The four candidates for District 8 supervisor were mostly in agreement at a Thursday night forum in the Castro. The event, presented by the HIV\/AIDS Providers Network, was held at Strut, a health clinic founded by the San Francisco AIDS foundation. The candidates and crowd were cordial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then Brad Chapin spoke up, the man who has accused<\/a> Manny Yekutiel of sexual assault.<\/p>\n When asked how each candidate would support survivors of sexual violence, Yekutiel started by saying, \u201cUnfortunately, this is an issue that I\u2019m familiar with as well. My first experiences as a sexually active man involved some pretty gnarly blackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n A voice from the crowd loudly interrupted, \u201cIs that why you assaulted me?\u201d<\/p>\n Chapin\u2019s accusation has dogged Yekutiel. In an August debate<\/a>, the moderator kicked off questions by asking Yekutiel directly about the allegation. Chapin, a political organizer, publicly blasted<\/a> the San Francisco Democratic Party late last month for voting to endorse the candidate. <\/p>\n His supporters on Thursday passed out \u201cWe Believe Brad\u201d postcards on Castro Street before the forum started. Yekutiel has denied the allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yekutiel continued despite the interruption. \u201cFuck you,\u201d Chapin said, more quietly this time, as Yekutiel wrapped up his response. None of the candidates addressed Chapin\u2019s comment, and the forum moved on.\u00a0<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the only time Yekutiel was in the hot seat Thursday night. As the candidates discussed their commitment to backfilling funding for HIV health services cut by the federal government, his chief rival Gary McCoy alluded to Yekutiel\u2019s endorsement by ConnectedSF,<\/a> an organization run by Marie Hurabiell, whom all four District 8 candidates have criticized for making homophobic and transphobic remarks<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have concerns about a response that came from one of the candidates tonight on the panel because they received the ConnectedSF endorsement,\u201d McCoy said, without naming Yekutiel. Some audience members booed. \u201cThis candidate actually signed a statement saying that they would not participate with this organization.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The moderator, Tom Temprano, gave the candidates time to defend themselves, but Yekutiel did not address his endorsement from ConnectedSF.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n