Jackie Fielder returns to City Hall after mental health leave

Jackie Fielder will return to San Francisco City Hall on June 29 after a three-month leave tied to a mental health crisis. The Board of Supervisors has excused her from meetings through June 30, and Fielder asked to remain chair of both committees when she comes back.

Fielder said on March 27 that she had checked into a hospital. Her office called it an acute personal health crisis and asked for privacy. In a social media video, Fielder said stepping away was necessary because her mental health demanded it, described the leave as a period of healing and perspective, thanked supporters who reached out during what she called one of the hardest stretches of her life, and said she had learned that she is, at the end of the day, a human being.

District 9, which includes the Mission District, Bernal Heights, the Portola and the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, has gone since late March without its supervisor in the chamber while staff and fellow supervisors carried on district work. The seat is one of 11 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and supervisors are paid $175,370 a year in fiscal 2025-26.

Mayor Daniel Lurie wished Fielder a speedy recovery, and community groups including Calle 24 and the Latino Task Force also voiced support.

Fielder won the District 9 seat in the Nov. 5, 2024 election, replacing termed-out Supervisor Hillary Ronen after a competitive ranked-choice race against Trevor Chandler and Roberto Hernandez. She said the pace of grassroots politics, governing and district expectations became overwhelming after she launched her campaign in early 2023.