To protect and prosecute: The tough-love doctrine of Brooke Jenkins

4,324 contacts. 236 lobbyists. One very busy City Hall

<p>Who was the most-lobbied San Francisco official in 2025? If you guessed Mayor Daniel Lurie, you chose wrong.  It was San Francisco Airport Director Mike Nakornkhet and his staff, who were contacted more than 400 times — almost all by lobbyists for one company: Waymo. That includes 30 times on just one day in November, as the autonomous vehicle maker was pushing to get its robotaxis into SFO. We took a peek inside 2025 Ethics Commission data to better understand the $13.4 million City Hall influence apparatus. San Francisco’s lobbying machine is especially active, insiders say, because of the city’s political prestige and bureaucratic friction. It’s a city for the politically ambitious where it’s also notoriously difficult to get anything done. For comparison, on the other side of Silicon Valley, San Jose had fewer than one-third as many registered lobbyists as San Francisco had last year. San Francisco officials were contacted 4,324 times by lobbyists in 2025, or nearly a dozen times every day. Nearly 40% of those contacts — 1,720 — were related to building permits. Transportation came next, with 955. Human rights ranked last, with only three contacts. Companies large and small rely on lobbyists. The eight-location gym chain SF Fitness hired one who spent all of last year trying to secure building permits for a location at 1600 Jackson St. in Nob Hill, contacting city officials 113 times. Meanwhile, Two Sigma Investments, a $70 billion New York hedge fund, reached out to the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System no fewer than 99 times — not to influence legislation but to pitch a pension fund investment. For businesses that can afford it, lobbying can feel like a capitalist’s dream.  While roughly 236 lobbyists were registered in San Francisco in 2025, a handful of pros dominated the field. Rich Peterson of Lighthouse Public Affairs brought in nearly $2.9 million from 51 clients. Chris Gruwell of New Deal Advisers earned slightly less — $2.6 million — but represented the most clients, with 56. But that doesn’t tell the full story. While San Francisco requires outside lobbying firms to disclose their client lists and fees, large companies often employ full-time in-house staff to influence policy. Those lobbyists are required to report when they contact public officials, but they report only the portion of their salary that corresponds to time spent lobbying, not their full compensation. The true cost of influence at City Hall is a mystery and almost certainly far higher than the numbers suggest.  Here are the five companies whose lobbyists contacted San Francisco officials the most in 2025, what they wanted, and whether or not they got it. The busiest companies Waymo: 678 contacts No company worked City Hall harder than Waymo. The robotaxi company, owned by Alphabet, hired lobbyists who contacted public officials more than three times as often as the next busiest client — almost entirely as part of a push to get its vehicles into San Francisco International Airport. Waymo ran two parallel lobbying operations: an outside firm that was paid $10,000 a month and an in-house team that targeted airport staff, the mayor’s office, the city attorney, planning, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the Board of Supervisors, and the Police Department. By year’s end, the company was also playing defense. When a beloved bodega cat  died after being struck by a Waymo  on Oct. 27, Supervisor Jackie Fielder  called for stricter public regulation of robotaxis .  In the following weeks, Waymo’s lobbyists contacted seven different supervisors, asking them to oppose any restrictions on autonomous vehicle operations countywide. It all seems to have been worth it. In September, Lurie announced that Waymo had been  granted a permit to operate  at the airport. By January, the company  had begun offering rides to SFO.  Meanwhile, Fielder’s call for more robotaxi regulation appears not to have found other takers inside City Hall. “SFO followed a measured and deliberate process to evaluating the permitting of Waymo at the Airport,” a representative for the airport said. “Other companies have also expressed interest in providing autonomous vehicle services at the Airport, and we have engaged with them in a similar, consistent manner.” Union Square Alliance: 207 contacts The business improvement district that manages  Union Square  spent the year lobbying on multiple fronts: pushing the Powell Street Corridor Improvement Project, campaigning for more police resources and physical barriers to deter retail theft, and trying to bring life back to the neighborhood’s public spaces with food trucks, holiday events, and a Winter Walk street closure. Starting in June, it turned its focus to securing its own future, lobbying the Recreation and Parks Department to extend its contract to manage Union Square Plaza. Teamster Joint Council 7: 203 contacts The Teamsters represent more than 70,000 Bay Area workers, and in 2025 their primary concern was automation. The union monitored autonomous vehicle policy at every city agency that touches transportation — the airport, SFMTA, the mayor’s office, the city attorney — and in July lobbied every member of the Board of Supervisors in support of a ban on commercial deliveries by autonomous vehicles. The union was also fighting to protect San Francisco’s production, distribution, and repair zones — areas set aside for the kind of  blue-collar work Teamsters depend on  — from encroachment by tech companies seeking permits for laboratories and outdoor testing. When DoorDash sought to use an industrial site in the Mission to test delivery drones, Teamsters appealed the city’s approval and lobbied the Board of Supervisors,  coming out victorious . In December, the board approved legislation requiring companies to obtain a conditional-use permit before converting outdoor PDR spaces for testing purposes. Pacific Gas and Electric: 148 contacts PG&E spent the year meeting with Lurie’s office sometimes multiple times a week, pitching itself as a reliable partner on service planning and long-term grid capacity — seemingly in an attempt to fight off San Francisco’s ongoing effort to  municipalize its electrical grid . Then, a major power outage that began Dec. 20 sent PG&E lobbyists scrambling into the new year, with three contacts to the mayor’s office on Jan. 2 alone. The company brought in a new lobbyist to manage the fallout and began making the rounds to every relevant city agency. Hines: 142 contacts The Texas real estate giant responsible for building the Salesforce tower spent 2025 grinding through the permitting process for one of the most significant development opportunities downtown: the old PG&E headquarters at 77 Beale St., a sprawling Financial District property where  Hines plans to build the city’s tallest building.  Lobbyists contacted the Planning Department, the city attorney, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Department of Building Inspection, the Fire Department, and Public Works. The most-contacted officials Nakornkhet’s office was contacted far more than any other agency or official. Lurie came second, with 297 contacts to his office, most from PG&E, Union Square Alliance, and Waymo.  The Board of Supervisors was lobbied more than any city department, and Matt Dorsey of District 6 — a major area of development — was contacted the most. Dorsey was also lobbied by the SF Deputy Sheriff’s Association more than any other supervisor.  Fielder, who represents District 9, was contacted by the Teamsters more than any other supervisor. Waymo didn’t contact her once.  City planner Corey Teague fielded contacts from a range of corporate rezoning campaigns, all the way down to advocates for a pickleball court.  So what about AI? San Francisco is home to the world’s most powerful AI companies, but aside from Waymo, their City Hall lobbying footprint was modest in 2025.  Anthropic spent $80,000 hiring lobbyist  Alex Tourk  at $20,000 a month to meet with the mayor’s office, SFPD, and city HR to pitch a partnership with Claude. OpenAI, which used the same lobbyist in 2024 to support business tax reform, filed no contacts of city officials in 2025.  For now, it appears Bay Area-based AI companies are more focused on lobbying at the federal and state levels, where policies could dictate their futures. This story has been updated to include comment from SFO.</p>

How is Lurie doing on mental health and homeless crises? These 7 charts tell the story

<p>On any given day, the SoMa Rise sobering center temporarily offers the comforts of housing to the homeless. Day after day, people living on the streets shake off their addictions to fentanyl or alcohol just long enough to amble through SoMa Rise’s front door on Howard Street. There they receive the basics — a bed, a shower, a meal — and sometimes more, including referrals to treatment. For Mayor Daniel Lurie, the 4-year-old program has become a model for how to help San Francisco’s most desperate. It has also become an emblem of how to pay for such services. One year after Lurie announced  Breaking the Cycle , his signature strategy to combat homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues, the city is changing the way it bills for some homeless services to mirror its fiscal success with SoMa Rise. Under changes ordered by Lurie, the Department of Public Health is billing more programs to CalAIM, a Medi-Cal program, instead of charging the city directly.  That change has saved the city $11 million in the last year. If an initiative to expand CalAIM billing to more programs is successful, it may free up hundreds of millions of dollars in San Francisco’s budget each year, according to Public Health Director Dan Tsai.  “That is a huge amount that otherwise would have had to have been fully funded through general fund dollars,” he said. The services of around 31 other nonprofits may soon be billed to CalAIM. City officials are “turning over every stone” to identify more public health programs that can be funded this way, Tsai said.  The strategy is helping to alleviate twin crises for San Francisco’s public health infrastructure: the city’s $877 million budget deficit and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare cuts. One year in, many of the initiatives in Lurie’s Breaking the Cycle program mirror the new billing scheme — producing structural changes that may take time to fully realize. But others of the mayor’s roughly 20 distinct proposals within the program remain stymied. By analyzing city data on homelessness, addiction, and treatment outcomes, The Standard endeavored to highlight Lurie’s successes and challenges with Breaking the Cycle.  The verdict: Street homelessness is visibly less of a problem, paying for it has become easier, and street teams are reaching people in need more quickly. But when it comes to getting them permanently housed, there’s still a steep hill to climb.  Lurie’s most obvious success on homelessness is one you can see: There are fewer tents on San Francisco’s streets. The number is even more stark if you consider where we were in 2022, when more than 500 tents and similar structures were counted.  Breaking the Cycle marshaled San Francisco’s nine disparate homelessness street teams, stretched across multiple city departments, under one banner at the Department of Emergency Management.  The city’s response is more coordinated — and faster.  Quicker response times improve the overall effectiveness of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, according to its director, Shireen McSpadden. “Obviously, the shorter this can be, the better for the client, and also the better for the cost of the system,” she said at a March 6 Homelessness Oversight Commission meeting.  But the street teams are hobbled by a lack of shelters that can accept homeless people. And other beds have been “taken offline,” meaning they’re no longer being used. Lurie notably  failed to hit his campaign promise  of creating 1,500 shelter beds, pivoting his messaging to vowing to build the “right” kind of beds, like the 2025 expansion of sober-specific and stabilization beds at Eleonora Fagan Center and the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in SoMa, Hope House on Sixth Street, and Wells Place in the Marina.  Crisis stabilization beds at 822 Geary,  which opened  in April 2025, provide an avenue for people who otherwise wouldn’t find shelter, said Vitka Eisen, director of Healthright 360, a major health provider in the city.  “There are people who come into our central access intake who are just really not regulated. We don’t believe that they would be safe,” Eisen said. “Now we have a place to send them.” Still, others wait.  San Francisco’s shelter waiting list remains a pernicious issue. When a person seeking assistance approaches a nonprofit or city agency, their information is entered into myriad databases that don’t communicate with one another.  Reforming that system was one of the goals Lurie committed to within a year of launching Breaking the Cycle, and a pilot program to unify those client systems is ongoing. Meanwhile, an effort to encourage cities across the region to do more to take care of their own homeless populations — so they don’t come to San Francisco — has yet to bear fruit, though the mayor’s office said there is “active outreach.” The persistence of family homelessness in San Francisco continues to rankle advocates and civic leaders. Former Homelessness Oversight Commission member Christin Evans called out Lurie’s program at a March 6 meeting.  “The challenge with Breaking the Cycle is that if you look at all of the details in there, it’s not family-centric or senior-centric,” Evans said, referring to so-called “invisible” sources of homelessness, where people sleep in cars or couch-surf. “It’s very much focused on visible homelessness.” Tipping Point, the anti-poverty group founded by Lurie,  committed $11 million  toward a family homelessness prevention pilot program last year. While seniors haven’t been a focus of Breaking the Cycle, Lurie  took heat  from the southeast community by opening Jerrold Commons, a homeless shelter focused on seniors and people living in RVs. Perhaps the most promising statistics are those related to the administration of buprenorphine, an anti-opioid hailed as a breakthrough in addressing fentanyl addiction.  There were  624 accidental overdose-related deaths in 2025 , according to the medical examiner’s office. That’s nine fewer than in 2024 and well below 2023’s high of 810. While Breaking the Cycle is complex, its main thrust is reforming homelessness efforts to better integrate healthcare, said Kunal Modi, the mayor’s policy chief on homelessness. “One of the challenges San Francisco has had over the past decade was we took a very ‘social service only’ lens to what is a crisis that is much broader than that,” Modi said. “The primary thesis is that we need to approach this fundamentally as a healthcare problem.” That healthcare-centric approach is what enables the city to bill CalAIM for more services. The number of people who have exited homelessness into city-supported housing this year is down. However, at the Homelessness Oversight Commission’s March meeting, McSpadden said she believes the city is still on track to meet its five-year goal to take 30,000 people out of homelessness. Progress in housing people living in RVs parked in the city’s southern neighborhoods has also faced challenges. Under Lurie’s large-vehicle program, the city bought back 49 vehicles, and 71 households moved out of vehicles into housing or shelter. There are still hundreds of people living among roughly 300 vehicles, which were granted permits exempting them from the new two-hour parking limit. Homeless advocates have criticized Breaking the Cycle for prioritizing temporary shelter over permanent housing.  Homelessness Oversight Commission member Sharky Laguana argued that permanent housing is expensive, and it makes more financial sense to heal people through sobering and other treatment centers, as Lurie is trying to do, rather than a housing-first strategy.  “We’re in a situation where we made a commitment to a policy choice that if we don’t make some changes in how we’re moving forward, there simply won’t be money left for anything else,” Laguana said. As part of last year’s budget, Lurie negotiated with the Board of Supervisors to siphon $34 million from a fund focused on housing toward bolstering the shelter system. It’s a fundamental difference in philosophy: Breaking the Cycle concentrates on healthcare and shelters as the primary levers of alleviating homelessness.  Many advocates, on the other hand, believe the chief way to end homelessness is to give people homes.</p>

Ready to rumble: The 37 most powerful labor leaders in San Francisco

Tech’s pick for governor, Matt Mahan, makes his case for running California

<p>He’s from the largest city in Northern California. You know, the one down south from us? Starts with “S.” Be careful poking fun at San Jose when you’re speaking with Mayor Matt Mahan. The gubernatorial candidate is a fierce defender of his city, one he says has made progress on housing and homelessness,  reasons he thinks he should become governor . A pro-business moderate, Mahan has attracted big donations from deep-pocketed techies, with his latest campaign total coming in at $8.5 million, according to a source familiar with the matter. An independent committee has raised millions more and spent $1.4 million for an  ad  during  the Super Bowl .  “My values are very progressive,” Mahan said during an interview this week on our podcast “Pacific Standard Time.” “My means are very pragmatic.” Here are four takeaways from our conversation with the gubernatorial hopeful. San Jose’s unaffordability could be Mahan’s liability While San Francisco is known as a pricey city, San Jose is the most expensive urban area in California,  a recent report shows. Mahan said San Jose has been unaffordable for decades, describing the city as a “victim of its own success.” He also pointed out the flip side: The area has provided unparalleled upward mobility, citing a  study  by Harvard economist Raj Chetty.  Mahan said housing reform measures are one way to bring down costs. But it remains to be seen whether he can successfully navigate affordability while his more progressive counterparts across the country, such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have used the issue to criticize centrist Democrats. Fighting Trump isn’t one of his main priorities Mahan has taken a similar tack to San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, arguing that a well-run Democratic city is the best defense against President Donald Trump.  “I think that we have a duty to deliver and demonstrate that our values in California work in practice, that they actually create communities that are safer, more vibrant, more inclusive economically, and that create more opportunity for people,” he said. “That, to me, is the most important thing.”  The message stands in contrast to Mahan’s opponents in the gubernatorial race.  During a Feb. 3 debate , every candidate aside from Republican Steve Hilton expressed fierce criticism of the president. Mahan’s position could be strategic, as he is trying to woo independent and right-leaning voters ahead of the June primary. Unions could become a thorn in his side Mahan has had a strained relationship with San Jose’s unions, sparked by his strategies on housing for the homeless and pay increases for city workers. Asked about the teachers strike in San Francisco and what he would do about it as governor, Mahan voiced support for unions while noting that cities need to be fiscally responsible when it comes to salary increases. “We do have to operate within the realm of reality,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to say, ‘Well, if we only project revenue to go up 3% a year, we can’t give a 4% raise year after year without cutting services.’” That stance could cost him, as labor unions are expected to launch multimillion-dollar campaigns in support of their chosen candidates.  He’s trying to stay above the fray While Gov. Gavin Newsom regularly skewers Trump in provocative social media posts, Mahan is hoping that voters are hungry for a politician who’s not lashing out. In August, Mahan wrote an opinion article titled “ How about less time breaking the internet and more time fixing California? ” in which he argued that Newsom’s social media strategy “doesn’t solve real-world problems.” During the “PST” interview, Mahan said, “Sometimes our politics gets overly partisan and performative and just becomes contentless attacks and trolling and memes.”</p>

Planning commissioner fined for ethics violations after Standard investigation

<p>Planning Commissioner Kathrin Moore has been fined $12,000 after city officials determined that she engaged in “severe violations” of conflict-of-interest laws involving her previous employer. The fines come after   The Standard   reported  in July that Moore had voted to approve projects involving Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, or SOM, while simultaneously receiving $15,000 in yearly retirement payments from the internationally renowned architecture firm.  The Ethics Commission charged Moore with four counts of violating conflict-of-interest rules for votes she participated in between 2021 and 2025.  “Although there is no evidence to suggest that [Moore] deliberately intended to benefit her financial interest by participating in the votes, her failure to recuse herself from the matters constitute severe violations of the conflict-of-interest laws for which she must be held accountable,” charging papers from the Ethics Commission state. Moore, who retired as an associate partner at SOM in 1999, has been on the Planning Commission since 2006. The seven-person governing body is one of the most influential commissions in the city, overseeing the approval or rejection of major development projects. “I made an unintentional, honest mistake in forgetting to recuse myself from the SOM-related votes,” Moore said in a statement. “And while I take full responsibility for the oversight, in hindsight, it’s vital to note that each project was unanimously approved, I was never a swing vote, no harm was done, nor did I benefit monetarily.” The Ethics Commission found that Moore had violated ethics rules based on votes involving developments at 1750 Van Ness Ave., 98 Franklin St., and 530 Sansome St./447 Battery St. The buildings totaled nearly $900 million in project costs. “Given the large scale of these developments and their substantial impact on community space in the City, Respondent’s participation in these matters despite a conflict of interest risked public confidence in the integrity of City decision-making,” the Ethics Commission wrote. In two instances, Moore recused herself from projects involving her former architecture firm, though it is unclear why she did not step away from other votes. City officials and commissioners are prohibited from making decisions involving an entity in which they received $500 or more over the previous year. Commissioners regularly recuse themselves from votes, often to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. City attorneys had warned Moore that her votes on SOM could constitute a breach of local ethics laws, according to a 2012 memo. The memo cited Moore’s claim that she had been told by the city attorney that she did not have to include SOM’s retirement income in her required financial disclosure Form 700. “This office does not have any record of that advice,” an attorney wrote in response.  Moore has reported her SOM income since 2012. After The Standard’s reporting on the memo, Moore said she would no longer vote on SOM projects. The architecture firm is behind some of the world’s most famous buildings, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Sears Tower in Chicago. SOM also designed One Maritime Plaza and the trusses at San Francisco International Airport. Moore was appointed to the Planning Commission by former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, and then reappointed by former Supervisors David Chiu and Malia Cohen. She was most recently reappointed by Supervisor Shamann Walton. Her term will end in July.</p>

San Jose mayor Matt Mahan enters gridlocked race for California governor

<p>He’s a popular Democratic mayor who’s been credited with helping turn around his large Bay Area city. He’s well-liked within deep-pocketed tech and business circles. He’s a married father of two who plays up his regular-guy bona fides on  social media . And now he’s taking the next leap into higher office.  No, we’re not talking about Daniel Lurie.  San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is running for governor, he confirmed in an interview with The Standard. The long-expected move adds an outspoken critic of Sacramento to an already bursting slate of candidates racing to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom this November. “I think the state’s at an inflection point,” Mahan said Wednesday while standing on the Embarcadero. “As mayor of a big city, one of the largest cities in the state, I’m closer to the problems we face and the solutions to those problems. The past three years that I’ve been mayor have become a model for how we start to move the needle on issues that many people have thought were intractable.”  Mahan’s entry is a major shakeup to the gubernatorial race. According to  polling , no candidate has established themselves as a frontrunner to replace Newsom, who oversees a state with the world’s fourth-largest economy and has become a symbol of resistance during President Donald Trump’s second term.  Mahan, 43, will undoubtedly face questions over why he is worthy of taking on one of the most important governorships in the nation. A relative newcomer to politics, Mahan began his professional life as a teacher before moving into tech. He entered elected office as a San Jose councilmember in 2020, then clinched an upset win for mayor in 2022 against a longtime South Bay politician.  In the governor’s race, he faces a field teeming with Democratic politicians who have   decades of combined experience, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Biden cabinet member Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Controller Betty Yee, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Other contenders include Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer — who is likely to throw big bucks into the race — and Republican Fox News contributor Steve Hilton. But Mahan does have some aces to play: He has won the ardor of some of California’s technology crowd, including Y Combinator leader  Garry Tan  and entrepreneur  Jesse Tinsley . That cohort alone could provide the millions needed to propel him to Sacramento. He has also carved out a moderate, party-bucking lane on homelessness and criminal justice that a large swath of voters might find appealing, as Democrats continue their soul-searching after the 2024 election. And in a political environment where bucking the status quo is in vogue, Mahan has been quick to criticize the state’s leadership, which could excite both disaffected voters and well-heeled donors.   Though Mahan’s closeness to tech should bolster his coffers, some have questioned how effective he will be in raising campaign funds. “Fundraising will be a major challenge for him if he runs,” Terry Christensen, professor emeritus at San Jose State University, recently  told San Jose Spotlight . “It takes a lot of money to be a serious statewide candidate.” As mayor, Mahan has pushed for stricter rules on unsheltered homelessness, is an advocate for interim shelter sites, and often rails against state regulations he says stymie housing production. He is considered an ally to business interests, and, like San Francisco’s mayor, has largely stayed out of national political conversations. He has instead argued that his energy should be spent on combating local issues. His term in San Jose runs until 2028, after he handily won reelection in 2024. On social media, he has portrayed himself as a neighborhood enthusiast, regularly sharing videos of him picking up trash. He has simultaneously cast himself as a tough-on-crime politician, posting  mugshots  of suspects, a practice that has fallen out of favor among Democratic leaders. In 2024,  Mahan supported Proposition 36 , a successful ballot initiative that stiffened penalties for theft and drug crimes. The measure was opposed by Newsom, creating a lasting fissure between the two elected officials   that for months has fueled rumors that Mahan was testing the waters for a run for governor.  Last year, Mahan’s critiques of leadership in Sacramento intensified, as he pushed back on Newsom’s  call for a special legislative session  to fight Trump and called out the governor over his  social media tactics , among  other   dustups . Asked what his signature policies would be as governor, Mahan said he’d like to introduce a plan for more shelter and treatment beds, describing a framework in which cities that don’t want to build capacity would have to pay those that do.  “If Los Altos Hills doesn’t want to build the 3.5 units of shelter or treatment that they’re allocated, we could set up a credit system where they pay San Jose to have those beds,” he said. “But we’re going to need to create a fair-share framework that gets everyone to adopt cost-effective solutions to homelessness and behavioral health issues, and create some accountability.” Mahan said he would also like to make sure Prop. 36’s rules are implemented across the state, pointing to San Diego as a locality that has successfully done so.  “We shouldn’t rely on a charismatic leader in each individual county to figure it out,” he said. “The state should be leading the way on implementation, because 70% of Californians agreed with the premise that people ought to be held accountable for getting treatment when their addiction is harming the broader community.” The son of a schoolteacher and mailman, Mahan grew up in Watsonville, an agricultural town in Santa Cruz County. He received a scholarship to Bellarmine College Prep, a prestigious all-boys Catholic high school in San Jose, whose alumni include Rep. Sam Liccardo, Mahan’s predecessor as mayor. As a student at Harvard University, Mahan met Mark Zuckerberg, who  persuaded him over dinner  to skip law school and instead pursue a career in tech. After a stint as a high school teacher until 2008, Mahan joined Causes, a startup that raised awareness about nonprofits. In 2014, Mahan cofounded Brigade, a startup that  acquired Causes  and received funding from Ron Conway, Marc Benioff, and Sean Parker.  Brigade wound down in 2019 ; its engineering team was hired by Pinterest, while its technology and data were sold to another firm.  Mahan, however, moved on to public service, winning a seat on the San Jose City Council, representing southwestern neighborhoods.  He rapidly climbed the ranks of San Jose politics, challenging labor-backed candidate Cindy Chavez in the 2022 mayor’s race. Mahan eked out a surprising win in a race decided by fewer than 10,000 votes. Whether he will be able to repeat the triumph in the June primary is now one of the biggest questions in California politics.</p>

A San Francisco congressional candidate has a not-so-secret weapon: Being Chinese

Daniel Lurie was the public safety mayor. Now he’s trying to be the affordability guy

Life after Pelosi: SF House candidates square off for 1st time

<div class="content-grid article-content"><div class="Metadata_container__fxAzw"><div class="flex flex-row gap-x-md"></div><div class="Metadata_metadata__W_0LF"><span>By <a class="" href="https://sfstandard.com/author/joe-fitzgerald-rodriguez/">Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez</a></span><time datetime="2026-01-08T18:11:10.470Z">Updated Jan. 08, 2026 • 10:11am</time><time datetime="2026-01-08T16:37:50.449Z">Published Jan. 08, 2026 • 8:37am</time></div></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">For the first time since Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi <u><a data-post-id="62e03207-8cd3-4bb6-8dbe-bce95f0c98da" href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/06/nancy-pelosi-retirement-wont-seek-reelection/">announced her retirement</a></u>, the candidates running to succeed her in Congress made their case to voters before a live audience Wednesday evening.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">During a roughly two-hour program at a UC Law auditorium, state Sen. Scott Wiener, Supervisor Connie Chan, and former congressional staffer Saikat Chakrabarti — all Democrats — touted their bona fides but also laid bare their political weaknesses as the 2026 election cycle gears up.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The crowd of roughly 400 booed Wiener’s stance on Gaza. Chan sometimes struggled to point to specific policies she’d enact. Newcomer Chakrabarti played catch-up to a crowd largely familiar with his opponents, who have served San Francisco in government for more than a decade. </p></div><div class="!p-0 !m-0"></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">More than a thousand viewers streamed the event online. There was so much participation that the online chat briefly crashed.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">The forum, hosted by the <u><a href="https://workingfamilies.org/state/california/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">California Working Families Party<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u><a href="https://workingfamilies.org/state/california/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">,<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a> the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, was moderated by <u><a href="https://missionlocal.org/joe-eskenazi/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mission Local columnist Joe Eskenazi<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> and Cynthia Laird of the Bay Area Reporter. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Here are five takeaways from a night.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left">Hot-button issue: Israel</h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener drew the night’s heaviest jeers when he declined to answer a yes-or-no lightning-round question that asked if Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. His opponents both held aloft signs reading “Yes,” while Wiener rested his sign in his lap. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Audience members shouted “Shame on you,” “Sellout,” and “Free Palestine.”  </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">In an interview with reporters afterward, Wiener lamented that there wasn’t time during the forum to describe his position on a complex international conflict.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“Hamas should not be running Gaza,” Wiener added, but the Israeli government’s killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, “is an absolute moral stain and horrifying to me.” </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">When asked why he declined to label it genocide, Wiener said, “People can label it whatever noun or adjective they want to put on it.”</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left">Punching bags: AI, Trump, billionaires, PG&amp;E</h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">When they weren’t subtly sniping at one another, the trio denounced a variety of forces they say are hurting San Franciscans. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Chan’s line of attack was clear: Income inequality is the source of many of the city’s ills. She touted her history as <u><a data-post-id="737af15a-6b54-4860-8cf9-4ec7f5b5eb35" href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/11/11/san-francisco-election-2024-connie-chan-wins/">the only candidate to electorally</a></u> “beat back billionaires, twice.”</p></div><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“We cannot take back Congress by cozying up to billionaires,” Chan said.  </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener was the only candidate to decline to take a position on the so-called Billionaire Tax, a state ballot measure proposed by the SEIU union to tax billionaires’ assets. He said he prefers to see if it garners enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Chan and Chakrabarti said they support it.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Chakrabarti saved his cannons for the AI industry, calling for stronger government regulations to preserve living wages amid the technological shift.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“This is about control,” he said. “We have a few CEOs right now — Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel — who are deciding the entire future of our society. We cannot let them have that power.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener called President Donald Trump a “walking impeachable offense” who captured Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro not for the sake of his oppressed citizens but for oil and power. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Following the spate of electrical power outages in the city, all three candidates agreed there should be <u><a data-post-id="f4aeedae-5e12-42cd-85a8-bcdfebf17e9b" href="https://sfstandard.com/2026/01/06/san-francisco-pge-public-utility-eminent-domain/">some form of public takeover</a></u> of PG&amp;E.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left">Political idol: Pelosi</h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">With Pelosi’s retirement, San Francisco is losing a representative who’s been in office since 1987 and has been arguably the most powerful woman in U.S. political history. But each candidate audaciously argued that they too could blossom into national leaders.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“This is a woman who moved mountains,” Wiener said while also patting himself on the back for passing some of the “biggest, toughest, impactful laws California has seen in recent memory,” a record he said he would continue in Congress.  </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Chan repped her time as Board of Supervisors budget chairperson, working alongside Lurie to sock away $400 million to defend San Francisco against federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare by the Trump administration.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">But during one question asking for specific policies, laws, or funding the candidates would propose to protect  LGBTQ people, Chan struggled to say what she would enact. She did say Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education should be rolled back, and that schools, in general, should be safe spaces for trans youth.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Showing his connection to another nationally prominent Democrat, Chakrabarti repeatedly referred to his time working in D.C. as chief of staff for New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Chakrabarti accused his opponents of legislating through “backroom deals” in cozy political environments where Democrats rule the roost, such as San Francisco and Sacramento. That’s not possible in Washington, he said, where Democrats have to out-organize Republicans. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“When you’re in the middle of an authoritarian coup, civil society is the bulwark against fascism,” Chakrabarti said. “If you organize in collective blocs, you can push back against this administration.”</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left">Claim to fame: MAGA stamp of disapproval</h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener’s legislative history is filled with support for LGBTQ+ rights, including protecting the privacy of gender transitions, barring discrimination against queer seniors in long-term care facilities, and establishing California as a refuge for transgender youth. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">This has earned him the ire of high-profile Republicans at the national level, something he was eager to mention.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“As your state senator, there’s a reason why [former Fox News host] Megyn Kelly <u><a href="https://x.com/megynkelly/status/1988329729917939866?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted <span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u>after I got into this race, saying, ‘You cannot let Scott Wiener go to Congress,’ and why [former Rep.] <u><a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1595113301176111104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1595113301176111104%7Ctwgr%5E7811b3326c24f8f90d2c63d1b67cf6d0745506c2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fabc7news.com%2Fpost%2Fanti-lgbtq-rhetoric-marjorie-taylor-greene-tweet-scott-weiner-communist-groomer%2F12487928%2F" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marjorie Taylor Greene<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> attacks me so much,” he said. “Because I’ve gone to the mat sticking up particularly for LGBTQ kids, and particularly for trans kids.”</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Touting his webpage as “<u><a href="https://www.scottwiener.com/scotts-maga-fan-club" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scott’s MAGA Fan Club<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u>” earned Wiener some of the first applause of the evening.</p></div><h2 class="heading-block article-body text-left">Secret power: San Francisco IQ</h2><div class="floats"><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">From supporting housing development in the Bayview and on Geary Boulevard, to her time spent translating in Cantonese for attorneys serving the Chinese community, Chan touted herself in remarks peppered with everyday San Franciscan perspectives. </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">“San Francisco’s rent is too high, and the cost of living is too high, and that’s the most pressing thought on many of us living in San Francisco,” she said.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Wiener’s remarks carried similar shades, as he touched on the need to bolster Muni funding, help homeless youth who are disproportionately from the LGBTQ+ community, and protect HIV-positive seniors from discrimination.</p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">By contrast, many of Chakrabarti’s talking points felt like they could’ve been directed at progressive Democrats anywhere. This particularly stood out when he told the crowd that inequality is something “we don’t talk about enough.” </p><p class="paragraph-block article-body undefined text-left">Maybe that’s true in the Capitol, where Chakrabarti worked, but in San Francisco, it’s a constant topic of conversation. Here, tech workers have been decried as gentrifiers, progressive candidates for office call out market-rate housing <a href="https://48hills.org/2025/09/the-engardio-recall-yimby-urbanist-elitism-and-the-next-step-in-sf-politics/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">for being out of reach of workers<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a>, and <u><a href="https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/activists-block-tech-bus-commute-say-e-scooters-treated-better-than-homeless/article_347441e9-6eaa-59b7-b256-668873ae31c6.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">protesters have planted smoke bombs<span class="sr-only"> (opens in new tab)</span></a></u> in front of Google buses to decry evictions.</p></div></div>

Asian Art Museum

Office of the City Administrator

Adult Probation Department

Airport

Arts Commission

Office of the Assessor-Recorder

Board of Appeals

Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors

Office of the City Attorney

Department of Children, Youth and Their Families

Controller's Office

Planning Department

Civil Service Commission

District Attorney's Office

Department of Building Inspection

Department of Early Childhood

Department of Emergency Management

Department of Police Accountability

Department of Public Health

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Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Environment Department

Ethics Commission

Fine Arts Museums

Fire Department

Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing

Human Rights Commission

Department of Human Resources

Human Services Agency

Health Service System

Juvenile Probation Department

Public Library

Municipal Transportation Agency

Office of the Mayor

Public Defender's Office

Police Department

Port

Public Utilities Commission

Recreation and Park Department

Department of Elections

Retirement System

Rent Board

Sheriff's Department Office of Inspector General

Sheriff's Department

Department of Technology

Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector

War Memorial

Department on the Status of Women

General City Responsibilities

General Administration & Finance

Culture & Recreation

Community Health

Human Welfare & Neighborhood Development

Public Works, Transportation & Commerce

Public Protection

SF Civil Grand Jury

The Abatement Appeals Board provides a final review process for City permitting decisions. It ensures fair and efficient adjudication of permit-related disputes before an impartial panel. The board holds authority to make binding decisions on appeals concerning notices of abatement.

Abatement Appeals Board

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 1

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 2

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 3

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 4

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 5

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 6

Abatement Appeals Board Commissioner 7

The Access Appeals Commission provides final reviews for a wide range of City permitting decisions. It ensures an efficient, fair, and expeditious permit issuance process through an impartial panel. The commission holds authority to make binding decisions on appeals related to City permits.

Access Appeals Commission

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 1

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 2

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 3

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 4

Access Appeals Commission Commissioner 5

The Adult Day Health Care Planning Council advises on the development and improvement of adult day health care services. It provides expertise in healthcare planning, policy recommendations, and program evaluation. Key responsibilities include assessing community needs and advising on service delivery enhancements.

Adult Day Health Care Planning Council

Adult Probation Department supervises individuals on probation and facilitates their reintegration into the community. It provides reentry and rehabilitative services, including victim restitution and financial assistance for crime victims. The department values public safety, offender rehabilitation, and community partnerships.

Cristel Tullock

The Advisory Committee of Street Artists and Crafts Examiners evaluates arts and crafts applicants and monitors program compliance. It conducts studio visits and public screenings to ensure adherence to established criteria. Members also revise program criteria and undertake additional tasks as needed.

Advisory Committee of Street Artists and Crafts Examiners

The Advisory Council on Human Rights advises on anti-discrimination laws and racial equity initiatives. It provides expertise on reparations and public policy impacts on Black communities. It guides efforts to establish partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in San Francisco.

Advisory Council on Human Rights

San Francisco Airport manages air traffic operations and ensures safe aircraft movement. It provides parking facilities and maintains airport infrastructure to accommodate travelers and staff. The department oversees ground transportation and coordinates with airlines for efficient passenger services.

Mike Nakornkhet

The Airport Commission oversees policy and strategic planning for San Francisco International Airport. It makes key decisions on airport development projects and financial management. It ensures compliance with regulations and collaborates on initiatives like terminal naming.

Airport Commission

Airport Commission Commissioner 1

Malcolm Yeung

Jose F. Almanza

Mark Buell

Susan Leal

Airport Director

Animal Care and Control Department manages animal sheltering, adoption, and emergency response services. It enforces animal-related laws and regulations, ensuring the humane treatment and safety of animals. The department also provides public education on responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.

Animal Care and Control Department

Virginia Donohue

Animal Care and Control Department, Director

The San Francisco Arts Commission oversees the integration of arts into city life and ensures public access to cultural experiences. It makes decisions on public art programs and allocates grants to support local artists and performances. The commission actively shapes policies affecting the arts ecosystem in San Francisco.

Arts Commission Commissioner 1

Arts Commission Commissioner 2

Arts Commission Commissioner 3

Arts Commission Commissioner 4

Debra Walker

Suzanne Ferras

Jessica Rothschild

Seth Brenzel

JD Beltran

Marcus Shelby

J Riccardo Benavides

Nabiel Musleh

Charles (Chuck) Collins

Lydia So

Arts Commission Commissioner 15

San Francisco Arts Commission invests in a vibrant arts community and shapes cultural policy. It enlivens the urban environment through public art programs and supports diverse artistic expressions. The commission facilitates meetings and discussions to engage the community in cultural development.

Ralph Remington

Arts Commission, Director of Cultural Affairs

The Asian Art Commission determines policy and administers the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It oversees museum operations and collaborates with the Asian Art Museum Foundation on fundraising efforts. Commissioners ensure the museum's strategic direction and financial sustainability.

Asian Art Commission

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 1

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 2

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 3

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 4

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 5

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 6

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 7

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 8

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 9

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 10

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 11

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 12

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 13

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 14

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 15

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 16

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 17

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 18

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 19

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 20

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 21

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 22

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 23

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 24

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 25

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 26

Asian Art Commission Commissioner 27

Asian Art Museum showcases Asian art and culture through exhibitions and educational programs. It offers diverse collections and hosts special events to engage the community. The museum fosters cultural appreciation and understanding by providing access to its extensive art collections.

Dr. Soyoung Lee

Asian Art Museum, Director

The Assessment Appeals Board #1 hears property tax assessment appeals in San Francisco. It evaluates evidence presented by taxpayers and the Assessor to determine property values. The Board has the authority to make final decisions on assessments regardless of property type or value.

Assessment Appeals Board #1

Assessment Appeals Board #1 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #1 Commissioner 2

Richard Lee

Stephen Wasserman

Adena Gilbert

Paul Bellar

Quirina Mitchell

Hilary Winslow

The Assessment Appeals Board #2 adjudicates property tax assessment appeals for San Francisco taxpayers. It evaluates evidence presented by taxpayers and the Assessor to determine accurate property values. The Board exercises authority to render final decisions on residential properties and specific real estate assessments.

Assessment Appeals Board #2

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 2

Assessment Appeals Board #2 Commissioner 3

Claire Ervin Lee

Louisa Mendoza

Joyce Lewis

Nicholas Goldman

Michelle Domingo

The Assessment Appeals Board #3 provides a platform for San Francisco taxpayers to contest property tax assessments. It conducts hearings where evidence from both taxpayers and the Assessor is evaluated. The Board makes binding decisions on property assessments based on presented evidence.

Assessment Appeals Board #3

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 1

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 2

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 3

Marc Dickow

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 5

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 6

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 7

Assessment Appeals Board #3 Commissioner 8

Assesses property, applies exemptions, collects transfer taxes, and records official documents.

Assessor-Recorder

Joaquín Torres

The Ballot Simplification Committee ensures voter materials are clear and understandable. It reviews and revises ballot language to accurately reflect propositions and measures. The committee advises on simplifying complex legal and technical terms for voter comprehension.

Ballot Simplification Committee

The Bayview Hunters Point Citizens Advisory Committee provides policy advice on planning and land use matters in Zone 2 of Bayview Hunter's Point. It offers expertise in land use policies, zoning issues, and urban development. The committee advises the Board of Supervisors, City Boards, and commissions on relevant projects and initiatives.

Bayview Hunters Point Citizens Advisory Committee

The Behavioral Health Commission advises on mental health policy implementation and quality service delivery. It reviews and advocates for effective mental health services, ensuring policies meet community needs. It educates stakeholders to integrate mental health considerations into broader health strategies.

Behavioral Health Commission

The Bicycle Advisory Committee advises on making bicycling safer and more accessible in San Francisco. It provides recommendations to city agencies to address traffic violence and climate change. The committee advocates for cyclists and addresses biking-related complaints.

Bicycle Advisory Committee