This week, Mayor London Breed clinched the sole endorsement of the San Francisco Police Officers Association in her race for reelection. Normally, this is a hotly anticipated moment in the SF election cycle, but this time around it raised bitter disagreement over the process of how the sought-after labor union makes its decision.
While both the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and Firefighters Local 798 endorsed Mark Farrell in the mayoral race, the POA backed Breed instead.
The move has exposed a rift in the POA between some of the old guard — who ran the union when it had bad blood with Breed — and a new leadership that looks at the mayor’s recent support for police as an attribute, as Mission Local previously reported.
The decision to back Breed came down to one person: POA president Tracy McCray. But her opponents claim that while she had the power to make the call, she did so in opposition to many union members who backed Farrell.
Gary Delagnes was known as a firebrand when he was union boss, and though he retired in 2013, he’s still running hot. Now it’s over the way the endorsement went down. He did not mince words.
“She was ducking Farrell. She didn’t want to talk to Farrell,” he said of McCray. “She canceled several meetings with Farrell because she knew that he’s the guy the members wanted. And it’s not even close.”
According to Delagnes, McCray’s move bucked tradition from some previous mayor endorsements. She didn’t take the recommendations of an endorsement committee, nor did her board cast a vote.
“It’s really unbelievable that she would have the guts to do this, which sounds to me like she’s probably gonna get away with it,” Delagnes said.
Still, the rules are on McCray’s side. The Standard’s review of the POA’s bylaws confirms that they don’t address the endorsement process, leaving the president free to run it however she wants.
Tony Montoya, who preceded McCray as president, said everything was by the book.
“Unless the bylaws have changed, she has not done anything abnormal,” he said.
Delagnes conceded that there is no bylaw barring McCray, as union president, from endorsing a mayoral candidate by herself. Still, he thinks it’s a slap in the face to members.
“If they sent this to the board of directors or the full membership, it would have been a wipeout,” Delagnes said. He believes Farrell would have won the endorsement, with Daniel Lurie in second place. “London wasn’t even in the fucking conversation.”
The final call on endorsements has always been up to the president, Montoya said. In the past, a committee would submit recommendations, but the president ultimately decided. Those attacking Breed most likely hold grudges, he said, noting that “there’s probably some resentment” over the mayor’s negative comments about the union.
“Instead of taking the loss like an adult, Mark Farrell is whining like Donald Trump. He can’t fathom that the POA believes Mayor Breed is better on public safety than he is, so now he’s literally using Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ and ‘The vote was rigged’ message.”
Joe Arellano, London Breed campaign spokesperson
Farrell’s supporters among the police say the rank and file were ignored and are livid. Farrell is, too.
“I have a message for every rank-and-file police officer: even though you didn’t get a chance to be heard in this endorsement process, I have heard you loud and clear about the state of public safety in our neighborhoods, and I will always fight for you in City Hall,” Farrell posted on X.
Breed campaign spokesperson Joe Arellano said it’s sour grapes.
“Instead of taking the loss like an adult, Mark Farrell is whining like Donald Trump,” Arellano said. “He can’t fathom that the POA believes Mayor Breed is better on public safety than he is, so now he’s literally using Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ and ‘The vote was rigged’ message.”
Breed increased the police department’s budget this year and passed Proposition E, which gave officers more technology and reduced the Police Commission’s interference in their operations.
“Mayor Breed received the POA endorsement because she has delivered for SFPD’s rank and file,” Arellano said.
This year, Breed met with union leaders and promised to reduce the city’s police oversight agency powers in what was part of her successful effort to get them to back her reelection.
The endorsement marks a sharp departure from the mayor’s previously acrimonious relationship with the POA.
In 2015, after SFPD officers shot and killed Mario Woods, Breed, a supervisor at the time, approved the creation of Mario Woods Day, earning the ire of the POA. Delagnes was fined for illegally lobbying Breed and others to back away from supporting the resolution.
In 2020, Breed endorsed the nationwide movement to defund the police in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. She cut $120 million from the San Francisco police and sheriff’s budget and allocated it to the Black community.