Mission Local is publishing campaign dispatches for each of the major contenders in the mayor’s race, alternating among candidates weekly until November. This week: Ahsha Safaí. Read earlier dispatches here.
To the surprise of some, Ahsha Safaí, the District 11 supervisor and mayoral candidate from a working-class district, formed an alliance last week with Mark Farrell, the venture capitalist who once represented District 2, one of the wealthiest in the city.
Both say they will ask their supporters to rank each other second on the ballot — although on Farrell’s social media post about ranked-choice voting Thursday, he only asked voters to “rank Ahsha Safaí on your ballot,” not necessarily second.
In the ranked-choice voting system, voters can, in order of preference, rank up to 10 candidates. If voters follow the advice, the alliance will give Farrell a boost, as Safaí is running last among the five front-runners and will likely be eliminated in the early rounds of voting. His votes would go to Farrell.
But what’s in it for Safaí?
“A job,” one source speculated. “Maybe the head of some labor union. But I think Ahsha could’ve gotten those jobs without this alliance.”
Safaí, however, sees it as getting other voters to take a second look at him. “At the end of the day, I’m trying to put myself in a position to win.”
Perhaps more importantly, the alliance helps Safaí to unseat Mayor London Breed, one of Safaí’s goals from the beginning, when he announced his run for mayor back in May 2023.
“I started the campaign with the goal of challenging the mayor,” Safaí said. “We have the common goal of wanting change in the Mayor’s office.”
Safaí considered an alliance with Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who is closer to him on the political spectrum, but thinks Peskin, unlike Safaí, “could live with London being re-elected” (this is likely news to Peskin). Daniel Lurie, the Levi Strauss heir, doesn’t have the experience to lead the city, Safaí believes.
Safaí also likes Farrell’s labor record. For example, in 2017, then-supervisor Farrell introduced the Project Labor Agreement that requires contractors to adopt the collective bargaining agreements of various trade unions when bidding on some city projects.
Afterwards, Safaí took the lead on the legislation. Both candidates received support from the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, largely due to their work regarding the Project Labor Agreement.
“Every request I brought to him, from the Latino, Black community, he supported it,” Safaí said.
Earlier this week, Safaí had no second thoughts on his new alliance after Farrell faced a public letter signed by a consortium including three former mayors calling for him to be criminally investigated. The letter follows reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle and Mission Local regarding the commingling of funds between Farrell’s mayoral campaign committee and a ballot measure committee supporting Proposition D.
“It’s a rehashing of issues,” he said. “People are entitled to their opinions, of course, but I believe people who need to weigh in are election attorneys. I’m comfortable having him as the leader of the city.”
On the campaign trail, weeks from election day, Safaí says he is “fighting all the way to the end.” He found encouragement from the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, who came from behind to win the mayoral race in 2023. (That, however, was different, as Johnson won in a runoff election with one other candidate.)
A new San Francisco Chronicle survey also gave this candidate a morale boost. The vote compass, which has received more than 12,000 responses, asks voters to answer questions, and shows who they align with the most among the mayoral candidates.
“I did the survey. You are my guy!” said Holly Wong, who came up to Safaí during a nonprofit fundraiser on Wednesday night.
This alliance with Farrell, and the brushing off of ethics concerns, has taken Safaí off my ranked choice list entirely. Solid NOPE.
Same. I’ve dropped Safaí as may second-place vote. It’s just Peskin for me and my neighbors.
He’s bucking for a $345k job like PUC director or city administrator if Farrell wins. That is payback.
Another hypocrite. Dismissing Farrell’s blantant breaking of California law as “rehashing of issues” is awful. Farrell paid a hefty fine for doing the same thing ten years. The fact that Farrell obviously couldn’t care less that he is repeating the same crime means that he views this as just another business expense, much like many other corporate executive types. Farrell might be a nice guy, but there are too many voices in his head that are not his own in my opinion.
So the fact that Safai doesn’t see that makes me wonder about Safai.
Got to say, you don’t fight corruption by voting for a candidate (Farrell) who blatantly continues to flout ethics and campaign law about comingling funds. If Farrell is willing to flout the law because he can afford the slap on the wrist fine, what further malfeasance will he commit in office? Safari has debased himself here. No vote for either.
Aaron Peskin is the only one who got my vote. Can’t even bear to rate any of these other people as a #2 or 3.
Campers,
I watched on SFGTV when Safai rushed into a committee of which he was not a member to try and torpedo a Haight Street/Golden Gate Park welcome center on first floor of an affordable rent building cleared for the old McDonald’s lot.
His opening as he read notes he was carrying:
“I know I’m not on this committee and this is not in my district and I’m not familiar with the project but I want to comment anyway … ”
He’s not only for sale, he will sell your product on short notice tho it violates all sorts of petty rules which kinda puts him with Farrell.
Peskin should win this contest hands-down if you look at how the individual districts have been voting since the Class of 2000.
They’ve voted as Progressive in 8 of 11 districts.
Yet, when the Proprietary Algorithm programmed into SF’s antique Dominion Voting Machines counts the City as a Whole it gives us Newsom and Ed Lee and London Breed who run on Platforms calling for more ‘Revenge’ policies that increase our jail populations and Progressive candidates favoring ‘Reform’ lose time after time.
I know this is an unpopular view with some but as an American I’m allowed to say that I think SF Mayoral Elections have been fixed since Willie Brown returned from Sacramento and I don’t know if the two are connected for certain.
I’ll go to the Department of Elections last oversight Commission (there’s a Frankenstein designed by Gonzalez) meeting before the election.
Department of Elections Last Commission meet before election:
Wednesday October 16th, 2024
City Hall 5:00pm on 4th Floor
Room 406
Be there or be square.
I will speak at Public Comment.
Go Niners !!
h.
This jockeying strategy vis-a-vis ranked voting really rankles me. If a run-off is needed in a non-ranked election then make it vote-by-mail only to save money. BTW, I never wanted Farrell, but when he announced early on that he wanted to bring back private cars to Market St. between 11th and Ferry Bldg., he became persona non grata to me.