Democratic mayors in San Francisco and Oakland are fighting to keep their jobs on Election Day

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Voters are deciding whether to re-elect San Francisco Mayor London Breed — the first Black woman to hold the office — or select one of her four challengers in an expensive and competitive race that will focus on homelessness and public issues Safety is possible.

All of the challengers are fellow Democrats who say Breed has wasted her six years in office Tent camp for homeless peopleoutdoors Drug use and brazen retail theft have increased.

Crime and homelessness also left area residents frustrated Oakland to collect enough signatures to place the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao on Tuesday's ballot. They blame Thao, who took office just two years ago, for a long list of problems in the city. California Governor Gavin Newsom has dispatched state highway patrol officers. ProsecutorsAnd Surveillance cameras to help Oakland fight crime.

Thao became the first Hmong-American mayor of a major U.S. city after her election in November 2022. Oakland has around 400,000 residents and is at times more politically liberal than San Francisco. This is what Democrat Kamala Harris, a former district attorney in San Francisco, claims Oakland as her hometown.

Proponents of the recall say the mayor, in part, “created a public safety crisis” by doing so. Burn Popular Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Your callback is financed largely from investor Philip Dreyfuss, who did not respond to requests for comment. The local NAACP supports the recall.

Thao also begins an FBI investigation Tuesday after authorities in June searched her home and other properties owned by a politically influential family that controls the city's recycling contract. Thao claimed her innocence and authorities have not said what they are investigating.

“This government has inherited many challenges. However, we met them head-on, implemented the solutions and the data shows we are on the right track,” Thao said in a statement from her supporters released in October.

The contests come in a presidential election year amid a national debate over public safety and a nationwide vote on one Tough proposal against crime If approved, some misdemeanor theft and drug offenses would be classified as felonies.

The streets of San Francisco were cleaner and homeless Tents are much harder to findbut a Day shots in September The appearance of San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in a popular central shopping district has reignited the issue of safety in the city.

Breed, who grew up with her grandmother in public housing in San Francisco, says the pandemic has challenged the city, but her administration has laid the groundwork for recovery. In the March primary, she ran for a Pair of successful public safety elections Measures to expand police powers and force some people into drug treatment.

“We have the tools, we have the technology, we have the support,” she said. “So we’re not going back. Things will only get better.”

Breed's main rivals include Daniel Lurie, a wealthy philanthropist and nonprofit founder who has poured nearly $9 million of his own money into the race.

Lurie comes in Fundraising More than $16 million was raised – including $1 million from his mother, businesswoman Miriam Haas, to an outside committee that supported his candidacy.

Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor The group's most conservative venture capitalist has raised about $5 million.

Breed has raised more than $5 million, including $1.4 million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

More liberal Democrats Aaron Peskin and Ahsha Safaí, both of whom serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, are also on the ballot.

San Francisco elects its mayor with a Ranked-choice voting system This allows voters to list up to 10 candidates in order of preference. It could produce a winner who did not receive the most first-place votes, and it can also encourage unusual alliances between rival candidates, such as the one between Farrell and Safaí, who have agreed to ask their supporters to vote for the other to make her No. 2.

Race won the election as Mayor in June 2018 to serve out the remainder of Lee's term. That was her Re-elected in 2019 to a full term lasting five years instead of the usual four after voters changed the electoral calendar to align with presidential elections.