The appointment of Alcaraz, a virtual unknown in San Francisco political circles, runs dramatically counter to rumors buzzing through the Sunset since the recall of Joel Engardio in September. Among the names that were whispered for months as potential appointees were several local power players, including former fire chief Joanne Hayes-White, former assemblymember Phil Ting, and even firebrand Albert Chow, himself an Engardio recall leader.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz, an alumni of Holy Name School and St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, is being touted by the mayor\u2019s office for her work creating a pet food bank and a fire-relief donation drive. But she is perhaps best known for her effort this year to give away her Irving Street pet store,<\/a> \u201cAnimal Connection.\u201d <\/p>\n The Standard reported in April that Alcaraz\u2019s decision came about \u201cbecause her family recently moved back to the Philippines, and she [couldn\u2019t] balance regular flights around the globe with independently owning a small business in San Francisco.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, she will be far more tethered to the restive district, which has been roiled in the past year by the bitter dispute over the closure of the Great Highway. Alcaraz\u2019s first task will be cooling the district\u2019s temperature, she told The Standard in a phone interview on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the past few months, anyone can feel how tangible the anger and frustration is,\u201d she said. \u201cI am going to be a leader bringing people together.\u201d<\/p>\n Lurie said he picked Alcaraz because The Sunset deserves accountable leadership, someone who is \u201cof the Sunset and works for the Sunset.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBeya Alcaraz is a bridge builder and problem solver who cares deeply about this neighborhood. She will bring a fresh perspective to City Hall, and I am honored to appoint her as the next supervisor for District 4,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alcaraz said she did not take a position on Proposition K in last year\u2019s election, but expressed frustration with how the measure to close the Great Highway got on the ballot. She said she shared concerns that the Sunset wasn\u2019t included in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a compromise people were really happy with and were blindsided with this decision,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though Prop. K passed with 55% of the vote citywide, some supervisors have recently floated the idea of returning the issue to the ballot<\/a> to reopen the highway to cars on weekdays. Alcaraz seemed open to the possibility that there would someday be cars back on the road, which has been transformed into the popular Sunset Dunes Park.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m focused on is finding a compromise or solution that works for us,\u201d she said. \u201cThat likely means bringing cars back to some capacity, but I\u2019m not going to make that decision without talking to people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Unlike some of the rumored other contenders, Alcaraz said she had no connections to Lurie.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alcaraz\u2019s family and friends urged her to throw her name out to the mayor for consideration, which she did when she spotted him at a \u201cSunset After Dark<\/a>\u201d event in September and approached him to ask for the job. She gave Lurie her phone number and told him to call her.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw him, in my head, I said, \u2018this is something that has to happen,\u2019\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cI was very determined in that moment. It felt like an obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n Alcaraz said she intimately knows the challenges San Francisco\u2019s small business owners face, noting that she once waited six months for city approval to build an outdoor shed for her pet store. Alcaraz\u2019s parents met at San Francisco State University and both worked at Holy Name, with her mother serving as parish manager and her father as athletic director.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBeya has spent her life in the Sunset and truly understands our community \u2014 its families, small businesses, and the diverse cultures that make our neighborhood special,\u201d Ed Siu, Chairman of Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n But she also faces difficult choices representing a deeply divided district still reeling from the Engardio recall, a challenge even for a seasoned politician. Alcaraz has no legislative background, nor does she have any experience with the ways of City Hall. Instead, she said she plans to talk with neighbors \u2014 many of whom were outraged by what they saw as Engardio\u2019s betrayal of the district with his support for Prop. K \u2014 about their hopes for the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so clear that is what the Sunset deserves,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be including everyone in decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n The future of the Great Highway won\u2019t be the only controversial decision she will face as soon as she takes office. Lurie\u2019s Family Zoning Plan, which calls for tens of thousands of new housing units over the next several years, has already drawn condemnation from D4 residents who fear more development.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alcaraz declined to take a position on Lurie\u2019s proposal, which needs the board\u2019s final approval and is currently under consideration at the Land Use and Transportation Committee before a final vote this fall. Instead, Alcaraz said she will propose amendments to the plan, which she is still working on and declined to share.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to advocate for my community and what they want,\u201d she said, \u201cMy biggest worry is if we don\u2019t support this the state will come in and we\u2019ll see what everyone is fearing: giant skyscrapers on Sloat Boulevard.\u201d<\/p>\n Those tricky decisions will likely determine Alcaraz\u2019s political future. Alcaraz was appointed to fulfill the remainder of Engardio\u2019s term through next year, when he would have been up for reelection. At 29, she\u2019s the same age as another D4 supervisor when she was first appointed in 2013 (opens in new tab)<\/a>, Katy Tang, though Tang was armed with previous experience in City Hall.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/-S3840x4545-FPNG.png\"\/)
Alcaraz poses with Dweezil, a three-year-old male Bearded Dragon, at her former business Animal Connection. | Source: Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/p>\n![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762431374_717_-S3840x2560-FPNG.png\"\/)
Alcaraz said the community was blindsided by Proposition K, which paved the way for Sunset Dunes park. | Source: Manuel Orbegozo for The Standard<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762431376_464_-S3840x3840-FPNG.png\"\/)
Natalie Gee, right, is running for District 4 supervisor. | Han Li\/The Standard<\/p>\n