By Gabe Greschler, Sam Mondros, Annie Gaus & Josh Koehn

Finger sandwiches, orange sangria, deviled eggs and yellow campaign buttons adorned the satin tablecloth at Mayor London Breed’s latest campaign event: a Q&A inside one of San Francisco’s famed Painted Ladies.

George Horsfall, the gregarious resident of a blue Painted Lady, hosted the event Tuesday. The gathering included Horsfall’s friends, neighbors and members of the Victorian Alliance of San Francisco — a group determined to preserve historic preservation “regardless of architectural style.”

Breed delivered a 16-minute soliloquy to a crowd of about 30, outlining what she said were her greatest triumphs as mayor: shepherding the city through the pandemic and breaking through the bureaucracy on pressing issues like housing and emergency shelter. Yet the Q&A, which had many participants from the west side, quickly turned into a referendum on Breed’s views on housing density.

“The idea of upzoning like they are, you know, an eight-story building behind my house – that’s a bit to take on,” West Portal resident Glen Harvey told the mayor. “But the thing is, we don’t feel like anybody is listening to us.”

“Yeah, I had a tough crowd in there,” Breed told The Standard after the event. “I understand people feel how they feel — we want to protect [the Painted Ladies].

“It’s one of the most iconic views in the city — but the space down there where the Painted Gentleman is supposed to be?” she continued, referring to a vacant lot down the street. “It’s been an eyesore for the past decade or so. Do we want it to be what it is, or do we want to create an opportunity?”

As she exited the home, Breed stood on the steps speaking to Horsfall about the derelict state of the sidewalks that line the Painted Ladies. By 9 a.m. Wednesday, a Department of Public Works employee was crouched on the asphalt, filling the gaping cracks.

In the pipeline

Hillary Ronen in a blazer listens as people talk in a room with an American flag in the background.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BLOWUP: Sparks flew at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting right from the start, when Supervisor Hillary Ronen handed out slips of paper to colleagues and members of the press announcing her resignation as chair of the Rules Committee.

The reason? Ronen, a staunch progressive, had tried to block a police staffing ballot measure, claiming it would be fiscally irresponsible for the city to take on millions of dollars in officer salaries as it faces difficult economic times.

“I hope that after November, this Board and its leaders will remember that we are servants of the people of San Francisco, elected to uphold their interests, including the responsible investment of public funds,” Ronen wrote in her resignation letter.

The rest of the board had other plans, calling for two special meetings to allow supervisors to save the ballot initiative, which aims to help the police department retain officers.

“This is fundamentally an issue of majority rule in a democracy,” Board President Aaron Peskin told The Standard about keeping the initiative alive. Peskin said he would nominate Supervisor Ahsha Safaí as temporary chair of the Rules Committee until board members go on recess in August.

The supervisors’ move does one more crucial thing. If they hadn’t called for a special meeting, they would have had to choose between voting for the police ballot measure and another that benefits firefighters. And with two supervisors — Peskin and Safaí — running for mayor, choosing between cops and firefighters just won’t fly during endorsement season.

LABOR SNUBS WIENER: In Sunday’s Power Play newsletter, we told you how segments of the labor movement were unhappy with Breed over her support for Senate Bill 423, which cut red tape in housing projects but ruffled feathers with unions. Now the fury is being directed at state Sen. Scott Wiener as members of the California Labor Federation failed to garner enough votes Wednesday to endorse the former board supervisor.

“It sends a strong message to him that labor is finally standing together,” said Larry Mazzola, Jr. of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. “And telling him he has to support all of us. Not just a few unions.” The state senator’s office declined to comment though did point out that Wiener is endorsed by other labor groups, including SEIU and the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

KISSING THE RING: There will be a crucial debate for the five mayoral candidates Thursday. Starting bright and early at 9:30 a.m. at Local 798’s hall, the candidates will be fielding questions from the firefighters’ union in a conversation moderated by journalist Phil Matier.

Because everyone loves firefighters, the union’s endorsement is one of the most — if not the most — sought after among mayoral candidates. The rank-and-file will almost certainly ask about a ballot initiative to boost their retirement benefits that board members Peskin and Safaí will be voting on next week.

The union backed Breed during her first mayoral bid in 2018, but now its support appears to be up for grabs, with former interim Mayor Mark Farrell potentially having the inside track. Insiders told The Standard the sitting mayor has solid support from Local 798 members, but the union’s leadership is far less happy with Breed, clearing the way for another candidate to capture the endorsement.

“It’s up in the air,” Local 798 Secretary Adam Wood told The Standard.

A source with knowledge of the 2018 endorsement vote said Breed managed to stave off Angela Alioto and Mark Leno — who finished second and third, respectively — to earn a sole endorsement. But contract negotiations during the pandemic have complicated Breed’s relationship with the union, on top of other issues around the fire chief.

After Thursday’s debate, members will hold a vote over the course of three days, and the endorsement results will be released at the union’s Aug. 8 meeting.