Editor:

This letter is in reply to Richie Greenberg’s commentary, “Stop Anti-Recovery Ideology” published on this website.

Connie Chan is rightfully deciding to pause a vote – merely to have more time to assess the mayor’s proposal, because the board recently already voted an increase to the police budget.  

Waiting another week or two weeks or three weeks won’t make a difference in the safety of the community, unless you are thinking that the retired officers who are being coerced to duty, and paying officers to work overtime is the main priority — rather than, you know, actually hiring more police staff.

The mayor is just playing games. Posturing. Perhaps waiting even to promote some more compromised unqualified people to head the offices of bureaucracy. Maybe she should get more advice from her childhood friend Nuru?

You want to cry “extreme” and then forget about the reality on the ground. No one is defunding the police. THE POLICE ALREADY GOT A FUND INCREASE.  

By the way, Supervisor Preston is not denying other districts’ community safety ambassadors.  Y’all are just framing this argument because you have an agenda.  That’s why Jin-li Shen has to even hint that Asians who voted for Connie should – wink, wink – vote for someone else.  Because you folks prey upon that kind of political slander.  

Connie is an awesome person.  What does being her Asian have to do with it?

Mr. Greenberg is a carpet bagger who has tried to install Republican BS in the city of San Francisco, and as such, he likes to scream “extreme.”  That’s because he doesn’t understand that local district politics involves real people doing real things for their communities beyond stirring up a firestorm by mischaracterizing reality.

Preston personally saved businesses in his district from going under (Cafe Deluxe), something Mr. Greenberg has (to my knowledge) never done. Connie Chan stepped up and negotiated with the SFMTA Geary Boulevard disaster to mitigate the impact for Richmond District businesses. She also actually coordinated to get some resolve with the homeless encampments in the Richmond District that y’all are complaining about. Hillary Ronen listens to and speaks for the voices in her community who aren’t the hedge fund managers and tech bros that speak to Greenberg and all of the faux-commentariats who somehow show up on comment boards.

Y’all just say stuff and whine, without having a clue about what is actually going on, what is actually being done by these legit stewards and public servants. That’s why they get elected. The citizens know better than your attempts at stirring up gossip and making colorful statements and saying “extreme” this and that. Because at the ground level, the citizens see beyond your flaccidity about pretending other people are ideologues.

The mirror you see is yourself.

Gino Napoli
Born in the Richmond District