San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani emerged as the clear winner in the race for California’s 19th Assembly District, capturing 62.2% of the vote in the early results Tuesday night. Her opponent, educator David Lee, received about 37.8% votes and is unlikely to flip the result with the remaining uncounted ballots.
Stefani, a Democrat, was widely expected to win the race as she already won a landslide victory in the March primary against Lee, also a Democrat, and two Republican candidates. Stefani and Lee were the top two vote-getters to advance to the November general election.
As District 2 supervisor, Stefani currently represents northern San Francisco neighborhoods, including the Marina and Pacific Heights. She’s a consistent moderate voice in local politics, known for her support for public safety, women’s rights, and gun control initiatives.
“We did it!” she said in a statement. “Tonight, we celebrate a hard-fought victory. Tomorrow, we get to work to serve the neighborhoods of Assembly District 19.”
Stefani will resign soon from her District 2 supervisor seat, adding “it has been my honor to represent our community over the last six years in San Francisco City Hall.”
Stefani’s win would be a historic shift in ethnic representation for the 19th District, as she will be the first non-Chinese representative there in more than two decades, following a succession of Chinese American assemblymembers, including Leland Yee, Fiona Ma, and Phil Ting. Ting is terming out after holding the seat for 12 years.
The district, which encompasses western San Francisco and northwestern San Mateo County, has a population that is 40% Asian American, including the heavily Chinese-populated Sunset and Richmond districts.
Lee, who counts Ting as a supporter, has run for office multiple times before. He works at Laney College in the East Bay and has been active in the local Chinese American community for decades.
If elected, Stefani would need to resign from her supervisor seat in December, allowing Mayor London Breed to appoint her replacement.
In other state legislative races involving San Francisco, incumbent Assemblymember Matt Haney and state Sen. Scott Wiener faced no major challengers and are expected to win their races handily.