In 2021, San Franciscans recalled every school board member eligible for recall, and the next year, they recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
Now, as of Tuesday, San Francisco voters are projected to approve two ballot initiatives, and — for the third time in three years — San Franciscans will have voted for a check on their far-Left leadership.
The first initiative, Proposition E, grants police greater leeway to pursue suspects in vehicles, authorizes the use of drones and surveillance cameras and reduces paperwork requirements, including in use-of-force cases.
The second one, Proposition F, requires drug treatment for adult recipients of cash assistance found to be using illicit substances. It would deny cash assistance to those denying treatment.
Both initiatives look very likely to pass, according to the partial vote counts.
Mayor London Breed, dubbed by the media as a moderate Democrat, supports both measures, and she fought to get them on the ballot.
“We want people to seek treatment and many people do, but the reality is others are not willing or able to do so,” Breed said in a statement. “We are also sending a message that we are a city that offers help but not a city where you can just come and do whatever you want on our streets.”
Under Proposition F, single adults without dependents on local welfare — about 9,000 people a year — must be screened for illegal drug use. If they are found to be using drugs, an addiction specialist and the recipient would agree on treatment options that include residential care, a 12-step program, individual counseling and replacement medication.
There is no sobriety requirement, only that a person make a good-faith effort to participate in treatment if they want to receive cash assistance, which maxes out at just over $700 a month.
Supporters include recovery advocates alarmed by the prevalence of fentanyl and the shortage of treatment options.
However, critics have pointed to the city’s limited supply of treatment beds, and they’d prefer to reserve these spots for people choosing to get clean.
Some critics have accused Breed of sneaking these controversial measures into an election with low turnout.
“What is disheartening is the record low turnout for this presidential primary,” Celi Tamayo-Lee, executive director of San Francisco Rising, told the Associated Press.
Both measures were very popular with fed-up voters, according Kanishka Cheng, executive director of TogetherSF Action, the political arm of TogetherSF, a civic advocacy group she co-founded at the start of the pandemic with billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz.
“People are so frustrated, they’re willing to try something different,” Cheng told the outlet. “That’s the sentiment I hear from voters every day.”
Sure enough, voters across California are demanding a change in leadership and reckoning with the issues facing their one-party state.
To replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, primary voters backed Rep. Adam Schiff over two card-carrying members of the far-Left Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The San Francisco Chronicle announced in a headline “Progressivism is out — for now,” adding, “S.F. can no longer be considered a progressive city.”
Even if San Francisco’s electorate remains more heavily Democratic than 90% percent of the nation’s counties, Tuesday’s elections show a pronounced trend.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.