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Few new votes, but Chyanne Chen keeps lead in District 11

The San Francisco Department of Elections just dropped the results of another 1,679 ballots, bringing the total of processed ballots to 390,437 — 74.76 percent of the electorate.Even though the count has been going slow so far this week, John Arntz, the director of the Department of Elections told Mission Local on Monday that they will “have most of the remaining ballot cards processed and reported this week.” San Francisco is seeing a record-low turnout this year with the total tracking to be about 77.8 percent. The average San Francisco turnout in a presidential year, going back 108 years, is 77 percent. All eyes are now on the only two remaining contested races: District 11 supervisor, and the fourth and last seat on the Board of Education:In District 11, Chyanne Chen kept up with her lead with 11,863 votes to her moderate […]

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SF immigration advocates prepare for Trump administration 

San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city places it in the bullseye for an attack from an emboldened Donald Trump administration. This time, however, lawyers and community advocates have seen the playbook, and have already begun steeling themselves. “This is the second time around … and he’s got more ideas, apparently,” said Bill Hing, the founding director of the University of San Francisco’s Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic. “So we have got to prepare for the worst.”Changes to the immigration systemHing predicts immigration advocates will face both ideological and procedural challenges. Take domestic violence cases, for example. People escaping domestic violence currently make up the majority of cases successfully handled by Hing’s clinic. These cases will soon become more difficult to win, as Hing expects the federal attorney general appointed by Trump will hold a narrower definition of what justifies political asylum that […]

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Chyanne Chen’s slim lead grows — barely

The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 6,466 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 388,758 — 74.44 percent of the electorate.There are now very few ballots remaining — largely provisional ballots cast at citywide polling places and at City Hall. Today is also the last day for any mail ballot postmarked on Election Day or earlier to reach City Hall and be counted. All told, 18,200 additional ballots remain uncounted, including 14,500 provisional ones. Verifying provisional ballots requires additional scrutiny — and, naturally, additional time.Turnout is tracking to be about 77.8 percent, maximum. The average San Francisco turnout in a presidential year, going back 108 years, is 77 percent. Around 43,000 fewer San Franciscans will have cast a ballot in 2024 than they did four years ago. There are only two remaining contested […]

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District 1 Sup Connie Chan cruising to re-election; up by 1167 votes

Progressive District 1 supervisor Connie Chan is on track to defeat her moderate challenger Marjan Philhour, after today’s vote drop put her up by 1,167 votes at 51.75 percent. This likely concluded the most expensive supervisor race this year, as moderate groups saw Chan as particularly vulnerable because she beat Philhour by just 125 votes in their last contest in 2020. Almost $2.5 million was spent in the District 1 race. But it appears that Chan’s advantage has only improved. As of Nov. 11, Chan led, 17,232 to 16,065 after ranked-choice tabulation. About 34,000 votes were already counted in District 1. There were approximately 24,700 votes citywide to be counted, but the math is not there for Philhour. The race was expected to be extremely close — the two leading candidates were tied at 11,001 votes apiece after the Thursday results update — […]

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Connie Chan, Myrna Melgar bound for victory.

The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 17,333 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 382,292 — 73.2 percent of the electorateThere are now very few ballots remaining — perhaps 24,700. Of those, 6,700 are late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots and some 18,000 are provisional ballots cast at citywide polling places (which may or may not ultimately be accepted). Turnout is tracking to be about 77.8 percent, maximum. The average San Francisco turnout in a presidential year, going back 108 years, is 77 percent. Around 43,000 fewer San Franciscans figure to have cast a ballot in 2024 than they did four years ago. On to the contested Board of Supervisors races: District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan takes a photo with supporters on Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Junyao Yang. In District 1, Connie Chan now sits […]

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Dean Preston concedes likely defeat in San Francisco’s District 5

Tech entrepreneur and “YIMBY” candidate Bilal Mahmood is poised to unseat District 5 supervisor Dean Preston, San Francisco’s only democratic socialist now serving on the board. In the most expensive district race, political opposition groups lavishly funded the effort to “Dump Dean.”  Though some 42,000 additional citywide votes are still uncounted, Preston on Sunday evening acknowledged his dwindling chances to mitigate his vote deficit and seemed to concede the race.“I’ve spent a lifetime fighting for underdogs, often against the odds,” Preston said in a statement to Mission Local. “I wouldn’t change a minute of it. We can’t win every battle, but we’ll continue the fight.”Though Preston has continued to gain on Mahmood in first-place votes, Mahmood has maintained a lead when ranked-choice selections are counted, putting him more than 1,300 votes ahead of Preston with 52.7 percent.  “I think it’s representative of […]

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Chan, Chen pad leads; Preston in a tight spot

The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 39,845 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 364,959 — 69.9 percent of the electorate. There are, perhaps, 41,000 ballots remaining. Turnout is down statewide and San Francisco is no exception. Some 86 percent of registered voters showed up in 2020. This year, the ceiling is hovering at around 77.8 percent. The average San Francisco turnout in a presidential year, going back to 1916 — when San Franciscans helped send Woodrow Wilson back to the White House because, you know, he kept us out of war — is 77 percent. On to the contested Board of Supervisors racesIn District 1, incumbent Connie Chan has pulled out of a dead heat as of Thursday’s counting to hold a sizable lead over Marjan Philhour. Chan now leads by 976 votes.This […]

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Aaron Peskin didn’t win the election. But his propositions sure did.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors president, mayoral candidate, and wildly prolific legislator Aaron Peskin lost the election to Daniel Lurie, a wealthy candidate with zero legislative experience. But his three main ballot initiatives are winning and will, barring unforeseen lunacy, pass into legislation. Here’s the story of how they made it. Prop. CCreating a position for an inspector general with the power to investigate government and city contractor fraud, waste, abuse or misconduct would seem like a tough measure to oppose. It didn’t require any new funding, every single member of the Board of Supervisors voted to put it on the ballot, and corruption scandals have been breaking at a steady clip for years. But GrowSF, TogetherSF Action and the San Francisco Democratic Party all came out against it. It got 60 percent of the preliminary vote anyway. Partly that’s because Peskin […]

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A race leapfrogs in District 11

The San Francisco Department of Elections moments ago released the results of an additional 35,979 ballots. That brings the grand total of processed ballots to 325,114 — 62.3 percent of the electorate.  There are, perhaps, 81,000 ballots remaining. The ceiling on turnout appears to be about 77.8 percent, just a shade higher than the 77 percent historical average in presidential contests going back to 1916.On to the contested Board of Supervisors racesDistrict 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and challenger Marjan Philhour are now untied. Photos by Junyao Yang on Mar. 16 and June 1, 2024.Thursday’s ballot drop resulted in the mathematical oddity of District 1 incumbent supervisor Connie Chan and challenger Marjan Philhour both having exactly 11,001 votes. The race continues to trend Chan’s way. After being up by 262 votes yesterday, today’s vote drop saw her lead rise to 558. Four years […]

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Video: S.F. Target security guard took cash from man, Tased and beat him

After Mission Local reported on a Target security guard beating San Francisco resident Shan Bowerman with a baton last week, additional onlooker video reveals what precipitated that beating: The guard, holding a Taser to Bowerman’s chest, forcibly took his money while he protested loudly. The guard Tases Bowerman in the video, takes the money — a few hundred dollars of a welfare payment by Bowerman’s reckoning — then strikes him in the face with the Taser. No one was arrested in the incident, but Bowerman was treated in an ambulance. The new footage obtained by Mission Local today corroborates Bowerman’s claims last week that the security guard had intervened in a dispute he had with his girlfriend, forcibly took the money from him, Tased him and then handed the wad of bills to Bowerman’s purported girlfriend. The video could lead to assault charges against […]

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