It’s rarely a good sign when the people you’re trying to win over are frantically googling your name to fact-check you in real time.
That was the scene on Wednesday when state Sen. Scott Wiener visited the San Francisco Police Officers Association in an effort to convince the board he is a strong backer of the cops. He also pointed to what he described as a long history of support for the union, according to meeting minutes.
Wiener is in a three-way race for the congressional seat held by the retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, against progressive Supervisor Connie Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
As Wiener stood inside the POA headquarters at 800 Bryant St. and pitched his candidacy to the board of the organization, which represents more than 2,000 officers, roughly 30 cops peppered him with questions about his past, at times reading directly from news articles they’d found on their phones.
Some questioned Wiener’s portrayal of himself as an ally of the POA, pointing to his criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a pledge never to accept donations from police unions.
Wiener has never explicitly supported defunding the police. In 2020, however, he vowed to no longer take (opens in new tab) campaign money from law enforcement unions like the POA, donating $20,000 he’d received from such groups to youth organizations.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association represents more than 2,000 cops in the department. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
At the meeting last week, Wiener said he had never backed the movement to defund the police and blamed distorted coverage for tying him to negative statements about cops.
According to the minutes of the meeting, “Wiener stated he has always supported us, but the apparent lack of support is due to the media only publicizing matters that do not illustrate his support.”
Winning POA’s support was long seen as essential to winning office locally. In the years immediately before the pandemic, however, that backing became a liability as the union opposed police reforms and its rhetoric drifted out of step with public sentiment on law enforcement.
The union didn’t endorse a candidate between 2020 and 2024, but it has regained some political influence as public opinion has shifted back toward tough-on-crime policing.
“Wiener stated he has always supported us, but the apparent lack of support is due to the media only publicizing matters that do not illustrate his support.”
POA meeting minutes
The POA meeting was not the only recent example of Wiener recalibrating under pressure as he seeks to define himself in the congressional race.
A strong supporter of Israel, Wiener refused to use the term “genocide” during a candidates’ forum this month when discussing the country’s conduct in the war in Gaza. After an uproar, he reversed course, saying in a social media video that Israel’s actions did qualify as genocide.
Last week, he resigned as cochair of the state’s Jewish Caucus, where he had held a leadership role since 2023.
“My recent statements on Israel and Gaza have led to significant controversy in the Jewish community,” he said at the time. “The time to transition has arrived.”
At the POA meeting, Wiener was asked about his authorship of SB 627, which limits the ability of California law enforcement officials to wear masks.
Wiener responded that SB 627 was aimed not at local police but at ICE and U.S. Border Patrol agents, whose actions, he said, were harming the public’s perception of local law enforcement.
He told the group he was one of the few politicians to regularly attend police academy graduations and supported recruitment efforts when he was a supervisor.
Wiener also cited his work as a city attorney defending police officers and his support for Proposition E in 2024, which expanded a range of police powers, including the criteria for officers to initiate vehicle chases.
Police Officers Association President Louis Wong on patrol in the Tenderloin in 2013. | Source: Michael Macor/SF Chronicle/Getty Images
Wiener did not ask for money or an endorsement from the union.
“Sen. Wiener believes it is critically important to meet with the rank and file entrusted with keeping us safe and better understand how he can help them do their job,” his campaign team said in a statement.
POA president Louis Wong invited Wiener to the meeting, according to the campaign.