San Francisco politics moves to the right
Politico: San Francisco mayoral candidate Mark Farrell said Thursday that, if elected, he will ask California to send more armed National Guard troops into downtown to fight the city’s open-air drug markets. The announcement, part of Farrell’s plan to address the fentanyl overdose crisis, is the latest example of how the Democrat and venture capitalist is trying to oust Mayor London Breed in November by outflanking her to the right. Breed and Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have used the National Guard and California Highway Patrol to help local police dismantle fentanyl rings, especially ahead of the city hosting the APEC summit last fall. But Farrell wants to see more military personnel deployed for an indefinite period of time — though he didn’t specify how many or for how long. His rhetoric, especially his call for “more armed California National Guard,” is sure to strike a political nerve in San Francisco. The city has increasingly leaned into tough-on-crime policies despite