Breed joins Peskin in rejecting TogetherSF mayoral debate

San Francisco’s five major candidates for mayor will debate The City’s issues Monday, but on two separate stages.

Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that she will not participate in political advocacy group TogetherSF Action’s planned May 20 debate.

Instead, Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin — one of four prominent candidates looking to deny her a second full term in office — will participate in a “conversation” hosted by Mission Local journalist Joe Eskenazi.

Breed’s decision comes amid questions about the TogetherSF Action debate and the group’s numerous ties to the campaign of former interim Mayor Mark Farrell . Breed had already expressed concern last week about the event.

Like Peskin, Breed questioned the organization’s ability to neutrally moderate a mayoral debate given its connections to Farrell , whose chief of staff is a former TogetherSF employee. The two also share a communications consultant.

“The public will not benefit from a debate that is orchestrated or unduly influenced by one of the campaigns,” Breed wrote in a statement.

Peskin was the first candidate to decline to participate in the TogetherSF debate. In an interview with The Examiner earlier this month, Peskin likened the event to a debate between President Joseph Biden and former President Donald Trump hosted by the National Rifle Association. Though TogetherSF has yet to make an endorsement in the race, Peskin said “they all but have.”

Kanishka Cheng, CEO of TogetherSF Action, described Peskin and Breed as “longtime political incumbent(s).”

“It is telling that the Mayor, like Supervisor Peskin, has chosen to try and tarnish the reputation of TogetherSF instead of joining the other candidates and explaining why our 100,000 community members — and all San Francisco voters — should trust them to run the city for the next four years,” Cheng wrote in a statement.

TogetherSF has insisted that the journalists it has tapped to moderate the debate have been guaranteed editorial independence. As of last week, the moderators were scheduled to be Bloomberg News California Bureau Chief Karen Breslau and Kim-Mai Cutler, a former TechCrunch and Wall Street Journal reporter now working in venture capital.

Cheng noted that Breed had originally agreed to participate in the debate, and that the organization made changes to its format and timing at the mayor’s request.

“Like Supervisor Peskin, Mayor Breed has chosen to find refuge in baseless accusations,” Cheng wrote. “San Franciscans want a Mayor, who instead of hiding in settings they control, is willing to explain how they can make our city better for everyone.”

Peskin and Breed’s conversation will take place at Manny’s Cafe in the Mission district.

“I trust and have agreed to whatever [Eskenazi] comes up with,” Peskin said.

Asked if voters would be deprived of the opportunity to see him and Breed go toe-to-toe with the other candidates in the race, Peskin said “there will be plenty of debates and forums that are hosted by nonpartisan organizations.”

Breed’s exit leaves Farrell, Supervisor Ahsha Safai, and Daniel Lurie as the three candidates expected to appear at the TogetherSF debate.

“I believe it speaks volumes when political candidates hide from their opponents except for settings that are under their complete control,” Farrell said in a statement. “Voters deserve to hear directly from the candidates about their background, vision, and policies.”

In addition to concerns about potential bias, multiple candidates have aired frustration with TogetherSF’s organizational details, including who the moderators would be and how many of the venue’s seats would be dedicated to supporters of each campaign.

“Since the debate was announced, Together SF’s debate planning process has also been marked by chaos,” Breed said. “The distractions have reached a fever pitch and tainted the debate beyond repair.”

The TogetherSF debate is co-sponsored by GrowSF, another political advocacy group that backs moderate causes and candidates .