By Annie Gaus, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Han Li & Gabe Greschler

After a “joyful” few days at the Democratic National Convention, it’s back to reality in San Francisco, where Democrats are far from united on the direction of the city. Divisions within moderate political circles exploded into the open over the weekend, when Mayor London Breed came out against a certain charter reform effort.

Tensions have been simmering for some time over Prop. D, a measure authored by TogetherSF Action that would limit the number of commissions and give the mayor sole authority to appoint and remove most department heads. Breed’s office previously told the Examiner that she supported the reform effort, but questions arose after she announced her own plans to overhaul the city charter last week. In a statement, Breed described TogetherSF Action’s ballot measure as “tainted” and a “vehicle to help [mayoral candidate] Mark Farrell funnel unlimited amounts of contributions to his campaign.”

Just a few months ago, TogetherSF Action and the mayor’s office actually collaborated on the effort after an early version was withdrawn over flawed language. But the partnership appeared to sour after Farrell — Breed’s main competitor in the mayor’s race — formed a committee supporting the ballot measure, raising over $1 million. The mayor’s camp has since accused Farrell of dipping into that piggy bank to support his campaign.

Naturally, it didn’t help that TogetherSF Action endorsed Farrell, giving Breed its #2 endorsement. Last week, Breed’s campaign manager Eric Kingsbury met with Kanishka Cheng, TogetherSF Action’s CEO, and asked if the group would consider doing more to promote Breed to its members. Evidently, the meeting did little to mend fences.

In a scathing statement, Cheng accused Breed of acting in “bad faith” in her Prop. D position, saying she “has a history of being vindictive.”

“Her opposition is not about policy, it is purely about politics, and what she thinks is good for London Breed,” Cheng said. (TogetherSF Action has received funding from Michael Moritz, The Standard’s chairman.)

Now, as Democratic groups hunker down on November endorsements, Prop. D has become a political hot potato … and, in some ways, a proxy fight for the mayor’s race. The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, which recently gave Breed its sole endorsement, will decide whether to endorse Prop. D and other ballot measures on Aug. 28.

COP OUT: San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tracy McCray pulled the rug out from under mayoral candidate Farrell’s campaign last week with a surprise endorsement of Breed. It was a blow to Farrell, who has made public safety his signature campaign issue. It was an — ahem — arresting moment to many outside of the police union who were awaiting the announcement. You could practically hear the collective gasps of politics-watchers when the endorsement hit.

Former police union president and noted firebrand Gary Delagnes was surprised, too (and pretty pissed), but for another reason: McCray endorsed Breed on her own, without a vote from police members. That runs contrary to years of tradition, Delagnes said, though it doesn’t violate the union’s bylaws.

“If they voted, if they sent this to the board of directors or the full membership, it would have been a wipeout,” Delagnes said. “London Breed wouldn’t even have finished second.” Delagnes believes members would have backed Farrell first, Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie second, and Supervisor Ahsha Safaí third.

“London wasn't even in the fucking conversation,” Delagnes said.

For what it’s worth, one cop who spoke with The Standard, who wished not to be named due to fear of retribution, said some younger rank-and-file officers believe McCray’s move was savvy. Breed alluded to a similar dynamic in an Aug. 6 interview with The Standard, claiming she had “a lot of” support within the rank and file.

The reasoning is this: Farrell has been extremely vocal about his support for the San Francisco Police Department, so endorsing him gains no favors if he wins. And he won’t later seek retribution against the police union for not endorsing him since it would run contrary to his campaign messaging. Breed, on the other hand, is known to remember her enemies; an endorsement for her ensures that the Police Officers Association is not on that list.

Farrell, for his part, did get the endorsement of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and wants the world to know it. On Monday, he’s holding a press conference with sheriffs’ union president Ken Lomba, retired cop Eddie Wu and over 100 Asian American seniors to highlight the endorsement and discuss his platform for combating hate crimes and violence targeting elders.

In the pipeline

A group of people, some holding “YES on K” signs for Ocean Beach Park, are gathered outdoors. One person in a jacket and glasses is speaking to another wearing a cap.

AI SAFETY BILL: State Sen. Scott Wiener is not done fighting for Senate Bill 1047, his AI regulation bill that’s infuriated Andreessen Horowitz partners and other bigwigs in tech and venture capital.

Wiener has taken a ton of heat over SB 1047, which would require AI developers to add safeguards against misuse of the tech. Its influential critics include Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who called the bill “ill informed” in a statement this month, along with other members of Congress who asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto the bill.

Some of Wiener’s allies saw an ulterior motive in Pelosi’s statement. Todd David, political director of Abundant SF and a former Wiener aide, speculated that Andreessen Horowitz and Google could fund a committee supporting Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, in her rumored run for Congress. Wiener hasn’t been shy about his interest in Pelosi’s seat once she retires.

Wiener is holding a press conference Monday alongside computer scientist Yoshua Bengio and others in the AI safety space promoting SB 1047. While the bill has antagonized many in tech, one AI firm, Anthropic, opined that the benefits outweigh the risks in a letter to Newsom. The bill heads to a floor vote this week.

SCHOOL BOARD SHAKEUP: Turmoil surrounding the San Francisco Unified School District is nonstop … and it’s only the first week of the school year. Just before the crisis-ridden district was set to announce school closure decisions, Board of Education President Lainie Motamedi abruptly resigned, citing personal and health reasons.

The bombshell, which Breed’s office teased in a press release, sent shockwaves across City Hall on Friday morning and added another layer of instability to the embattled district. The mayor immediately appointed educator and district employee Phil Kim to fill the seat.

Kim is not new to politics, having run for school board twice before and lost. He has worked for both charter schools and the San Francisco Unified School District. The teachers union, United Educators of San Francisco, skewered the appointment and Kim’s experience in charter schools. Kim declined to respond to the criticism Friday.

Because of the timing of the appointment, Kim won't face an election challenge until 2026. Current vice president Matt Alexander, who’s running for reelection in November, will take Motamedi’s president position.

GIDDYUP? Officials with the Recreation and Parks Department told The Standard they are working with Animal Care and Control to bring horseback riding back to Golden Gate Park in spring 2025. The activity was banished from the city this year after The Standard revealed that Chaparral Corporation, the operator at the park, was mistreating both its staff and animals. A Parks Department spokesperson said the city is trying to figure out how to bolster safety and oversight to ensure that the next company that oversees horseback riding does so responsibly.