Where Assembly Candidates Haney and Campos Stand on Public Safety

The Standard sat down with Assembly District 17 candidates David Campos and Matt Haney ahead of their February primary race. Now, heading into the April 19 election, we wanted to revisit their stances on a host of issues important to San Francisco voters. First up: what they had to say about public safety.

Haney’s campaign website specifically mentions public safety as a key issue, while Campos’ website does not. 

As District 6 supervisor, Haney oversees the Tenderloin, a neighborhood with a high concentration of children, seniors, and people with disabilities that is described by some residents as a “containment zone” for drug dealing, associated violent crime, and squalor. He recently supported the city’s declaration of a state of emergency.

Asked about rising overdose rates and a recent spate of shootings in a November interview, Haney pointed to initiatives such as neighborhood safety ambassadors and increased police foot patrols, as well as “systemic failures that are state challenges…that go behind this neighborhood.” 

Most recently, Campos was chief of staff to District Attorney Chesa Boudin before taking a leave of absence in November. In an interview, he defended his record with the office and said that he believes most San Franciscans want criminal justice reform, as well as safety.

“I believe in criminal justice reform, which is the reason why I left my job in Santa Clara to work in the district attorney’s office to push that,” said Campos. “I also think that San Franciscans want…results in terms of public safety. And that’s part of the effort that we have tried to emphasize and tried to do as chief of staff.”