SF Chamber of Commerce poll finds residents think city is going in wrong direction
SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce's new 'City Beat' poll did not paint a pretty picture of how many voters feel about the city.
The poll commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce and conducted by Oakland-based market research firm EMC Research asked 500 San Francisco residents a number of questions about the state of the city.
According to the survey results:
- 20% of the respondents said San Francisco is going in the right direction
- 76% of the respondents said San Francisco is on the wrong track
- 83% of the respondents said crime has gotten worse
- 55% of the respondents named crime and public safety as a major issue
The results didn't come as a surprise to many residents, regardless of their personal opinions about San Francisco.
"No, it didn't. I've heard people say that stuff, but I don't know if it's coming from a place of knowledge, or if it's coming from a place of just wanting change," said Shireen Khan, who has lived in San Francisco for several years. "I love it here. I can't imagine going anywhere else, anytime soon."
The results didn't come as a surprise to Mayor London Breed, either.
"The numbers in the chamber's poll about public safety are not a surprise. The data and public safety match the stories that I hear from people all over San Francisco, the stories we all hear," she said. "In two weeks, I will introduce my proposed city budget. And believe me when I say it, public safety will be at the top of the priorities."
The proposed areas that are of high priority to voters, according to the survey:
- Enforcing existing laws that prohibit open air drug dealing
- Increasing the number of police officers on the street in high crime areas
- Increasing the number of police officers on the street in busy areas
- Expanding community-based police work in neighborhoods
- Expanding conservatorship, that is, providing court ordered treatment for those who are unable to care for themselves due to severe mental illness
- Putting more caseworkers on the streets to help people with behavioral health and substance abuse problems to get the help they need
- Opening new mental and behavioral health centers with services for those dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues
"Fentanyl and our overdose crisis are both a public health issue, and a public safety issue. We need to provide treatment, which is why we're adding hundreds of treatment beds for mental health and addiction, but we also need arrests by the police, as well as prosecution – accountability – for those selling drugs in our neighborhoods," Breed said. "Ideology cannot come before the basics of governing. That does not mean we give up on our police reform and other alternatives for police that can strengthen the system. We can do both. We don't have to choose."
46% of respondents say they'll likely move out of San Francisco in the next few years, according to the poll. 25% of those people listed crime as the driving factor in that decision.
The poll also asked respondents to provide a rating of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. 22% gave a favorable rating and 66% gave an unfavorable rating. 67% said they'd vote yes on the recall, 31% said they'd vote no.
