Thread by @HillaryRonen

I want to make it clear that I believe strongly in defunding the police and reducing the number of officers on our force. For decades we’ve had an imbalance in our city’s budget, with hundreds of millions of dollars going to SFPD to have them do work they are not qualified to do.

After fighting to create Mental Health SF which redirects funds to mental health care crisis teams instead of police, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that SFPD is not where we should be putting our money.

But we have a big fight on our hands to make these cuts happen.

The Mayor has submitted her proposed budget to the Board already, and unfortunately, this level of cuts has not been included.

In my role on the Budget & Appropriations Committee, I want you to know I will be fighting for three things.

1. Significant cuts to SFPD’s budget that will meaningfully start off a multi-year process to defund and reimagine policing in San Francisco.
2. A reduction in the number of officers and command staff.

3. Fully funding the departments that are actually doing the work of keeping our streets safe, iIncluding full funding for street crisis response through Mental Health SF.

But I can’t do this alone. I only have one vote. If you agree with me that we need to defund the police and instead fund services, I need your support now. I’m asking everyone to join me to get these cuts passed in the Budget Committee.

There is a hearing on the SFPD budget on August 20, and the Budget Committee will vote on August 26. We need three votes at this Committee and 6 votes at the full Board to implement these cuts.

If I’ve learned anything from my years in City Hall, it is that our best wins come through collaboration. We need unprecedented unity between those who wish to defund the police if we are to get passed this finish line together.