It's really multiple problems at once. In fact I'd argue the homeless problem is a symptom of a larger problem, which is the economic death of that area. The co

It's really multiple problems at once. In fact I'd argue the homeless problem is a symptom of a larger problem, which is the economic death of that area. The core problem is that it's too big to be solved effectively in the short term, by a single leader or law, so this will have to play out over the long term. Still, one aspect of this does seem easily solved: in Westfield's case, having a bigger police presence. If they had to name a reason why they went out of business, it would be that, not enough police & too much crime. That seems like part of the problem: the police are not responsive, and since police performance is kind of a thing that straddles right/left divisions & powerful constituencies, it's not like one person can easily solve it. There are laws on the books to stop crime, and the DA can do something after suspects are caught, but if the police are missing in action at the places where crimes are happening, not investigating and not making arrests, they will continue. The larger problem is the death of downtown due to: crime, falling tourism, and the rise of remote work. I personally don't think pushing on the 'crime' lever - especially not by just installing another DA - will be enough to stop it. The problem of remote work leading to falling vacancy rates, leading to an empty downtown, leading to a rising crime and homelessness problem, hasn't been addressed by any of the contemplated solutions, not seriously imho. Long term, I think downtown will need to be rezoned to be more residential, and the combination of more foot traffic (mostly that) supporting more businesses, and the people & businesses softening the edges of the crime & homelessness problem, will eventually improve the situation. But turning office space into residential space is a huge ask, and even today many people will say it's impossible. It will be years until those downtown office space owners accept this, years more before City Hall can find acceptable ways to rezone that area, more years for the work to be completed, and still more years before people start moving in. So we might see a turnaround starting in, say, a decade. I wouldn't hope for too much until then.