Lori Brooke, the No. 2 vote-getter in the June 2 election, has decided not to run for District 2 supervisor again in November. Stephen Sherrill is likely to face no serious opposition.
“While I will not be a candidate in November, I am not going anywhere,” Brooke wrote in a statement, saying she was proud of the campaign she ran. “I will continue to advocate for my community, support the issues I care about, and remain engaged in the neighborhoods that I have spent years working to improve.”
Brooke was Sherrill’s only opponent in June, but she lost 69-31. The race was a special election, so Sherrill must win again on November 3 to get a full four-year term.
Brooke, a longtime community organizer in the district, pitched herself as an independent voice who would be responsive to constituents, particularly on housing. While Sherrill is generally aligned with pro-housing YIMBYs, Brooke is skeptical of new development.
But Sherrill had much more money backing him — about $1.4 million, including from third-party PACs — and had developed a reputation for competence as sitting supervisor. He allied himself closely with the Mayor Daniel Lurie and, in the end, notched a decisive victory.
“District 2 made it clear that they want a Supervisor who is focused, responsive, and committed to San Francisco’s comeback,” Sherrill said. “I’m excited to get back to work and, hopefully, earn four more years this November.”
The field is likely cleared for Sherrill to sweep that election — the remaining candidates are not well-positioned to give him a fight.
One, Nicholas Berg, is the chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party. “One-party rule gave San Francisco lousy results,” he says on his website. Only 10 percent of District 2 voters are registered Republicans, and 62 percent are Democrats; he is unlikely to make any inroads.
Another candidate, Guy McCoy, styled himself a longshot mayoral candidate in 2024 but did not get a single vote.
The third challenger, Monthanus Ratanapakdee, ran a write-in campaign for June’s seat and has received 13 votes so far (the final vote total has yet to be released).
The killing of her elderly father, Vicha Ratanapakdee, became a national outrage during the post-pandemic years. He was pushed to the ground by 19-year-old Antoine Watson in 2021, hit his head and died a few days later. The case became highly publicized as a part of the Stop Asian Hate movement, and Watson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter this January.
Ratanapakdee has spun up a campaign website where she says that her top priorities are public safety and cleanliness.
Sherrill had some $166,000 in the bank for the November race as of May 27, according to campaign finance filings. No other candidate had declared any money raised.