Interviews with west-side residents, business leaders and local politicians suggest that many accept San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s candor and are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in the aftermath of appointed District 4 Supervisor Beya Alcaraz\u2019s resignation earlier this month.<\/p>\n
But skepticism remains about his administration\u2019s competence, and some Filipino American leaders want restitution for their cultural group.<\/p>\n
Lurie\u2019s frank public admission, apology and vow to better vet candidates in the future, following initial attempts to defend his choice, came quickly after the revelation that Alcaraz said in text messages that she had paid workers under the table and misattributed personal expenses as business expenses.<\/p>\n
Before confronting reporters, Lurie also apologized to local Filipino American civic leaders, who were bitterly disappointed that Alcaraz, The City\u2019s first-ever Filipino American supervisor, had flamed out. Lurie made his mea culpas again Tuesday with a larger group of Filipino Americans and also in his regular monthly appearance before the Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not the first time that I had done something wrong, and it won’t be the last, but I will continue to get better at this job every single day,\u201d Lurie told supervisors, adding that their jobs are \u201cnot easy.\u201d The recognition came in the wake of his nomination of someone without any government, political or major community organizing experience to be their colleague.<\/p>\n
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San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, pictured in an October 2025 press conference, has taken the blame for his failed appointment in District 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noah Berger\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen how far the mayor\u2019s forthright contrition over the first major gaffe of his administration will go toward preserving or even boosting his public standing as he works to fill the west-side seat vacated when voters recalled former Supervisor Joel Engardio<\/a> in September over his support of a ballot measure that closed part of the Great Highway to vehicles in order to make the Sunset Dunes park.<\/p>\n For the immediate moment, Sam Singer, a well-known Bay Area crisis relations consultant, said the mayor\u2019s public apology was a \u201ctextbook\u201d example of how to confront a bad situation, and it is what he might advise a client to do.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor really set an example for himself, as well as for other elected officials, in how to handle a crisis, and he did so by accepting responsibility, apologizing and moving on,\u201d Singer said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an impressive personal and professional moment for the mayor, and I think it only bolstered his credibility and his reputation with people in San Francisco,\u201d Singer said. \u201cHe’s turned out to be the Harry S. Truman of San Francisco: \u2018The buck stops here.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman called Lurie \u201ca gracious person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think people have appreciated his humility throughout his administration, and people are going to make mistakes. That’s human. But I think acknowledging it, not being defensive, is a sign of a quality person,\u201d Mandelman said. \u201cThis was not a great moment for the administration, but I think he’s dealing with it the right way. And I think people are giving him some credit for that.<\/p>\n At the same time, the pressure is on for the mayor to choose another appointment for District 4, a process heavily under way with candidates being interviewed and vetted. One looming factor is a scheduled Dec. 2 board hearing on the mayor\u2019s controversial \u201cFamily Zoning\u201d plan<\/a>, which would increase housing densities, particularly in western and northern parts of The City, including District 4, to satisfy a state mandate for housing planning.<\/p>\n Asked about the mayor\u2019s handling of the District 4 appointment fallout, Supervisor Shamann Walton highlighted by text message \u201cthe fact that District 4 continues to lack representation and that\u2019s a disservice to the Sunset and SF as a whole. We are making some pretty serious decisions without a District 4 voice in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n Walton\u2019s aide, Natalie Gee, is both in consideration by Lurie for appointment to the vacant seat and is a declared candidate for the office in the June 2026 election.<\/p>\n A representative for Supervisor Myrna Melgar responded to an inquiry with the statement that Melgar \u201cis not interested in further critique of the Mayor. He has taken responsibility for making a mistake and that’s that. She looks forward to working with a new colleague who will competently represent D4 soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Peskin<\/a>, the former Board of Supervisors president who ran against Lurie for mayor last November, questioned the management of the ongoing search for a District 4 appointment, with the administration floating five names publicly and a blank candidates\u2019 questionnaire circulating. Peskin called for a more detailed accounting of Alcaraz\u2019s vetting, which included work by an outside firm that was not paid for with city money, according to a source familiar with the process who did not want to be identified.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s laudable that the mayor is saying the buck stops with him, but it begs the question as to whether or not he’s learned anything from this experience, and thus far, it’s not looking like it,\u201d Peskin said.<\/p>\n Mandelman, on the other hand, welcomed the administration \u201cbeing more transparent about who they’re considering.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt provides an opportunity for all these folks to get thoroughly vetted, and for him to have consultation, and I think that\u2019s good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pressure is on for the mayor to choose another appointment for District 4, a process heavily under way with candidates being interviewed and vetted.<\/p>\n Mike Kai Chen \u00a9 2024 The New York Times Company<\/p>\n Lurie\u2019s appearance at a crowded celebratory event of the group ConnectedSF<\/a> on Monday night in the Inner Sunset, meanwhile, suggested that numerous attendees felt his forthright apology had gone over well.<\/p>\n Marie Hurabiell<\/a>, ConnectedSF\u2019s executive director, said she was grateful Lurie \u201cimmediately corrected the mistake\u201d when \u201cnew information came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n “I appreciate that the mayor took immediate action on that and didn’t let it become a much bigger albatross on the neighborhood,” she said. “I think that’s healthy when people can say, \u2018I made a mistake.\u2019 Not everybody would do that.”<\/p>\n Mark Dietrich, a Richmond resident who is active in community affairs, said admitting mistakes and trying to learn from them is what regular people do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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As is the case for most goods, the price of a cheeseburger meal in San Francisco isn\u2019t what it used to be. <\/p>\n \u201cI’m a strong Lurie supporter after this, because everybody makes mistakes. He made one, but the fact that he admitted it so quickly, that is such a rare occurrence in San Francisco politics,\u201d Dietrich said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the mayor’s done a lot of good for The City in a short time. There’s a noticeable difference. Everybody says so,\u201d Wunderman said. \u201cHe made a mistake on this one… I hope he doesn’t make as many mistakes as I made in my time.\u201d<\/p>\n Wunderman, who was previously chief of staff to former San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan and a senior assistant to former Mayor Dianne Feinstein, said a mayor has to delegate responsibilities, and sometimes that doesn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people will forgive and forget, unless it becomes a trend,\u201d Wunderman said, \u201cwhich I bet it won’t. I bet he learned from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Nohr, a leader of the civic group Sunset United Neighbors, also said he appreciated the fact that Lurie \u201ctook full ownership\u201d of the Alcaraz disaster.<\/p>\n \u201cHe admitted, \u2018I’m 100% responsible for this,\u2019 so I respect him for that,\u201d Nohr said.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely it’s been a really bad thing for him, but for the most part, I know enough about him. I respect him enough, I know he’s going to make sure things head in a good direction,\u201d Nohr said.<\/p>\n Nohr credited Lurie even though he dislikes Lurie\u2019s upzoning plan. He said he has known Lurie for about a year and before Lurie chose Alcaraz, he attended several meetings in houses where the mayor sought input about neighborhood desires and concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of mayors wouldn’t have taken the time to do that before he made his choice,\u201d Nohr said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants the best for my neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Daniel Lurie, pictured with now-former District 4 Supervisor Beya Alcaraz on Nov. 6, 2025, met with Filipino American community leaders following Alcaraz\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n Craig Lee\/The Examiner<\/p>\n Albert Chow, a Sunset district hardware-store owner who advocated for former Supervisor Joel Engardio\u2019s removal, similarly gave Lurie credit for taking blame.<\/p>\n \u201cI respect that, because too often these days, people deflect blame onto somebody else, find a scapegoat. He didn’t do it. He took it on the chin. I think that’s admirable,\u201d said Chow, who is president of the People of Parkside Sunset<\/a> neighborhood association<\/p>\n Chow was willing to give Lurie the benefit of the doubt on selecting Alcaraz even though he himself interviewed for the vacant District 4 seat and was not initially chosen, though he was one of the names the administration was considering this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Mayor Lurie was trying to find somebody that was clean and new, that could walk in and nobody would have an ill thought of them. And I think that was why he did what he did. I don’t think he tried to just bring a novice in for no reason,\u201d Chow said.<\/p>\n Lurie on Tuesday met with about a dozen Filipino American leaders who expressed their \u201coutrage and disappointment\u201d about the first-ever Filipina American supervisor serving for only one week, said Marily Mondejar, founder and CEO of the Filipina Women\u2019s Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mondejar called Tuesday\u2019s meeting \u201cpositive\u201d and Lurie\u2019s contrition \u201ca very good first step,\u201d but said she and others want the mayor now to appoint another Filipino American to the vacant seat, though District 4 is a heavily Chinese American neighborhood. On the campaign trail last year, Lurie pledged Asian American and Pacific Islanders would be represented<\/a> in his administration proportionally to their share of The City.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that he should appoint another Filipino American to remove the disgrace of this appointment,\u201d Mondejar said. They also want more Filipino Americans in Lurie\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n Mondejar recalled that she and other Filipino Americans attended Alcaraz\u2019s Nov. 6 swearing-in in the Sunset at the invitation of the Mayor\u2019s Office and, like others, knew nothing about Alcaraz. But Mondejar trusted the Mayor\u2019s Office had vetted her.<\/p>\n The subsequent revelations about the way Alcaraz ran her former pet store and follow-on commentary in the public realm that was disparaging toward Filipinos \u2014 specifically relating to the eating of dead animals found in a freezer \u2014 was unpleasant, she said.<\/p>\n The group put forward the name of a Filipino American with experience in corporate external and government affairs who also held posts in the administrations of former mayors Ed Lee and Gavin Newsom, Mondejar said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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