San Francisco Unsafe, Dirty, Going to Get Worse: Former Board of Supervisors President

Once sought out by millions as a premier destination for travel and business, San Francisco is no longer safe, and a combination of corruption and a lack of desire to solve the predicament are plaguing the city, according to Angela Alioto—former president of the Board of Supervisors.

“We need a district attorney that’s going to enforce the law, and we don’t have that,” she recently told Siyamak Khorrami, host of The Epoch Times’ California Insider.

Alioto’s roots run deep in San Francisco, with one of her grandparents being born in the city in 1880. Her father served as mayor of the city from 1966 to 1977.

“San Francisco is absolutely gorgeous, the landscape, the panorama cannot be beaten. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” she said during the nearly 40-minute interview. “To see the amount of rampant decay ... is a horrible experience, and it’s out of control.”

Crime, open drug use, and homelessness have taken a toll on the city, with residents and businesses fleeing in record numbers over the past three years.

Former San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Angela Alioto appears on a California Insider episode that aired on May 8, 2023. Screenshot via California Insider

Staffing shortages prohibit the police department from mitigating the increasing incidents of property crime, and morale in the department is down, with officers discouraged, Alioto said.

She suggested that a solution lies in an organizational plan with at least minimum staffing in place for the police department, emergency services, and fire department.

“We need a mayor and district attorney that are going to enforce laws, even if the people the enforcement will hurt are their political supporters,” Alioto said.

Tech layoffs and a move to working from home continue to drag on office vacancy rates, contributing to a vicious cycle that some are calling a “doom loop” devastating the city.