At District 8 supervisor debate, candidate Manny Yekutiel takes the heat

The opening question at the District 8 supervisor debate cut right to the chase.

“There has been press coverage about a sexual assault allegation from six years ago that a political activist reportedly made against Manny Yekutiel, who has denied the charge. What do you think voters should take from this?” asked Patrick Hoge, the San Francisco Examiner reporter moderating the debate hosted by the United Democratic Club. 

“These allegations are untrue,” replied Yekutiel, who, prior to the June accusations, was the race’s most prolific fundraiser and the presumed frontrunner. “The police investigated the allegations, they found nothing, and decided not to bring charges to the DA.”

At this, candidate Darshini Patel shot back: “I think when we consider the fact that our police department has a 14 percent clearance rate, which is half the national average, it makes it difficult for anyone to even want to come forward.” 

Michael Nguyen and Gary McCoy, the other two candidates, kept it simple. “We should always believe and support survivors,” McCoy said. 

“We, as a community, need to demand accountability and also support all survivors,” Nguyen said. 

At the Wednesday night debate, a crowd of around 100 people gathered outdoors in the cold at Noe Valley Town Square to hear from the four supervisor candidates, who are vying to represent the Castro, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks and Cole Valley. 

After the opening question, the candidates discussed more typical civic issues like housing, transportation and street conditions. Still, a clear division emerged between Yekutiel and his opponents, who quickly piled on to paint many of his ideas as unrealistic. 

When asked about where he would direct funds for Muni, McCoy called for “expanding transit later at night and earlier in the morning. San Francisco is a service industry town.”

But Yekutiel offered a grand plan for a fully built-out subway system with new underground stations at 24th and Castro streets, as well as the Fillmore and the Marina. The Central Subway could be extended to North Beach, he added, and Muni could add tunnels under Geary and 19th Avenue.

Yekutiel’s opponents threw cold water on his plan. 

“We need to refocus on the basic things, which may not be as exciting and sexy, but certainly is what we need,” Patel said. If she were elected, she added, she would make sure estimated Muni arrival times were accurate. 

“I believe in a San Francisco where we can take care of the small things while thinking big,” Yekutiel countered. The Central Subway expansion cost about $1 billion a mile, but San Francisco ought to be able to build subways for less, he added. 

Elected officials should focus on homelessness, addiction and affordability right now, McCoy said, “not these huge pie-in-the-sky ideas that are wonderful but we’re not going to get there in four or eight years.” 

Yekutiel was accused of grandstanding again after he mentioned his plan to build 10,000 new housing units in District 8 in eight years. Of those, 1,000 would be created by making it easier for people to add extra units in garages, basements or backyards and 3,000 from “high-opportunity housing sites” in the district.

Another 6,000 would come from creating a “housing priority district” on Market between Castro and Octavia where all “barriers” to building new housing, such as fees, taxes, building height limits, as well as many building and planning code requirements, would be removed.

The other candidates agreed that District 8 needs more housing. They all want the Safeway at Church and Market streets redeveloped, as well as speedier permitting, and McCoy and Patel support San Francisco’s recent upzoning. But they have not promised 10,000 units. 

“I’m a drag queen and I love the fantasy,” Nguyen said. “But I’m not going to promise you unicorns and rainbows just to win your vote. Ten thousand units is really just not grounded in reality.” 

District 8 has only built 17 units so far this year, Patel pointed out.

But Yekutiel defended his plan. “It is not pie in the sky,” he said. “We just need to believe it can be done.”

When the debate shifted to homelessness and drug use, McCoy, Nguyen and Patel once again aligned more with each other than with Yekutiel. 

Nguyen called for more city investment in mental health outreach, citing a story from Mission Local about a worker who helped de-escalate a woman in crisis when police were unable to. “This is the kind of humane response that we need,” Nguyen said. 

Patel said her focus would be on building out the safety net for preventing homelessness, citing the statistic that for every one person who gets housed, another three people become homeless. 

McCoy agreed with them both. “We’re not scaling up the things that we know work,” McCoy said; the street outreach team is, in fact, slated to be cut by the city.

“Oftentimes, we resort to just pushing people around our neighborhoods in San Francisco,” McCoy continued. “We need to stop that.”

Yekutiel offered a much rosier picture. Mayor Daniel Lurie “is doing an excellent job,” Yekutiel said. “I’m running because I want to keep the positive momentum that many of us are seeing in the city are continuing to move forward.”

After a few more questions, it was time for the candidates to give their closing statements. McCoy, Nguyen and Patel all made sure to mention how unrealistic a certain candidate’s plans seemed. 

“I’m tired of seeing people running on promises instead of plans,” Patel said. 

“We need leadership in San Francisco that, again, is rooted in reality,” McCoy said. 

“What my friend here, Manny, is talking about a lot of times is very extreme,” Nguyen said. 

Still, Yekutiel stood his ground. “If you want the same old, same old, there’s options on this stage you can choose from. But if you want someone that’s actually built things,” Yekutiel said, “then I’m your candidate.”

Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026. This race will use ranked-choice voting. 

District 8 includes the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, Twin Peaks, Duboce Triangle, Dolores Heights, Parnassus Heights, Ashbury Heights, Corona Heights, and Diamond Heights.