Following the social upheavals of the 1960s, San Francisco became one of the centers of progressive activism, with Democrats, and progressives dominating city politics. This continuing trend is also visible in the results of presidential elections; the last Republican president to win San Francisco was Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. Although the fight between Democrats and Republicans has been unequal for the last 40 years, it has become increasingly lopsided, with conservative commentators frequently attacking the city's politics using the ad hominem phrase, "San Francisco values". Because of its heavy liberal leanings, San Francisco has the highest percentage of Democratic voters of any California county as of November 2012. Campaign corruption is monitored by the San Francisco Ethics Commission and violations result in fines up to $5,000 per violation.
The San Francisco Youth Commission is a seventeen-member body which advises the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors on youth issues in San Francisco, California. Commissioners must be between the ages of 12 and 23.
Honey Mahogany is an American activist, politician, drag performer, and singer. She first came to national attention on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, followed by releasing her debut EP Honey Love. She was instrumental in setting up The Transgender District in San Francisco, where she served as the first director. In 2024, Mahogany was appointed director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives.
The election for mayor of the City and County of San Francisco was held on November 5, 2019. Incumbent mayor London Breed, who had previously been elected in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, was reelected to a first full term in office. All local elections in California are nonpartisan.
In 2018, five of the eleven seats of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were on the ballot in the 2018 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections. A special election was held on June 5 for one of the five seats, while the other four were decided on the November 6 general election ballot. The elections followed the ranked-choice voting format.
Catherine Michele Stefani is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly for the 19th district since 2024. She previously served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2018 to 2024, representing District 2.
Rafael Mandelman is an American attorney and politician currently serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing District 8.
Shamann Walton is an American politician. He has been a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 2019, representing District 10, and served as president of the Board from January 8, 2021 to January 8, 2023. Walton earlier served on the San Francisco Board of Education and was its president immediately prior to his election as supervisor.
Matthew Craig Haney is an American politician from San Francisco currently serving as a member of the California State Assembly from the 17th district, covering the eastern portion of the city. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, Haney had represented District 6 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2019 to 2022 and previously served as a commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education from 2013 to 2019.
Gordon Mar is an American politician from San Francisco. He was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2019 to 2023, representing District 4. He is the brother of former District 1 supervisor Eric Mar.
The 2018 election for the San Francisco Board of Education was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next three commissioners for the San Francisco Board of Education.
The 2022 California 17th State Assembly district special election was a special election to fill the vacant 17th Assembly District. The special election was called after incumbent Assemblymember David Chiu resigned the seat to become City Attorney of San Francisco. Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, won the election.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7, 2022, concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.
The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections were held on February 15, 2022. In a landslide election, over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education Commissioners—Alison Collins, Board President Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga—from office. All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed. The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.
Bilal Mahmood is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civil servant based in San Francisco, California. He is a former policy analyst in the Obama administration, as well as co-founder of the Foundation 13 Fund and the software company ClearBrain, where he also served as CEO. ClearBrain was acquired by Amplitude in March 2020.
Matt Dorsey is an American politician and communications professional. Dorsey has served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 6 since his appointment by Mayor London Breed on May 9, 2022. He was elected to a full term in the November 2022 election. He previously served as head of communications for the San Francisco Police Department.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election was held on November 8, 2022, following the successful recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It was held concurrent with the 2022 statewide general elections.
The 2024 San Francisco mayoral election took place on November 5, 2024, to elect the mayor of San Francisco, California. It was originally scheduled for November 7, 2023, but following the passage of Proposition H in 2022, mayoral elections were rescheduled to coincide with presidential elections. The election used ranked-choice voting.
Joel P. Engardio is an American politician, writer, and public-safety advocate. He is the supervisor for District 4 of San Francisco, California, serving since 2023 after unseating incumbent Gordon Mar in the 2022 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election.
The 2024 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections were held on November 5, 2024. Six of the eleven seats on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were up for election. The election was conducted with ranked-choice voting.
