As election season heats up and candidates eagerly seek exposure, Mayor London Breed has been and will continue to be notably absent from political debates around San Francisco.
Breed confirmed that she will not be attending Wednesday night’s mayoral debate hosted by KPIX, the San Francisco Examiner, and KCBS. This follows her absence from last week’s District 8 neighborhood groups debate. Breed has also declined invitations to face off with her challengers at multiple other events.
Breed spokesperson Joe Arellano said in a statement that the mayor has already participated in four debates and would rather spend her time speaking directly with voters as she seeks reelection in November.
“She wants to escape the bubble of city insiders and go straight to the people, meeting them as they live their daily lives,” Arellano said. “That’s why she has multiple house parties with voters every night of the week.”
San Francisco State University politics professor Jason McDaniel said Breed may be making a strategic bet, as she is mostly leading in recent polls. Her presence could give her opponents the opportunity to make attention-grabbing viral moments.
“These events can break through in ways other kinds of campaign events don’t,” McDaniel said.
Breed has little to gain politically by engaging in the debates. Still, that may deprive voters of a chance to learn more about her.
National politics are deeply polarized, so Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump may have been watched by many voters with their minds already made up, McDaniel said.
While local debates are sometimes attended by voters who are already engaged, they may be more open-minded to shifting positions since the candidates are from the same party, he said.
I'm moderating a debate tonight on the SF Mayor's race. Unfortunately, Mayor @LondonBreed has backed out of our @KCBSRadio/@KPIXtv/@sfexaminer debate at the 11th hour. We will go forward with the 4 challengers: @DanielLurie, @MarkFarrellSF, @AaronPeskin & @Ahsha_Safai. 6pm on PIX
— Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) September 11, 2024
Whatever the potential cost, Breed’s opponents are using her repeated absences as an opportunity to criticize her.
Levi Strauss heir and nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie said in a press release Wednesday morning that Breed “can’t defend her record, and it appears she’s given up trying.”
Former Supervisor Mark Farrell, another mayoral hopeful, posted on X: “Mayor Breed is ducking debates because she doesn’t want to defend her failed leadership & is just offering more of the same for SF’s future.”
Supervisor Ahsha Safai compared Breed’s absences to Trump’s reluctance to debate Harris again. Supervisor Aaron Peskin declined to comment.
Breed’s campaign fought back by pointing out that her top two challengers, Lurie and Farrell, don’t have jobs, saying that they are “desperate for more debates so they can stand on the stage repeating the same toothless talking points over and over again.”
Her campaign noted that the mayor participated in several debates earlier in the campaign season, including one hosted by KRON4. Breed is also expected to attend a Sept. 19 debate organized by the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED.
But she won’t be at a Sept. 25 debate hosted by The Standard and KGO-TV/ABC7.
California Working Families Party State Director Jane Kim, who ran against Breed in 2018, fondly recalled hearing from voters about her own debate performance, even though she ultimately lost the election.
Kim said people would tell her, “I thought this way about you before, but I’m really impressed by what I heard from you and your expertise on the city. And I’ll be voting for you now.”
Given Breed’s advantage in the polls, she may no longer need to impress the debate crowds.