SF Supervisor Jackie Fielder hosts listening session after medical leave

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder hosted her first community listening session Thursday night since returning from a three-month medical leave.

Dozens of District 9 residents packed the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center to welcome back Fielder and voice concerns about issues affecting their communities.

“We are thankful that you took time for yourself to equip yourself to be sitting here today,” one attendee told Fielder. “So I thank you and commend you for returning.”

Fielder returned to City Hall last month after taking a three-month medical leave.

“I’m just grateful for the outpouring of support that I had and glad to be back on the job,” Fielder said. “Mental health is really prevalent, and I’m not going to shy away from the fact that I had a mental health crisis. This is a challenging job, and I’m very privileged to be here.”

Fielder said she is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings to give residents an opportunity to voice their concerns.

“To me, the biggest issue locally is the homeless issue, and it’s citywide,” San Francisco resident Maggie Weis said.

Fielder was joined by members of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and San Francisco Police Department to answer questions about pedestrian safety, city budget cuts and other issues.

The supervisor said one of her priorities moving forward is expanding access to clean, well-maintained public restrooms.

“[We’re] still seeing a lot of feces around the district and city,” Fielder said. “Would love to see our city have more public bathrooms and be able to maintain them as well.”

The next listening session is scheduled for July 23 at 6 p.m. at La Fénix in the Mission.

Watch the full report from KRON4’s Sara Stinson in the video player at the top of the story.