Democratic mayoral candidates are engaging in games of one-upmanship by launching conservative-sounding plans to increase law enforcement and force people into addiction treatment.

Mark Farrell, the mayoral candidate for San Francisco, said on Thursday that if elected he would ask California to send in more National Guard troops armed with guns to downtown to combat the city’s open air drug markets.

Farrell announced the plan as part of his strategy to combat the fentanyl crisis. This is just the latest in a series of attempts by the Democrat, venture capitalist, and Democrat to unseat Mayor London Breed this November.

Breed and Gov. Gavin Newsom and Breed, both Democrats have used the National Guard to assist local police in dismantling fentanyl ring, particularly before the city hosted the APEC Summit last fall.

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Farrell, however, wants more military personnel to be deployed indefinitely. He did not specify the number or duration. San Francisco is bound to be moved by his rhetoric, and in particular his call for a “more armed California National Guard”. San Francisco has shifted to a tougher stance on crime despite its liberal image as voters become frustrated by brazen retail thefts, public drug usage and sprawling homeless camps.

Farrell, former interim mayor and supervisor of the city, does not see this shift or his aggressive policy in terms ideologies. He said it was a response to the soaring number of drug-related deaths. This includes at least 811 fatal overdoses by 2023.

Farrell stated, “I do not believe it is progressive or compassionate for us to have a record number overdose deaths every year on our streets.”

He explained that his approach was partly inspired by the aggressive measures taken by other blue locations to address similar urban challenges. For example, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard in order to combat crime on city subways.

His announcement is just another data point in what’s become a central theme of San Francisco’s mayoral contest: because Breed’s major opponents all share her moderate Democratic stripes, they’re engaging in games of one-upmanship by launching conservative-sounding plans to increase law enforcement and force people into addiction treatment.

Breed’s campaign, in return, has attacked Farrell, calling him too conservative to be a candidate for the city. Joe Arellano is her spokesperson. “If Mark Farrell tacks further to the right, he might need to register as a Republican,” he said.

The shift to the right is a reflection of the growing frustration among voters with the city’s deteriorating street conditions, as well as the influence of tech-funded advocacy groups who are centrist in their outlook. These groups have been a major force behind the move toward coercive policies on public safety and addiction.

Daniel Lurie is a nonprofit executive, and the heir of the Levi Strauss fortune. He has also introduced a number of new policies that are designed to tackle the city’s addiction and crime crises. He called on Wednesday for a “state of emergencies” in the city to combat the fentanyl crisis, saying that this would attract more federal and State funds.

“These aren’t just numbers on a sheet. “Every death is someone’s child, sister, or brother”, Lurie said at a press conference where Frank Jordan, an ex-mayor and police chief, had endorsed him. Lurie has attempted to position himself as a change agent in this race. Tyler Law, his consultant, claimed that Breed and Farrell were “City Hall Insiders” trying to rewrite the records of their past.

Farrell was scheduled to announce on Thursday that he’d also call for an emergency declaration in the state over fentanyl. This would have increased tensions between both campaigns.

Breed has also accused Farell and Lurie, of copying her plans to fight crime and addiction. In 2022 she declared a state of emergency for three months to crackdown on the fentanyl problem in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. She has also brought state and federal police into the city, and she recently convinced voters to approve a ballot measure requiring drug testing for local welfare recipients.

Progressives have grown increasingly concerned by what they refer to as a “Republican’ pivot, funded by billionaires such as venture capitalists Michael Moritz and Chris Larsen.

There are no progressives in the race yet. Aaron Peskin of the Board of Supervisors, a liberal who is adamantly opposed to racial discrimination, has said he will still consider a run for mayor, despite reports in the press that he was already running.