San Francisco faces skepticism over new law-and-order measures: 'This is an election year'

A former San Francisco police officer applauded the approval of a pair of law-and-order measures, saying the "pendulum is finally swinging" in favor of public safety as residents have become "fed up" with the crime crisis. 

Joel Aylworth reacted on "Fox & Friends" Thursday, also expressing his skepticism over how much change is going to come to the liberal city. One of the measures bolsters policing and empowers law enforcement, while the other allows officials to drug test welfare recipients. 

"It feels like the pendulum is finally swinging," Aylworth told Lawrence Jones on Thursday. "But as you know, they've got a large… way to go… I was just in San Francisco a couple months ago, and we were at Golden Gate Park, and within 15 minutes my sister-in-law's car got broken into, so the problems are still there. We know that.

"I do like some of these propositions, but if you read between the lines… there's a lot of fluff in there," he continued. "And so I worry that this is one of those feel-good propositions, but at the end of the day, nothing's really going to happen."

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San Francisco voters made their voices heard loud and clear on Tuesday with the passage of both measures, which some say will allow San Francisco to pivot away from crime, homelessness and drug use plaguing city streets. 

The first of the two ballot measures, Proposition F, requires drug screening for people receiving public benefits and would force drug addicts to go into treatment if they want to continue receiving those benefits. The second, Proposition E, would give law enforcement better surveillance tools and rein in oversight over the force, allowing looser restrictions on car chases, for example. 

It marks yet another rebuke of progressive policies in the famously liberal city, following the recall of far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.

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Despite the results, Aylworth argued San Francisco will "always" be left-leaning in nature, but remains hopeful for change, since residents are completely "fed up."

"San Francisco is literally the city of Saint Francis, so they will always be a progressive city because of the leaders and the politicians that are running it, unfortunately," Aylworth said. "So that will never change. I think just right now, we're in a moment of time where things are swinging in the right direction because people are fed up."

Democratic Mayor London Breed, who's up for re-election this year and had the measures placed on the ballot for voter consideration, celebrated on Tuesday night.

Mayor London Breed proclaims "The Flaming Lips Day" at Stern Grove festival on August 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. ((Photo by Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images))

"It is clear that people want to see changes around public safety. What’s exciting about this for me is I get the kind of tools I need to continue the work we’re doing," Breed told reporters, according to local station KQED.

She added on X, "Thank you to the voters for passing Prop F to bring more treatment and accountability to San Francisco. This is how we get more people the help they need and change what’s happening in our City." She also wrote Prop E gives "our officers more tools to do their jobs."

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A famous social media food critic had to cut his culinary tour of San Francisco, citing the city's poor conditions. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)

Former San Francisco mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg said residents are "ready" for change and "angry" about the crime-ridden state of the city. He said the shift in favor of law and order had been a "long time coming" on Thursday. 

"We were really, really hoping and praying for this to come. It's a long time coming," Greenberg said during "Fox & Friends First," stressing that city leaders must now follow through and deliver for residents.

"We are not only ready, we're also angry," he continued. 

"I saw this coming for a while… I supported it very, very much… the thing is, though, that our mayor, London Breed, is taking credit for those two specific ballot measures that you mentioned. This is trying just to save face because … it's an election year, and she's running for re-election… so there's politics involved."

Fox News' Gabriel Hays, Jeffrey Clark, David Rutz and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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