San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder will remain on the job but is taking an absence “so she can think and responsibly consider her options.” This ends 48 hours of speculation about her political fate after Fielder told Local Mission on Friday he is in the hospital and will withdraw.
His condition was unclear Friday, but Fielder’s aides said Sunday evening that the District 9 supervisor is dealing with mental health issues.
“Supervisor Jackie Fielder is currently navigating a mental health situation and needs time and space to heal before making any major decisions,” read a statement from her office. “He will be taking a medical leave of absence, during which time the 9th District office will remain dedicated to serving the needs of our constituents, neighbors, and community members.”
Fielder checked himself into the hospital and was still there. It is unclear what treatment he received.
The District 9 office will continue to operate as usual, the office said. The work of responding to constituent concerns, drafting legislation, communicating with city departments, and other tasks will be performed by legislative aides – as is the case in most supervisors’ offices.
Fielder, like the absent supervisor, cannot vote on legislation unless he appears in the boardroom in person.
It’s unclear when Fielder will return to the office.
Fielder’s decision Sunday ended a weekend of rumors and gossip related to his health and future. Fielder said Local Mission in a short phone call on Friday that he was in the hospital and would step down, but said little else.
In the hours that followed, the leaders and groups of District 9 gathered around him. Mayor Daniel Lurie joined his colleagues on the council in wishing him a speedy recovery.
Fielder wouldn’t be the first city supervisor to take time off, though long leaves are rare and longtime City Hall residents can recall few supervisors gone for more than a few weeks. Former District 2 supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier left for three months after surgery in the mid-2000s, and current District 3 supervisor Danny Sauter took a few weeks off last year after the birth of his child.
Fielder’s condition is poorly defined and it’s unclear how long it takes for someone with a mental health crisis to recover. But his colleagues seem prepared to wait: Fielder’s office added statements from five sitting supervisors who told him to take the time he needed.
“We will support Supervisor Fielder and his team at this time to make the best decision for the health of Supervisor Fielder and the people he represents,” read Supervisor Connie Chan’s statement.
“This is not the first time a member of the Supervisory Board has been incapacitated for a long period. Michela Alioto-Pier was out for 3 months and we were able to facilitate the representation of the district while she was out and her staff continued to work,” read Supervisor Myrna Melgar’s. “I have full confidence that the staff of District 9 can and will do that as well.”
Supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Chyanne Chen, and Shamann Walton also expressed support.
The city charter does not require supervisors to take official leave in cases where they cannot be at City Hall for an extended period of time. Supervisors can only be removed from work in extreme cases, which is “official misconduct” defined as “misconduct” that is “intentional in character,” or “conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude,” according to section 15.105 of the city charter.
“The only way you go is that you resign – which can only be done by writing to the clerk of the council – you die, you are recalled or you are removed from crime by the mayor, subject to a trial where two thirds of your colleagues must condemn you,” said the former president of the council, Aaron Peskin, who for more than 17 years was a member of parliament on the city code.
“Technically, you don’t even have to take leave,” he said. “If members of the Board of Supervisors don’t show up to work, that’s something that can be done.”
Lawmakers across the country regularly take time off work. The US Congress, for example, saw many members sick for extended periods of time – in dramatic scenes, they were sometimes wheeled into the room from their hospital beds to vote on decisions.
But while mental health leave has become more accepted, it is rare. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in 2023 checked himself into Walter Reed hospital for depression and was widely supported, although he has faced scrutiny for his performance since then. Local Mission have found some other prominent examples.
Perhaps the most similar analogue to Fielder’s situation is Lina Hidalgo in Texas, the county judge of Harris County (the top executive) who in 2023 checked herself into an inpatient psychiatric clinic for depression. Hidalgo, 32 at the time, described his long-term mental health struggles New York Times article.
Aides to Hidalgo — who, like Fielder is 31, a young woman of color and a graduate of Stanford University — are reportedly worried about her re-election chances. An ally told the time that “being a young Latina in a blue town in a red state meant she was already in the cross hairs before she revealed her diagnosis.”
Fielder is in the deep blue city in one of the most progressive districts, and easily won the 2024 election in District 9 in a 60-40 tilt. However, he was the city’s lone democratic socialist representative and often clashed with Mayor Lurie and his allies. The relationship between Lurie and Fielder has been strained, several City Hall sources said, and the supervisor has been struggling for months.
Politically, Fielder’s absence will mean little to the city’s progressive bloc, which has just four and five votes on the moderate-heavy 11-member council.
“The dynamics of the Board of Supervisors, with one of the 11 members absent, has not changed much,” Peskin said. If there were a razor-thin majority for moderates or progressives, Fielder’s absence would be a different story. “But that’s not the dynamic that exists at the moment.”
Disclosure: This reporter briefly worked with Jackie Fielder in 2018 at The Worker Agency, a communications firm.
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