The fallout could have devastating consequences for Breed, who is seeking a second full term. Polling shows her positions align with the priorities of most residents, but her approval ratings have been dismal and the field of challengers could soon grow.
The last public employee strike in San Francisco was in 1976. It lasted 39 days, with nearly 1,800 workers walking off the job to picket the zoo and airport. Buses and streetcars halted, and 250,000 daily riders were left stranded. A similar scenario would potentially infuriate lukewarm Breed supporters as well as residents who normally sit on the political sidelines.
Preston suggested the shift in elections, which gave Breed an extra year in office, would encourage greater voter turnout, as the city sees about 80% of registered voters show up in national election years. In 2019, when Breed was elected mayor after winning a special election a year prior, turnout was less than 42%.
Bianca Polovina, the president of IFPTE Local 21, said that the city should be taking a harder look at how it outsources work to nonprofits and private companies, rather than eliminating vacant positions. The city currently has more than 3,700 job openings, and one path Breed is taking to tighten the fiscal belt is eliminating positions.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who serves as president of the Board of Supervisors and is rumored to become a potential challenger to Breed, suggested that the mayor boxed herself into her current predicament by passing a record budget last summer when deficit projections were already bleak.
While residents may be sympathetic to their concerns, many in San Francisco also believe the city is headed down the wrong track, and there needs to be a greater, if not more efficient, investment of city funds to improve services. As many people contacted for this story noted, a union endorsement will not weigh as heavily as how residents feel about the state of the city.
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