San Francisco – Partial election returns released Tuesday show Gary McCoy with a decisive 65% of the vote in the District 8 supervisor race after ranked‑choice voting permutations, leaving former DoorDash and Obama staffer Darshini Patel at 35%.
Race dynamics and recent twists
District 8 covers the Castro, Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle and Cole Valley neighborhoods. The contest has been turbulent. Long‑time Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will vacate his seat in January, and Mayor Daniel Lurie lost a close ally when Manny Yekutiel withdrew after the San Francisco Standard reported two sexual‑assault allegations in early October.
Yekutiel, who had led in fundraising and enjoyed strong name‑recognition, initially secured endorsements from Mayor Lurie and the San Francisco Democratic Party. Those endorsements were rescinded within hours of the allegations, and Yekutiel announced his exit from the race the same day. He finished with 13% of the vote before his elimination in the second round.
Candidate profiles and policy positions
Gary McCoy, a former staffer for former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, entered the race as a moderate‑progressive hybrid. He supports YIMBY housing development, favoring large‑scale new construction, while also advocating progressive policing reforms and harm‑reduction measures such as clean‑needle exchanges. McCoy has been open about his personal recovery from drug addiction and has been sober for nearly 16 years.
Darshini Patel, who previously worked for DoorDash and served on President Barack Obama’s staff, shares many of McCoy’s positions. In September the two candidates formed an alliance, urging supporters to rank each other second on their ballots to consolidate progressive votes.
Michael Nguyen, a patent attorney and drag‑queen candidate, ran a traditional progressive campaign opposing market‑rate housing development. He aligned with Patel and McCoy on policing and drug‑policy issues but was eliminated after the first round of ranked‑choice permutations.
Endorsements, polls and community reaction
Following Yekutiel’s exit, many of his supporters shifted to McCoy, bolstering his lead. However, the moderate advocacy group GrowSF released a poll questioning McCoy’s fitness for office due to his past addiction, and later endorsed Patel—an endorsement Patel said came “without my consent.”
Despite the criticism, the partial results indicate a clear advantage for McCoy, who now appears poised to become the next District 8 supervisor.
What’s next?
The final certified results are expected later this week. Voters in the Castro and surrounding neighborhoods will soon see who will represent them on the Board of Supervisors, shaping policies on housing, public safety and health services for the district.
Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.
