In 2016, when gay former state Sen. Mark Leno had a limited term to run again for his San Francisco seat, the city faced the prospect of having no LGBTQ representatives on the state legislature. However, Scott Wiener, a gay man serving on the Board of Supervisors at the time, won a hard-fought race to succeed Leno and was sworn into office that December.
With Wiener seeking a run for Congress next year, San Francisco once again faces the prospect of seeing no one from the LGBTQ community represent it in Sacramento after the 2024 election. It all depends on whether there is a series of electoral musical chairs between the city’s political leaders and who decides to run for — and win — the city’s state Senate seat and two Assembly seats.
The news of the candidacy would be explained first by the deputy Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) who chose not to run for re-election next year. Wiener, who has already created an exploratory committee to seek the House seat, would officially jump into the race for Pelosi’s 11th Congressional District seat.
With his current term in the Legislature ending next year, it would mean Wiener’s Senate District 11 seat would now be open in 2024. A likely candidate to succeed Wiener would be Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), who was just elected to his 17th Assembly District seat last year.
“If Scott were to run for Congress … then I would consider that at that point. I’m not spending time on that right now,” Haney told the Bay Area Reporter when asked about his run for the legislative seat.
He has withdrawn papers to seek re-election to the Assembly next year. But with Haney long talked about as a mayoral candidate at some point, holding the citywide Senate seat is seen as boosting his chances in a future bid for the 200 ward of the l ‘Town hall.
However, he could find himself fending off a challenge from a more progressive Democrat if he were to run for Wiener’s seat. Haney would also face questions about wanting to leave the Assembly so soon for the upper house of the Legislature.
“Haney needs to stop playing musical chairs. He needs to finish a term,” said gay former Rep. Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). “It’s a bad look for us and a bad look for him.”
If Haney were to run for Senate, it would mean his Assembly seat would be up for grabs in 2024, as elected office is on the ballot every two years. Jumping into the race is almost certain to be gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, now serving his final term on the board.
Mandelman has made no secret of his desire to run for a legislative seat. He recently opened a 2028 state Senate campaign account, which is when Wiener would be out of office if he ends up running for re-election next year.
“If there is an open state legislative seat, I intend to run for it. Which and what year remains to be seen,” Mandelman said.
He could transfer funds raised in that account toward a Senate bid in 2024. But when asked about how next year’s election might play out, Mandelman told BAR that he’s not interested in running against a state legislator in functions
“I have no intention of running against Matt Haney,” he stressed. “A lot of different things can happen and they could happen very soon. I’d like to be prepared for any eventuality.”
Another likely candidate for Haney’s Assembly seat would be her district manager Honey Mahogany, who is transgender and non-binary. The well-known black LGBTQ leader currently chairs the San Francisco Democratic Party and lost her bid last year to succeed Haney in the District 6 supervisor seat.
“I’m going to keep an open mind, no doubt. I haven’t made that decision,” Mahogany told BAR recently when asked about running for the Assembly seat.
Mahogany said he has no plans to move to either District 5, which now includes the transgender district he helped form, or District 9, where he lived for several years, to run for one of those supervisor seats next year
“I think it’s already a pretty crowded field,” he said of the D9 race, where three candidates have already taken papers, as the Political Notebook reported last week. “The 5th District now includes a neighborhood that remains near and dear to my heart, the Tenderloin. But I don’t live there now and I don’t plan on moving out of D6 in the future.”
While Mandelman and Mahogany would be strong candidates for the Assembly seat, a straight candidate could also jump into the race and potentially win. San Francisco has not had an LGBTQ member in the Assembly since 2014, when Ammiano was declared out of office that December.
The west side
So far, no LGBTQ candidates have announced a run to succeed Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who is out of his 19th Assembly District seat in 2024. Dist. Supt. 2 San Francisco Catherine Stefani, like Mandelman, who is serving his last term in 2024. the board, has filed to seek the seat, which covers San Francisco’s western neighborhoods and several of San County’s northernmost cities Matthew
Janice Li, a queer BART board member and current chair, has been talked about as a likely candidate for Ting’s seat. But he told the BAR on Tuesday that he has no plans to enter the race, focusing squarely on addressing the regional transit agency’s budget crisis and his professional work to address anti-Asian hate.
“I’m not making any moves to file and I’m not making any moves to prepare for this filing deadline. That’s probably the best and most accurate way to put it,” said Li, who also noted that no plans to start raise money for this campaign.
With California holding its primary next year on March 5 due to it being a presidential election year, the 2024 legislative candidate filing deadline is December 8. If the incumbent chooses not to run for re-election, the term will be extended until December 13. .
“If I end up running it’s because something serious has happened that makes me feel like I have to. I don’t feel it right now,” said Li, who did tell the BAR that he would like a progressive Chinese leader to step in. the race. “I’m not ready to jump.”
As for the prospect of not seeing any LGBTQ lawmakers from San Francisco for the first time since 1996, Li told BAR that part of the onus is on current officials to help build a pipeline of younger leaders who can step up and run
Mahogany noted that “it would be great” to see the city once again elect a woman to represent it in Sacramento. The last to do so was Fiona Ma, who was dismissed from the Assembly in 2012 and is currently the elected state treasurer.
“I’m not worried about that. San Francisco has a long history of sending LGBTQ candidates to Sacramento. I’m sure some LGBTQ representation will continue in Sacramento one way or another,” Mahogany said. “Frankly, other communities are also underrepresented in Sacramento.”
Haney told the BAR that San Francisco continues to need an LGBTQ lawmaker, and it seemed certain that person would serve in Sacramento during the 2025 legislative session.
“Whether it’s a senator or an assemblyman, we absolutely should have an LGBTQ representative in Sacramento, and I think we will,” he said.
Asked about the absence of queer representation in the San Francisco Statehouse, Mandelman said, “I think it would be a big issue at a time when people around the country and around the world are looking to California to lead.”
Gay man heralds Sacto’s major career
Steve Hansen, the gay former Sacramento city councilman, is running for mayor of the state capital next year. He was expected to do so after the city’s current mayor, Darrell Steinberg, announced last week that he would not seek re-election in 2024.
Hansen officially announced his candidacy on Tuesday, May 30 with the release of a launch video. The partner father of two young children also emailed supporters of his previous council campaigns about his decision.
“Growing up, people like me didn’t hold elected office. A closeted gay kid, raised by a single mom, my family struggled. We moved around a lot, faced housing insecurity, and even spend time in a domestic violence shelter,” Hansen wrote about her time living in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After graduating from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, Hansen moved to California. In 2012, he became the first person elected to the Sacramento City Council.
But he lost his bid for a third term in the March 2020 primary vote and resigned his council seat that December. Now he chooses to be elected the first mayor of his city in the primary voting on March 5 next year; the National LGBTQ Victory Fund and state LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California endorsed Hansen on May 31.
If no mayoral candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in the Nov. 5 general election. Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), prosecutor Maggy Krell and epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer are also running, with more candidates likely to enter the race.
If elected, Hansen could be the second mayor to lead one of California’s 10 largest cities in 2025. San Diego’s gay mayor, Todd Gloria, is seeking a second term next year.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check Monday mornings at Political Notes, the notebook’s online supplement. The column returns on Monday, June 5.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email m.bajko@ebar.com
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