San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s push to bring a pair of pandas from China hit a major snag after the city’s Board of Supervisors rejected her fundraising proposal to care for the fuzzy newcomers.
Breed’s plan called for an ambitious $25 million to be raised to host the two pandas once they arrived from China.
Breed secured the deal during a trip to Beijing last month.
She initially made her case directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping as he was leaving the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation last year.
“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled that we will be welcoming Giant Pandas to our San Francisco Zoo,” she said in a statement after inking a tentative agreement in April. “It’s an honor that our city has been chosen for the first time to be a long-term home for Giant Pandas.”
The pandas were pitched by Breed as a tourism boost for the city and its zoo but the Board of Supervisors voted to postpone her funding request, calling it a distraction as San Francisco faces other funding needs, NBC reported.
Supervisor Dean Preston told ABC7 that amendments need to be made to the proposal before he would consider supporting it.
“We do need to make sure we have the information to make sure we prevent actual conflicts of interest here, and make sure this is all being done transparently,” Preston said.
While the pandas were largely seen as a win for Breed, caring for them was always going to be a costly venture.
San Francisco Zoo CEO Tanya Peterson said there were two plans in place for the pandas’ arrival, a short-term plan and a long-term plan.
The short-term one, which will cost between $3 million and $5 million, required renovating an existing facility for the bears. The second plan involved building them an entirely new habitat that will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Last month, Breed posted on social media that she was submitting a resolution to the Board of Supervisors that would allow various city departments to raise money through private channels. At the time, she said the project was moving full steam ahead.
But Breed, who is facing a tough reelection race in November, has since received backlash from people who called her proposals tone-deaf in light of more pressing problems plaguing the city, which include $24 million in cuts to after-school and youth programs. San Francisco is also struggling with businesses leaving its downtown area due to crime, drugs, and homelessness.
“In the same week you’re announcing major cuts to programs that have been a vital delivery of services in our city, you’re announcing those cuts, while at the same time you’re like, ‘Look over here,'” Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who is running against Breed, said.
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Breed, though, isn’t giving up.
“Postponements of a vote or requests for amendments are not uncommon and the mayor’s office will work on amendments based on the feedback from supervisors,” her office said in a statement.