Labor organizer and Mission Terrace resident Chyanne Chen will be District 11’s next supervisor.
Chen, 40, was neck and neck with Michael Lai after the election. The millennials and Asian immigrants were separated by about 200 votes for days after the race.
Lai remained ahead until Nov. 9 when Chen jumped past Lai with a 99-vote lead and remained the top pick when results were called on Nov. 16.
“I’m proud and honored to be Supervisor-Elect for District 11,” Chen said in a statement on Instagram. “This was a close election and I am committed to bringing people together to fight for stronger communities, safe neighborhoods and improved services.”
While the announcement came later in the evening on Nov. 16, Lai stayed optimistic after the 4 p.m. results drop stating on X, formerly known as Twitter, how many citywide ballots were left to count and how the next update would be at 4 p.m. the following Monday.
Just before 2 p.m. on Nov. 17, however, Lai conceded on social media saying that he called Chen to congratulate her as being the first Asian supervisor for District 11 and offered his help in making the district the best it can be.
“To the working families, small business owners, young and old — I’m not going anywhere,” Lai said in his statement. “We’re just getting started.”
Chen will succeed current District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí. She and Ernest “EJ” Jones, one of Safaí’s former legislative aides, formed a ranked-choice-voting alliance in the last few months of their campaigns, hosting multiple meet and greets and other events together.
Election officials said 2,837 of Jones’ votes, after coming in third for first-choice votes, were transferred to Chen while 1,567 went to Lai, according to a Nov. 19 results report from the San Francisco Department of Elections.
“From the start, people saw us as similarly aligned in values at our core,” Jones told Mission Local. “Maybe we don’t agree on every piece of legislation but we are willing to work together.”
Chen did not respond to an interview request.
Chen was endorsed by various labor unions such as the Service Employees International Union 1021 and SEIU 2015 and by the Rose Pak Democratic Club. Her voters were concentrated in the northern half of the district in the Mission Terrace, Ingleside and Excelsior neighborhoods.
Anne Marie Kristoff (she/her) is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University's journalism program. She enjoys writing about the arts, entertainment and nature.
