SFNext: Fixing Our City

Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors, has spent the majority of the last 23 years in office in San Francisco, representing District 3. His district includes North Beach, Chinatown and the Financial District, but the role of president means he must broker compromises between his colleagues and the mayor. On complex crises like the coronavirus pandemic, fentanyl use, and homelessness, he says he also helps coordinate siloed city departments. And with so many crises at hand, Peskin says, this is no time for divisive politicking — which is why he collaborated with Mayor London Breed on legislation easing restrictions on building use downtown. “There are no moderate or progressive potholes,” he says. “There are potholes and they need to be filled.” | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Supervisor Hillary Ronen represents the Mission, the Portola and Bernal Heights, but she has been trying to tackle problems in those neighborhoods since before she was elected. Now, she’s termed out, and she says she’s conflicted about trying to address the fallout of national issues with a municipal toolkit. While San Francisco’s government has its shortcomings, she says, it’s grappling with effects of poverty and inequality around the country — from homelessness to drug dealing to the housing crunch — that are more visible than ever. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Supervisor Catherine Stefani represents a part of San Francisco that does not have a reputation for violent crime — District 2 includes the Marina, Pacific Heights, Cathedral Hill, Laurel Village and NoPa. But shortly before SFNext: Fixing Our City interviewed her, a violent assault in the Marina made headlines, though it wasn't yet apparent that there was allegedly more to that story. Stefani describes how she would like to handle challenges with hiring cops, what we expect police officers to do, and why public safety is such a critical issue for San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project

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District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who lives in the Mid-Market area and represents downtown as well as SoMa, Mission Bay and Treasure Island, expresses some hope that the city’s economic engine is coming back to life. The former police spokesperson has experience with drug and alcohol abuse and talks about his own setbacks during the pandemic. One reason he ran for office was to represent people in recovery. Now, he has ambitious plans for the police department and its role in addressing drug dealing. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project

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Supervisor Connie Chan keeps a decorative sign in her office that says “I’ll be nicer, if you’ll be smarter.” She is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and has made it a point to call for hearings about department overspending or inefficient spending. As part of our Soup With the Supes series, Chan tells the story of how she was introduced to clam chowder in a bread bowl and shares her vision of San Francisco’s economic future. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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San Francisco has consistently seen more than 600 overdose deaths a year, and the rate of fatal overdoses has recently spiked. Dr. Jeffrey Hom, director of the city’s Office of Overdose Prevention, is optimistic that the city can turn the tide on overdoses, but acknowledges a long road ahead. The health department released a plan last year to reduce fatal overdoses, which calls for expansions in medication treatment and Narcan distribution as well as establishing safe consumption sites. Despite opposition in some quarters, opening safe consumption sites has broad support in city government, but they are against federal law. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Hundreds of people are dying from drug overdoses every year in San Francisco, and the rate of deaths has spiked. In the same time frame, thousands more overdoses are reversed. Public health and harm reduction workers battling the opioid crisis are calling for the creation of safe consumption sites, which offer a place to use while trained staff are on duty to intervene if someone overdoses. Critics fear they would attract crime and open drug use and enable addiction, but city leaders have almost universally supported establishing a site in San Francisco. Despite that support, plans to establish them appear stalled. In this episode, we explore why that is. Advocates Madeleine Sweet, an overdose survivor in recovery, and Ellen Grantz, with the group Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Death, delve into the controversy around safe consumption sites. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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San Francisco has a unique system of “discretionary review,” and YIMBY advocate Bilal Mahmood (with the pro-development Yes In My Back Yard group) and California Assemblymember Matt Haney see this process as a major roadblock to new housing. Mahmood went down the rabbit hole to suss out exactly how tangled this bureaucracy is for a Chronicle opinion piece. Haney has crafted two pieces of state legislation intended to make the process of getting new housing or office conversions approved a little more predictable, and thus faster. They explain how that could spur housing construction and how all this could help reshape downtown. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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When Castro neighbors see Erica McGary doing outreach, they sometimes assume she’s a volunteer. But McGary works for the Department of Public Health, and it’s her job to get to know people in the neighborhood — whether they’re unhoused, working or have a home or apartment there. Building relationships with chronically homeless people and newcomers alike helps foster trust in city services, which can be a major obstacle to accessing services. The approach has already helped several people find a path to housing, shelter or treatment, and the city intends to replicate it in other neighborhoods. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

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Supervisor Rafael Mandelman wonders whether a local government needs a system of checks and balances and, over matzo ball soup, explains why he thinks certain controversies have been exaggerated. Mandelman represents District 8, which includes the Castro, Diamond Heights and Twin Peaks. He says San Francisco government has too many checks and balances for its size. He describes the huge fight over “killer robots” as blown out of proportion and says San Francisco is not failing to solve homelessness, but rather, is failing to manage public spaces. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Fixing Our City is part of the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFNext Project

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