By The Daily Caller (Opinion) | Created at 2026-06-24 21:29:26 | Updated at 2026-06-25 00:17:49
3 hours ago
Jackie Fielder, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), posted a tearful video Tuesday to Instagram explaining her three-month absence from work.
Fielder, 31, announced that she plans to return to work Monday.
“I left the work that I love so much, not because I wanted to, but because my mental health demanded it,” Fielder claimed. “And I say that with no shame.”
Some shame might be in order for a first-term lawmaker who dips out on work for three months.
Fielder reportedly checked herself into a hospital in March, initially telling San Francisco-based outlet Mission Local that she planned to resign from her position. Fielder’s aides then announced that the supervisor “needs time and space to recover before making any major decisions,” and that Fielder would be taking a medical leave of absence.
There are two possible explanations of Fielder’s absence.
- Fielder suffered a mental crisis so debilitating it prevented her from going to work for months on end.
- Fielder is lazy and found an excuse to take what essentially amounted to a paid vacation.
Either way, she’s proven herself unfit for office. Showing up is the bare minimum.
Mission District supervisor Jackie Fielder will be back at City Hall on Monday after a 3-month mental health leave.
She spoke to Mission Local about the rest, struggles on the job & how an initial decision to resign felt like “my emergency escape button.”https://t.co/lz1tDBz5pu
— Mission Local (@MLNow) June 23, 2026
I’m reminded of failed congressional candidate and fellow DSA member, Kat Abughazaleh, who blamed narcolepsy for her failure to appear at a candidate forum in January. Abughazaleh claimed she “ended up sleeping through alarms, calls, and even my campaign manager knocking on my door repeatedly.” (RELATED: Gen Z Progressive Says She Was Too Sleepy To Make It To Key Campaign Event)
“This leave and even my whole adult life has been an entire journey on mental health,” Fielder said in her Instagram video, appearing teary-eyed.
“I just have the immense privilege of having all of you,” Fielder said, gesturing at the camera and wiping away a tear.
Then came the invocation of marginalized identities.
“At the end of the day, I’m a human being and a renter, a working class candidate that is now a supervisor, but … 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.”
If Fielder hoped to be a positive representation for the working class, she has failed miserably. I’m sure many physical laborers — who have suffered genuine medical ailments in their line of work — would love to take paid leave, but cannot.
Moreover, Fielder’s identification with the working class is questionable given she has not been working.
A website calling for the recall of Fielder reportedly popped up mid-June. The website claims Fielder engages in a cryptocurrency “pump-and-dump scheme” and that Fielder “abandoned her district while under investigation.”
An X account connected to the website claims Fielder’s absence has cost taxpayers more than $40,000. (RELATED: Giants Pitchers Who Wrote Bible Verses On Pride Night Hats Won’t Be Disciplined, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Says)
Fielder continued: “I hope this is a testament to anyone who is thinking about asking for help or thinking about taking a medical leave, or just in general is struggling … I am an example that it is possible to come back and heal.”
Fielder is nothing if not audacious in her attempt to spin her three-month leave as a heroic feat of mental health advocacy.
