Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who represents the Marina District and other northern neighborhoods on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said on Wednesday that she’s running to represent California’s 19th Assembly District in 2024.
Stefani made the announcement in a video posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning, touting her record as a former prosecutor and longtime gun reform activist. Stefani has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2018, where some of her signature issues included good government reforms and public safety.
I’m running for State Assembly because it's time we fix California. I'm a mom, I'm a passionate gun safety advocate, I’m not afraid to tackle big problems — and I will never give up.https://t.co/NW56Jht440 pic.twitter.com/IaZYXShl3p
— Catherine Stefani 司嘉怡 (@Stefani4CA) March 8, 2023
Phil Ting, who has represented California’s 19th Assembly District (AD-19) since 2012, is due to term out in 2024. AD-19 covers roughly the western half of San Francisco along with parts of San Mateo County.
A campaign committee backing Stefani for assembly was formed this week, but it has not yet reported any contributions or expenditures.
Stefani is the first to announce a campaign for Ting’s seat, and other names mentioned as potential candidates are from the westside’s progressive Asian American community. Former District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, current District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and BART Board President Janice Li have been mentioned as possible opponents for Stefani. When contacted by The Standard, neither Mar nor Li ruled out a run.
Stefani was re-elected in 2022, running unopposed. If elected to the Assembly, Stefani would have to resign from the Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed would likely appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of her term.
Before serving on the Board of Supervisors, Stefani served as San Francisco County Clerk and was chief of staff to two previous District 2 supervisors. Before that, she was a policy analyst in San Jose and a prosecutor in Contra Costa County.
Her most high-profile legislative wins as supervisor have been in the areas of gun safety and victims’ rights.
Stefani’s 2022 ballot measure to create an agency dedicated to supporting crime victims and witnesses passed with 59% of the vote, and she authored and passed legislation requiring law enforcement to regularly report data on domestic violence incidents and cases.
She also authored and passed California’s first municipal ban on “ghost guns,” as well as another ordinance that requires San Francisco police to get gun violence restraining orders against people considered dangerous when other interventions have failed.
Stefani was also the first elected official to endorse the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.