Here’s the latest in our “Meet the Candidates” series for District 5, in which we ask each candidate to answer one question per week leading up to the election. Four candidates are challenging incumbent Supervisor Dean Preston to represent District 5, which spans from the east end of Golden Gate Park through Haight-Ashbury, Japantown and the Western Addition, the Lower Haight and Hayes Valley, and most of the Tenderloin.
Proposition 47, passed in 2014, made it so some non-violent theft and drug crimes could only be charged as misdemeanors in California. The law has been blamed for homelessness and brazen shoplifting — stealing items worth $950 or less became a misdemeanor under Prop. 47, as did low-level drug possession.
This year, legislators are trying to roll that back.
Proposition 36, a state ballot measure in the coming election, attempts to crack down on organized retail theft, and would allow people convicted of certain drug or theft crimes to face longer prison sentences. It also creates a new crime category, a “treatment-mandated felony,” which would have charged individuals attend treatment or serve prison time.
This week, we asked candidates: Do you support or oppose Prop. 36 and why? How will it affect District 5 and the city?
A few candidates said they support Prop. 36, one opposes, and one didn’t say.
Scotty Jacobs
- Job: Marketing
- Age: 30
- Residency: Tenant in District 5 since November 2022, homeowner
- Transportation: Public bicycle
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Washington University
- Languages: English
I support Prop. 36 and its much needed reforms on Prop. 47. I also support DA Jenkins, a fully funded SFPD, and believe we should amend our sanctuary policy to exclude convicted, undocumented fentanyl dealers.
Prop. 36 provides needed avenues for court-mandated treatment for specific drug possession crimes, with the option of charges being cleared post-treatment. It creates the possibility that dealers will be held accountable for murder when their product kills users*. It will help us get a handle on the organized retail theft that has been crushing our business community, and has escalating severity for repeat offenders.
Any … read more.
* Note: Prop. 36 includes this warning, but prosecutors can already charge drug dealers with murder in these cases.
Endorsed by: Mark Farrell, Marina Times, Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club, Connected SF, and UA Local 38.
Allen Jones
- Job: Activist
- Age: 67
- Residency: Tenant in District 5 since November 2021
- Transportation: Wheelchair
- Education: Teaching Bible studies at juvenile hall
- Languages: English
I understand the frustration of those who support reversing course on punishment for petty crime/criminals, but I cannot support Prop. 36.
I supported Prop. 47, and though some blame that law for an increase in crime, I am not one of them.
On my campaign website, I warn against ignoring our county jails. Before a person from San Francisco ends up in a California state prison, they will spend time in our county jail system. I suggest voters read Mission Local’s report on our county jail crisis before supporting Prop. 36. Prisoners don’t riot because they are being treated right.
Autumn Looijen
- Job: School board recall co-founder
- Age: 46
- Residency: Tenant in District 5 since December 2020, landowner
- Transportation: Public transit
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from California Institute of Technology
- Languages: English
I support Prop. 36, which will help stop the suffering on our streets.
Drug addiction is the biggest problem in San Francisco. It causes homelessness. It fuels shoplifting. And it took the lives of 810 people last year.
Prop. 36 gives us the tools we need to say, we love you and we’re getting you into treatment. It’s not about going back to mass incarceration — it’s about mass treatment.
Prop. 36 will get people into treatment, so they can get their lives back on track … instead of dying on our streets. That’s what compassion looks like.
Endorsed by: San Francisco police union, Marina Times, Chinese American Democratic Club.
Bilal Mahmood
- Job: Founder of private and philanthropic organizations
- Age: 37
- Residency: Tenant in District 5 since May 2023
- Transportation: Walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, master’s degree from University of Cambridge
- Languages: English, Urdu
Crime has risen dramatically under Preston: 31 percent* increase in larceny, 19 percent** increase in burglaries in the Tenderloin alone.
Theft, drug dealing, gun violence — these crimes are already illegal. What we lack is enforcement, not severity of punishment. While Dean wants to cut our police budget, I’ve proposed a DMI approach to fentanyl and fully staffing our police to send a clear message: This is not a lawless city.
I’m focused on ensuring Prop. F passes locally to tackle our staffing crisis. I’ll prioritize hiring more police, 911 dispatchers, and advocating for beat patrols in every neighborhood to deter crime.
* Note: The 31 percent increase refers to an increase from 16 to 21 thefts from vehicles comparing July and August. Total larceny theft increased 4 percent.
** Note: The 19 percent burglary increase refers to an increase from 16 to 19 burglaries comparing August 2023 and August 2024.
Endorsed by: Mayor London Breed, TogetherSF Action, San Francisco YIMBY, State Sen. Scott Wiener and DCCC Chair Honey Mahogany … read more.
Dean Preston
- Job: Incumbent, tenant attorney
- Age: 54
- Residency: Homeowner, in District 5 since 1996
- Transportation: Public transit
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, juris doctor degree from University of California Law, San Francisco
- Languages: English
Everyone deserves to be safe. Unfortunately, Proposition 36 will not prevent crime, house the homeless, or address drug dependence.
Instead, Proposition 36 would return California to paying for mass incarceration while diverting badly-needed funds that we can use to invest in real public safety solutions and to increase mental health/addiction treatment.
There are already criminal laws on the books that can be enforced today against the behavior at issue — suggesting otherwise is a red herring. We must invest in the resources our communities need to reduce crime, rather than peddling counterproductive solutions like Prop. 36.
Endorsed by: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Public Defender Mano Raju, United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Labor Council, San Francisco Tenants Union, National Union of Healthcare Workers … read more.
The order of candidates is rotated each week. Answers are capped at 100 words, and may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at eleni@missionlocal.com.
Read all of the District 5 candidates’ answers here, and the entire “Meet the Candidates” series here. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
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