San Francisco supervisors to vote on mayor's emergency order
ABC News
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors are considering an emergency order to speed up the city’s ability to stem the high number of overdose deaths in its troubled Tenderloin district
SAN FRANCISCO -- Critics of the San Francisco mayor’s plan to crack down on drugs are urging a no vote when city leaders meet Thursday to authorize an emergency order slashing red tape to better address overdose deaths in the troubled Tenderloin neighborhood.
The public health emergency declaration allows the Department of Emergency Management to waive permitting, zoning and contract procurement rules to more quickly hire street cleaners and security and to set up a new temporary center where people can receive treatment and counseling, Mayor London Breed has said.
The order has nothing to do with police deployment, but critics are urging the Board of Supervisors to reject the declaration because of Breed’s broader plan to flood the area with officers and force drug users into jail if they won’t accept treatment.
“Threatening people with arrest doesn’t work as a way to get addicted folks into treatment,” said San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston, who wants the mayor to spend money on expanding mental health services, alternatives to policing and hotel rooms for the homeless.
