SAN FRANCISCO—A candidate running for mayor of San Francisco is backing President Donald Trump’s decision to get the federal government involved to fix the city with some of her solutions.
Ellen Lee Zhou, a Republican, is grateful for Trump trying to step in to help clean up the city during his visit in the Bay Area.
“If the local government fails to deliver the service, I believe that it is the right for San Franciscans to have other people to come in and help,” said Zhou. “For example, I’m a mom. If a parent abuses their child, and you do not allow people to come and help, that is a violation for the child, same thing.”
At her Q&A forum in San Francisco on Sept. 22, she said the current government in the city failed to deliver a reasonable standard of living, causing people to suffer.
On Sept. 18, Trump announced aboard Air Force One that he was going get the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involved.
“EPA is going to be putting out a notice,” he said. “And, you know, they’re in serious violation. And this is environmental—very environmental. And they have to clean it up. We can’t have our cities going to hell. These are great cities. And we can’t have—we can’t lose our great cities like this.”
“And we have tremendous things that we don’t have to discuss pouring into the ocean,” he added. “You know, there are needles. There are other things. A lot of bad … it’s a terrible situation. That’s in Los Angeles and in San Francisco.”
Zhou has been speaking out about the city’s homeless problem throughout her campaign.
She says the government gives out free needles that attract more homeless people to do drugs and become dependent on the substance.
According to Zhou, the situation in San Francisco makes residents feel like they aren’t living in America because laws are not being enforced.
“We have a health code, we have a law and order code, we have ordinance code…that was a violation,” said Zhou. “The president was right. If the city has so much money, and the city is focused on just giving more drugs and welcoming more homeless people…and depend on the system, that is exactly [why] we need the federal to come in.”
Solutions to Make the City Safe and Clean
Zhou said if she is elected mayor, she will shrink the government and give the people more power.
She announced she will have 12 teams that would allow the city’s residents and working class to take charge.
She intends to create a “Government’s Online Public Regulatory System” to have more accountability for updated policies.
She will create a “Police Crime Reporting Enforcement Awards and Accreditation System” where each neighborhood can be in a program to file their own crime report for the police and public to see.
“You report the crime, you [can] go back to find out whether that has been done or not. If they do not do their job, get out. That’s it. Or they can do something else,” said Zhou. “You pay the taxes, you want a quality of life, [if] it is not delivered to you, it is your right to fire any public employee, including myself.”
With regards to the homeless crisis, she says building more navigation centers will not work because it will only attract more homelessness.
Instead, she will create a “Homeless Container House Project” team where she will put the homeless in mobile homes, away from the city for isolation treatment for those who wish to work after receiving help.
She said she intends to create a “Free Trade Zone” for people to run their own businesses.
“The final product will be made in San Francisco. Then we’ll become a world-leading city,” said Zhou. “And make a brand for us, then we benefit from it—our children will have money.”
She says she wants to make San Francisco a model city for the rest of California and America.
