![\"\"](\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/90645b6f76c3b273631286e011390fd8?s=80&d=mm&r=g\")
by\u00a0H.R. SMITH<\/a><\/strong> APRIL 6, 2024, 6:44 PM (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Peskin-Speech.jpg?fit=1196%2C700&ssl=1\")
In a maelstrom of supporters (and a few protestors), Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, already a known candidate, made it official on Saturday: He is running for mayor of San Francisco. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will be a mayor who loves this city, and does not beat it up for political gain,\u201d said Peskin, who made the announcement at 11 a.m. at Portsmouth Square in Chinatown. \u201cI will be a hands-on mayor, using 25 years of governmental know-how to once again make San Francisco the city that knows how.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peskin gave a sunny, positive speech, one that declined to mention any opponents in the mayor\u2019s race by name, or even the existence of any opponents beyond such general categories as \u201cthis administration\u201d and \u201ca handful of billionaires.\u201d In this, he stands in direct contrast to candidates like Mark Farrell, who announced his run by describing current mayor London Breed as \u201ca mayor without a vision<\/a>,\u201d and Ahsha Safai, who informed voters that he already has a list of people he\u2019ll fire<\/a> should he win the election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite protesters and fellow candidates doing their best to sideline the 59-year-old Peskin as a foe of the police, Peskin would not have it. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to make people safe. We have to make them feel safe too. What we\u2019ve seen from this administration and its allies is an effort to make people feel afraid for their own political gain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peskin has voted to increase the police budget, overtime and staffing, as well as an emergency declaration in the Tenderloin, he said. \u201cI support arresting drug dealers and holding them accountable. But arresting drug users and doing nothing more is a cynical and dangerous policy that often results in more overdoses, and not more treatment for addiction.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recovery, as a metaphor<\/a> both for the city and for Peskin\u2019s own experience, was a major theme, to the point where, at times, the announcement felt like an intervention for civic governance at large. \u201cI am so deeply and sincerely grateful to have received the support I needed to recover and become sober,\u201d said Peskin. \u201cI honestly wouldn\u2019t be standing here without it today. And it has inspired me to dedicate the next chapter of my life to the recovery of this city. That is why I am announcing my candidacy for mayor today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the rally, a few dozen protesters gathered outside of Portsmouth Square. They alternated between the more traditional \u201cHey hey, ho ho, Aaron Peskin has got to go!\u201d and a more sporty-sounding \u201cPesky Peskin!\u201d They held up signs ranging from \u201cAaron Peskin: Not in My Backyard\u201d to \u201cAnybody but Peskin\u201d to, more enigmatically, \u201cPeskin: The Trump of the West.\u201d Many of them carried fly-swatters, which they whacked against their signs for emphasis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cTrump of the West\u201d sign was held by J.J. Smith, an affable-seeming guy who said he joined the protest because he \u201canswered a call on Twitter.\u201d He declined to explain further, but on Twitter, he elaborated for his followers. \u201cI was just handed a sign,\u201d he wrote<\/a>. \u201cI never read it. For all I know, it could\u2019ve said \u201cKick J.J. in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re representing the moderate camp,\u201d said Jade Tu, one of the organizers behind the protest. \u201cSome Mark Farrell people are here. But we are really rallying behind not wanting Aaron to be mayor.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tu was also, as it turned out, among the Mark Farrell people who were there \u2014 Farrell\u2019<\/a>s campaign manager to be exact. Before that, she was campaign manager for District Attorney Brooke Jenkins<\/a>, and chief of staff for Together SF<\/a>, one of a small but extremely well-funded group of billionaire-adjacent organizations and nonprofits that have recently begun to pour millions of dollars into city elections<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t all protesters. A wide array of San Francisco archetypes gathered for Peskin\u2019s announcement, many of them running around in T-shirts with the logos of different progressive organizations. There were Asian seniors in giant sun hats, a sizeable contingent in matching \u201cSan Francisco Flower Market\u201d hoodies (\u201dPeskin worked hard to save our flower market,\u201d says Jeanne Boes, the market\u2019s general manager). Every type of San Francisco bohemian fashion was on display, including an eerie number of nattily-dressed bearded men who looked almost exactly like Peskin himself. Nearly everyone there was holding the identical \u201cWe Need Aaron\u201d posters that are the official signage for the Peskin campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his speech, Peskin also promised to create an inspector general position \u201cwith the power of subpoena and investigation\u201d to fight crime within city government. He promised to immediately expand rent control if the statewide initiative to repeal Costa Hawkins<\/a> (which bans rent control in buildings constructed after 1975) is successful. He promised to build 46,000 units of affordable housing in the next eight years in addition to the state-mandated 36,000 (a clear reference to his being labeled as a NIMBY<\/a> by some opponents). He promised to launch \u201ca Marshall Plan for the middle class\u201d by issuing tax-deferred bonds to build housing for them and by lowering taxes paid by smaller businesses. He also promised to help the city prepare for sea level rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have no doubt that this is going to be a difficult campaign,\u201d said Peskin, clearly winding things down and heading for closure. \u201cMost of my opponents have at least one billionaire on their side, if not more. This handful of billionaires pouring billions of dollars of dark money into ugly smear campaigns threatens to destroy much of what makes this a unique, vibrant and magical city. And while I think we don\u2019t have to deal with the billionaires on my side, I have you!\u201d Big cheers erupted. The speech ended with an ask for donations, but also for everyone to take five \u201cWe Need Aaron\u201d signs (\u201cOne for you, and four for your neighbors\u201d) and to sign up to be precinct captains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And with that, by 11:40 a.m, it was over. The crowd dispersed into the sunny afternoon, leaving behind a sea of white folding chairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [Read on for the full text of Peskin\u2019s speech\u2026.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Good afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s wonderful to see so many friends here in Portsmouth square, the heart of San Francisco\u2019s Chinese community, and the birthplace of our city. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for coming. And thank you Mr. Win Ho Leung for your kind introduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I begin, I have to note \u2014 it appears that the strategy of my opponents is to drown out any voice they disagree with. I believe San Francisco deserves a mature discussion about our future, not a shouting match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s be clear. These are the angry voices of a vocal minority, amplified by the money of billionaires, who are deadly afraid to have San Francisco hear any voice but their own. I can\u2019t really understand what they are saying, but if they are calling me names, believe me, I\u2019ve been called worse. But it\u2019s never stopped me from fighting for the city I love. And, well, I don\u2019t have total recall, but I believe the last person we called the Terminator went on to become Governor of California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re here today because we all love San Francisco and we know our city is struggling. We are a city in need of recovery. And recovery is something I know well. I know that recovery is hard work. It\u2019s not easy. I know recovery is not about beating yourself up. It\u2019s actually about loving yourself, and accepting the love from those around you. I\u2019m thinking about you, Nancy Shanahan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that recovery is not something you do alone. You do it together. And recovery only works when we are honest with ourselves and each other. And I know that recovery is not about anger and hatred. It\u2019s not about harboring grudges and pursuing petty vendettas. To recover, you need to be firm, and draw clear lines, but always stay compassionate<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am so grateful to have received the support I needed to recover and become sober. I honestly wouldn\u2019t be standing here today without it. And it has inspired me to dedicate the next chapter of my life to the recovery of this city. That\u2019s why I am announcing my candidacy for Mayor today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was blessed to be born into a family of healers. My father was a clinical psychologist who helped many people including holocaust survivors and their children. My mother is a social worker who worked with survivors of trauma and abuse. My parents taught me that we can devote ourselves to ending intergenerational trauma. That healing is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will be a Mayor who loves this city, and doesn\u2019t beat up on it for political gain. The first step towards healing San Francisco is to make the collective decision to heal ourselves. This means working together instead of fighting. It means truly addressing crime, fentanyl overdoses and homelessness, not just weaponizing them for political campaigns. For 25 years, I have demonstrated the ability to bring people together, achieve consensus on the toughest issues, and move the city forward. And as Mayor, that\u2019s exactly what I will do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk first about crime and public safety. It\u2019s not enough to make people safe. We have to make people feel safe, too. But what we have seen from this administration and its allies is an effort to make people feel afraid, for their own political gain. We have seen an administration try to solve crime by press release, instead of policy. To make this city safe, we need a change. Right here in this neighborhood, I have stood up for safety. Stood up against hate crimes. Brought Cantonese-speaking police foot patrols to walk the beat. Expanded community For me, public safety is a progressive value. I voted to support increased police budgets, police overtime, greater police staffing, and an emergency declaration in the Tenderloin. And I was the first to call for the creation of the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center that has been operating since last Summer, and is getting results. Let me be clear. I support arresting fentanyl dealers and holding them accountable. But arresting drug users, and doing nothing more, is a cynical and dangerous policy that results in more overdoses, and not more treatment for addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Mayor, I will adopt the philosophy of my former kindergarten classmate, the current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. I will be smart on crime. First, we need more staff: Additional police on the street walking beats, more medics, emergency room nurses, mental health providers, drug treatment specialists, and 911 call operators who are also essential in keeping us safe. This isn\u2019t just about funding, it\u2019s about digging deep into the broken structures of government and fixing them from the inside out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will create a schools-to-officers pipeline to recruit people directly from our communities into the police force, so that students get a college education and our neighborhoods are kept safe by police officers who understand them and respect them. And I will finally establish citywide community policing, that has been long-promised but never realized with foot patrols and community ambassadors in every neighborhood. I have worked a quarter of a century with the officers on the beat in Central Station, and know first-hand how effective community policing can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But while we focus on crime in the streets, we must also address criminality and corruption in City government. Every crime of corruption is a crime against taxpayers, a crime against city services, and a crime against the public trust. I am proud to have fought bribery, embezzlement and fraud in city government my entire career. As Mayor, I will establish a new tool for fighting corruption and cleaning up City Hall: An Inspector General, under the Controller, with the power of subpoena and investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Homelessness is another place where we need to come together and heal our city. To address homelessness, we have to first admit the truth: our crisis of homelessness doesn\u2019t start at the bottom, on the streets. It starts at the top, with a lack of leadership and years of neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hundreds of supportive housing units lay vacant. Millions of dollars wasted. Not enough coordination. Not enough accountability. It is not leadership to keep finding other people to blame for homelessness. They\u2019ve blamed compassion. They\u2019ve blamed nonprofits. They\u2019ve blamed progressives. They\u2019ve blamed judges. But at the end of the day, the buck stops with the mayor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My approach to homelessness will be based on four pillars: Prevention, shelter, treatment and housing. Prevention and shelter are critical. We often hear that substance abuse and mental health problems cause homelessness. But, just as often, these problems only become acute after people lose their homes and are forced to the street. By keeping people housed, we can stop the downward spiral before it happens. We showed during the pandemic that rent relief and eviction protection keep at-risk individuals safely in their homes. Yet as we speak, millions of dollars that could be spent on rent relief are not being used. I will change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must also protect, strengthen and expand rent control. Rent control is a lifeline. It stops unfair evictions and limits rent increases. It helps those at risk of homelessness stay in their homes. And it makes this city affordable to poets, artists, musicians, writers and dreamers. To students and hotel workers. To immigrants and struggling families. To teachers and Muni operators and to the people who work in the service and tourism sectors that are so important in our city. And we have a chance to expand rent control across California this November by voting to eliminate Costa Hawkins. If it is successful, as Mayor, I will immediately expand rent control to the 40% of San Francisco tenants who don\u2019t benefit from it today because of Costa Hawkins. Because every tenant deserves the same protection. And I will work to outlaw the demolition of rent-controlled housing unless it is replaced with new rent-controlled housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Supervisor, I showed that we can expand our shelter capacity. We brought the first transitional aged youth shelter in the city right here to District 3. We acquired hundreds of units of permanent supportive housing. As Mayor, I will expand our shelter capacity by at least 2,000 additional shelter beds. We currently have shelter beds for less than half of the homeless population on our streets. New York City, by contrast, has shelter beds for 85%. Without shelter beds, the goal of clearing tent encampments is performative cruelty and an empty promise. If there is no place for people to shelter, they will just keep coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With shelter comes the opportunity for treatment. We must dramatically expand the number of treatment beds and staffing for substance abuse and behavioral health. I know and I have seen that there are people on our streets who require involuntary intervention to be helped. I support conservatorship laws, and I encourage people to seek treatment \u2014 like I have \u2014 but that\u2019s just another empty promise if we are forcing people into treatment that simply doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final pillar is to build affordable housing. The State of California has said that San Francisco must build 46,000 units of affordable housing in the next eight years. 46,000 units. This requirement \u2014 not the 36,000 market-rate homes also required \u2014 will be the most difficult, and the most important, to achieve. I led our first affordable-housing bond in five years, Proposition A, in the March Primary, which will provide homes for 4,500 working San Franciscans, and which was embraced by over 70% of San Francisco voters. And I will campaign this November for the regional housing bond which could house three times as many San Franciscans as Prop A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I will do something that has never been done in San Francisco before. I will launch a Marshall Plan for middle class housing, for our union brothers and sisters, the teachers, nurses, firefighters and families who don\u2019t qualify for low-income housing but can\u2019t afford market-rate luxury housing. Using tax-deferred financing that won\u2019t raise taxes, we can build affordable homes for at least 15,000 middle class San Franciscans \u2014 the heart and soul of our city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are those who claim we don\u2019t need to focus on affordable housing. Who advocate just for more and more and more luxury housing. Who tell us that some time, somewhere in the far distant future, these luxury homes affordable only for the rich will magically become affordable for the rest of us. It\u2019s rubbish. In the Reagan era, it was called trickle-down economics. It didn\u2019t work then and it doesn\u2019t work now. It doesn\u2019t work, because it just boils down to deregulation for private developers, and there is no profit in building affordable homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Supervisor, I have consistently been pro-housing. I have not just voted for, but led, rezoning of our Eastern Neighborhoods that allowed for 10,000 new homes. I have led campaigns to open housing opportunities in the Hunters Point Shipyard, Pier 70, Mission Rock, Rincon Hill, Central SoMa and Western SoMa. If you look at my record, rather than listen to my billionaire and real estate-funded critics, you will see that I have personally voted to increase housing capacity in this city by over 100,000 homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Mayor, I will continue to support housing at all income levels. The state requires us to approve 36,000 market rate homes in the next 8 years, and I will lead the efforts to get that job done. And I will say, if you look at the candidates running for Mayor, I am the candidate who is actually most likely \u2014 not least likely \u2014 to build the most housing this city possibly can. Why? Because I know how to bring people together and forge consensus. But, as a neighborhood leader who believes that the quality of life in San Francisco is based in the diversity and beauty of our neighborhoods, I will also fight every day to ensure that communities have a say about what happens to their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The archipelago of our neighborhoods and cultural districts is what makes the tapestry of San Francisco so rich. Their future should not be decided by unaccountable planners, real estate speculators and Sacramento special interests. We can be and we must be both pro-housing and pro-neighborhood. We can maintain the cultural, architectural, natural and historical beauty we love and still build housing. We don\u2019t have to destroy our city to save it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our neighborhoods and cultural districts must also be centered in our plans for economic recovery. I am today leading efforts for tax reform that will reduce the burden of taxes on small businesses, helping them thrive and lift up the neighborhoods they serve. Economic recovery can\u2019t just be about downtown and the financial district. But we can bring downtown back to life. It starts by making downtown a neighborhood. I have already been working to make it easier to convert office buildings to housing. But so much more can be done. We can bring housing to Union Square, encourage arts and culture at Yerba Buena and downtown, and envision a string of downtown and shoreline parks that will be treasures for those who live near and far away, from Aquatic Park, where I swim in the Bay many mornings, all the way to Hunters Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And speaking of the Embarcadero, I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t address the single biggest threat to the future of San Francisco: Climate change. Where we stand today is not far from where the Bay\u2019s edge used to be. Then it was filled, and downtown was built. But if we are not prepared, the water will come back again \u2014 and that will be a disaster. I am a lifelong environmentalist who has helped conserve thousands and thousands of acres of wilderness, and to this day continue to run a nonprofit that secures water rights for Native Americans in the West, like the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada. As Mayor, I will ensure that San Francisco is resilient against rising seas. We are surrounded by water on three sides. Climate change will be a top priority for me. It is the imperative of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is just some of my vision to help the city we love. There will be many, many more. We will run a citywide, grassroots campaign. In every neighborhood, every community, and every corner of this city. I intend to listen to the voters I meet, and bring their ideas for recovery into our campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because that is the only way I know how to fight for this city that we all love so much. I have no doubt that this will be a difficult campaign. Most of my opponents have at least one billionaire on their side, if not more. This handful of billionaires pouring millions of dollars of dark money into ugly smear campaigns threaten to destroy much of what makes this a unique, vibrant and wonderful city. I don\u2019t have any billionaires on my side, but I have you. And I ask you to join with me, to fight with me, to save our city without sacrificing our values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So please, look around you. There are volunteers here today with window signs. I want every one of you to take five. One for you, and four for your friends and neighbors. I want you to sign up to volunteer. I want you to become a precinct captain. And please, please, please donate. We need your financial help, and remember every dollar you give is matched 6 to 1 by public financing. Our website is Aaron2024.com. Aaron with 2 A\u2019s! Go there, and sign up to help out this campaign. Or go to the tables behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, democracy is on the ballot in November as we all must work to defeat Donald Trump and his band of insurrectionists, but the future of San Francisco is on the ballot as well. So let\u2019s fight together to save what\u2019s special about San Francisco and make it the city that knows how again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you. Let\u2019s get to work.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n smithzilla@gmail.com<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Heather Smith covers a beat that spans health, food, and the environment, as well as shootings, stabbings, various small fires, and shouting matches at public meetings. She is a 2007 Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism and a contributor to the book Infinite City<\/a>.More by H.R. Smith<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And a little love for police by\u00a0H.R. SMITH APRIL 6, 2024, 6:44 PM (MissionLocal.org) In a maelstrom of supporters (and a few protestors), Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, already a known candidate, made it official on Saturday: He is running for mayor of San Francisco. \u201cI will be a… Continue reading ![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/D0ZXp_Xwcrk\/hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Jade-Tu-853x640.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/PeskinSupporters4-930x623.jpg?resize=780%2C523&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Peskin-supportersjpg-930x545.jpg?resize=780%2C457&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Peskin-Rally-Crowd-Shot-930x605.jpg?resize=780%2C507&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Fillmore-for-Aaron-930x564.jpg?resize=780%2C473&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A Mayor who works for everyday San Franciscans and their neighborhoods, not just the well-to-do and the well-connected. And I will be a hands-on Mayor, using my 25 years of governmental know-how to once again make San Francisco the city that knows how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ambassadors and strengthened pedestrian safety. That\u2019s what every neighborhood in this city deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\nH.R. SMITH<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n