With five seats up for grabs on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the political makeup one of the city’s most powerful bodies could look dramatically different after Tuesday’s election. Progressive candidates had a slight lead in several races Tuesday with votes still being counted.
The election capped a peculiar year for campaigning, with a pandemic and tense national election gripping the city’s attention. The local fight has been particularly tough for candidates with less name recognition, who would normally go door to door, shake hands, hand out fliers and persuade people to sign up for mailing lists.
Instead, nearly every facet of the campaign has been relegated to online events.
Despite the challenges, some races still managed to draw about half a million dollars. It’s a significant chunk of money —from varying interests, ranging from landlords to labor groups — to influence who will sit on San Francisco’s most powerful political body.
Perhaps no one had more at stake on Tuesday than Mayor London Breed, who has few allies on the board. The dynamic has caused headaches for her over the past few years as she’s tried to push key priorities, mainly around housing.
The San Francisco supervisors race uses ranked-choice voting, which can make for dramatic and sometimes delayed results.
Every voter’s first choice is counted. If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that candidate wins. If no candidate receives a majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and voters who selected that candidate have their votes counted for their next choice. This cycle repeats until a candidate gets a majority.
Here’s where the races stood:
District One
Connie Chan was leading in early returns to represent District One. The district, which includes the area north of the Panhandle as well as the Richmond District, is mostly made up of renters and single-family homes.
Chan was at 38%, while her closest challenger, Marjan Philhour, was at 35%.
Sherman D’Silva was at 4%, Veronica Shinzato was at 3%, Amanda Inocencio was at 2% and Andrew Majalya was at less than 1%.
The winner will replace Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, who decided not to run for re-election. Fewer, chair of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee, was elected in 2016 and endorsed Chan for her seat.
Takeaway: If Chan wins, it gives the board’s progressive faction yet another ally.
Background: Chan is a longtime public servant who will likely carry on values similar to Fewer’s, particularly in pushing for 100% affordable housing.
District Three
Incumbent Aaron Peskin was leading by a comfortable margin in early returns to keep his seat for District Three, with 56% of the vote. His district includes North Beach and Chinatown.
Peskin’s closest challenger, Danny Sauter, had 35% of the vote. Spencer Simonsen was at 5%. Stephen Schwartz was at 4%.
Takeaway: With another four years in office, Peskin can carry on projects he’s working on, such as opening a Navigation Center in Polk Gulch and turning a hotel into permanent supportive housing. His win is welcome news for Breed, who has sparred with him in the past but overall has a good relationship with him.
Background: Peskin served his first two terms on the Board of Supervisors 2001-09, including a term as president of the board. The supervisor generally falls in line with his progressive colleagues, and is a policy wonk on issues ranging from the city’s budget, to housing and transit.
District Five
Dean Preston was leading by a wide margin in early returns to represent District Five, a diverse collection of neighborhoods that includes the Fillmore, Western Addition, the Inner Sunset and Hayes Valley.
Preston had 52% of the vote. His closest challenger, former Supervisor Vallie Brown, was at 41%. Daniel Landry was at 5% and Nomvula O’Meara at 2%.
Takeaway: If Preston wins, it would show that he has built up significant political strength in the neighborhood over his past year in office.
Background: Preston has been in office since December 2019, when he narrowly beat Brown, whom Breed had appointed to fill the seat Breed herself had vacated when she became mayor. Preston is part of the board’s progressive faction. His focus in office thus far has been around tenants’ rights and 100% affordable housing.
District Seven
Joel Engardio was leading in early returns to represent District Seven, which includes part of the Sunset District, Parkmerced, Parkside, Forest Hill and West Portal. But after the first round of ranked-choice votes was calculated, Myrna Melgar had edged out Engardio to represent District Seven, which includes part of the Sunset District, Parkmerced, Parkside, Forest Hill and West Portal.
Vilaska Nguyen was in third place with 21% of the vote.
Emily Murase was at 13%, Stephen Martin-Pinto was at 10% and Ken Piper was at 2%.
Takeaway: The race to replace outgoing Supervisor Norman Yee was perhaps the most competitive of any district this year.
Background:
Engardio is vice president of StopCrimeSF. This is his third time running for the seat. Melgar, former president of the Planning Commission, had support from both moderates and progressives.
District Nine
Supervisor Hillary Ronen, first elected in 2016, had no opposition for this district, which largely includes the Mission.
District 11
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Supervisor Ahsha Safaí was leading in early returns to represent District 11, which includes the Excelsior, Outer Mission and Visitacion Valley.
Safaí was at 51%, while former Supervisor John Avalos was at 41%. Marcelo Colussi was at 8%.
Takeaway: Safaí’s win will do little to shake up the dynamics on the board. Breed would likely have had a much harder time working with his competitor, Avalos, who would have been one of the most progressive members of the board.
Background: Safaí was first elected in 2016 and has sided with both the moderate and progressive factions of the board.
Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
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