San Francisco supervisor’s absence for mental health questioned after city attorney threatened removal from office

San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s mental health crisis and hospitalization came weeks after City Attorney David Chiu warned city leaders about the unlawful leak of a confidential memo — a breach he said could trigger investigations, discipline or even removal from office.

Reports that Fielder was initially intending to resign after checking in to a hospital last week have sparked a flurry of theories on what motivated the first-term lawmaker to go missing from City Hall meetings for weeks before checking herself in for treatment. She has since decided to wait on making a decision.

Fielder’s staff said the hospitalization was caused by an “acute personal health crisis” and posted a message on her Instagram requesting privacy as the Mission District supervisor recovers. 

Chiu told lawmakers in a Feb. 13 letter that there would be “serious ramifications” for whoever leaked legal advice on a controversial “RESET Center” — a place for people high on drugs to get sober under the watch of law enforcement and trained health professionals — to local news outlet Mission Local.

“One of the recipients of the memorandum either provided a copy to a reporter from Mission Local or allowed the reporter to take photos of every page,” Chiu wrote. “The disclosure of our privileged legal advice has serious ramifications for the City, potentially leading to costly litigation.”

He warned that “the person or persons who disclosed the memorandum could be subject to significant penalties, including discipline or termination for an employee and removal from office for an elected official.”

Officials in Fiedler’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on whether the city’s internal investigation may have played a role in Fielder’s condition, and the supervisor could not be reached. Feng Han, a staffer who served as Fielder’s spokesperson, stopped working in her office on March 12, according to a report by the San Francisco Standard.

Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the city attorney, acknowledged an investigation has been launched but declined to share details.

“We initiated an investigation into the unlawful disclosure of attorney-client privilege information,” Kwart told The Post. “We did not initiate an investigation into any one supervisor or office.”

Three days before Chiu scolded supervisors, Mission Local published a story detailing how the city attorney’s office had offered legal advice warning that Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposed “sobering center” in the South of Market area may violate state laws and presents a “very high legal risk.”

The legal guidance noted that the law required a high threshold for compliance in giving people high on drugs a safe and accommodating space to get sober, and attempts to detain people would not be legal.

However, the letter also noted that law enforcement intended to arrest anyone who would leave the facility voluntarily. 

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The same day Mission Local ran that story, supervisors signed off on the mayor’s sobering center in a 9-2 vote, with Fielder being one of the two dissenting supervisors.

In a social media post, Supervisor Matt Dorsey announced he would introduce a censure motion against any city officials found to be responsible for the leak.

It’s unclear whether the stress of a city investigation into the leaked memo may have contributed to Fielder’s condition. 

However a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that the most likely scenario if someone were found responsible for the leaked memo is a city Ethics Commission fine of up to $5,000.

“On matters of her personal health, we respectfully ask the press to give [Fielder] the privacy and space necessary for healing, and not to report on unsubstantiated rumors,” Fielder’s staff said in a statement posted to Instagram. 

“We urge everyone to treat this situation with the same respect and sensitivity as they would if she were recovering from any other medical emergency.”

The letter was signed by three members of Fielder’s staff who vowed to “remain dedicated to meeting the needs of our constituents, neighbors, and community members.”