The candidates are already fighting in the June primary elections, and District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong is attacking his rival Natalie Gee for not helping him enough to get his ‘cars back on the Great Highway’ ballot measure.

There was apparently a District 4 candidate forum Thursday night at the Outer Sunset’s United Irish Cultural Center, featuring the main candidates vying to permanently take the seat Joel Engardio was recalled from. We cannot find a livestream of the proceedings, and there was not much media coverage of this fairly scripted-answer forum between Mayor Lurie’s appointee Alan Wong, plus the other candidates Albert Chow and Natalie Gee.

The only coverage of the forum we could find was in today’s Chronicle, which describes the forum as a “staid affair” because the “questions that had been provided in advance.” But the Chron says that one little rhetorical donnybrook broke out, as Supervisor Wong attacked Natalaie Gee for not being helpful enough in his ballot measure to put cars back on the Great Highway.

You may recall that Wong’s first effort right after being appointed was to try to get a June ballot measure to put cars back on the Great Highway. But his timing was awful, he announced the idea just six days before the deadline to make the ballot. His six-day effort predictably failed, as he fell one Board of Supervisors vote shy of qualifying.

Wong had been counting on Supervisor Shamann Walton to provide that vote. Walton declined to provide his support. Natalie Gee is Walton’s legislative aide who is now running against Wong. You can see how Wong is going to structure this blame game, claiming that Gee was “sabotaging" has ballot measure.

"With friends like you, who needs enemies?” Wong snapped at Gee, per the Chronicle.

"We gave you an eight-page piece of legislation," he added. "Clearly someone is not listening to the neighborhood."

Gee noted that it was her boss’ call, not hers.

"Do I look like Supervisor Walton to you?” Gee shot back. "Instead of blaming it on me, take accountability.”

Albert Chow reportedly laid low during the exchange, merely quipping when asked if he’d like to comment, “I’m good.”

The reality is that Alan Wong did himself no favors by introducing his ballot measure just six days before its deadline to qualify. And he may not have networked or glad-handed enough to line up the necessary support. So that is a political miscalculation that is fundamentally on Alan Wong, and his opponents have no obligation to help him in his political efforts.

And it's another consequence of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s odd pattern of choosing curiously young and inexperienced appointments to the seat that was formerly Supervisor Joel Engardio’s.

Related: Supervisor Alan Wong Fails to Get His Ballot Measure to Bring Cars Back to the Great Highway [SFist]

Images: (Left) Alan Wong via Facebook, (Right) Natalie Gee for District 4 Supervisor 2026 via Facebook