Mayor Breed holds town hall in Tenderloin, remains committed to making neighborhood safer

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - It was a packed house at San Francisco's Tenderloin Community School Monday night. For the second time, Mayor London Breed held a neighborhood town hall meeting for residents of her city. 

"We have to do better for you. That is why we're here tonight. To talk about what doing better means," Mayor Breed said. 

For a little more than an hour, Breed took questions from the audience of roughly 150 people. 

The topics included homelessness, cleaning up human waste from the streets and excessive drug activity. 

Members of the audience called for more advocacy for the homeless, more 24/7 services for them and more help for those suffering from mental illness and living on the streets. 

"We can't allow the rapid drug sales to continue in the way they have. Even when I was growing up, you could go down to the Tenderloin to sell drugs. That should not be normal," Breed said. 

In July of last year, Breed--along with police officers-- toured the Tenderloin to get a first-hand look at the problems the people here face. 

She said since the start of her term, she's dedicated her time to making the Tenderloin a better and safer area for its residents. 

"I probably spend more time in your community trying to address the problems, making more investments and doing everything we can to let you know that at City Hall, you have a voice," Breed said. 

If she couldn't answer questions, Mayor Breed brought department heads and staff as added support. Breed said she wanted those who attended to get the answers they needed. 

"I have witnessed numerous times where people on the streets have changed and exposed themselves near afterschool programs where children play. I worry about my child being exposed to this at a very young age," an audience member said. 

"An officer walking the beat cannot stop everything from occurring. What we see is that it stops a lot of things from occurring. People behave better in general when we're around," said San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.  

SFPD has dedicated a team of officers, to walk the streets of the Tenderloin, hoping this will serve as a deterrent to criminal activity.  

The mayor said the town hall gives her an opportunity to bring City Hall to the people.  

And for those who feel these meetings are just a re-election strategy, you're late to the party. 

Breed acknowledges she's already looking to the election in November. "I've been running since I won the last time. It never stops and even when I get re-elected, hopefully, the voters support me. I will continue to be out here," she said.