San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder will resume her duties next week after taking a three-month leave of absence due to mental health.
“I’m coming clear-eyed and grounded and eager to serve in this role again,” Fielder said in a video posted to social media Tuesday.
Fielder was first elected in 2024 to serve District 9, which includes the Mission District and Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods. In late March of this year, her staffers announced she was taking a leave of absence to address an “acute personal health crisis” after missing a few weeks of Board of Supervisors meetings.
“I left the work that I love so much, not because I wanted to, but because my mental health demanded it, and I say that with no shame,” she said.
In the video statement, Fielder mentioned that the pressure of serving as a supervisor took a toll on her mental health.
“I was going 100 miles an hour since early 2023 when I started the campaign for supervisor, and being a grassroots candidate is a lot of elbow grease.”
Supervisor Jackie Fielder
“I’ve often felt like the weight of this district and city is on my shoulders, and I, through this leave, have had the silver lining of understanding that it never has,” she said. “I was going 100 miles an hour since early 2023 when I started the campaign for supervisor, and being a grassroots candidate is a lot of elbow grease.”
Fielder’s staff continued some of the work in her district while she was gone. She thanked her colleagues and Mayor Daniel Lurie for their support and allowing her to be excused from meetings.
Fielder will return to work Monday and appear at the June 30 board meeting. She is also expected to host listening sessions in her district through July.
“I am an example that it is possible to to come back and heal,” she said. “I could not be more honored to serve and more ready to serve.”
