Jackie Fielder is a San Francisco supervisor who is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). I wrote about her last December when she made a statement comparing "tech bros" to fascists.
In any case, something dramatic seems to have happened to Fielder over the weekend. Last Friday, she indicated to local news outlets that she was dealing with a health emergency and would be resigning.
San Francisco supervisor Jackie Fielder is in a hospital and said she is planning to resign her post. The supervisor and District 9 representative said she is stepping down 14 months into the job.
Fielder has been absent from City Hall for about two weeks. She told Mission Local she was not well and planned to step down in a brief phone conversation Friday, before saying she would only take in-person interviews on her resignation from a city hospital. Front-desk workers at the hospital told reporters that Fielder could not take visitors and that she was in the care of medical staff. Her condition was unclear.
“Jackie Fielder is going through an acute personal health crisis right now and we are not at liberty to share details, but we appreciate the support people have given us and are proud of her for taking care of herself,” read a statement from Fielder’s office.
Another news outlet heard the same thing:
Fielder told a reporter from The Standard that she was available to speak in person at the hospital. A hospital security guard confirmed that Fielder was in the facility but would not allow the reporter to enter. The Standard has no confirmation of her condition.
Fielder has told multiple people that she plans to resign. As of 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Board of Supervisors clerk had no documentation of Fielder’s resignation.
The story went on to explain that Fielder was the most left-wing member of the board of supervisors, which is really saying something in San Francisco. Her resignation would pave the way for Mayor Lurie to appoint someone a lot more moderate to replace her.
Considered the most left-leaning member of the board, Fielder is known for her advocacy for public banking, tenant protections, and opposition to corporate interests and President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies. This month, she called for an audit of the Sheriff’s Department.
Should Fielder’s seat be vacated, the ideological balance of the Board of Supervisors would likely shift, empowering Mayor Daniel Lurie, with whom Fielder often sparred. The mayor would be able to appoint as supervisor a moderate who aligns with his policies on public safety and homelessness and would shield his legislation against vetoes from the board, which requires a supermajority.
But the hopes of SF moderates appear to have been dashed yesterday when Fielder changed her mind. She clarified that her health issue was a mental health issue and said she would not be resigning after all.
Her condition had been unclear on Friday, but Fielder’s aides said Sunday evening that the District 9 supervisor is grappling with mental health issues.
“Supervisor Jackie Fielder is currently navigating a mental health condition and needs time and space to recover before making any major decisions,” read a statement from her office. “She will be taking a medical leave of absence, during which time the District 9 office will remain dedicated to meeting the needs of our constituents, neighbors, and community members.”
You can read the full statement from her office here. The statement specifically asks the press not to report on "unsubstantiated rumors." That appears to be a reference to some reporting from last week about what may have led up to her hospitalization.
As mentioned above, Fielder was said to be laying low and not appearing at Supervisor meetings for the past couple weeks. The Voice of San Francisco suggests that may be because she was suspected of illegally leaking a report to the site Mission Local. The report had something to do with a new "sobering center" which Fielder opposed.
Last month when we reported on the Board of Supervisors’ approval of the underlying service contract for the RESET sobering center project aimed at curbing open-air drug use, we noted that members Connie Chan and Jackie Fielder voiced high-profile objections to the plan, likely based on a memorandum from the city attorney’s office that highlighted some caveats about it. The confidential memo was leaked to Mission Local, which published a story about it the same day.
One thing we noted was that the city attorney advised that “no Supervisor is authorized to disclose or discuss the memo, and any city employee who shares the memo is violating the law.” Sources inside City Hall tell us the office has been actively investigating how the leak happened and who did it.
This week, we received a tip that Fielder may be “lying low” due to her being suspected of the leak, that she was “not returning calls” to her office, and had been absent from recent board meetings. Fielder has been absent from the last two board meetings, and according to sources, she requested to be excused without providing a reason.
If Fielder were caught having leaked the memo she could potentially face legal troubles that could lead to her removal from office.
If Fielder were identified as the source of the leaked memo, she could be found in violation of a number of state and local laws, including San Francisco’s Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code and City Charter, as well as California’s Penal and Evidence Codes. The most likely consequence would be removal from office.
So what it sounds like happened here is that Fielder may have illegal leaked the memo about the sobering center to help gin up some public support for her opposition. And then the city started looking into how it had leaked. At that point, Fielder began laying low and now showing up for board meetings or answering phone calls. Then last Friday she suddenly announced a health crisis and plans to resign. But by Sunday we learned it was a mental health crisis and she would not be resigning but considering her options.
She has successfully changed the subject from the leaked memo to her health issues. And perhaps no one in the city will want to contribute to her crisis by accusing her of illegal activity while she's still in the hospital. At least that's how I'm reading things between the lines.
It's also possible that the stress of the leak and almost being caught and removed from office created a genuine mental health crisis and not just a conveniently timed one. We'll have to wait and see if the city ever identifies the leaker or decides to give that unnamed person a pass.
