San Francisco’s Sunset District welcomed its newest representative, Alan Wong, on Monday — its third supervisor since October. As he was sworn in by Mayor Daniel Lurie, the crowd reflected the 38-year-old’s political journey: While Wong’s early political life was marked by progressive positions, allies and endorsements, the hundreds gathered for the occasion were largely moderates, many of them allies of the mayor.
Many who witnessed his ascent describe Wong as hard to pin down.
“He hasn’t been consistent,” said former District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer. Wong was elected to the City College Board of Trustees in 2020 and reelected in 2024 with the backing of the union representing college workers. He worked as an aide to former progressive District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar from 2019 to 2023.
In 2024 he supported Free City College in 2024 — but also backed Catherine Stefani, who had voted against it, in her successful run for State Assembly race. Wong supported Danny Sauter — a moderate — in District 3, but backed progressive candidate Chyanne Chen in District 11. In 2025, Wong ran as part of a pro-development slate to be elected as a delegate to the California Democratic Party.
“We kind of don’t know how he’ll vote on things,” Fewer added.
Wong had a history of working with progressives and receiving union backing early in his career. In 2020, while running for City College Board, Wong wrote in a questionnaire that 25 percent of the San Francisco Police Department’s budget should be reallocated to housing, homeless services, social workers, health and education. He also wrote that his campaign would not accept any donations from law enforcement unions or associations.
But Wong also sat on the board of the law-and-order group Stop Crime SF, which has argued in support of reduced police oversight and longer sentences for drug offenses. On Monday, at Wong’s former high school, Abraham Lincoln High, Lurie mentioned that he and Wong have a “shared” public safety stance, and Wong said that he supports a fully-staffed police department.
Wong also said he voted “No” on Proposition K, the citywide ballot measure that closed the Great Highway to cars — and which angered District 4 voters enough to recall Wong’s predecessor, Joel Engardio. At the swearing-in, he declined to say whether he would support another citywide ballot measure that would seek to reverse that decision.
Wong plans to vote in support of Lurie’s upzoning plan — also unpopular with District 4 residents — tomorrow, he said. But, he added he will, at the same time, “follow through with legislation and potential amendments.”
San Francisco’s Sunset District welcomes its newest representative Alan Wong on Dec. 1, 2025. Photo by Yujie Zhou.
‘Both sides don’t trust him‘
David Ho, who has known Wong since the latter was a student at Lincoln High, and who consulted on Wong’s 2020 run for City College Board, said these shifting allegiances mean that today, “both sides don’t trust him.”
Ho met Wong when he was serving as a student delegate on the Board of Education, and remembered him as a working class kid who was being mentored by progressive community leaders, like former Richmond District supervisor Eric Mar, the twin brother of Gordon Mar.
Wong is the son of immigrants from Hong Kong — his father worked as a chef in a unionized hotel. Wong grew up in the district he is now supervisor of, which is home to one of the highest concentrations of Asian voters in the city.
And yet, many in the Chinese community “don’t really know him,” said Fewer, pointing to Wong’s infrequent mentions in Chinese newspapers and absences at many Chinatown events.
Donald Luu, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, showed up at the swearing-in and appeared to support the appointment. “I think District 4 right now is in a good place with Alan Wong as your supervisor,” Luu told the crowd.
Wong’s address to the district implied, however, that he thought it could do with some improvement. “I’m stepping up to be District 4 supervisor because I believe in the Sunset and San Francisco can thrive again,” Wong said at the ceremony. “For too long, the Sunset community has felt that local government is more of a burden imposed on them than a valuable service. I’m here to change that.”
Prior to the appointment, Wong worked in San Mateo, as a legislative aide. He also worked as a union organizer for United Healthcare Workers West from 2013 to 2019, and a communications director at the Children’s Council of San Francisco since 2024.
Gordon Mar, Wong’s former boss, said Wong has not shown the “level of honesty and clarity” the Sunset needs.
“I respect Alan and worked closely with him for years, but District 4 is in the middle of major fights over the Great Highway and Mayor Lurie’s sweeping upzoning plan. I’m disappointed that Alan still hasn’t told the public where he stands,” said Mar in a text message before Monday’s ceremony. Chinese American voters, in particular, were a major force behind the recall of former Supervisor Joel Engardio, and have been outspoken in their opposition to Lurie’s upzoning plan.
(Nearly) the last candidate standing
The appointment of Wong appears to conclude the debacle that followed Engardio’s Sept. 16 recall. Mission Local is told that a number of potential candidates either refused the appointment or took themselves out of the running.
Lurie’s first appointment, on Nov. 6, was Beya Alcaraz, a small business owner. But she resigned after only eight days following news reports of appalling conditions at her former pet shop and text messages, published by Mission Local, in which she wrote of paying workers “under the table,” skimping on taxes and writing off nights on the town as business expenses.
During the ensuing public process to name her successor, one candidate was knocked out after Mission Local reported that she’d missed voting in nine consecutive elections and was, until recently, a registered Republican. On the eve of Wong’s appointment, Mission Local revealed that another finalist had “plain forgot” to file tax returns for his publicly funded nonprofit.
Wong, for his part, said Lurie “never asked me to commit to any specific policy position. He has told me that we understand that there will be disagreements.” At this, Lurie grinned.
Lurie likely has enough votes to upzone District 4 — and much of the rest of the city — even without Wong. The zoning plan is expected to get at least six votes at the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Supporting the mayor’s plan will likely be a drawback when Wong runs for re-election in 2026. Still, at his swearing-in, Wong repeated Lurie’s talking points on the zoning plan: “If we don’t offer our own solution, Sacramento will dictate zoning for us and we will lose local control, which is unacceptable.”
“We need more housing options for our community, so the next generation of Sunset families can call this place home like I did,” Wong continued.
At the Monday swearing-in, Lurie kept things upbeat. “Today marks a new chapter for the Sunset,” he said, to the huge crowd of city elected officials, representatives of different community organizations, journalists, and District 4 residents.
“This district needs a supervisor who can be a strong, steady voice on the issues that matter most,” Lurie added. “With Alan Wong as the supervisor, District 4 will have that voice.”