Bilal Mahmood, an entrepreneur and District 5 supervisor candidate, repeatedly picked fights with incumbent Dean Preston at a Wednesday night debate, scolding the incumbent for saying he would defund the police, and for criticizing national policies around police funding.
“You are sending a message to police officers that their work is ‘pointless’ and that is why we are unable to hire staff and we are unable to arrest fentanyl dealers today,” Mahmood said.
Preston shot back.
“If you want a politician who is just going to, every budget season, write a blank check to this police department of $50 million to $100 million extra, with no accountability on how that’s being spent — if you want that kind of person — maybe he’s [sitting] to my right.”
“He is,” Mahmood agreed
“So you’re a rubber stamp for police budgets?” Preston said incredulously at the UC Hastings-hosted debate. “We have a serious job to do as legislators. Our job is oversight. I think you disqualify yourself if you’re not willing to actually provide oversight,” he added.
The conversation continued to escalate when Scotty Jacobs, another candidate, chimed in and attacked Preston for what he alleged to be a lack of cooperation between his office and Tenderloin station.
Preston immediately disputed Jacobs’ (and Mahmood’s) claims. “The idea that we don’t engage with the police department is ridiculous,” he said.
“I went to the Tenderloin police station and the captain said you’ve never been there,” said Jacobs. “So you’re telling me the police officer, the captain of the police department, is lying to me?”
Mahmood and Preston also sparred on the subject of Mahmood’s profession. For months, Mahmood frequently referred to himself as a neuroscientist, but following criticism from a group of neuroscientists, who questioned Mahmood’s credentials, he subsequently removed any mention of the profession from his campaign materials.
Mahmood, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Stanford, where he did undergraduate research in a neuroscience lab, has never worked as a neuroscientist in his professional life.
“I was always referring to my academic training,” said Mahmood. “When I saw this as being misunderstood, I updated my website to clarify that,” he added. Mahmood criticized Preston for taking issue with this.
Preston countered by pointing out that Mahmood’s campaign ads read “Bilal Mahmood: Neuroscientist.” “It’s a very strange thing to do when you’re not a neuroscientist,” said Preston. “That is an issue of betraying trust to voters.”
Many responses during the forum followed the same pattern: Mahmood, and sometimes Jacobs, would target Preston, and Preston would give a rebuttal.
When Eleni Balakrishnan, Mission Local reporter and the night’s moderator, asked who they would rank second in the November election, Mahmood said “maybe Scotty,” and Jacobs said “Bilal,” revealing a likely alliance.
Meanwhile, Preston and Autumn Looijen said they remained undecided, while Allen Jones, said “I am not supporting any candidate other than myself,” to which the audience laughed.
Preston was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, in a special election to finish London Breed’s term as District 5 supervisor. He is a tenant rights lawyer, and is the first Democratic Socialist to be elected to the board in over 40 years.
While Preston has lived in District 5 for 28 years, four of his opponents are political newcomers and/or new residents to the district. Mahmood moved to the Tenderloin last year, while Jacobs moved to the district in 2022, Jones in 2021 and Looijen in 2020.
On Wednesday, and throughout the campaign, Preston’s main rivals have tried to set themselves apart from him by focusing on law and order policies, and on building more market-rate housing.
When Balakrishnan asked the candidates if they support rent control, one by one, the candidates said yes. But when asked about Proposition 33, which would expand the city’s ability to enact rent control, Looijen and Jacobs said they opposed the measure.
Addressing Jacobs, Balakrishnan said: “You’ve supported deporting fentanyl dealers and encampment sweeps and you oppose things like Prop. 33. How do these policies represent the majority of District 5?” she asked. She reminded him that D5 is “a very progressive district made up of 70 percent renter households.”
Jacobs argued that placing more rent-control restrictions would have an adverse effect on affordability. It would, he said, disincentivize development, which is “foundational to actually making housing more affordable.”
Meanwhile, Balakrishnan also pressed Preston on his housing platform: “Dean, some of your critics have said that you’ve obstructed housing development with some of your votes,” she said. “How would you respond to these claims?”
“We have actually moved forward with the development of 14 housing development sites across District 5, of over 2,000 units, over 80 percent of them affordable.”
“The issue people have with my housing record is that I focus so much on affordable housing. I think that’s what the people of District 5 want, because they can’t afford most of the market-rate stuff,” he added.
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Jim’s, Mission diner, will keep cooking under nonprofit ownership
Fear not, we won’t be missing the beloved green salsa at Jim’s Restaurant for some time — breakfast is here to stay. Mission Local has learned that the Mission Language and Vocational School will take over neighborhood mainstay Jim’s, which invited customers in today for its last day in business under current ownership. This afternoon, a line was seen reaching the corner of the building at 20th and Mission streets, and the diner had to take a waitlist for people to get in. Mission Language and Vocational School, a nonprofit that offers workforce development and small business supportive services, will staff the restaurant with graduates from its catering program and culinary school. The nonprofit will keep on Beto, the longtime cook. The owners, husband and wife Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, are retiring. MLVS is expected to take over the restaurant […]
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By Jasper Ward(Reuters) -Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, said on Saturday she has removed her name from consideration to replace outgoing U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.Rubio was picked by Trump to serve as secretary of state. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will pick a replacement for Rubio, who is expected to resign as senator when Trump takes office on Jan. 20.There was speculation that Lara Trump, who served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee in the lead-up to the 2024 election, would succeed Rubio in the Senate.Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inboxSee for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.However, in a post on X, Trump said she had decided to remove herself from consideration "after an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many.""I could […]
Hawk on the house
Hawk on the house Source: missionlocal.org
Burglars ransack Southern California homes while posing as deliverymen
Residents are frightened and angry as a group of suspects continue ransacking San Fernando Valley homes, leaving a trail of destruction behind.A Valley Village resident said she was stunned and shaken up after thieves targeted her home on Dec. 17 between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.The break-in was captured on home surveillance cameras as a male suspect approached the house and appeared to be disguised as a delivery man.“Ten minutes after we left [our home], someone was knocking at the door and our dog was barking away,” she said. “Then within a minute, someone had broken into the back of the house, smashed the glass door, came in and locked the dog in a room and just trashed the house. They took all of my jewelry.”Photos of the aftermath showed drawers in every room were removed and emptied and all […]
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
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Jim’s, Mission diner, will keep cooking under nonprofit ownership
Fear not, we won’t be missing the beloved green salsa at Jim’s Restaurant for some time — breakfast is here to stay. Mission Local has learned that the Mission Language and Vocational School will take over neighborhood mainstay Jim’s, which invited customers in today for its last day in business under current ownership. This afternoon, a line was seen reaching the corner of the building at 20th and Mission streets, and the diner had to take a waitlist for people to get in. Mission Language and Vocational School, a nonprofit that offers workforce development and small business supportive services, will staff the restaurant with graduates from its catering program and culinary school. The nonprofit will keep on Beto, the longtime cook. The owners, husband and wife Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, are retiring. MLVS is expected to take over the restaurant […]
Hawk on the house
Hawk on the house Source: missionlocal.org
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
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Street sheet – Mission Local
Mission Local produces enterprise reporting on San Francisco's most critical issues: police reform, corruption, public health, housing and homelessness. Learn more about us, and donate below keep us reporting.Subscribe to Mission Local's daily newsletter Source: missionlocal.org
Supervisor Melgar won, now the trick will be to manage her constituents’ competing interests
District 7 incumbent Myrna Melgar faced a particularly bruising re-election campaign. She squared off against significant numbers of her own constituents by supporting hot-button issues like Proposition K to close the Great Highway to cars, and upzoning parts of her district that have been previously limited to single-family housing. “If I lose this election on this issue, then that’s the right thing to do,” Melgar said in June, after a particularly contentious meeting about zoning changes coming to her district, and the rest of the city. But she didn’t lose the election. No matter the ideological differences, most of her constituents agree: She’s good at the actual work of being a district supervisor. “When I call — somebody does get back to me,” said Peggy da Silva, a West Portal resident who has reached out to Melgar’s office over concerns like city […]
