In another tense decision, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi currently leads the race for the Sheriff's seat with just a hair over 38% of the votes. As with the the mayor's race, no clear majority here means this decision will go back to the Department of Elections to tally up the second and third-choice votes.

Rounding out the leaderboard: Former undersheriff and adviser to the California Attorney General's office Chris Cunnie trails with 28% of the vote. Not far behind is Sheriff department Captain Paul Miyamoto with 27%.

Although, there's still an outside chance of an upset, Mirkarimi's lead puts him in a good position to take over the seat Sheriff Mike Hennessey has held for the past 32 years. As University of San Francisco politics lecturer David Latterman told Bay City News, "It's going be hard to unseat (Mirkarimi), but it's possible if every other candidate was adamant that no one else should vote for him."

As for Hennessey's legacy, the Examiner explains:

Hennessey’s sheriff’s office was a relative island of stability in the otherwise tumultuous world of San Francisco politics. His departure is sure to change the makeup of the Sheriff’s Department, which monitors roughly 1,500 inmates currently in San Francisco’s local jails — although those numbers are expected to grow.

The increase in the number of prisoners in local jails is part of California's plan to transfer prisoners in state penitentiaries to local jurisdictions. San Francisco is expected to get 700 new inmates under the plan and Mirkarimi has been spearheading efforts to smooth the transition for the city's new prisoners and parolees.

[BCN/Appeal]
[SFEx]