Endorsements Update: April 19 Special General Election

Early voting begins March 21 in the Assembly District 17 runoff election between Supervisor Matt Haney and former Supervisor David Campos, who are vying for a seat in the state Legislature formerly held by David Chiu. 

Not much has changed on the endorsement front, although many organizations who had endorsed tech entrepreneur Bilal Mahmood have now endorsed Supervisor Matt Haney. These include the Chronicle, which endorsed Haney on Mar. 20. Mahmood endorsed Haney on March 2. City College Trustee Thea Selby, who finished fourth in the Feb. 15 special primary, endorsed former Supervisor David Campos on March 15.

The local Democratic Party is still unable to take a position in the race, having been preempted from doing so by the state Democratic Party, which ended up voting to make no endorsement in what is expected to be a close and contentious race. 

“We were really torn; they are both good candidates,” said Hene Kelly, state Democratic Party director for region 6, which covers San Francisco. 

On the other hand, the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, one of the more influential local Democratic organizations, endorsed Haney for this second special election. The club had failed to reach a consensus for the primary election at an endorsement meeting last November.

Even after this vote, whoever wins this special general election only gets to serve the remainder of previous incumbent David Chiu’s term. Chiu was appointed as city attorney by Mayor London Breed last September. This Assembly seat goes up for grabs again, this time with slightly new borders, starting with a June primary followed by a November general election.