\u201cWe kind of don\u2019t know how he\u2019ll vote on things,\u201d Fewer added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/a> of the San Francisco Police Department\u2019s 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<\/a> or associations.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s former high school, Abraham Lincoln High, Lurie mentioned that he and Wong have a \u201cshared\u201d public safety stance, and Wong said that he supports a fully-staffed police department.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wong also said he voted \u201cNo\u201d on Proposition K, the citywide ballot measure that closed the Great Highway to cars \u2014\u00a0and which angered District 4 voters enough to recall Wong\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Wong plans to vote in support of Lurie\u2019s upzoning plan \u2014\u00a0also unpopular with District 4 residents \u2014 tomorrow, he said. But, he added he will, at the same time, \u201cfollow through with legislation and potential amendments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Both sides don\u2019t trust him\u2018<\/p>\n David Ho, who has known Wong since the latter was a student at Lincoln High, and who consulted on Wong\u2019s 2020 run for City College Board, said these shifting allegiances mean that today, \u201cboth sides don\u2019t trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Wong is the son of immigrants from Hong Kong \u2014 his father worked as a chef in a unionized hote<\/a>l. 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.<\/p>\n And yet, many in the Chinese community \u201cdon\u2019t really know him,\u201d said Fewer, pointing to Wong\u2019s infrequent mentions in Chinese newspapers and absences at many Chinatown events.\u00a0<\/p>\n Donald Luu, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, showed up at the swearing-in and appeared to support the appointment. \u201cI think District 4 right now is in a good place with Alan Wong as your supervisor,\u201d Luu told the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wong\u2019s address to the district implied, however, that he thought it could do with some improvement. \u201cI\u2019m stepping up to be District 4 supervisor because I believe in the Sunset and San Francisco can thrive again,\u201d Wong said at the ceremony. \u201cFor too long, the Sunset community has felt that local government is more of a burden imposed on them than a valuable service. I\u2019m here to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> from 2013 to 2019, and a communications director at the Children\u2019s Council<\/a> of San Francisco since 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gordon Mar, Wong\u2019s former boss, said Wong has not shown the \u201clevel of honesty and clarity\u201d the Sunset needs.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s sweeping upzoning plan. I\u2019m disappointed that Alan still hasn\u2019t told the public where he stands,\u201d said Mar in a text message before Monday\u2019s 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\u2019s upzoning plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Nearly) the last candidate standing<\/p>\n The appointment of Wong appears to conclude the debacle that followed Engardio\u2019s Sept. 16 recall. Mission Local is told that a number of potential candidates either refused the appointment or took themselves out of the running.<\/p>\n Lurie\u2019s 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<\/a> and text messages, published by Mission Local, in which she wrote of paying workers \u201cunder the table<\/a>,\u201d skimping on taxes and writing off nights on the town as business expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the ensuing public process to name her successor, one candidate<\/a> was knocked out after Mission Local reported that she\u2019d missed voting in nine consecutive elections and was, until recently, a registered Republican. On the eve of Wong\u2019s appointment, Mission Local revealed that another finalist had \u201cplain forgot<\/a>\u201d to file tax returns for his publicly funded nonprofit.<\/p>\n Wong, for his part, said Lurie \u201cnever asked me to commit to any specific policy position. He has told me that we understand that there will be disagreements.\u201d At this, Lurie grinned.<\/p>\n Lurie likely has enough votes to upzone District 4 \u2014\u00a0and much of the rest of the city \u2014\u00a0 even without Wong. The zoning plan is expected to get at least six votes at the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_4998-853x640.jpg\")
San Francisco\u2019s Sunset District welcomes its newest representative Alan Wong on Dec. 1, 2025. Photo by Yujie Zhou.<\/p>\n