To My Fellow Citizens Of San Francisco,
According to a recent poll 72% of us feel like the city is heading in the wrong direction.
I say to you – it is obvious that our city is being poorly governed.
I say something else to you as well – it’s your fault.
It is your fault for electing the leaders and espousing the attitudes and supporting the policies that have lead our city to where it finds itself today.
I also tell you this – that even though it truly is your fault, I respect you. I respect you for trying to do what you are trying to do. I sincerely do.
How can you not respect a city that in its heart wants to be a place that truly desires to be diverse and inclusive and tolerant? How can you not respect the idea that all people should be fairly treated? How can you not respect the instinct to help people who truly need help from others? And how can you not respect a city that is willing to spend so much of its revenue on achieving those goals?
But I say to you that the methods and the approaches and the leaders that you are employing to achieve your noble goals are, in a phrase, not the way.
Letting homeless people live on the streets in the name of compassion, allowing open air drug markets to thrive, denigrating the police and watering down law enforcement, allowing City Hall bureaucrats to feather their own nests with little restraint, allowing city elected leaders to spend, and spend, and spend with little efficacy and almost no accountability.
Today, these things are not working. And they did not work yesterday, either. Or last month. Or last year. And they are not going to magically start working tomorrow.
By seeking to become the next mayor of San Francisco, I am offering The City another way. A better way.
And I mean not just a better way to manage our own affairs. San Francisco is a unique city, in so many ways. I believe that this gives us an advantage that we are not, well, taking advantage of. With all of the money surging through the economic arteries of this city, all of the affluent and educated and experienced and talented citizens that live here, and with a smaller percentage of less-well-off citizens who need help than most cities, I think San Francisco is uniquely situated to demonstrate what can be done to elevate the living and working conditions of everyone. Indeed, I believe we can not only fix our problems, but we can lead the way and demonstrate ways that other cities who face similar problems can tackle them effectively.
Let’s start down that path, shall we? A journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step. Help me to become the leader that allows San Francisco to take that journey. You’ll be glad you did.
Yours truly,
The Vagabond Son
Common Sense – Think Deeper, Listen Longer