Shamann Walton, the District 10 supervisor and the only Black legislator in San Francisco, announced on Friday that he is endorsing both Mayor London Breed and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin for mayor.
He declined to say whom he would rank before the other, but put out statements in the morning and afternoon endorsing both candidates.
“Even if we don’t agree all the time, she most certainly is someone who continues to fight for San Francisco,” Walton said of Breed, particularly pointing to her time at the helm during the Covid-19 pandemic and her efforts “addressing economic issues” for San Francisco’s recovery.
That, plus the fact she is one of the few Black female mayors across the country.
“It’s important and exciting to me when we have Black representation, to see a Black woman at that seat,” Walton said. “This is important for my community.”
On Peskin, Walton said in a statement: “His unparalleled expertise in San Francisco’s laws, charter, and history distinguishes him as a leader who not only understands our city’s challenges but also its vast potential.”
Walton’s announcement comes on the heels of a San Francisco Chronicle report outlining some newfound support for Breed among progressives, albeit as a No. 2 choice: Former District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim (Breed’s 2018 mayoral rival) and District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen both said they would rank Breed behind Peskin; Public Defender Mano Raju did not say who he would vote for, but spoke favorably of Breed to the Chronicle.
Most progressives, however, have lined up squarely behind Peskin, their standard-bearer in this tight-knit race.
Walton, asked about his ranked-choice strategy, did not say whether Breed would go before Peskin. “I’m also supporting Supervisor Peskin,” he said. “I would just say I’m supporting both of them. I would be excited if London continues to lead this city.”
But his verbiage might give some indication: Walton’s pro-Breed statement was four slides long; his pro-Peskin statement was just one.
Walton also said that the Black community in San Francisco is “under attack,” and pointed to reporting on nonprofit and corruption scandals that have plagued the Breed administration in recent weeks. One of Breed’s signature programs, the Dreamkeeper Initiative to fund different projects for Black residents, has come under intense scrutiny after reporting revealed that its head signed off on contracts for a nonprofit managed by a man with whom she shared a home.
Sheryl Davis, the head of the Dreamkeeper Initiative, has since resigned, and Breed has sought to distance herself from the scandal, saying that, while the buck stops with her, she was “appalled” by the news.
Walton said the attacks against that work, writ large, were damaging to San Francisco’s Black community.
“Nonprofits are being attacked, our city leaders are being attacked,” he said. “We need to fight back and continue to demonstrate that we can lead the city.”
Under attack? How do you go from criticism of corruption and make that a tribal thing? I will never understand when people defend their allies or community when they do wrong rather than trying to address the issue, it just hurts your cause and makes you look tainted.
Thank you DK – succinct and clear. Unlike what “Dee” commented, I want to clarify that there are Black voices in San Francisco that are opposed to corruption and not looking for handouts from the WB patronage network or from Breed. “Dee” forgot to show us any analysis or facts that support her claim that “Black leaders are incarcerated at much higher rates(sic) than others (sic) groups”; the new york times recently reported on the hundreds, yes, hundreds of California official being charged with corruption and the group is diverse. There just isn’t any proof this is racially motivated. But facts have never gotten in the way of D10 leaders’ story. I’ve worked at multiple SF city departments and the reason Harlan, Nuru, Sheryl Davis, Naomi and Breed are considered corrupt is because they ARE corrupt. The race card being tossed around by a handful of the corrupt and connected indicate how dependent they are on the handout system. Shame on them. They do the black employees of SF no favors by making it look like we’re in on the excuse-making. Just accept Harlan, Nuru & co got caught and start putting non-corrupt people in power.
The reason is alllll San Francisco is corrupt. The PUC doesn’t seem to have changed a thing since Kelly went to prison.
If you look under the hood of any government agency or nonprofit, you are bound to find improprieties. But with the Black community, folks are always digging deep to find something wrong to expose. We see that Black leaders are incarcerated at a much higher rate than others groups who have been exposed for some very same issues. What is being reported are certainly personal attacks for no reason other than sensationalism – mentioning someone’s wedding that took place before the person joined a specific city agency is ridiculous and hurtful. Where is the corruption? Yes, it more than appears targeted.
San Francisco cannot get rid of Walton soon enough. From his perspective, these non-profit scandals are just business as usual. That’s what he seems to think being in government is all about. And his narrow vision of “community” holds the Bayview back at every turn.
Look at the people around Breed. In this direction, there’s Nuru. In that direction, there’s Sheryl Davis. These are not remote connections, they’re close ones. You don’t get to preside over this much corruption and paint yourself as an innocent. Breed has shown us her world. Do you want to keep living in it?