Mayor Lurie Secures majority support for fentanyl ordinance in San Francisco
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s fentanyl state of emergency ordinance received unanimous approval from the city’s Budget and Finance Committee and is set for a vote before the full Board of Supervisors next Tuesday.
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is making significant progress in his efforts to address the city’s fentanyl and homelessness crises. This is the first major legislative action he has taken since taking office three weeks ago.
Lurie secured majority support from the Board of Supervisors Wednesday for his proposal to tackle San Francisco’s fentanyl epidemic – a sign of political alignment at City Hall.
Board President Rafael Mandelman joined as a sixth cosponsor of the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance, which is more than half of the 11 supervisors and enough to pass the full board.
The Budget and Finance Committee, chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan, voted unanimously to forward the legislation to the board with a positive recommendation.
“San Francisco is no longer a place that you come to deal drugs or to do drugs on our streets,” Lurie said at a rally before the vote.
He rallied alongside several supervisors and supporters of his proposal, standing with groups such as Mothers Against Drug Addiction and Deaths and the San Francisco Recovery Coalition.
“This is the biggest group from the recovery community that I’ve ever seen assembled at one of these events. There have been many in the past, but this time it feels different – why? Because the mayor is 100% behind us, and the Board of Supervisors is 100% behind us,” said Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate.
Lurie’s proposed ordinance aims to cut through red tape, speeding up the normally lengthy process of securing board approval for new contracts, grants, and leases.
His office would bypass the city’s competitive bidding process for agreements related to homelessness, mental health, and addiction services.
“The supervisors understood, and my thanks go out to them for cooperating and collaborating with us on this. We think it could have taken us 50 different attempts at getting legislation passed versus one, so this saves us months, if not years, in standing up 1,500 shelter beds and getting mental health and drug treatment beds up,” Lurie told KTVU.
The mayor has frequently visited the troubled mid-market hot spot on Sixth Street. Ruben, who said he is currently homeless and battling addiction, said he would like to enter a drug treatment plan.
“Absolutely, I’ve been trying,” he said. “There’s a waiting list because it’s cold outside.”
Ruben said he planned to try his luck in the morning at HealthRIGHT 360, an addiction treatment center.
The city has seen progress in reducing fatal overdoses last year, following record highs during the pandemic.
Lurie said if the ordinance passes, it would speed up the permitting process, allowing for the addition of hundreds of new shelter beds. He added that people would begin to see real results on the ground in six months.
The proposed ordinance will go for a vote before the full Board of Supervisors next Tuesday, February 4th.
If the vote is successful, two more readings will follow.
Opioid EpidemicSan FranciscoDaniel LurieHomeless Crisis
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