Preston argues that instead of ushering in a new era of solutions, the mayor has recycled tired strategies that prioritize political optics over proven public health responses. Lurie’s early tenure was marked by the rollout of a “Fentanyl State of Emergency” ordinance and a “Breaking the Cycle” initiative—both of which Preston likened to similar announcements under former Mayor London Breed.

[A]ccording to a new audit by the Budget and Legislative Analyst, it should be: Interdepartmental services accounted for more than $1.3 billion in the 2022-2023 budget. And, according to the audit, requested in 2024 by then-Sup. Dean Preston, $332 million was unspent that year.

We’re talking about more than half of next year’s projected deficit—and it’s not entirely clear where all that money wound up.

“SFMTA is literally taking one of its most successful lines, the 5-Fulton, lopping off a chunk of the route that goes down Market Street, and de facto replacing the bus line there with Waymos,” former Supervisor Dean Preston wrote on BlueSky. “What happened to Transit First?”

Dean’s major accomplishments in just five years in office will have long-term consequences (at least as long as they remain law), especially in keeping rent-burdened working-class and poor tenants in their homes and off the streets. The more impactful aspects of Dean’s program were enacted against the wishes of the political establishment; they were achieved at the ballot box through the efforts of everyday San Franciscans, most of them organized through groups such as the city’s Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapter.

Preston urged the audience to protect the city’s most vulnerable — low income, working class, homeless and immigrants — during the current hostile political climate. Dro spoke about countering cultural erasure by being vocal. 

For a decade plus, gentrification has been a media fixation in the Bay with cable, print and online news approaching the issue from almost every conceivable angle.

Unlike other approaches though, The City of Sensitive Frauds tells the story of gentrification from the perspective of those being pushed out, not those moving in.

Many of San Francisco’s Democrats are increasingly using Trump-style language and tactics, especially since tech billionaires took over the local Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 election. Though San Francisco leaders pride themselves on not being Republicans, the distinction between them is growing dimmer.

City leaders are pretending to be powerless when it comes to saving the Fillmore’s only grocery store. The defeatism reminds me of what the Democrats have been doing in Washington, D.C. — capitulating to billionaires without a fight. We need leadership, not excuses and surrender. It’s what the community is demanding.

The East Bay-based grocery chain’s latest closure drama harks back to a similar saga generations ago

As the November election approaches, fake videos and audio snippets generated by artificial intelligence continue to appear online, stoking concern that quickly advancing “deepfake” technology could be used to sway races and sow political misinformation.

Concerned that state and federal lawmakers will be too slow in their response, San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston consulted with local election officials for the past several months to figure out what The City might be able to do on its own to fend off AI-generated falsehoods.