Former San Francisco mayor challenging London Breed says city's fallen apart: 'Become the butt of jokes'

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A candidate trying to unseat San Francisco Mayor London Breed trashed the Democrat’s leadership, stating that under her the city streets "have never been worse," its "economy has collapsed," and the city has become the "butt of jokes" nationally.

Businessman and former San Francisco interim mayor Mark Farrell spoke to the New York Times about his upcoming mayoral race against Breed, detailing how the city has fallen apart under Breed and how he wants to put it back together by hiring more police and holding homeless people and drug addicts accountable.

Farrell, who was mayor for six months in 2018, lamented to the outlet what the city has become under its current leadership. Breed was elected in 2019 and is up for re-election in 2024 due to the city changing its election schedule.

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Former San Francisco interim Mayor Mark Farrell told the New York Times his plans to run for mayor again as the city has become the "butt of jokes" under Mayor London Breeds administration.

"I’ve watched San Francisco crumble over the last five years. Public safety has never been a bigger concern. The conditions of our streets have never been worse. Our local economy has collapsed. And we’ve become the butt of jokes across the country," he said. 

Farrell, a Democrat, announced his run for office this week and is not Breed's only challenger. There will be no primary; instead all candidates for mayor will appear on the ballot in November and voters will rank them by preference, according to the Associated Press.

The Times described the "common sense" platform he wants to implement for the city, quoting him saying that he wants a "a firm style of governance that would ‘massively’ increase police ranks, clear all homeless encampments, detain drug overdose victims who survive and return cars to the city’s main thoroughfare."

The Times noted that if the voters opted for Farrell next election, "it will indicate that San Francisco has moved from the left to much more centrist politics." 

The city and larger Bay Area’s crime wave has alarmed residents and local business owners in recent years. It has led to closures of famous stores in the area, prompted longtime residents to move out of the area, and has made out-of-state visitors fear for their lives.

The piece also characterized Farrell’s platform as the "most rightward leaning — on the narrow, very blue San Francisco political spectrum — of anyone else in the race."

The candidate’s platform is also inspired by his own brush with the city’s crime wave. He recounted that he woke up a year ago to find his dining room window had been shattered and laptop stolen from his home in Jordan Park, an upscale neighborhood.

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One of Farrell's policy proposals will be to reinvigorate the city's police presence. (FOX 2 San Francisco)

The suspect wasn't caught but was brazen enough to enter the home while he and his family were asleep.

His wife, Liz Farrell – who helped campaign to recall former far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin last year – is supporting Farrell’s return to politics because of all the friends and neighbors she knows that have been personally affected by crime.

She told The Times, "You start to think that’s how life goes, that that’s how you should live, and it’s not."

Farrell gave the outlet a small taste of what he’d do upon entering office. The Times wrote, "he would fire the police chief, Bill Scott. He would also spare the Police Department from budget cuts and work aggressively to add hundreds of officers to the department."

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