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Public commenters urge board to 'defund' SFPD and press for community investments during inaugural meeting
Summary
Dozens of residents and organizations used the public‑comment period at the board's Jan. 8 inaugural meeting to call for deep cuts to police and sheriff budgets and for reinvestment in housing, health care and community services.
Dozens of residents and community organizations used the public‑comment period at the Jan. 8 Board of Supervisors inaugural meeting to demand reductions to the San Francisco Police Department's and Sheriff's Office budgets and to press for reinvestment in housing, public health, schools and community services.
Multiple callers urged the board to "100% defund SFPD and the SF Sheriff at every opportunity you get this year," a phrase that recurred in several public comments. A caller identifying herself as Trina said, "I want the board of supervisors to know that we're still watching and we really want to see 100% of defunding SFPD and the SFPD Sheriff's Office at every opportunity." Other callers referenced the city's modest cuts to police funding in 2020 — described by speakers as "barely 6%" — and warned that wage increases negotiated in the Police Officers Association contract would offset those reductions.
Commenters also cited specific incidents when arguing for budget cuts and policy change. Several speakers referenced the Oct. 10 shooting of Cesar Vargas and a November incident in which Antonio Estrada was injured; those incidents were raised by multiple public commenters as evidence that reforms have not prevented serious harm. Callers pressed the board to invest in alternatives to policing, including housing, mental‑health services, community violence intervention, safe consumption and school resources.
A number of community groups and civic leaders also called in during public comment to congratulate newly sworn supervisors Connie Chan and Myrna Melgar and to endorse Walton's nomination as board president, while reiterating policy demands. Representatives from the San Francisco Youth Commission and from worker groups including Teamsters Joint Council 7 emphasized youth and labor priorities and said they would participate in budget and committee processes.
Separately, callers raised other policy concerns during public comment, including vaccine distribution logistics and transparency. One caller, Zach Lipkin, urged the board to treat vaccine administration as a citywide responsibility and to press city agencies for a clear accounting of doses received and administered.
The clerk closed public comment after the queue was completed and the board proceeded to nominations and the subsequent roll‑call election of the board president.
