Voters are deciding whether to reelect San Francisco Mayor London Breed — the first Black woman in the role — or to pick one of her four challengers in a pricey and competitive race that's heated up over homelessness and public safety.
All of the challengers are fellow Democrats, who say Breed has squandered her six years in office while homeless tent encampments, open-air drug use and brazen retail theft have proliferated.
Crime and homelessness also drove frustrated residents of nearby Oakland to collect enough signatures to place the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao on Tuesday's ballot. They blame Thao, who won office just two years ago, for a long list of city woes. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent state highway patrol officers, state prosecutors, and surveillance cameras to help Oakland battle crime.
