San Francisco Mayoral Candidates Clash as Breed Faces Attacks From Farrell, Lurie

Opposing visions of what San Francisco is — and what it can be — clashed on stage as the city’s five leading mayoral candidates offered stark differences on Thursday night at KQED.

The sold-out debate was the largest — and likely the last — major debate of the election cycle. Incumbent Mayor London Breed, who has drawn criticism from her opponents for dropping out of two recent debates, stood in the center of the stage wearing an aquamarine pantsuit.

She faced an onslaught on her record, primarily from former Mayor Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie. With 46 days until Election Day, the gloves were off as soon as the debate — moderated by Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer of KQED and Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle — began.

“It’s nice to see Mayor Breed finally at a debate after she’s been ducking them for the past two weeks,” Farrell said. “It is clear, Mayor Breed, you’re going to be here tonight telling the audience in San Francisco that everything’s just fine.”

Lurie, a nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir, didn’t spare anyone on the stage, including Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Ahsha Safaí.

“The definition of insanity is electing the same people over and over again and expecting a different result,” Lurie said. “They’ve built up this corrupt system, then they exploit it. Then they have the audacity, like they did tonight, to tell you they’re the only ones that can fix it.”

The stakes couldn’t be higher for the city. San Francisco continues to experience a sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery. Overdose rates remain at an epidemic level, driven by fentanyl and meth. The lack of new affordable housing has exacerbated the housing crisis. The “doom loop” chatter remains pervasive.

There was barely time for policy positions on improving the city’s laundry list of problems because the candidates were focused on landing zingers on Breed.

She landed plenty of her own.

“Daniel Lurie is probably one of the most dangerous people on the stage, so we definitely should be scared,” Breed said. “He has absolutely zero experience. He hasn’t even been employed for the past five years.”

She was also dismissive of Farrell, who slammed her for not doing enough to combat crime, even as police data shows crime in the city was considerably down in the first half of 2024. In August, the San Francisco Police Officers Association endorsed Breed.

“I don’t know why we’re still listening to Mark Farrell talk about what he’s done — the same thing over and over again,” Breed said. “The fact is, crime is at its lowest level in 10 years. My budget is $200 million higher than his budget when [Farrell] served as temporary mayor. I have provided the police officers with the support and the 21st-century technology that they need to do their jobs, which is why crime is down in the first place.

“And the Police Officers Association endorsed me only.”

In recent years, the sweeping investigations, arrests and convictions of public officials for corruption have scandalized City Hall. Earlier this month, a scandal surrounding the Dream Keeper initiative, the ambitious social equity program Breed launched in 2021 to steer funds to community organizations supporting the city’s Black community, was revealed. Last week, Sheryl Davis, the former director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, resigned following reports of potential misspending of public money.

“I have held myself accountable,” Breed said. “I immediately asked for and received her resignation. And even before this probe started, we had already paused funding.”

Safaí wasn’t buying it.

“Corruption has imbued this administration since Day 1,” said Safai, who proposed an ordinance in 2023 that would have forced nonprofits to file paperwork with the city administrator’s office to show they are in good standing with the state. “I have led a charge to do mandatory audits and bring accountability, and this mayor did not support that measure.”

Farrell stayed on the offensive for the entire hourlong debate.

“There’s no mayor that is overseeing a steeper decline in our city’s history than London Breed,” he said.

“First of all, unlike some of my opponents on this stage, I actually have a job, No. 1,” Breed fired back. “No. 2, to be very clear, crime is lower than it’s been in over a decade.”

She continued: “My results speak for themselves. We are seeing the city bounce back, and he is trying to take our city backwards.”

Farrell claimed that neighborhoods are being held hostage by drug dealing and homelessness. If elected, he’s said he’d declare a fentanyl state of emergency, similar to what Lurie has proposed. His vision to redevelop downtown includes a focus on new housing. He rejected claims that he would shy away from development in his own district, the Marina.

“I believe we need to build housing in every single neighborhood,” he said.

Peskin, who wants to expand rent control across the city, said he has never voted against affordable housing.

“I think we need to reject the narrative of the real estate speculators and developers,” he said. “I have voted to approve more housing at all income levels all over this city than every candidate on this stage combined, over 100,000 units. But I did that by working with neighborhoods, not against neighborhoods in my own district.”

More than 4,300 people registered to watch the debate online to see the candidates run through their talking points.

“The reason that we have an affordability crisis is because of these City Hall insiders creating a byzantine, bureaucratic and corrupt permitting process,” Lurie said. “Can you take four more years of it?”