San Francisco election 2018: Board of Supervisors race

San Francisco is broken up into eleven districts. Each district gets on elected official to act on their behalf at City Hall. Of those eleven seats, five of them are up for vote. Two incumbents are termed out of office (Malia Cohen, Jane Kim) and two will run for reelection (Rafael Mandelman, Catherine Stefani).

Here’s a brief breakdown on each district up for grabs and those who want to represent them. If you don’t know what district number you’re in, these supervisor district maps will help guide you.

(* = incumbent)

District Two

• John Dennis: Noted for being the only openly Republican candidate running for supervisor, Dennis is a developer and investor. No shade, but odds of him winning in a left-leaning city are slim to none.
• Schuyler Hudak: She’s the founder of Cor, a short-video news company, a member of the San Francisco General Hospital board, and a former member of the Marina Community Association board. She’s also one of the few candidates who is also a renter.
• Nick Josefowitz: BART Director Nick Josefowitz is a newcomer to City Hall politics. He’s known for throwing a record amount of his own money into his campaign—more than $550,000. He also advocated for AB 2923.
• *Catherine Stefani: The attorney and former legislative aide to Mark Farrell, Stefani ascended to the role after then-Supervisor Farrell, her boss, stepped in as acting mayor. She’s served City Hall for about 12 years.

District Four

• Lou Ann Bassan: “Promises of affordable homes for all is unrealistic and impractical,” notes Bassan. She wants to “look at existing SF housing (an estimated 40,000 empty units, 10-15,000 in the Sunset), and revise unfair landlord-tenant laws to make renting a win-win situation for all.”
• Jessica Ho: She just moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles a few months ago. She’s also one of several who have flip-flopped on Proposition C, depending on which tech titan favors it.
• Adam Kim: “I’m not exactly favored by corporate interests,” says Kim. “I’m fine with that, but they also have all the money to keep candidates like me down and suppressed.” Also endorsed by San Francisco for Democracy.
• Gordon Mar: “There are immense opportunities for housing that is affordable in San Francisco, including the Sunset,” says Mar. “We can build a neighborhood where diverse people get their everyday needs met, feel stable and secure, and thrive across generations.” Endorsed by the SF Women’s Political Committee.
• Mike Murphy: “Our City’s transportation network has suffered from neglect, antiquation, and largely unregulated new Uber-competition for Lyfts around town,” notes Murphy. “To my mind, this is what cronyism in an era of unfettered capitalism looks like.”
• Trevor McNeil: The public school teacher promises to “develop Muni shuttle routes to connect the Sunset directly to regional transit systems, such as BART and Caltrain.” He’s also open to putting a navigation center for homeless in the Sunset.
• Tuan Nguyen: “Affordable housing, public education, and ensuring our district gets the resources it needs are my priorities,” says the Sunset native. He’s also into “conservation, alternative energy/transportation, safe/clean streets, and equal rights.”
• Arthur Tom: “The permitting process for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), or “in-law” units, needs to be streamlined and the renting rules for housing units should be more balanced, encouraging homeowners to release units to the market,” says Tom. Endorsed by the Chinese American Democratic Club.

District Six

• Matt Haney: Nabbing an endorsement from Sen. Kamala Harris, Haney cites homelessness as his top priority. He also promises to “[d]evelop bold goals to build additional housing, especially affordable housing, within D6, and work tirelessly to make it happen.”
• Christine Johnson: Endorsed by Mayor London Breed, Johnson promises to “substantially increase funds dedicated to site acquisition and rehabilitation so existing housing can be kept permanently affordable” and “implement an enforceable residential vacancy tax to get San Francisco residents back into our empty homes.” Along with Sonja Trauss, she’s running a joint campaign against Haney.
• Sonja Trauss: Also endorsed by Mayor Breed, Trauss, a housing activist, has made waves as being the YIMBY (“Yes in My Backyard”) candidate of choice. With an interest in residential growth (think denser and taller), her aim is to put a dent in the housing crisis. Along with Johnson, she’s running a joint campaign against Haney.

District Eight

• Lawrence “Stark” Dagesse: Admitted to agreeing with Mandelman on most issues, except “I believe more in tough love.”
• *Rafael Mandelman: Highly unlikely Supervisor Mandelman loses this race.

District Ten

• Gloria Berry: Promises to “expand existing homeless programs in the district that are doing the work and stop funding programs that are just profiting off homeless.”
• Asale-Haquekyah Chandler: The community organizer and activist recently told Bay City Beacon, “Our political system is completely broken, and people are killing each other because they have nothing to live here. And I’m not here just to reform it, I’m here to abolish it—do you understand? Abolish.”
• Theodore Ellington: Endorsed by Mayor London Breed and YIMBY Action, Ellington will focus on affordable housing for families and tasking an interest in the alleged coverup at the Hunters Point Shipyard.
• Uzuri Pease-Greene: “Long neglected by the city, District 10 is now ‘hot property’ and development is booming,” says Pease-Greene of her Bayview neighborhood. “We need to make sure that existing residents do not get displaced and that folks who have been in the community for years share in the economic benefits.”
• Tony Kelly: Noting that “housing is a human right,” Kellys says he will work on taxing units that are kept vacant, investing public bank interest into building municipal housing, and “support 100 percent affordable housing on public land.”
• Shamann Walton: “I have committed to building thousands of new affordable housing units for all income levels over the next 8 years because I have already been doing this work,” notes Walton. He also says he will work to help clean up the Hunters Point Shipyard snafu.

Further reading

• November 2018 Voter Guide [Curbed SF]
• Election Guide 2018 [SF Chronicle]