Mike Schmidt drew one of the worst hands in American politics. Elected on a reform platform, he immediately saw a sustained and effective wildcat police strike, while ultra-cheap, powerful, and newly legalized fentanyl and P2P meth flooded a pandemic-struck city already facing a housing crisis
schmidt made a lot of unforced errors, but given how little vasquez actually campaigned, i am not sure schmidt could have won even with a flawless campaign
This will unfortunately be framed as a cautionary tale of What Happens When You Overcorrect Left even though similar sized cities all over the world have proven results in improving public safety by eschewing tough on crime policies