After the bungled Beya Alcaraz appointment for District 4 supervisor, Mayor Lurie reportedly has a short list of candidates he’s considering as the new replacement, and thankfully, they are all more experienced than his last pick.
The politically catastrophic Beya Alacaraz District 4 supervisor appointment to replace the recalled Joel Engardio lasted only seven days before Alcaraz was engulfed in scandals over business and tax practices at the business she used to own. The Chronicle notes that at just seven days in office, Alcaraz “appears to be the city’s shortest-serving supervisor.” And a red-faced Mayor Daniel Lurie is apparently now vetting candidates’ business and tax backgrounds a little more thoroughly as he looks for a second consecutive replacement pick.
That process may be moving quickly this time. The Chronicle reports that Lurie now has a short list of five candidates he’s considering for District 4 supervisor, and we will say that each is much more experienced than Alcaraz was. And interestingly, Lurie is considering two of the candidates who’ve already announced they’re running for the job permanently in the June 2026 primary election.
The Chron is careful to note that "it’s not necessarily a final list of candidates who Lurie might choose from.” But that paper adds that “all five people on the list have either met with Lurie already or will soon.” And notably, every candidate is Asian American, as District 4 has a very large Chinese American population.
Here’s who the Chronicle lists as being on Lurie’s short list for the District 4 supervisor pick:
- Albert Chow - Great Wall Hardware store owner Albert Chow quite controversially made himself the face of the recall Engardio movement, and he’s already declared that he’s running for the seat. The 58-year-old is also president of the People of Parkside Sunset neighborhood association, and very notably, he’s softened his opposition to Lurie’s controversial “family zoning” upzoning plan, perhaps in hopes of being considered for the job.
- Natalie Gee - A longtime legislative aide to Supervisor Shamann Walton, Natalie Gee has also already declared she is running for the seat in June. She’s on the record as opposing the car-free Great Highway, and supporting Supervisor Connie Chan’s proposed ballot measure to bring cars back to the thruway. But Gee also said in a statement to the Chronicle that she “would not feel comfortable voting for (Lurie’s) zoning plan as it was proposed,” so that may be a strike against her in Lurie’s book.
- Tiffany Deng - Tiffany Deng's main qualification is that she’s a London Breed appointee to the Asian Art Commission that oversees the Asian Art Museum. Though she’s been active with the influential groups Asian Pacific American Public Affairs (APAPA) and Association for the Advancement of Asians (AAA), and has been a co-chair for the San Francisco Symphony’s Fiesta Día de los Muertos concert and gala. Oh, and also Deng was Miss Chinatown USA in 2015.
- Ike Kwon - Ike Kwon spent 15 years with the California Academy of Sciences, most recently in the high-profile capacities of chief operating officer and head of government affairs. So he's certainly very well politically connected. But Kwon also moved to Chicago in 2023, though now says he never sold his house, and moved back here last summer. He says he was against Prop K (though did not live here at the time of the vote), and he sounds like a reliable cheerleader for Lurie’s upzoning plans.
- Alan Wong - A National Guard member and one-time legislative aide to former D4 supervisor Gordon Mar, Alan Wong is now a five-year member of the Board of Trustees for the City College of San Francisco. He’s got a strong union background, and is also Senior Director of Public Policy Communication at Children’s Council of San Francisco.
Lurie’s guiding North Star on this appointment is probably whether the person would vote to forward his “family zoning” upzoning plan, which certainly has its opponents in D4’s Sunset District. The Chronicle reports that vote is expected at the Tuesday, December 2 Board of Supervisors meeting. So Lurie would likely want his pick sworn in by then.
And if he does not have a pick in by then, and Sunset residents see their district shut out from having a voice on that vote, that would be another Sunset District political disaster for Mayor Lurie.
Image: Daniel Lurie via Facebook
