Willie Brown on Crime and Street Conditions in San Francisco

San Francisco is starting the caller twelvemonth astatine a gloomy time: fearful of the latest question of coronavirus infections, seemingly helpless successful the look of an overdose situation that kills 2 radical a day, and divided implicit however to respond to transgression and homelessness.

This stark representation was reinforced by the blunt words of Mayor London Breed, who successful the days earlier Christmas roiled the city’s authorities with a cutting appraisal of the streets that she presides implicit and a vow to aggressively cleanable them up: “It is clip that the reign of criminals who are destroying our metropolis — it is clip for it to travel to an end,” she told reporters astatine City Hall, vowing to beryllium much assertive with instrumentality enforcement and policy.

For position connected this hard clip for San Francisco, I sat down with Willie Brown, the politician from 1996 to 2004 and a longtime Democratic Party powerfulness broker. We discussed the authorities of exigency that Breed announced earlier Christmas and San Francisco’s outsize relation successful authorities and nationalist politics.

That relation is 1 crushed the metropolis truthful often comes nether the microscope. Brown pointed retired that if thing were to hap to President Biden, the 2 adjacent successful enactment for the presidency are San Franciscans: Vice President Kamala Harris and the talker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

But helium had harsh words for the adjacent procreation of San Francisco’s leaders and a less-than-uplifting presumption of the challenges the metropolis is facing. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

Where bash you travel down connected the question of whether San Francisco is suffering from a situation of thoroughfare conditions and transgression and whether, arsenic Mayor Breed says, it has go a batch worse?

San Francisco is plagued with idealism. We truly bash privation to attraction for everybody that can’t attraction for themselves. Whether they are addicted, whether they are emotionally challenged by immoderate means oregon whether they are financially challenged. We’ve ever wanted to marque San Francisco a spot wherever you could beryllium comfortable. But that’s created a problem. Because abruptly the radical enjoying the comfortableness are the radical who person decided they tin specify however they tin bask the comfort. And that mightiness beryllium an intrusion connected the radical who are paying for it — the taxpayers.

How bash you complaint the thoroughfare conditions contiguous successful San Francisco compared with erstwhile you were mayor?

The drugs contiguous are dramatically antithetic from the drugs of my time. You did not person nonprofit organizations giving tents to stateless people. And you didn’t person the aforesaid measurement of stateless people. So you could usage the sidewalks, whether you were successful the Tenderloin oregon successful Pacific Heights.

Mayor Breed was blunt successful describing the city. She spoke astir “mass looting” and of the city’s “nasty streets” strewn with trash, urine and feces. Do you hold with her assessment?

Totally and wholly accurate. And descriptive. And believable. She wasn’t trying to beryllium political. I deliberation she was describing what she saw. Very bold. It’s grandmotherish.

Will the authorities of exigency successful the Tenderloin work?

Only if she tin get the remainder of the metropolis to bargain in. The metropolis unluckily is not tally by the mayor. We are present plagued with the authorities of districts that person nary involvement successful thing but their small turf.

You person often spoken astir however overmuch lies beyond a city’s control.

If you spell backmost to 1997, I scheduled a stateless summit. I canceled it conscionable earlier I was to bash it due to the fact that I concluded that determination was nary imaginable mode for immoderate 1 azygous metropolis oregon region to lick the stateless problem. I americium inactive of that opinion. They tin code it, they tin interaction it, but they can’t lick it. It is excessively rooted successful poorness and intelligence health.

San Francisco has played an outsize relation successful California politics. The state’s leaders person travel from San Francisco successful disproportionate numbers. Do you spot San Francisco keeping this role?

No, I bash not. We person nary bench. We person not attempted to physique a roster of new, talented people.

Do I perceive you saying that San Francisco is nary longer astatine the vanguard of wide ideas for the country?

No, we inactive person each kinds of radical with ideas. But we person cipher connected the seat susceptible of implementing them.

What bash you spot successful this caller twelvemonth for the metropolis of San Francisco that gives you hope?

The enactment that the politician took would beryllium 1 illustration of what would origin maine to change my presumption astir whether oregon not determination is hope. I’m a full optimist for California, not conscionable San Francisco. There is simply a tremendous magnitude of existent endowment successful California.

If you work 1 story, marque it this

It’s hard to deliberation of a writer contiguous who writes with much authorization astir the Central Valley than Mark Arax. His latest nonfiction connected h2o use has some humanities expanse and idiosyncratic history. You tin consciousness the sandy loam passing done your fingers.

The remainder of the news

• Romance: Making these resolutions tin amended a relationship.

• Police stops: A authorities study showed that the constabulary stopped importantly less motorists and pedestrians successful 2020 than successful erstwhile years, though Black and transgender radical were inactive much apt to beryllium stopped, The Associated Press reports.

• S.T.I. tests: A caller authorities instrumentality requires wellness security plans to screen the outgo of at-home tests for sexually transmitted infections, The Los Angeles Times reports.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Sewage spill: Seven cardinal gallons of sewage spilled successful Los Angeles County aft a sewer main collapsed, causing aggregate beaches to close. At Cabrillo Beach successful San Pedro, the yearly New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge was canceled due to the fact that of the spill, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• New taste center: Though the Audrey Irmas Pavilion volition service Koreatown, it is archetypal a assemblage abstraction for the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

• Covid lawsuit count: Los Angeles County reported much than 45,000 caller coronavirus cases implicit the weekend, which is importantly much than past winter’s peak, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• School disguise mandate: All employees astatine Los Angeles County schools volition beryllium required to deterioration medical-grade masks portion rules for students tighten, The Los Angeles Times reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Child vaccination: Children successful the Central Valley person been vaccinated against Covid-19 astatine overmuch little rates than successful the remainder of the state, The Fresno Bee reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Bank robbery: A Guerneville slope was robbed connected New Year’s Eve. The authorities are inactive looking for the suspect, The Associated Press reports.

• Tahoe skier: Rory Angelotta, a skier from Truckee who went missing connected Christmas Day, has been presumed dead, The Associated Press reports.

What we’re drinking

California cabernet beyond the stereotypes.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s question extremity comes from Robyn Houts, who recommends Chitactac-Adams Heritage County Park successful Gilroy:

“It has a creekside way with interpretive signs, picnic area, amenities, and an interpretive shelter. Uvas Creek winds done this unsocial conception of sandstone, with 1 striking bluff cognize to locals simply arsenic ‘The Rock.’ It was location to autochthonal people, and galore bedrock mortars attest to their presence. Chitactac is simply a favourite halt for cyclists enjoying the backmost roads and Bay Area people connected their mode to the coast. Stop successful for a visit!”

Tell america astir your favourite places to sojourn successful California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll beryllium sharing much successful upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

How did you people the commencement of the 2022? Did you marque immoderate New Year’s resolutions?

Share with america astatine CAtoday@nytimes.com.

And earlier you go, immoderate bully news

Maybe it was a harbinger of amended times coming our mode this year. Twelve months agone the Rose Parade was canceled. But connected Saturday the marching bands and flower-covered floats were backmost nether bluish skies successful Pasadena. The rolling show enactment connected by Kaiser Permanente was titled “A Healthier Future.” Amen.

Thanks for reading. We’ll beryllium backmost successful your inbox tomorrow.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Something for a golfer, poker subordinate oregon sandwich shaper (4 letters).

Soumya Karlamangla, Jonah Candelario and Mariel Wamsley contributed to California Today. You tin scope the squad astatine CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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