“Rules for me, not for thee.” It might as well become the motto of the Democrats.
On Wednesday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed attended one of her city’s jazz clubs. She partied with the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, known for its hits from the 80s and 90s.
In August, Breed herself ordered an ongoing, citywide mandate for masks. The city requires everyone — even the vaccinated — to wear a fitted mask indoors, except while eating or drinking. Yet, she took her own mandate as a light suggestion, and she appeared at the club without a mask.
In fact, hardly anyone was wearing a mask, according to a a video obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Take a look at the video here, along with a picture of Breed, second from the left in the photo on the bottom —
I talked to @LondonBreed afterwards too. What a fun night!https://t.co/87nxpphbJF
— Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) September 16, 2021
Breed spend the night with drinks at her table, and she held her drink often — but not always. At one point, Breed — still without a mask — put both her arms around two unmasked musicians, according to a photograph obtained by the Chronicle.
Breed anticipated the criticisms and tried to defend herself. She claimed to have tested herself recently.
She told the Chronicle, “At the end of the day, everyone who comes in here has to show proof of vaccination. That gives me a lot of reassurance.”
That may or may not be true, but it’s definitely beside the point. Breed broke her own rule. Plus, she implied that she could remain safe even when violated the mandate. She made her own mandate look arbitrary, as if she’d issued the mandate only as part of an empty ritual.
“I’ve been very careful, not just because I want to set an example but because I don’t want to get COVID. I also want to make sure that I’m not someone transmitting COVID to other people,” Breed continued. “This entire pandemic has been focused on keeping people safe.”
Earlier in the pandemic, Breed attracted criticism for dining at the luxurious French Laundry in Napa. She was dining in a party of eight, even as the state “strongly discouraged” these gatherings and forbade gatherings of more than three households. Plus, she went to the French Laundry only one day after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s controversial visit there.
At the time, she was enforcing citywide measures for social distancing, but the French Laundry is located outside her city.
This time, she was blatantly flouting her own rules.
“The fact that we have not been able to enjoy live music in this way since the beginning of this pandemic made it even that much more special and extraordinary,” Breed told the Chronicle after Wednesday’s performance. “I was really honored and really in disbelief when I sat here and watched what I felt was history in the making.”
At least she enjoyed her night.
The Horn editorial team