Poll Shows Supervisor Breed's Ouster Led To Big Lead In SF Mayor's Race
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- A stunning political setback for Supervisor London Breed has morphed into a lead in the polls. According to a new poll, she is now the new frontrunner in the San Francisco mayor's race.
It seems to signal a dramatic reversal of fortunes.
In San Francisco, politics is a contact sport and for Breed the hits and the turn overs just keep coming.
Just one week after being deposed as Acting Mayor a newly released Chamber of commerce poll shows Breed as the top choice of 33 percent of the voters in the upcoming mayors race. That's a 2-1 lead over rivals.
The poll shows Mark Leno with 16 percent, fellow supervisor Jane Kim with 15 percent, and former supervisor Angela Alioto with 6 percent.
"Those few weeks as acting mayor certainly made a difference," said Jim Lazarus with the Chamber of Commerce.
"When people do these polls, it's the name you have most recently heard," said former SF mayor Willie Brown. "Therefore, London Breed would be the name you most recently heard."
In the weeks following the death of Mayor Ed Lee the little known Breed was in the news every day.
"It seems like there is a lot of momentum for my campaign," said Breed. "People are Just calling us, stopping by the office."
Indeed the fear of Breed getting such an edge with the public was one reason her opponents on the Board of Supervisors voted to remove her and replace her with Mark Farrell, who is not running. The idea was to level the playing field and they are not backing down.
"The powers of the Mayor's office are extraordinary," says SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin. "Now we are going to to have a free and fair election.
rival candidate Angela Alioto, who backed Breed's ouster, isn't buying the rocket rise.
"For all of a sudden for her to skip up 20 points? I just simply don't believe it," said Alioto. "It is way too early for any poll to mean anything."
But Democratic party Women's Caucus Chair Christine Pelosi said Breed's removal has had a boomerang effect.
"People are shocked," says Pelosi. "People are angry and people are saying this is politics as usual - why are you doing this?"
Whatever the reason, Breed will take it.
"It's very promising," she said, "But it's a long way to June 5."
