In the Tenderloin, campaign signs for the two candidates in California's Assembly District 17 race, Matt Haney and David Campos, often hang in neighboring spots in the same shop windows. On the question of the neighborhood itself, however, the rivals are far apart, at least in their campaign messaging.
The area, a center of debate over drugs, homelessness and public safety, has become a flashpoint in the contest. Campos has pointed to Haney's role as the neighborhood's supervisor, noting that the Tenderloin accounted for nearly a quarter of San Francisco's overdoses in 2021. "What's happening [in the Tenderloin] is a travesty and it illustrates a failure of leadership," Campos said in a recent interview.
Haney won election as District 6 supervisor in 2018 with support from Campos, running on a pledge to put public safety first. Many residents and business owners told The Standard that conditions have deteriorated since then. Overdoses have more than doubled over that period amid the spread of fentanyl, and locals have raised alarms about shootings, assaults and other violence in the dense, diverse neighborhood.
Mayor London Breed, together with Haney, responded in December by declaring a state of emergency intended to improve conditions there. Haney acknowledged at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting that the declaration has not yet delivered meaningful results, and he has characterized the neighborhood's problems as deeply entrenched.
Haney turned the criticism back on his opponent in a text message, citing Campos's position as chief of staff to District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Campos is currently on leave from that job. "He's the chief of staff for the DA, many of the challenges we face relate to public safety and drug dealing, he's done absolutely nothing to be helpful and never even showed any interest," Haney said. "Yes this neighborhood has challenges, and it has for many decades."
One Campos ad labeled Haney "Tenderloin Supervisor" in an attempt to tie him to the area's drug and safety troubles, but the approach drew pushback locally. A group of Tenderloin residents and organizations sent Campos a letter asking him to pull the ad and accusing him of "ostracizing a community" for political advantage.
Rene Colorado, executive director of the Tenderloin Merchants Association, said the groups had tried to stay out of the race. "To use the Tenderloin to further your campaign, that's when we had to step in," he said. Colorado added that Campos did not contact the association until it tagged him in a post on Twitter.
Business owners offered mixed views. Fang Homcheun, who owns Sweet Glory cafe on Larkin Street, said conditions have worsened but that she has at least seen Haney in the area. She said she had never seen Campos and first heard his name when he criticized Haney's work. Mohammed Hejab, owner of Bread and Butter market on O'Farrell Street, said staff from both campaigns put up ads in his store, but he removed them because he doubted the promises would help the neighborhood. "How does Matt Haney going to the state Assembly affect me?" he asked.
Other shopkeepers with signs for both men said campaign representatives placed them, and that they knew little about the election. Jim Ross, a longtime San Francisco political consultant, said Assembly races are hard to generate excitement around. "But every campaign comes down to creating contrast," he said, "and Campos needed to find an issue to contrast himself with Matt Haney."
