By Sun-Reporter Staff

SAN FRANCISCO — For the first time since 2018, Bayview-Hunters Point is picking a new supervisor. Ten people want the job. One of them has more than half a million dollars of crypto money behind him. And whoever wins will inherit the data-center fight, the Third Street corridor and the shipyard the day they take the oath.

District 10 is one of five Board of Supervisors seats on the Nov. 3 ballot. Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 are up too, and between them the results could shift the balance of the board that writes the city’s budget and decides what gets built where. Two seats, District 8 and District 10, are open because their supervisors are termed out.

All five races use ranked-choice voting. You can rank up to 10 candidates in order. If nobody wins a majority of first choices, the last-place finisher drops out and those ballots move to their voters’ next pick, and the count repeats until someone crosses 50%. Ranking more candidates never hurts your first choice.

District 10: Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch

Open seat. Supervisor Shamann Walton is termed out after eight years. The district runs from Potrero Hill and Dogpatch through Bayview-Hunters Point, India Basin and the shipyard to Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale — the part of San Francisco that has carried the city’s power plants, sewage treatment and heavy industry for most of a century.

Who’s running

  • Theo Ellington runs the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House and is policy director at the public affairs firm Brownstein. A former city commissioner, he finished third for this seat in 2018. Endorsed by the San Francisco Democratic Party, Mayor Daniel Lurie, former Mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, and the Building and Construction Trades Council.
  • Dion-Jay “DJ” Brookter, a community organizer, is the former CEO of Young Community Developers. Endorsed by Walton, Supervisor Connie Chan and the California Working Families Party.
  • J.R. Eppler, a small business attorney, is a former Board of Appeals commissioner and president of the Potrero Boosters. Endorsed by the Sierra Club and United Educators of San Francisco.
  • Deandra Bryant is an emergency-housing case manager and an advocate for children with disabilities.
  • Shawn M. Richard leads Brothers Against Guns, a violence-reduction nonprofit.
  • Pearci “PJ” Bastiany III is a public administration graduate student who owns a private security firm.
  • Mike Trouble Lin, a small-business consultant, has lived in the district for 25 years.
  • Jamo Muhammad is CEO of We Got Winners Big Brother Program.
  • Ellsworth “Ell” Jennison Jr. is a union carpenter.
  • Jessica Pessecow, a psychiatric nurse, is running on behavioral health and faster city permits.

The money

In September, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen gave $500,000 to an independent committee supporting Ellington — believed to be the largest single donation to an outside group backing one candidate in city history. He added $40,000 on Sept. 29. As of Oct. 16, the committee had raised $550,000, according to the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Dr. Julianne Malveaux wrote about what that money means for the district in these pages last week.

By law, outside committees cannot coordinate with a campaign, and Ellington has said they “do not speak for” his. Richard has called on the committee to give the money to Bayview churches and community groups instead. The campaigns’ own fundraising, by Ethics Commission figures: Ellington about $488,000, Eppler about $182,000, Brookter about $179,000.

What it’s about

Data centers. On Oct. 6 the board passed Walton’s 45-day pause on new data centers, freezing a planned expansion of the NOVVA facility at 400 Paul Ave. from nine megawatts to 36. Ellington, Brookter and Eppler all back a moratorium; Brookter wants a permanent ban. The Sun-Reporter covered why the pause matters most in Bayview.

Development, displacement and safety. At a June forum at Providence Baptist Church, candidates argued over housing that doesn’t push longtime residents out, the Third Street corridor, the city’s RV ban, Flock surveillance cameras and the Certificate of Preference program for families displaced by redevelopment.

District 2: Marina, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, Presidio Heights

Incumbent running. Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, appointed in 2024 and elected in a June special election, is running for a full term. He is the former head of the Mayor’s Office of Innovation and is endorsed by Lurie. Also on the ballot: Nicholas Berg, chair of the San Francisco Republican Party; Monthanus Ratanapakdee, a community advocate focused on public safety; and Guy McCoy, who ran for mayor in 2024. Housing is the main issue.

District 4: Sunset and Parkside

Incumbent running. Lurie appointed Alan Wong after voters recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio, and Wong won the June special election with 64% in the final round. He faces Albert Chow, the Great Wall Hardware owner who led the recall, and Jeremy Greco, a campus coordinator at Presidio Hill School. The Upper Great Highway closure and the city’s family zoning plan are the fights here.

District 6: SoMa, Mission Bay, Treasure Island

Incumbent running. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who wrote the city’s “Recovery First” drug policy, faces one challenger: Alex Behrend, a laborer and organizer endorsed by former Supervisor Dean Preston. Dorsey is endorsed by Lurie, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and state Sen. Scott Wiener. The two split on how to rein in outside money in city elections.

District 8: Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, Twin Peaks

Open seat. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is termed out. Gary McCoy, a health policy advocate and former aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has the Democratic Party endorsement and about $419,000 in labor-backed outside spending. Michael T. Nguyen is an attorney and drag producer on the Democratic County Central Committee. Darshini Patel is a community advocate and former Obama staffer. Emanuel “Manny” Yekutiel suspended his campaign Oct. 1 amid sexual assault allegations he denies; it was too late to remove his name, so it will still appear on the ballot.

How to vote

  • Today, Oct. 19, is the last day to register and get a ballot in the mail. Do it at registertovote.ca.gov. Miss it, and you can still register and vote in person through Election Day at the City Hall Voting Center or your polling place.
  • Mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and arrive by Nov. 10. On Election Day, ask for a hand postmark at the post office counter.
  • Drop boxes: 37 official boxes, open around the clock until 8 p.m. Nov. 3. Locations at sfelections.gov/dropboxes.
  • City Hall Voting Center, Room 48: weekdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m. through Nov. 2; weekends Oct. 24-25 and Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Election Day 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
  • Election Day: 501 polling places open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Find yours at sfelections.gov/myvotinglocation.

Questions: San Francisco Department of Elections, (415) 558-6100, sf.gov/elections. Candidate and campaign finance information from the Department of Elections and the San Francisco Ethics Commission.