A special election was held for mayor of the City and County of San Francisco on June 5, 2018, to fill the remainder of the term of Ed Lee, who had died in office on December 12, 2017. Upon Lee's death, London Breed, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became acting mayor of San Francisco, but a vote of six supervisors replaced Breed with Supervisor Mark Farrell. The mayoral election was held concurrently with the statewide direct primary election. In San Francisco, the election for the eighth district member of the board of supervisors was also on the ballot.
Eight candidates qualified to appear on the ballot, and a ninth qualified as a write-in. The four major candidates were former Supervisor Angela Alioto, former acting mayor London Breed, supervisor Jane Kim and former state senator Mark Leno.8 qualify for San Francisco mayor's race in June, Associated Press (January 9, 2018) All four main candidates identified as Democrats, though the position is officially nonpartisan per the Constitution of California. The election was won by Breed, with Leno conceding the election on June 13. All local elections in California are nonpartisan.
Background Ed Lee, who was appointed mayor of San Francisco in 2011 following Gavin Newsom's election as lieutenant governor of California, elected to a full term in 2011, and reelected in 2015, died of cardiac arrest on December 12, 2017. London Breed, the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became the city's acting mayor.
On January 23, 2018, the board of supervisors selected Mark Farrell to serve as interim mayor until the special election could be held. Citing Ron Conway's role as a benefactor to Breed, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim, considered the progressive members of the board, sought to deny Breed the benefits of incumbency going into the election.
As San Francisco elections use ranked choice voting, Kim and Mark Leno chose to align with each other, each endorsing the other as their preferred second choice.
Candidates The filing deadline was 5 p.m. on January 9, 2018.Phil Matier and Andy Ross, Curtain rises on SF's next drama, and the star is London Breed, San Francisco Chronicle (December 17, 2017).
Qualified The following eight candidates qualified for the ballot by filing all nomination documents and paying the filing fee.Potential Candidates List - June 5, 2018 Election , City and County of San Francisco Department of Elections. The deadline for a candidate to drop out of the race and remove himself or herself from the ballot was January 30, 2018.Janie Har, San Francisco mayor's race draws big names, crowded field, Associated Press (January 9, 2018).
Angela Alioto, anti-discrimination attorney, former supervisor; unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1991, 1995, and 2003Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Political veteran Angela Alioto pulls papers to run for SF mayor , San Francisco Examiner (December 18, 2017). Michelle Bravo, holistic health practitioner, KTVUFOX2 (April 23, 2018).Julie Littman,,Bisnow(May 15, 2018). London Breed, former acting mayor; supervisor (5th district) and president of the board of supervisorsDominic Fracassa and Rachel Swan, London Breed says she's in the race for SF mayor, San Francisco Chronicle (January 5, 2018). Richie Greenberg, business consultant, Republican County Central Committee delegateDominic Fracassa, Supervisors Breed and Kim in race for SF mayor for real now; Herrera out (January 9, 2018). Jane Kim, supervisor (6th district), former president of the San Francisco Board of EducationIda Mojadad, Jane Kim Announces Run for Mayor, SF Weekly (December 20, 2017). Mark Leno, former supervisor, former state assemblyman, former state senatorRachel Swan, Mark Leno first major candidate to enter 2018 mayor's race, San Francisco Chronicle (December 15, 2017). Amy Farah Weiss, homelessness activist Ellen Lee Zhou, social worker
Declined David Chiu, state assemblymanRachel Swan, David Chiu and Carmen Chu both out of race for SF mayor, San Francisco Chronicle. Carmen Chu, city assessor-recorderJoshua Sabatini, Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu decides not to run for SF mayor , San Francisco Examiner (January 8, 2018). Mark Farrell, supervisor (2nd district), later appointed interim mayorJoshua Sabatini, Supervisor Mark Farrell announces he will not run for SF mayor , San Francisco Examiner (December 21, 2017). Dennis Herrera, city attorney (2002–present), former president of the city police commissionRachel Swan, SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera signals intention to run for mayor in June, San Francisco Chronicle (January 3, 2017). Daniel Lurie, philanthropist, CEO of Tipping Point Community Scott Wiener, state senator
General election Endorsements
Polling Poll sourceDate(s)administeredRCVChoiceSamplesizeMarginof errorAngelaAliotoLondonBreedRichieGreenbergJaneKimMarkLenoOtherUndecidedFairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & AssociatesApril 20–23, 2018First600± 3.0%8%28%6%17%21%——Greenberg Quinlan Rosner ResearchMarch 28 – April 3, 2018First610± 4.0%6%27%—17%29%—9%Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & AssociatesFebruary 22–28, 2018First462± 4.6%8% 29%—26%19%——KPIX-TV/Survey USAMatier & Ross, Labor looking for a front-runner in SF mayor's race, San Francisco Chronicle (January 16, 2018).January 13–14, 2018First717± 4.3%9%19%—13%22%——SurveyUSASurveyUSA (with RCV)January 10–14, 2018First462± 4.6%9%19%4%14%22%6%First: Michelle Bravo, Amy Farah Weiss, and Ellen Lee Zhou with 2%22%Second385± 5.1%16%19%6%10%25%7%Second: Amy Farah Weiss 4%, Ellen Lee Zhou 2%, Michelle Bravo 1%16%Third306± 5.7%13%12%9%16%15%8%Third: Amy Farah Weiss 4%, Michelle Bravo 3%, Ellen Lee Zhou 1%26%Public Policy PollingDecember 18–19, 2017First627± 4.0%—20%—5% 26%26%First: David Chiu* 11%, Dennis Herrera* 10%, Carmen Chu* 5%. *Hypothetical candidate.23%Other/Undecided 23%
Results First-place votes counted on election night had Breed leading with 35.6 percent, Leno in second with 25.9 percent, and Kim with 22.8 percent. As candidates began to be eliminated, Leno took the lead the next day. He maintained a small lead during the week. On June 9, Breed took the lead over Leno. On June 13, with only 8,000 ballots left to count, Leno conceded defeat and congratulated Breed on her victory.
Results summary The following table shows a summary of the instant runoff for the election. The table shows the round in which the candidate was defeated or elected the winner, the votes for the candidate in that round, and what share those votes were of all votes counting for any candidate in that round. There is also a bar graph showing those votes for each candidate and categorized as either first-round votes or votes that were transferred from another candidate.
Vote counts by round The following table shows how votes were counted in a series of rounds of instant runoffs. Each voter could mark which candidates were the voter's first, second, and third choice. Each voter had one vote, but could mark three choices for how that vote can be counted. In each round, the vote is counted for the most preferred candidate who has not yet been eliminated. Then one or more candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated. Votes that counted for an eliminated candidate are transferred to the voter's next most preferred candidate who has not yet been eliminated.
Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 London Breed 92,121 92,121 92,124 92,243 92,442 93,605 96,392 102,767 115,977 Mark Leno 61,416 61,416 61,416 61,533 61,881 62,861 64,128 68,707 113,431 Jane Kim 60,738 60,738 60,738 60,829 61,422 61,843 63,261 66,043 Angela Alioto 17,552 17,552 17,552 17,737 17,929 19,626 21,981 Ellen Lee Zhou 9,576 9,576 9,576 9,687 9,829 10,637 Richie Greenberg 7,051 7,051 7,051 7,128 7,242 Amy Farah Weiss 1,675 1,675 1,675 1,735 Michelle Bravo 900 900 900 Antoine R. Rogers (Write-in) 3 3 Write-in 0 Continuing votes 251,032 251,032 251,032 250,892 250,745 248,572 245,762 237,517 224,009 Exhausted ballots 0 0 0 136 280 2,445 5,237 13,456 21,510 Over votes 634 634 634 638 641 649 667 693 748 Under votes 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 2,350 Total 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016 254,016
Continuing votes are votes that counted for a candidate in that round. Exhausted ballots represent votes that could not be transferred because a less preferred candidate was not marked on the ballot. Voters were allowed to mark only three choices because of voting system limitations. Over votes are votes that could not be counted for a candidate because more than one candidate was marked for a choice that was ready to be counted. Under votes are ballots were left blank or that only marked a choice for a write-in candidate who had not qualified as a write-in candidate.
References
External links Angela Alioto for Mayor Michelle Bravo for Mayor London Breed for Mayor Richie Greenberg for Mayor Jane Kim for Mayor Mark Leno for Mayor Amy Farah Weiss for Mayor Ellen Lee Zhou for Mayor