[guest commentary by Christian Medina Beltz and Kate Bueler — Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writers and are not necessarily those of their employers; photo by Kate Bueler]
What if we, the people, decided to all demand more?
From our government. From our elected officials.
From our social servants, who are meant to protect us.
And most importantly from our mayor, London Breed.
Mayor London Breed is the highest paid mayor in the country, earning $430K per year. She gets paid more than Gavin Newsom. Yes, you read that correctly. She makes substantially more than the Governor of California.
Mayor Breed has weathered the storms of leading through a pandemic, social unrest, economic downturn, and the harsh realities where our systems here and nationally are crumbling. She also has weathered some serious political storms of her own — ethical violations and fines where she used her title for her own personal gain, most recently the revelation of at least 48 undated resignation letters required of her own staff. She has publicly made outright racist comments against the Latinx community — in an interview she prepared for with an audience, knowing full well it was being recorded.
Being a mayor throughout a pandemic, is something anyone can understand is one of the most difficult things. But living here, in San Francisco, as a resident it’s even harder. Especially when you take into account privilege and power — race and class — social, political, and cultural capital.
We are living through historic times and have been since 2020. Collectively, we are exhausted, hurting and in need of protection. We have survived so many storms already.
On New Year’s Eve it rained. Rained more and faster and harder. Historic rainfall turned into flooding.
There were no social media posts from London Breed with how to navigate the floods, emergency information, support for unhoused folks, emergency shelters. Her team of 31, all being paid $200K/year, (a total of at least $6 million) were deafeningly silent. Crickets.
Emergency services asked us to be off the streets because so many rescues were happening. And Breed still went to her New Year’s Party — posted by others to social media.
There was no briefing or announcement or support from our Mayor’s office.
We didn’t hear from the Mayor until the Monday after at her briefing to prepare for the next set of historic storms. She blamed the National Weather Service (NWS) for not preparing her as the reason behind inaction before the NYE storm.
She lied.
She knew she lied, even when she knew this was all on record. NWS provided the receipts of briefing her with 10 days notice and was present at a preparation meeting beforehand.
Our mayor had information on how to protect us, but did not share it and then lied about it. Let that sink in.
Days later we found out why we did not see her on the streets of our city providing emergency support, or for a press conference, or even a social media post. She was just too busy.
After her New Year’s Party, Mayor London Breed flew to Las Vegas to watch the beloved 49ers from a luxury box seat with E-40, a Bay Area well known rapper since the 90s. Smiling and partying on social media for all to see. She was absent, when her city needed her most.
She pulled a Ted Cruz. An act that liberals still meme about. If we demand accountability from a conservative outside of our state, what do we ask of our mayor within our “liberal” city?
If you cannot prepare us, be with us during, and help us after an emergency, then what is your purpose? There are six articles on the role of a Mayor during an emergency for power and duties with subsections, most notably:
“. . .the Mayor is hereby empowered and it shall be his or her duty:
- To make and issue rule and regulations on matters reasonably related to the protection of life and property as affected by such emergency;
- To obtain vital supplies, equipment and such other properties found lacking and needed for protection of life and property and to bind the City and County for the fair value thereof and, if required immediately commandeer the same for public use. . .”
This is unacceptable, reckless at the very least and gross negligent at the most.
We deserve a mayor who tells us the truth. We deserve a mayor who supports us in any emergency that is life threatening and scary. We need her on the streets rolling up her sleeves or suit jacket beside us cleaning storm drains, checking in about flood damage in our homes, and supporting the many small businesses impacted with economic relief, and at the very least, an authentic apology. We need her on our ship leading the way and keeping us calm with information and support. We need the truth.
Cancel all of your ribbon cuttings. Cancel all of your events. Cancel all of the fluff in this job and show up for us. This is the event you need to be at. You made a promise to protect us.
No comment still from the Mayor’s office. No apology for flying away to her luxury suite when we needed her. It hurts. Like the city you love ghosting you and leaving you on read. We must demand more to get what we deserve.
Demand more. We, the people, deserve it.
Christian Medina Beltz is a storyteller of many mediums, using his platform as a means of cultural progression and inclusion.
Kate Bueler is a college counselor transformed into a fundraiser for our children and youth in the City, using social media for activism in hope dealing and dream making.