READY, SET, RACE: No papers have been filed, but next year’s District 8 supervisor race is shaping up to be a showdown between Manny Yekutiel and Gary McCoy.
Power Play has learned that both men — who are openly gay and vying for the Castro seat that has been represented by gay men for nearly three decades — have scheduled meetings with prominent city leaders to get feedback on their policy ideas and test the waters on possible endorsements.
The candidates have met with current D8 rep and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, as well as labor and business leaders. Yekutiel, who’s known simply as Manny due to his eponymous political salon in the Mission, also discussed his likely candidacy with Mayor Daniel Lurie.
Both Yekutiel and McCoy declined to comment. So while it’s unclear how their policy positions may overlap or differ, their dueling campaigns could spark a fundraising arms race due to their deep political ties.
“I think it’s going to be a big scramble all over the place,” said one insider. “Who supports Gary or Manny?”
Yekutiel, 36, previously considered a run for mayor. Along with his cafe, he runs the Civic Joy Fund, a nonprofit responsible for Downtown First Thursdays and community street cleanups. Yekutiel will likely raise serious cash, but his reluctance to stake out firm policy positions was noted by insiders as something that could hold him back.
McCoy, a 47-year-old former VP of policy and public affairs for the drug treatment nonprofit HealthRight 360, worked on the campaigns for state Sen. Scott Wiener and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and is currently campaign manager for the congresswoman’s Save Our Health Care initiative. McCoy also has a compelling personal story: He was once homeless and has been in recovery for 15 years. He has supported the YIMBY movement, but insiders say his ties to the troubled HealthRight 360 could complicate his campaign.
Michael Nguyen, a 43-year-old patent attorney who serves on the Democratic County Central Committee and performs drag under the stage name Juicy Liu, is also weighing a jump into the race. Nguyen declined comment, but he’s been vocal about billionaires paying more in taxes to address the city’s issues.
- Josh Koehn
REPUBLICANS IN TROUBLE: In case you are blissfully unaware, Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the middle of a mid-decade redistricting war with Texas.
California legislative leaders are expected to release new congressional maps that benefit Democrats by Friday, three days before state lawmakers formally return from their summer recess. The Legislature will have until Aug. 22 to finalize legislation — with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses — to get those maps on the ballot for a Nov. 4 special election. Newsom is expected to announce the redistricting campaign Thursday in Los Angeles County.
Which Republican congresspeople could lose their jobs?
Kevin Kiley: Democrats would likely stretch Kiley’s sprawling Sacramento-region district closer to the state capital, suddenly making his constituency very purple.
Doug LaMalfa: Same goes for this rural Northern California rep, who could see his district sliced into pieces, moved toward Sacramento, or inched closer to the Democratic-dominated coastline.
David Valadao: This Central Valley Republican was already a Dem target for next year, with Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a Democrat who represents Kern County in the statehouse, as a top challenger. That race could be easier for her to win if the district suddenly has more Latinos who vote blue. (The caveat is that this is a Voting Rights Act district, so Dems have to be careful with their tinkering to avoid legal challenges.)
Ken Calvert: In Southern California, this vulnerable Republican could see his inland district cut in half or moved westward to capture more L.A.-area voters.
Darrell Issa: This San Diego-region district, which is hardcore conservative, could suddenly include Palm Springs (currently represented by Calvert).
This list could, of course, include the remaining four GOP members in California’s congressional delegation: Reps. Vince Fong, Tom McClintock, Young Kim, and Jay Obernolte. All face the potential of new district lines that exclude pockets of Republican voters or pull them into an intraparty reelection race next year.
- Hannah Wiley
GET YOUR POPCORN: If you find yourself reading this newsletter Wednesday while bored on the couch watching Netflix or without a hot date, might we suggest tuning in to the DCCC endorsement hearing?
On the agenda: Those for and against Proposition A — the official ballot designation for the recall effort against Supervisor Joel Engardio — will make their case for the local Democratic Party’s endorsement. The hearing comes the night before the Department of Elections sends more than 50,000 Prop. A ballots to Sunset voters.
Representing the recall side is Selena Chu, a Sunset resident and vice chair of the Chinese American Democratic Club, while Engardio is scheduled to defend himself.
Though it’s not a debate, the interview marks the first time San Francisco’s political establishment will publicly discuss what has become the city’s most sensitive topic. The DCCC, whose membership has been divided over the recall, won’t take public comment Wednesday, and its endorsement vote isn’t scheduled until Aug. 27.
You can watch the hearing with us Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on YouTube or Zoom.
- Han Li
Edited by Hannah Wiley
