The four candidates for District 8 supervisor were mostly in agreement at a Thursday night forum in the Castro. The event, presented by the HIV/AIDS Providers Network, was held at Strut, a health clinic founded by the San Francisco AIDS foundation. The candidates and crowd were cordial.
But then Brad Chapin spoke up, the man who has accused Manny Yekutiel of sexual assault.
When asked how each candidate would support survivors of sexual violence, Yekutiel started by saying, “Unfortunately, this is an issue that I’m familiar with as well. My first experiences as a sexually active man involved some pretty gnarly blackmail.”
A voice from the crowd loudly interrupted, “Is that why you assaulted me?”
Chapin’s accusation has dogged Yekutiel. In an August debate, the moderator kicked off questions by asking Yekutiel directly about the allegation. Chapin, a political organizer, publicly blasted the San Francisco Democratic Party late last month for voting to endorse the candidate.
His supporters on Thursday passed out “We Believe Brad” postcards on Castro Street before the forum started. Yekutiel has denied the allegations.
Yekutiel continued despite the interruption. “Fuck you,” Chapin said, more quietly this time, as Yekutiel wrapped up his response. None of the candidates addressed Chapin’s comment, and the forum moved on.
It wasn’t the only time Yekutiel was in the hot seat Thursday night. As the candidates discussed their commitment to backfilling funding for HIV health services cut by the federal government, his chief rival Gary McCoy alluded to Yekutiel’s endorsement by ConnectedSF, an organization run by Marie Hurabiell, whom all four District 8 candidates have criticized for making homophobic and transphobic remarks.
“I have concerns about a response that came from one of the candidates tonight on the panel because they received the ConnectedSF endorsement,” McCoy said, without naming Yekutiel. Some audience members booed. “This candidate actually signed a statement saying that they would not participate with this organization.”
The moderator, Tom Temprano, gave the candidates time to defend themselves, but Yekutiel did not address his endorsement from ConnectedSF.
The tense moments didn’t last long. The candidates discussed the role of harm reduction, a public-health approach that prioritizes safety for drug users rather than abstinence and can involve a host of services like clean syringes, and generally agreed on its importance. They differed slightly on which harm reduction services should be provided.
McCoy, who reiterated his “unequivocal” support of harm reduction and credited it for “keeping him alive” when he struggled with addiction, homelessness and HIV, advocated for syringe access programs and mobile outreach. Michael Nguyen, an attorney and drag queen, agreed with McCoy about syringe access, and also said that he supports the four pillars approach: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement.
Darshini Patel, who has formed an alliance with McCoy, called harm reduction “incredibly important to our health system” and championed Narcan distribution and safe injection sites to prevent the spread of HIV and other diseases. Yekutiel said that he wants to get those suffering from addiction off the streets.
“There needs to be a 24-hour drop-in center in our district where people can go to get treatment, buprenorphine, methadone, Narcan, where people can get paired into board-and-care facilities, treatment facilities, sober housing,” he said.
The debate ended as it began: cordially. Chapin filtered out, along with the rest of the crowd. The candidates, when asked how they would support the trans community, agreed that the city needs to be an affordable, safe space for everyone.
“San Francisco needs to continue to be a refuge for all LGBTQ folks,” Nguyen said.
