Greenberg: Latest Emergency Declaration – Fentanyl

In his first announcement of a major action plan, new San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie today launched his signature “Fentanyl State of Emergency” press conference and signing ceremony under the dome of City Hall. Flanked by members of the Board of Supervisors (the City Council), Lurie described expectations of this declaration, then took questions from the press just before leaving his podium to sit at a desk for the signing of the declaration.

The gist of this declaration is this: Drug addicts will now have focused resources available to them 24 hours a day. A “Triage Center” will be set up for addicts seeking help to drop in any time. In addition, the city, via this emergency, will no longer give an option for individuals to do drugs and stay on the streets. More mental health beds and shelter beds will be brought on line as well.

How this differs from the previous multiple declarations of emergency brought by former mayor London Breed is in its approach as legislation. Under Breed as head of the Executive branch of San Francisco government, she made calculated states of emergency declarations, held a press conference, and pushed her declaration forward without regard to concerns of the eleven-member Board of Supervisors, who are required to be consulted and to review. With every declaration Breed announced, she experienced blowback from the Board. She earned a reputation of much talk and failed action due to her multiple bouts in disagreement with the board, ending in failure.

Mayor Lurie reversed the approach: with consultations and input from Board members before declaring this emergency, he tweaked provisions to the satisfaction of each member who then approved this proposal in chambers voting 10-1 in support. This pre-approval guaranteed provisions would not prove controversial nor doom the declaration from the onset.

Reporters asked questions during the mayor’s question and answer period, one obvious concern posed: since Mayor Lurie’s declaration is addict-focused, providing triage and treatment to the users of the deadly drug, what is to be done regarding the dealers? Especially the known illegal alien dealers, a good number coming from Honduras, it’s a very valid concern. San Francisco, being a self-labeled “Sanctuary City” just recently and defiantly re-affirmed sanctuary status in a hearing last week.

“It’s two things, there’s immigration issues and there’s drug-dealing issues, ” explained Lurie, when asked about transnational drug dealers. “I don’t care where you are from, if you are here dealing drugs, we will arrest you and we will prosecute you.”

However, he skirted the elephant in the room: will his office work with ICE and the potential for alien dealers’ deportation.

US Attorney General Major Action

Barely 45 minutes following Mayor Lurie’s presser, the newly-confirmed United States Attorney General Pam Bondi announced legal action against the State of New York, against that state’s Governor Kathy Hochul, New York AG Letitia James as well as the head of the NY DMV, charges brought about over to that state’s leadership failing to enforce or their interference with immigration laws. San Francisco is now at a similar crossroads – to not only effectively address the drug abuse crisis, but to open the door for ICE and law enforcement to arrest dealers without hindrance. It will remain to see if the decades of defiance by city hall will now be, under Mayor Lurie, tamed.