Norman Yee is the presumed victor in the race for District 7 Supervisor. File photo by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
November 15, 2012
In a contest that may go down as one of the closest in San Francisco political history, School Board President Norman Yee today declared victory in the race for District 7 Supervisor.
With all ballots counted and tabulated, including provisional ballots, Yee, with 12,448 votes, has defeated labor leader F.X. Crowley (12,317 votes) by a mere 131 votes in the ranked choice race, besting a field of nine candidates including termed-out Supervisor Sean Elsbernd’s sole-endorsed candidate, former Board of Appeals President Michael Garcia (7,449 votes), who finished a distant third.
Though the election has not been certified, Department of Elections Director John Arntz told reporters today that all ballots have been counted and that Yee is the presumed victor.
“I am pleased that the final vote count has been completed, showing I have come out in front,” Yee said in a statement. “I am so delighted that my first choice votes prevailed even with ranked choice factored in. It has been a very long eight days since Election Night for my family and my supporters. Through it all, they have stood by me and provided encouragement.”
“I would like to thank my opponents for creating a dynamic race,” Yee added. “I think we can all agree that we care about San Francisco and District 7 and I would be honored to work with them to address issues like supporting small businesses and keeping jobs in San Francisco. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with other Supervisors to make San Francisco a safer and better place for families and individuals to live. As I said during my campaign, I will bring an independent voice, free of special interest groups, to represent District 7.”
In his statement Yee honored Supervisor Elsbernd “for his years of service to District 7 residents and to the City as a whole.”
Yee, a San Francisco native, was endorsed by Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Jane Kim and Eric Mar, among other electeds, groups and organizations. He is married to his wife, Cathy; they have two daughters. He is expected to assume office in January after serving two terms as President on the San Francisco School Board.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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November 16, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Hurrah! An elected, non-appointed Supervisor, unlike that jerk Elsbernd who was appointed by Gavin Newsom and the machine, where he stabbed his old boss Tony Hall in the back with forged checks in front of the Dubious Ethics Commission. Elsbernd was always a phony fiscal conservative who gave the treasury away to his “public safety” union friends. Who knows how Mr. Yee will turn out but it can’t be worse than what he’s replacing.
And the real untold story is the shift from old-school white Catholics on the Westside giving way to the Chinese who have been treated like crap in this city for a good century. Interesting times.
November 16, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Hadn’t actually thought about that. San Francisco now has four Chinese Supervisors, five Asian Supervisors counting Jane Kim, and a Chinese mayor. Two African Americans and two Latinos make it a majority minority, people of color government, and with more than 10% sexual minority representation. Too bad it’s not progressive.
November 16, 2012 at 5:42 pm
I seem to be the only person responding to this thus far, though there were over 80 comments on the Steven Hill’s analysis, “The District 5 Progressive Coalition Meltdown.” Probably says a great deal about where Fog City Journal readers live, i.e., not in D7.
I don’t know much about this race either except that Sean Elsbernd seems to have been the least progressive member of the Board. I was wondering how much this might do to reduce the impact of the D5 loss.