from
https://news.yahoo.com/gavin-newsom-confronts-crime-san-131911402.html

The Telegraph
Gavin Newsom confronts crime in San Francisco with eye on White House bid
Rozina Sabur
Sat, August 19, 2023 at 6:19 AM PDT·4 min read
16

Gavin Newsom, the California governor, has amplified his political
profile in recent months - Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee
California’s governor is rushing to tackle San Francisco’s crime
epidemic amid fears the city’s lawless spiral could jeopardise his
presidential ambitions.

Gavin Newsom has deployed state law enforcement officers to confront the
city’s ongoing drug crisis, which has seen a surge in fentanyl-related
deaths on its streets.

As a beacon of American progressive politics, images of San Francisco’s
abandoned businesses and crime-ridden streets have national significance.

Republicans have used them as a cudgel with which to beat Mr Newsom and
the Democrats’ commitment to public safety more broadly.

Mr Newsom is taking a hands-on approach to the crises – dispatching
California’s highway patrol and the state’s national guard for a
multi-agency operation targeting fentanyl trafficking.

It comes amid mounting speculation he is positioning himself to be the
next leader of the Democratic Party.

The 55-year-old previously played down suggestions he would challenge
Joe Biden in 2024.

But some believe he could still mount a primary challenge if other
credible candidates entered the race first.

Public spats with Ron DeSantis
Mr Newsom has amplified his political profile in recent months by
presenting himself as a foil for Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and
Republican 2024 presidential candidate.

His publicity stunts have included engaging in public spats with Mr
DeSantis and challenging him to a debate.

If he does not make a move in 2024, many of those around him believe he
will almost certainly run for the White House in 2028.

Mr Newsom, who is in his last term as governor, is conscious that the
reputation of his home town of San Francisco is intrinsically linked to
his own.

In an interview with Politico, he said he was “mindful that the buck
stops here”.

“And I’m ultimately going to be held to account,” he added.

As California’s governor, Mr Newsom runs a state that on its own would
be the world’s fifth largest economy.

But after a string of negative headlines amplifying concerns over crime
in Californian cities, he has taken proactive steps to address
hyper-local problems.

“I feel like I’m being pulled back to being mayor,” he told Politico.

According to the website, the governor summoned his cabinet for a
meeting in the Tenderloin district, one of the city’s most notorious
neighbourhoods, earlier this year.

He highlighted the open-air drug markets and homeless encampments
surrounding city hall – the office he once occupied as San Francisco’s
mayor – to drive the message home.

Jim Wunderman, chief executive of the Bay Area Council, told Politico
that Mr Newsom was “really concerned” about perceptions of San Francisco
as a “failed city”.

Mr Wunderman said: “He also has political aspirations of a higher level
and San Francisco is not speaking well of that. It’s just the reality.”

Dramatic rise in crime
The city has seen a dramatic rise in crime at the same time as the Bay
Area, which is home to America’s technology giants, has been hollowed
out by post-pandemic work from home policies.

Homicides have risen by more than 20 per cent since the beginning of the
year, while robberies and vehicle thefts are up 14 per cent and 13 per
cent respectively, according to police figures.

Meanwhile, San Francisco County has seen its population fall by around
70,000 people between 2019 and 2022, according to the Census Bureau.

The city’s plight was highlighted in an ironic campaign called “That’s
Fentalife!” by an activist group intended to shame officials into action
after fatal overdoses jumped 41 per cent in the first three months of 2023.

Similar concerns have been raised about Los Angeles, where a string of
brazen, and costly robberies of department stores have been carried out
by gangs of thieves in broad daylight in recent weeks.

Mr Newsom has also deployed highway patrol members to Oakland and Los
Angeles to help stop criminals targeting shops.

However, San Francisco’s violent crime rate is lower than that of cities
of comparable size in Republican-controlled Florida and Texas.

View comments (10)

Joe
2 hours ago

Gavin Newsom tries to do too little too late because he wants to run for
president, not out of any common sense or decency.

ThomasS
2 hours ago

Don't trust someone who caused the problem to fix the problem.

Jim
2 hours ago

He will be the Dem presidential nominee in 2024, but he wont win based
on his actual performance and results in Cal. He and his state are a
disaster. He will get all the Dem votes, because they vote like
lemmings, but no repubs or significant independents will support his
failed policies and socialist disaster of a state