug use and street violence may be scaring off tourism and other business.
The North Face is moving to Denver, Colo., by 2020, Charles Schwab announced it will move its headquarters to Texas, and Bechtel recently relocated to Reston, Va.
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In an email obtained by CNBC, the San Francisco Travel Association (SFTA) reported the loss of the conference is expected to cost the city an estimated $64 million in annual economic activity.
The conference brought about 60,000 people each year.
Fox News' Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.
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