Just six days after San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed 29-year-old Beya Alcaraz to the District 4 supervisor seat, Alcaraz has resigned.
Multiple unflattering stories emerged over the last two days, including allegations that Alcaraz paid workers “under the table” and committed tax fraud, and that she left a local pet store she previously owned in disarray.
On Thursday, just hours before her resignation, Mission Local published leaked text messages between Julia Baran, the new owner of Alcaraz’s former pet store, and Alcaraz in which Alcaraz wrote that she paid workers “under the table” and thereby reduced her business and payroll taxes to the city.
Alcaraz also wrote that she paid for dinners with friends as a “business expense.” Accounting professionals said that this was tantamount to tax fraud and a serious offence.
Three days ago, the San Francisco Standard first reported that Baran said Alcaraz left her former shop, the Animal Connection, covered in rodent feces, with hundreds of dead mice decomposing behind the store shelves, and animal corpses in the fridge.
In a statement sent at 9:41 p.m. on Thursday, Lurie announced the resignation.
He wrote that he “admires” Alcaraz’s “commitment and willingness to raise her hand to serve, just as much as [he] respects her decision to step aside in the best interest of her neighborhood. I regret that I didn’t do more to make sure she could succeed.”
“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. I believe that my community deserves someone who will work 24/7 to advocate for us,” said Alcaraz, in a statement. “I understand that today’s news stories would distract me from doing that.”
The appointment of Alcaraz raised serious questions about Lurie’s vetting process. Alcaraz was the least experienced supervisor to be appointed in San Francisco in at least 25 years, according to a Mission Local review.
She was a virtual unknown among District 4 residents and City Hall insiders. In his past statements in support of Alcaraz, Lurie praised her for gumption in asking him for the job: Alcaraz reportedly approached the mayor at a Sunset night market and asked him to hire her. He emphasized her status as a small business owner who would advocate for the Sunset district.
It is unknown who Lurie will tap to replace Alcaraz, who was appointed after former supervisor Joel Engardio was recalled over his controversial decision to transform the Great Highway into the Sunset Dunes park.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.