'TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY': CEO of San Fransisco's Gump's blasts California's leaders in full page newspaper ad

On Sunday, the owner of a 165-year-old San Francisco luxury department store called out city and state leadership for their “destructive” and “failed public policies” that have made the city “unlivable” in an open letter.

Gump’s CEO John Chachas took out a full-page ad in The San Francisco Chronicle, writing, "An Open Letter to Governor Newsom, Mayor Breed and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors: Gump's has been a San Francisco icon for more than 165 years. Today, as we prepare for our 166th holiday season at 250 Post Street, we fear this may be our last because of the profound erosion of this city's current conditions."

"San Francisco now suffers from a ‘tyranny of the minority’ —behavior and actions of the few that jeopardize the livelihood of the many,” he continued. “The ramifications of COVID policies advising people to abandon their offices are only beginning to be understood. Equally devastating have been a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our sidewalks, to openly distribute and use illegal drugs, to harass the public, and to defile the city's streets."

OPEN LETTER from a San Francisco legacy business. This letter, a full-page newspaper ad published today. It summarizes what majority of residents lament. pic.twitter.com/2WlcSHTrxR

— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) August 13, 2023