Vacant Homes Tax Passes, Fate of School Board Candidate Ann Hsu Uncertain

Propositions L and M will pass, according to new vote tallies released by the San Francisco Department of Elections this afternoon. Eighty percent of local ballots in the Nov. 8 election have now been counted.

Prop. L is a sales tax increase for city transit projects that required two-thirds of the vote to pass. Prop. M is a landlord tax on empty homes whose most vocal proponent was Supervisor Dean Preston.

The District 4 supervisor race remains a nail-biter, with challenger Joel Engardio maintaining a narrow lead over incumbent Gordon Mar. Engardio now has 51% of the vote, leaving Mar trailing by less than 500 votes.

Meanwhile, one of Mayor London Breed's school board appointees is in danger of losing her position. Lisa Weissman-Ward, Lainie Motamedi and Ann Hsu were appointed to the positions by Breed following the successful recall of three school board members in February. While Weissman-Ward and Motamedi have their spots assured, Hsu is currently hanging onto her third place position by less than 300 votes, with challenger Alida Fisher gaining ground.

With 60,000 ballots remaining, Fisher may yet surpass Hsu for the third seat.

And Prop. D, a signature measure for Breed, keeps losing ground and now looks unlikely to pass. It is trailing by over 5,000 votes.

Appointed supervisor Matt Dorsey has maintained a commanding lead over Honey Mahogany in the race for District 6 supervisor; he has 52% of the vote compared with Mahogany’s 43%. While The Standard hasn’t officially called the race because it’s possible that Mahogany could regain that ground, it's extremely unlikely.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declared victory on Wednesday, although her opponent John Hamasaki has yet to concede. Jenkins, who leads Hamasaki by 10 percentage points in first-choice votes, was appointed to the position of top prosecutor in June by Breed following the recall of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

For a full breakdown of results, see The Standard’s Election Results Page.