San Francisco overwhelmingly votes in favor of law and order ballot measures and new rule that'll force welfare recipients to pass drug tests

San Francisco voters pivoted away from their progressive reputation Tuesday night, as a number of ballot measures meant to rein in crime and drug use overwhelmingly won the vote of city residents.

San Franciscans voted in favor of two measures - Measures E and F - which will, respectively, expand some police powers in the city and require drug screenings for adults receiving welfare.

Proposition E will, among other things, make it easier for police officers to pursue suspects. It will also provide the force with new cameras and drones that are meant to make their daily job of fighting crime easier and more effective. 

And Proposition F is designed to help adults struggling with drug addiction, by telling them that they will only remain eligible for cash welfare assistance from the city if they enroll in a treatment program. Drug testing will be required to ensure they comply. 

San Francisco Mayor London Breed scored a political victory Tuesday night as two ballot measures she supported passed - she is in the middle of a tough re-election campaign against  moderate candidates who say she has not done enough to clean up the city

 San Francisco Mayor London Breed backed each of the measures on the ballot and called it a win. The Democrat has herself pivoted back from extreme progressive positions - including defunding the police - with her re-election widely believed to be in peril in the city's November mayoral election. 

'It is clear that people want to see changes around public safety. What’s exciting about this for me is I get the kind of tools I need to continue the work we're doing,' said Breed, who is up for re-election in November.

As the results rolled in Tuesday evening, Breed thanked the voters for passing the measures. Prop E, said wrote, gives 'our officers more tools to do their jobs.'

While Prop F will be used to 'bring more treatment and accountability to San Francisco. This is how we get more people the help they need and change what’s happening in our City.'

A spokesperson for Breed told Fox that the election results indicate residents are 'fed up and want more action to address crime.'

'Over the last few years, the City’s policies swung too far to the left. Now, it’s time to send a message that San Francisco is closed to criminals and brazen theft will not be tolerated,' he said.

Breed is facing a tough battle to hold on to her position. Voters in San Francisco have increasingly become fed up with the city's relaxed attitude toward drugs and violent crime.

Last year, more than 800 people in the city died of an accidental drug overdose - many of them were addicts living on the streets of the city, which are plagued by an abundance of fentanyl and xylazine.

Breed's campaign has, to some extent, read the tea leaves and is trying to mold a campaign around a more moderate platform that takes into consideration the quality of life of tax-paying, law-abiding San Franciscans.

For many years, the city has voted for hyper-progressive politicians and measures, but the tide began to change in 2022, when voters recalled far-left District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was well-known for letting violent criminals back out onto the streets following their arrests.

Prop E, which passed by 20 points, will allow police officers to more easily pursue suspects. It will also provide new drones and cameras to the force that should enable them to improve their practice 

Since 2022, Mayor Breed has vowed to crack down on the city's open-air drug market and allow police to arrest people shooting up in broad daylight

San Francisco was on track for its deadliest year ever for drug overdoses last year, with 692 people dying before November and the total predicted to hit over 800

Those who opposed the propositions said they will be detrimental to privacy and civil liberties and will only hurt the marginalized communities the city prides itself on helping.

But Breed, the first black woman to lead San Francisco, said at a January campaign stop that residents from poorer, black and immigrant neighborhoods are pleading for more police. 

Non-profit leaders who work primarily with low-income people endorse Breed's drug-testing measure.

Trent Rhorer, executive director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency, which provides cash assistance and employment services to low-income residents without dependent children, said the current situation is in the city is not improving lives.

'To give someone who's addicted to fentanyl $700 a month, I don´t think it helps improve their lives,' he said. 'In fact, I think it does the opposite.'

Rhorer said the welfare program for single adults - which serves about 9,000 people per year - already asks applicants about substance abuse, with about 20 percent self-reporting an issue. 

A data check with the Department of Public Health revealed that almost one-third of recipients have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder, he said.

The ballot measure would replace that question with a more rigorous screening test that would be verified by an addiction specialist.

If substance abuse is discovered, Rhorer said, the specialist and applicant would agree on treatment options that include residential care, a 12-step program, individual counseling and replacement medication.

There is no requirement the person be sober, only that they make good-faith efforts to attend their program, with the hope that 'at one point a light bulb will go off,' Rhorer said.

The measure calls for the city to pay the rent of those accepted into the program for 30 days or longer to avoid eviction. 

About 30 percent of the people who fatally overdosed in 2023 were homeless, and more were living in subsidized city housing.