Letter to Clint Reilly

Clint Reilly ran against Willie Brown for mayor in 1999 and lost, but he understood the homeless issue. He produced an excellent pamphlet that analyzed the problem and proposed solutions, which is more than either Tom Ammiano or Matt Gonzalez did. Progressive leaders didn’t seem to think that the problem was solvable, until Gavin Newsom came along and showed them otherwise.

3-29-99

Dear Mr. Reilly:

It’s good to see someone challenging Willie Brown, who many people like me---i.e. white liberals---now regret voting for. I’m a little worried about your focus on Muni, however. It may not have legs as an issue, since Brown has taken some steps toward solving the problem---or at least taking it off the front pages of the dailies. New management, more money, and political and economic autonomy for Muni will go a long way toward solving the problem---or appearing to solve it, which may amount to the same thing politically.

Also, it’s easy for people who don’t ride Muni every day to exaggerate the system’s negatives. I ride it every day, and, by and large, it works for me. The biggest problem lately has been with the streetcar system, which seems much improved from last summer.

Hence, by November this could leave you without a good citywide issue. My suggestion: the homeless issue has been at dead center for years, with virtually no intellectual/political movement. Why not suggest actually solving the problem? The electorate would be grateful if you could move this issue to the fore with some realistic ideas about dealing with it. Brown’s policy of sweeping the homeless out of public spaces and not even providing enough beds in the shelters is a loser (conditions in the city’s shelters should also be an issue). People in the neighborhoods are upset about homelessness and are ready for leadership on the issue that is both practical and compassionate (your suggestion about lowering General Assistance, by the way, is wrong-headed and will be seen as lacking in compassion).

You would do an enormous public service---and pick up a lot of votes in the neighborhoods---by addressing the issue and presenting a practical program to begin to solve the problem that has been Willie Brown’s biggest policy failure. You could make a major speech to discuss the problem and urge some specific approaches.
* First, does anyone know how many homeless people there are in the city? The professionals may know, but that knowledge isn’t widely known. Any policy proposal you make must call for a census of the homeless to properly gauge the dimensions of the problem. Some put the number as high as 16,000.

* The principle that should be the foundation of any sensible homeless policy: no one has the right to live on the city’s streets. These are public spaces and belong to all the people. They are not living spaces. By continuing to acquiesce in mass homelessness, the city contributes to a decline in public morale and undermines people’s faith in city political leadership and the efficacy of government in general.

* The essential approach: create a task force of professionals---with a minimum of police presence---to carry out a systematic program of outreach to each homeless person in the city. The city needs to know who they are and what their prospects are for getting off the streets. Once the individual’s specific problem/problems are determined, the city will provide each individual with a realistic plan to help get him/her off the streets.

* There will be a number of homeless that will reject the city’s help and insist on staying on the streets. This will be the trickiest part of the outreach approach, but if properly presented and sold to the public it can be handled. The city will have to arrest those who resist any attempt to get them off the streets (Perhaps under the vagrancy laws. You’ll need to get a legal opinion on this). In selling this policy, arguments like this should be presented to the public: “Why should hardcore substance abusers be allowed to commit slow-motion suicide on the city’s streets? This is liberalism gone astray,” etc. The outreach policy can only be sold to liberals if it’s not perceived as making the homeless into scapegoats.

* Clearly the city will have to spend more money on the problem with the outreach approach, but the state and the feds can be hit up for more, since this is not just a city problem. Also, Brown can be hammered for pissing away the $145 million city surplus of a few years ago. Why wasn’t it used to address this critical problem? Why commit $100 million to the 49er’s stadium and not deal with this important social problem? People have to be told that this is a big problem and that there are no cheap, easy solutions. No one has made this speech yet. You could be the first to take the bull by the tail and look facts in the face and would score points by doing so.
There is a political majority that can be formed around this issue. Homelessness bothers everyone---right, center, and left.

This policy will have to be sold by emphasizing its compassion. You don’t want to make Guliani’s mistake and come off as nasty and macho. Firmness on principle combined with compassion can be sold, especially if the policy is realistic enough to succeed.

The radical left, Food Not Bombs and the pie-throwers, will make a lot of noise in opposition, but they can be politically isolated as the extremists that they are. Once the homeless problem is on the way to being solved, Food Not Bombs will go out of business, which will be an indication that the policy is succeeding (It would make a good line in your speech: “Let’s put Food Not Bombs out of business.”)

We now have a policy that creates the worst possible situation: It’s bad for the homeless themselves, and it degrades our neighborhoods. It’s astonishing that The City That Knows How has tolerated the situation this long. You policy statement should present homelessness as an ongoing emergency and tragedy---keep citing those 100 annual deaths---that also results in the degradation of public spaces and civility. This policy will both save lives and clean up city streets.

I don’t think you can beat Willie by focusing on Muni and/or playing it safe as the anti-Willie.

Regards,
Rob Anderson