While over 70 percent of voters opted to recall, only 179,981 San Francisco registered voters returned their ballot \u2014 turnout was low at just 36 percent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now been four years since those three board members \u2014 Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga \u2014 lost their jobs. Three candidates will face off next week for a seat on the school board, including one who was highly involved in advocating against the recall.<\/p>\n
This week, Mission Local asked each of the school board candidates how they would have voted in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Virginia Cheung, the top pick of the powerful United Educators of San Francisco, declined to answer the question but said that while she understood the \u201cdeep frustration\u201d that led to the recall, it was \u201cultimately costly and divisive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phil Kim, the incumbent board president, said he supported the ouster. The old version of the school board was focused on the \u201cwrong things\u201d and \u201cmired in distractions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stands in direct opposition to candidate Brandee Marckmann, who in 2021 fought tirelessly against the recall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Marckmann\u2019s response to Mission Local\u2019s question, Marckmann took a common stance amongst progressive politicians: that the recall was fiscally irresponsible, costing taxpayers $8 million. The recall, Marckmann wrote, \u201cdid not solve the district\u2019s many problems\u201d and should be reserved for \u201cegregious circumstances.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, Marckmann, who was chair of the progressive political group, the S.F. Berniecrats, canvassed against the recall nearly 10 hours a week<\/a>, arguing that it was an attempt to oust progressive candidates and an anti-Black response to a failed and highly criticized effort by the school board to rename 44 schools<\/a> across the district named after historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln and Dianne Feinstein, which was later scrapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here is how each of the candidates responded in full:\u00a0<\/p>\n Mission Local color codes the answers to yes\/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate answered ambiguously.<\/p>\n Phil Kim<\/p>\n Job: Deputy director and chief of staff at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission<\/p>\n Age: 35<\/p>\n Residency: San Francisco<\/p>\n Education: PhD in Education, University of California, Berkeley; master\u2019s in urban education policy from Loyola Marymount University; bachelor\u2019s in neuroscience from Bucknell University<\/p>\n SFUSD Experience: Charter school educator, SFUSD administrator and current school board president <\/p>\n Five years ago, the school board was focused on the wrong things. Instead of planning to reopen schools after COVID they were mired in distractions like renaming schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n They stopped focusing on the only mission that matters: ensuring San Francisco\u2019s kids are offered the best education.<\/p>\n This is a completely different board. I\u2019m proud that our efforts have led to greater stability and a focus on student outcomes. We\u2019ve gone from negative fiscal certification to positive, re-introduced 8th grade algebra, given teachers historic raises, and are tackling our most pressing challenges: enrollment and portfolio planning.<\/p>\n Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Democratic Party \u2026 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Virginia Cheung<\/p>\n Job: Nonprofit executive<\/p>\n Age: 42<\/p>\n Residency: San Francisco<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s from the University of California, Irvine in social ecology<\/p>\n SFUSD Experience: Parent of child at Alice Fong Yu, former director of Wu Yee Children\u2019s Services<\/p>\n I understand the deep frustration that led to the 2022 recall effort. Public trust in the Board was severely damaged during an extraordinarily difficult time for students, families, and educators.<\/p>\n At the time, my focus was on early education and supporting my preschool-aged child, and I do not think it is especially helpful to relitigate events from a very different moment. The recall was ultimately costly and divisive.<\/p>\n My focus now is forward-looking: ensuring strong governance, transparency, and a clear commitment to student success. We need elected officials focused on our children\u2019s education and rebuilding community trust and confidence in SFUSD.<\/p>\n Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Green Party, Supervisor Connie Chan, S.F. Public Defender Mano Raju, Phil Ting, Norman Yee, Eric Mar \u2026 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brandee Marckmann<\/p>\n Job: Director of parent-led group<\/p>\n Age: 53<\/p>\n Residency: San Francisco<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor\u2019s in English and French from Central College<\/p>\n SFUSD Experience: Parent of SFUSD student<\/p>\n No. With SFUSD\u2019s budget deficit, I do not think it made sense to run an expensive recall when the three seats in question were up for election later that same year. These recalls cost SF taxpayers $8 million dollars and did not solve the district\u2019s many problems such as fixing the malfunctioning payroll system. I believe recalls should be reserved for egregious instances where elected officials have broken the law or have continuously failed to perform the basic duties required by their position. In my view the three recalled school board members did not meet this criteria.<\/p>\n Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SEIU 1021, Supervisor Shamann Walton, Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Dean Preston, Aaron Peskin, Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano \u2026 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at marina@missionlocal.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1780001469_445_Untitled-design-8-1-640x640.png\")
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