\u201cSan Francisco has long been a beacon for evidence-based compassionate response to the realities of substance use and with this decision, we risk becoming a cautionary tale,\u201d Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, told the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> in April 2025.<\/p>\n A year later, in April 2026, Lurie\u2019s policy seemed to have little impact, a Chronicle article<\/a> found. Users could still easily obtain drug use supplies, and many providers said that they had already offered counseling when handing out supplies. HIV infections and overdose deaths did not increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the city budget process this year, Lurie doubled down on scaling back harm reduction, proposing over $1 million in cuts<\/a>. Some of that funding was restored<\/a> by the Board of Supervisors in the final budget.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s question: Do you support Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s efforts to restrict access to drug paraphernalia? What harm-reduction services do you support continuing versus cutting?<\/p>\n Mission Local color codes the answers to yes\/no questions. A green background means the candidate answered yes, a red background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate answered ambiguously.<\/p>\n Gary McCoy<\/p>\n Job: Former staffer to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and former vice president of policy and public affairs at HealthRIGHT 360<\/p>\n Age: 48<\/p>\n Residency: Renter, has lived in San Francisco for 24 years and District 8 for 15 years<\/p>\n Transportation: Driving, biking, public transit and walking<\/p>\n Education: Former City College of San Francisco student, certified phlebotomy technician from Bay Area Medical Academy<\/p>\n Languages: English<\/p>\n I share the mayor\u2019s urgency in ending public drug use and ensuring our streets are clean and free of syringes. Restricting syringe access will unfortunately make this problem worse, not better. People will use drugs whether or not we provide clean supplies \u2013 the only question is whether they share needles and are exposed to or spread HIV and Hepatitis C.\u00a0<\/p>\n If we want to get to zero new HIV infections, we must provide syringe access. I support keeping syringe services and naloxone distribution so that people can stay alive until they get connected to treatment.<\/p>\n Endorsed by:\u00a0Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, San Francisco Labor Council, Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, San Francisco Tenants Union, UESF, Working Families Party, San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters \u2026 see more\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael Nguyen<\/p>\n Job: Patent attorney<\/p>\n Age: 44<\/p>\n Residency: Renter, has lived in District 8 since 2006<\/p>\n Transportation: Driving, public transit and walking<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree from Southwestern University, law degree from University of California Law San Francisco<\/p>\n Languages: English, some Spanish, some Vietnamese<\/p>\n No, I don\u2019t support restricting access to harm reduction supplies. I agree with SF AIDS Foundation CEO Tyler TerMeer: reducing visibility doesn\u2019t reduce the need. When access shrinks, engagement shrinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m a strong proponent of the Four Pillars approach<\/a>, and right now prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and enforcement aren\u2019t getting equal investment. Harm reduction and prevention deserve just as much funding as treatment and enforcement, because that\u2019s what the science backs. We need to stomp on the status quo, but by following the evidence, not by reducing visibility for the cameras.\u00a0<\/p>\n Endorsed by:\u00a0GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club (#2), San Francisco Green Party, former supervisor Dean Preston, UESF, Working Families Party \u2026 see more\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Darshini Patel<\/p>\n Job: Former DoorDash employee, worked on the 2012 Obama campaign and the 2024 Harris campaign, former Obama staffer<\/p>\n Age: 38<\/p>\n Residency: Homeowner, has lived in District 8 for 10 cumulative years since 2010<\/p>\n Transportation: Public transit, walking and biking<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree from Wellesley College<\/p>\n Languages: Gujarati, English<\/p>\n No. I support Mayor Lurie\u2019s goal to connect more people to treatment, but I would not restrict evidence-backed harm reduction services.<\/p>\n I would continue naloxone, sterile syringe access, and safer-smoking supplies. Harm-reduction services do more than prevent death and disease; they create trusted points of contact that can successfully connect people to treatment.<\/p>\n I would pair those services with proactive counseling, immediate treatment referrals, treatment on demand, and expanded LEAD-style diversion<\/a>. Harm reduction and treatment are not competing strategies. The most effective system keeps people alive, builds trust, and ensures care is available when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n Endorsed by:\u00a0UESF, Solidarity Club SF, San Franciscans for Social Housing,\u00a0Small Business Forward, Supervisor Myrna Melgar (#2),\u00a0Rose Pak Asian American Club (#3)<\/p>\n Manny Yekutiel<\/p>\n Job: Founder and owner of Manny\u2019s, co-founder and former executive director of Civic Joy Fund<\/p>\n Age: 36<\/p>\n Residency: Renter, has lived in San Francisco since 2012 and District 8 since 2013<\/p>\n Transportation: Driving, public transit and walking<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s degree from Williams College<\/p>\n Languages: English, Hebrew<\/p>\n I do support Mayor Lurie\u2019s efforts to restrict the distribution of drug paraphernalia like pipes and foil. We should continue proven lifesaving services, including naloxone, overdose-prevention education, and immediate connections to treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The larger issue is whether San Francisco is actually helping people struggling with addiction get healthy and stable. We need to dramatically expand treatment, stabilization services, residential care, and sober housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our system should be built around moving people from crisis to recovery, not simply managing addiction on the street. That means pairing compassion with accountability and ensuring treatment is always available when people are ready.<\/p>\n Endorsed by:\u00a0Mayor Daniel Lurie, the San Francisco Democratic Party, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, former Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Jane Fonda, Senator Cory Booker, Grow SF, Abundant SF, San Francisco Apartment Association \u2026 see more\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at io@missionlocal.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790808991_979_Gary-No.png\")
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