What did S.F. city officials read over summer break? 

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In August, San Francisco supervisors took a recess.

While District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio used the month to fight for his political survival in the upcoming Sept. 16 recall vote, others had more time on their hands.

One tied the knot at the Conservatory of Flowers, another performed comedy sets in Los Angeles, and others wandered the East Coast and Mexico.

But, what did they read and watch? 

District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey created a list of books themed around “making government work better.” On that list:

• “Why Nothing Works” by Marc. J. Dunkelman, which argues that American government is inefficient because of excessive checks and dispersed power.
• “Recoding America” by Jennifer Pahlka, which Dorsey says contains great “war stories” on why government programs struggle.
• “Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which argues for getting rid of regulations that slow the building of housing, clean energy projects, and other infrastructure.

Dorsey has listened to the “Why Nothing Works” audiobook at the gym and on runs, but so far has only finished “Abundance.”

“I do disagree with some critics who’ve called it neoliberalism. If anything, I think this is a 21st-century refresh of classical FDR-style American liberalism, with boundless confidence in what a conscientious good government can accomplish — if we let it,” Dorsey wrote. 

District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman also plans to read “Abundance” soon, but his main summer reading was “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson, a novel set in the near future about a United Nations agency struggling with the climate crisis. He called it “very depressing.” He also listened to The Bulwark Podcast, where Never Trump Republican Tim Miller and his guests discuss political news.

“They’re interesting people, because they were tested but did the courageous thing to abandon their party,” Mandelman said. “That’s a decision that, frankly, most Republicans didn’t make.” 

District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar waded into housing, a go-to for her. She read Jerusalem Demsas’ book “On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy,” which examines how local governments have fueled the housing crisis. 

Melgar said she typically tries to only read fiction during the recess, though, picking up “Hunter’s Heart Ridge” by Sarah Stewart Taylor, the second book of a mystery series set in Vermont during the Vietnam War.

She also watched “Delightfully Deceitful,” a Korean series about a con artist and defense attorney seeking revenge and Gap’s Katseye advertisement, where members of the girl group dance to Milkshake by Kelis.

“I have studied (binge watched) the Katseye Gap video more times than I want to admit. To learn the choreography, of course!” Melgar wrote. 

District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan has also been thinking about housing, spending a large part of recess reading through the mayor’s upzoning plan.

She also stopped by Richmond bookstore Green Apple Books and the public library for some reading, including several memoirs: Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Nancy Pelosi’s “The Art of Power,” and Sarah Wynn-William’s “Careless People,” an account of how Meta’s leaders wielded power recklessly. 

She also got a sneak peek at a book that won’t be released until 2026: “Ausländer,” the memoir of venture capitalist and San Francisco political donor Michael Moritz. Chan said her copy was signed and given to her personally by Moritz. 

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton was all news, all the time. “This has been a summer full of attacks on democracy in this country and in our very own San Francisco,” he said.

He’s focused on immigration raids, the deployment of the National Guard to cities with Black leadership, attacks on the homeless population, and gerrymandering — though he’s also kept up with news about the 49ers. 

District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter read former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s memoir, “A Different Kind of Power,” as well as a gift from his team — “Trespassers at the Golden Gate” by Gary Krist, which is the real-life story of a woman who murdered her married lover set during San Francisco’s Gilded Age. 

He’s also been reading “Bunnies on the Bus” by Philip Ardagh to his 6-month old daughter. “She loves it, and we giggle to every page,” he wrote. 

Family also influenced District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s summer reading. He read “From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives” by Robert Fulghum, which was recommended by the officiant at his wedding.

Mahmood proposed to his wife last winter in front Mount Fuji, and married her this August at the Conservatory of Flowers, where Sauter was a groomsman.

“Whether in the context of marriage or not, I found it deeply interesting, because it emphasized how important it is to not sweat the small stuff, prepare to expect something to go wrong, and always be authentic to ourselves,” he said. 

Meanwhile, District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill’s list ran the gamut: He read “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl (with his kids), moved on to “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse (the go-to novel for those searching for spiritual fulfillment), and then turned to “Supercommunicators” by Charles Duhigg (a self-help book about how to communicate well).

He also read “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs, the urban planning classic that critiques top-down design, arguing instead that cities thrive through organic, community-driven processes and mixed-use development.

He wasn’t the only one to pick up Jacobs’ book. Ned Segal, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s policy chief on housing and economic development, also read the book to learn more about the history of urban planning, and is looking for more reading recommendations on that topic. 

Meanwhile, Kunal Modi, Lurie’s policy chief of health, homelessness, and family services, listened to “No Easy Fix,” a three-part podcast series by the Atlantic about the homelessness and behavioral health crisis on San Francisco’s streets. 

“It was both sobering and affirming, underscoring the urgency and complexity of the issues our administration is working to address every day,” Modi wrote. 

Modi also watched “The Pitt,” an HBO drama about working in an emergency room, and read Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary,” a sci-fi book from the author of “The Martian,” about an astronaut with amnesia on a mission to save humanity.  

Alicia John-Baptiste, policy chief of infrastructure, climate, and mobility, has also been reading fiction, picking up “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride, a novel about immigrant Jews and African Americans in 1930s Pennsylvania banding together to protect a deaf child. 

She also read Dolly Alderton’s “Good Material,” a romantic comedy about a struggling comedian. She found a copy in the Lucky Day section at the public library — a shelf of highly popular books that would normally have a long hold wait. 

John-Baptiste also caught the 2025 remake of “The Wedding Banquet,” a romantic comedy which she described as “a joyful celebration of love in all its forms.”

Public Defender Mano Raju recommended Paula Ioanide’s “The Emotional Politics of Racism,” which examines how Americans’ fear has been manipulated to justify oppressive policies. 

And with his son Raju, he also watched “Squid Game,” a Korean TV show in which people facing financial hardship compete in deadly children’s games to win a fortune.

“Alongside the critique of cruel economic systems, the show had many touching relationships and wonderful characters,” Raju said, though he felt some of the violence was hard to watch. 

City Attorney David Chiu read Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny,” which reflected on the historical conditions in which democracies became dictatorships, and imparted lessons for resisting authoritarianism. Chiu, who is the heavy for San Francisco in its fights against Trump, called it “highly relevant.”

Chiu also watched “Butterfly,” an action thriller series about a spy living in South Korea whose past comes back to haunt him and his family, and “Andor,” a “Star Wars” prequel show. ‘

A self-proclaimed “Star Wars” nerd, Chiu said that the show contained parallels with the present: “This season of Andor has chillingly prescient relevance for the moment our country is in — on the role of everyday people and the importance of truth and community under a repressive government.”