As November approaches, many people rush to the ballot for this year’s presidential election in what seems to be a close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. However, an election that may get less media attention, but is similarly as important is the forthcoming mayoral Election in San Francisco. Unlike the federal election, there’s a plethora of candidates in this race that could win. The incumbent mayor, London Breed, a former interim mayor and small business owner, Mark Farrell, a philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, Daniel Lurie, and President of the board of supervisors Aaron Peskin. Many more are on the ballot, but thus far these candidates stand the strongest chance of winning.
It’s fairly ambiguous who will win out of these candidates, but London Breed seems to be edging her challengers out in the polls, which are within the margin of error. She has been running her campaign on hope and the idea that the city will return to life before the pandemic. Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie are running on less optimistic, but maybe more truthful ideas that the city is in a bad place economically, socially, and safety-wise. Farrell is taking a more family-oriented approach, talking about how he wants to make San Francisco the best city to raise a family, whereas Lurie has been running on an anti-corruption stage, claiming everyone running for mayor besides him is a city hall swamp creature.
“I haven’t been paying too much attention, but from what I’ve seen, the cities are not in a great place right now and we need a change in mayor.” is what Junior Israel Beyene had to say when asked if he thinks we need a new mayor and why. This simple quote shows much of the frustration that many different San Franciscans face with the city feeling less and less safe every year and the city’s spirit less invigorated compared to previous years.
“This election is invigorating and exciting and I can’t wait to see who ends up on top,” is what Junior Max Machle had to say when asked about what he thinks about the San Francisco mayoral election, supporting the idea that
“This election is very tight and the result will be critical to the success of our city”, is what Junior Benny Moosbrugger had to say when asked about his experience working as an intern with the Mark Farrell for mayor campaign.
The San Francisco mayoral race is a tight, well-fought battle between many candidates, with four leading the race to be our next mayor. Growing concerns about public safety, drugs, and homelessness have given platforms for popular challengers to fight Mayor Breed for the spot in city hall. In addition, this election holds similar weight as the federal election, due to the continual decline in American society especially in prominent cities like San Francisco.