In one of her final acts in office, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has appointed Stephen Sherrill — a mayoral staffer with ties to one of her major campaign donors — to represent some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods on the Board of Supervisors.
Sherrill, a native New Yorker and Presidio Heights resident, will take office following the resignation of Catherine Stefani, who was sworn into the state Assembly this month. Since 2022, Sherrill has worked in the mayor’s office of innovation, a unit focused on using technology, design, and research to improve city government.
Sherrill’s background makes him somewhat unusual among San Francisco officials.
The District 2 appointee is the son of Stephen Sherrill, a longtime Republican donor and co-founder of BRS, a private equity firm that in 2003 became a majority shareholder of Remington Arms, among other investments. The younger Sherrill, 38, graduated from Yale University in 2009 and interned at the White House during George W. Bush’s presidency.
In an emailed statement, Sherrill said he grew up around Republicans but formed his own liberal political views mainly because of friends and President Obama’s historic 2008 campaign. He said has been voting for Democratic candidates for nearly 20 years and is a vocal advocate for commonsense gun control.
“It taught me to embrace my own values and beliefs,” Sherrill said, “even when they differed from those of the people I love.”
Sherrill registered with the Democratic Party in 2023 after identifying as “no party preference” since first registering in San Francisco in 2016.
He has longstanding connections to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ally and supporter of Breed. After college, Sherrill worked as an assistant for the New York deputy mayor for operations and later was promoted to senior policy advisor during Bloomberg’s tenure.
Bloomberg contributed more than $1 million to an independent expenditure committee supporting Breed’s failed reelection bid this year; likewise, she endorsed Bloomberg during his unsuccessful presidential run in 2020. The San Francisco mayor’s office of innovation is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, his charity.
Sherrill denied that political ties between Bloomberg and Breed were a factor in his appointment, saying both care deeply about building cities and hiring great talent.
Not all District 2 community leaders were convinced. Jason Pellegrini, a former human rights commissioner and District 2 resident, said he will support Sherrill’s success in office, for the sake of the district. However, he said, Breed’s choice carries the whiff of a political favor, and Sherrill wasn’t the most experienced pick on the short list of possibilities.
“I’m extremely disappointed in Mayor Breed, the daughter of San Francisco, as she’s leaving office,” Pellegrini said. “I feel this is a slap in the face not only to District 2 but to San Francisco.”
Patricia Vaughey, president of the Marina-Cow Hollow Neighbors & Merchants Association, was skeptical of Sherrill’s appointment and said she had not seen him at community meetings.
“Here we go again with someone who doesn’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” Vaughey said. Still, she said she will do her best to support him: “I have to work with whoever I have to work with.”
Through a spokesperson, Breed’s office said, “The mayor made the appointment based on her belief in Stephen’s qualifications and abilities, nothing else.”
After losing the mayor’s race to Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit founder and Levi’s heir, Breed is set to exit the mayor’s office in early January. She has not announced what she’ll do next.
In winning the appointment, Sherrill topped a list of rumored candidates that included Breed’s former aide Conor Johnston, former campaign manager Eric Kingsbury, staffer Eileen Mariano, former Supervisor Michela Alito-Pier, and Recreation and Parks commissioner Kat Anderson. Alito-Pier has filed paperwork to run for the seat in 2026.
A relative unknown in local political circles, Sherrill said he’s been fighting for more housing alongside Northern Neighbors, as well as supporting arts organizations like SFMOMA, Capp Street Foundation, and the Headlands Center for the Arts.
In a statement, Jonathan Bünemann, lead volunteer at Northern Neighbors, a YIMBY Action affiliate organization in District 2, said he’s proud to have worked on urbanist issues with Sherrill.
“I’m confident he will be a champion for housing and transit to increase affordability and connectivity. Stephen will help make our neighborhoods even more livable for all residents and more welcoming to new residents,” he said.
Sherrill’s appointment may upset some women’s rights activists. With Stefani’s departure, only four women will serve on the 11-member Board of Supervisors. The San Francisco Women’s Political Committee sent a letter to Breed in November urging her to appoint a woman-identifying individual.
Sherrill responded that he’s an ally and advocate for women’s rights, noting that he knocked on doors for November’s Proposition O, a ballot measure to protect women’s reproductive health.
“The issue is not about identity but the cause we are fighting for: reproductive freedom, women’s right to choose,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill will serve out the remainder of Stefani’s term and face reelection in June 2026. When he is sworn into office next month, he will be one of five new members of the Board of Supervisors, alongside Danny Sauter, Bilal Mahmood, Chyanne Chen, and Jackie Fielder.