Mayor Daniel Lurie’s unconventional pick as District 4 supervisor, Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz, agreed to resign after allegations emerged about her past as the owner of a Sunset pet store, the mayor announced Thursday night.
“For months I’ve seen division take hold in the Sunset,” Alcaraz said in a statement. “When I raised my hand to serve as supervisor, I told the mayor that it was time for someone who is from the Sunset to represent the Sunset.”
But, she added that recent news stories raising questions about her time as a business owner “would distract” from her job as supervisor. “As a result, I told Mayor Lurie this evening that I will resign from my position as District 4 supervisor,” she said.
Lurie appointed Alcaraz, 29, on Nov. 6 to replace Supervisor Joel Engardio, who was recalled in a Sept. 16 special election amid fury over his support for the Great Highway’s closure. Her political inexperience was a shock to City Hall observers, who raised concerns that her résumé was limited to six years as a pet store owner and her work as an art and music teacher at an enrichment center.
The way she got the supervisor job was also unusual: She approached Lurie, whom she had never met, at a Sunset night market in September to inquire about the role.
“In Supervisor Alcaraz, I saw someone with deep roots in the Sunset who cares deeply about healing a divided community,” Lurie said in a statement. “I regret that I didn’t do more to make sure she could succeed.”
Alcaraz’s weeklong tenure was marred by one controversy after another.
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The Standard reported on Monday that Alcaraz, left her former pet store, The Animal Connection, in a state of squalor when she handed the keys to a new owner this past spring.
Videos taken by the store’s current owner, Julia Baran, showed piles of dead mice, feces, and trash strewn around the store, while financial documents revealed that the business was in the red by tens of thousands of dollars between 2020 and 2023.
Baran said the mayor’s office never contacted her about Alcaraz, and expressed disbelief that Alcaraz was now in charge of a district of 80,000 residents.
Mission Local on Thursday then published texts between Alcaraz and Baran, (opens in new tab) in which the supervisor stated that she had paid employees “under the table.” She also allegedly misreported her business expenditures to avoid paying some taxes. The San Francisco Examiner also reported (opens in new tab) on Thursday that city inspectors had visited Alcaraz’s shop multiple times over the years, even issuing a warning at one point over its conditions.
In his statement, Lurie said he and Alcaraz “agreed that the new information about her conduct while running her small business, which I learned today, would be a significant distraction from that work.”
Alacaraz’s public flameout is Lurie’s first significant misstep in office. City Hall had been abuzz for the last week with questions over how Lurie’s team had missed such major concerns with Alcaraz’s business experience, which he touted last week in his announcement of her appointment.
The blunder only adds to the chaos that has consumed D4 since the November 2024 election, when Proposition K passed and shuttered a portion of the Great Highway to create space for a park. Engardio had championed the measure, which deeply divided the district and ultimately led to his recall.
It could also hinder Lurie’s support on the city’s west side, which was instrumental to his electoral win last year.
“Mayor Lurie owes San Franciscans an explanation for this baffling situation,” Jamie Hughes, who led the recall campaign against Engardio, told The Standard.
“When I took office, I promised San Franciscans leadership, accountability, and a government that would work every day to make their lives better. If that’s not happening, it’s my job as mayor to be accountable and to fix it,” Lurie said.
“I’ve heard again and again about the fraught politics that have divided District 4, and I believe the residents of this community deserve better,” he said. “They should have a supervisor who can be fully dedicated to representing them, advocating for their families, and bringing people together. My team and I will get back to work finding that person right away.”