The moderate group Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, whose top money man is a Republican mega-donor, has dual-endorsed Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie for SF mayor, and only says to include London Breed as your third choice so Peskin doesn’t win.

The deep-pocketed political action committee Neighbors for a Better San Francisco (which is actually based in San Rafael) counted SF Standard financier Michael Moritz among its top donors in the last few SF election cycles. So it is not surprising that it was the SF Standard broke the news Tuesday that Neighbors for a Better San Francisco made its endorsements in the SF mayor’s race, and that the two wealthiest white-guy candidates Mark Farrell and Daniel Lurie topped the organization’s list.  

It was a dual endorsement placing both Farrell and Lurie as the top endorsees. But the Chronicle notes Neighbors for a Better San Francisco also endorsed Mayor London Breed as a third-choice candidate, which the Chronicle calls a “snub,” and their endorsement email trashed Breed’s record.

In an email endorsement to members, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco said of Breed that “we do not believe she has demonstrated an ability to govern with the degree of persistence and consistency necessary to solve San Francisco’s problems.”

But they apparently only included Breed as a No. 3 endorsement in hopes of blocking Aaron Peskin from winning. “It is our recommendation that our members vote for all three leading moderate candidates. Under no circumstances should you vote for Aaron Peskin anywhere on your ballot,” the email reportedly said. “To vote for less than all three candidates will increase the likelihood Aaron Peskin could win, which we consider the worst possible outcome for San Francisco.”

Breed’s campaign reacted diplomatically, but with a good strong shiv. Her campaign spokesperson Joe Arellano told the Chronicle, “We appreciate their #3 endorsement, but it’s hard not to think that the fix was already in for Mark Farrell, given his campaign’s collusion with Neighbors.”

He refers to a Friday report in the Chronicle that Farrell’s campaign got $45,000 in ethically questionable assistance from Republican-leaning megadonor William Oberndorf, whom Mission Local has reported is Neighbors for a Better San Francisco’s top donor.

Neighbors for a Better San Francisco is, of course, the organization that quietly paid now-DA Brooke Jenkins $153,000 back during the 2022 Chesa Boudin Recall campaign, even though Jenkins had claimed she was just a volunteer.

For his part, Aaron Peskin took the organization’s dig at him in stride. ‘“I’m a New Deal, Great Society progressive who believes that government exists to help people that need help,” Peskin told the Chron. “Quite frankly, these are the extremists, not me.”

Will people really do as Neighbors for a Better San Francisco asks, and vote for three candidates for mayor in a ranked-choice system? Yes, many probably will! As Mission Local reported in March, you will be allowed to vote for as many as ten candidates in the November 5, 2024 mayoral election.  

So it seems unlikely we are going to know the winner of the SF mayor's race come the next morning of November 6, 2024, and perhaps even several days beyond that.

Related: Lights Went Out as Candidates Were Speaking at Monday Night’s Very Glitchy SF Mayoral Debate [SFist]

Images: (Left) San Francisco Bicycle Coalition via Facebook, (Right) @DanielLurie via Twitter