Board History
1. Who have been Supervisors since the 1980 at large election?
2. Which Supervisors succeeded which Supervisors?
3. Were there any unusual changes? Why?
4. Which Supervisors were appointed in recent years?
5. Why did Supervisors leave office?
6. Who have been recent Board Presidents?
7. Has the committee structure always been the same for the past several years?
8. When did the new Charter go into effect?
9. What happened to the language in the old Charter?
10. How did the overall City government change under the new Charter?
11. Who has had to leave the Board because of the term limits?
12. What were the results of Supervisors’ elections since 1980?
13. Were there district elections several years ago?
14. Who were elected to those district seats in the 1970’s?
15. What was the situation in November 1998?
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1. Who have been Supervisors since the 1980 at large election?
The Present Board:
Michela Alioto-Pier was appointed in 2004 and ran for election in her own right in November 2004. She subsequently ran for re-election in November of 2006 and is eligible for re-election in November, 2010. She represents District Two.
Tom Ammiano was elected in 1994, 1998, 2000, and 2004. He represents District Nine. He is ineligible for re-election in November 2008, as he will have served two consecutive four-year terms. He ran for Mayor in 2003.
Carmen Chu was appointed as a replacement for Supervisor Ed Jew in September 2007. She currently represents District Four.
Chris Daly was elected in 2000, and subsequently re-elected in 2002 and 2006. He represents District Six. He is ineligible for re-election in 2010 as he will have served two consecutive four-year terms.
Bevan Dufty was elected in 2002, and subsequently re-elected in 2006. He represents District Eight. He is ineligible for re-election in 2010 as he will have served two consecutive four-year terms.
Sean Elsbernd was appointed in August 2004 and elected in his own right in November, 2004. He represents District Seven. He is eligible for election in November 2008.
*Ed Jew was elected in 2006, succeeding Fiona Ma and Leland Yee as the elected representative for District Four. As a result of ongoing state, local, and federal investigations he has been suspended from the Board of Supervisors pending the outcomes of his case.
Sophie Maxwell was elected in 2000, and subsequently re-elected in 2002 and 2006. She represents District Ten. She is ineligible for re-election in 2010 as he will have served two consecutive four-year terms.
Jake McGoldrick was elected in 2000 and 2004. He represents District One. He is ineligible for re-election in 2008 as he will have served two consecutive four-year terms.
Ross Mirkarimi was elected in 2004. He represents District Five. He is eligible for re-election in November, 2008.
Aaron Peskin was elected in 2000 and 2004. He represents District Three. He is ineligible for re-election as he will has served two four-year terms.
Gerardo Sandoval was elected in 2000 and 2004. He represents District Eleven. He is ineligible for re-election in 2006 as he will have served two four-year terms.
Former Supervisors:
Matt Gonzalez was elected in 2000. He represents District Five. He is President of the Board of Supervisors. He is eligible for re-election in November, 2004. He ran for Mayor in 2003.
Roberta Achtenberg was elected in 1990, and resigned June 2, 1993, to become HUD Assistant Secretary. She ran for Mayor of San Francisco in November, 1995, and was a close third in a three-way race, finishing behind eventual Mayor Willie Brown, Jr. and then-Mayor Frank Jordan. [Department of Full Disclosure: Your host worked for Achtenberg in San Francisco and Washington, DC in 1992 and 1993.]
Angela Alioto was elected in 1988 and 1992. After serving 8 years as Supervisor she could not run for reelection in 1996. She ran for Mayor in 1991 and 1995; she ran for Mayor in 2003.
Alicia D. Becerril was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown effective January 25, 1999, succeeding José Medina. She ran unsuccessfully to hold her seat, designated District Three, in 2000.
Sue Bierman was elected in 1992 and 1996. After serving eight years as Supervisor she could not run for reelection in 2000.
Harry Britt was first appointed in January 1979 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, succeeding Harvey Milk. Britt was then elected in 1980, 1984, and 1988. Britt chose not to run for reelection in 1992. Britt ran unsuccessfully for Assembly in 2002.
Amos Brown was appointed effective May 29, 1996, by Mayor Willie Brown, succeeding Carole Migden. He was elected in 1998 for a two year term. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection, designated District Eleven, in 2000.
Annemarie Conroy was appointed April 6, 1992, succeeding Doris Ward. She then ran unsuccessfully in 1994.
Lee Dolson was first elected in 1977, lost his seat in 1979, won in 1980, then ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1982.
Jim Gonzalez was appointed December 8, 1986, by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, succeeding Quentin Kopp. Gonzalez was then elected in 1988, and ran unsuccessfully in 1992.
Tony Hall was elected in 2000, representing District Seven. He resigned in August, 2004 to take over the Treasure Island Development Authority, and his former aide Sean Elsbernd was appointed to his seat by Mayor Newsom.
Terence Hallinan was elected in 1988 and 1992. After serving seven years as Supervisor, he resigned effective upon his swearing in as District Attorney on January 8, 1996.
Richard Hongisto was elected in 1980, 1982, and 1986. He ran successfully for Assessor in 1990.
Tom Hsieh was appointed September 5, 1986, by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, succeeding Louise Renne, who had become City Attorney. Hsieh then was elected in 1988 and 1992. Due to the two-term limit, he could not run for reelection in 1996.
Ella Hill Hutch was elected in 1977 and 1980. She died in office February 25, 1981.
Leslie Katz was appointed effective June 1, 1996, by Mayor Willie Brown, succeeding Willie B. Kennedy. Supervisor Katz was elected in November 1996. She did not run for reelection in 2000.
Barbara Kaufman was elected in
1992 and 1996. After serving eight years as Supervisor she could not run for reelection in 2000.
Willie B. Kennedy was appointed effective March 6, 1981, succeeding Ella Hill Hutch. She was elected in 1984, 1988, and 1992. She resigned in April 1996 in order to become Administrative Officer of the Public Transition Development Corp.
Quentin Kopp was elected in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1980, and 1984. He resigned November 30, 1986, to become State Senator. He is now a Judge.
Susan Leal was appointed June 7, 1993, by Mayor Frank Jordan, succeeding Roberta Achtenberg. Leal resigned effective January 8, 1998, to become City Treasurer. Leal ran for Mayor in 2003.
Mark Leno was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown effective April 22, 1998, succeeding Susan Leal, and was elected in his own right in 1998 and 2000. He represented District Eight. He joined the California Assembly in December, 2002, and represents the Eastern half of San Francisco.
Fiona Ma was elected in 2002, representing District Four. Instead of running for re-election in 2006, she ran for - and won - a seat in the California Assembly.
Bill Maher elected in 1982, 1986, and 1990, was first to feel the effect of the two term limit provision adopted in 1990, and was disallowed from defending his seat in 1994.
José Medina was elected in 1996, then effective January 19, 1999, resigned to accept an appointment by Gov. Gray Davis to be Director of the California Department of Transportation.
Carole Migden was elected in 1990 and 1994. She resigned effective March 28, 1996, to become a member of the State Assembly. She later served as a member of the State Board of Equalization and in November, 2004, was elected to the State Senate to represent the eastern half of San Francisco and Marin County.
John Molinari was elected in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, and 1984. (Drawing the short straw in the District Elections implementation of the 1977 race, he had to run again in 1979. He did not field an opponent.) He did not run for reelection in 1988.
Gavin Newsom was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown effective February 13, 1997, succeeding Kevin Shelley, and was re-elected in 1998, 2000, and 2002. He represents District Two . He resigned on January 8, 2004, to accept the office of Mayor.
Wendy Nelder was elected in 1980, 1982, and 1986. She ran unsuccessfully for Assessor in 1990 instead of running for reelection as Supervisor.
Louise Renne was appointed December 18, 1978, by Mayor Dianne Feinstein, succeeding Feinstein as Supervisor. Renne was elected in 1980 and 1984. She resigned September 3, 1986, to become City Attorney. She now runs her own law firm and is General Counsel to the San Francisco Unified School District. [Department of Full Disclosure: Your host worked for Renne from 1994 to 2000.]
Kevin Shelley was elected in 1990 and 1994. In November 1996 he was elected to the State Assembly seat previously held by John Burton who was elected to the State Senate. Shelley resigned from the Board effective December 2, 1996, when he took office as an Assemblyman. He is now Secretary of State of the State of California. [Department of Full Disclosure: Your host worked for Shelley in 1993 and 1994.
Carol Ruth Silver was elected in 1977, 1980, and 1984. She ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1988. She ran unsuccessfully for the District Six seat in 2000.
Mabel Teng was elected in 1994 and in 1998. She ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 2000. She is now Assessor of the City and County of San Francisco, defeating Doris Ward in the 2002 race.
Nancy Walker was elected in 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1986. She chose not to run for reelection in 1990. [Department of Full Disclosure: Your host worked for Walker in 1989 and 1990.]
Doris Ward was elected in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, and 1990. She resigned April 3, 1992, to become Assessor.
Michael Yaki was appointed effective February 5, 1996, succeeding Terence Hallinan. Yaki was elected in November 1996. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 2000.
Leland Yee was elected in 1996 and 2000. He represented District Four. He joined the California Assembly in December, 2002, and is currently serving as a State Senator representing the western half of San Francisco and Northern San Mateo County.
2. Which Supervisors succeeded which Supervisors?Naturally, when one Supervisor is appointed or only one Supervisor is elected at an election, the succession is clear. When two or three new Supervisors are elected at the same time, we consider the new Supervisor with the most votes to be succeeding the most senior departing Supervisor. With the return of District Elections in 2000, it became impossible to determine the exact order of succession of the District Six and District 10 seats, as they were open and no incumbent was defeated. I have arbitrarily assigned Daly to have “succeeded” Kaufman and Maxwell to have “succeeded” Katz, due only to geographical imperatives that place the residences of those pairs closer to each other - neither Daly nor Maxwell actually succeeded Kaufman and Katz.
This list is the succession of Supervisors beginning with the 1980 election when the City returned to at-large elections. The first named Supervisor in each line was elected in 1980. The order of listing is the order of votes in the 1980 election. The dates show the year of the first election of a successor, or, if an asterisk is shown, the year of appointment.
| Kopp 1971 | J. Gonzalez 1986* | Kaufman 1992 | Daly 2000 | ||
| Molinari 1971 | Alioto 1988 | Yee 1996 | Ma 2002 | Jew 2006 | Chu 2006 |
| Renne 1978 | Hsieh 1986* | Medina 1996 | Becerril 1999* | Peskin 2000 | |
| Silver 1977 | Hallinan 1988 | Yaki 1996* | McGoldrick 2000 | ||
| Hutch 1977 | Kennedy 1981* | Katz 1996* | Maxwell 2000 | ||
| Britt 1979 | Bierman 1992 | M. Gonzalez 2000 | Mirkarimi 2004 | ||
| Walker 1979 | Migden 1990 | Brown 1996* | Sandoval 2000 | ||
| Ward 1979 | Conroy 1992* | Teng 1994 | Hall 2000 | Elsbernd 2004 | |
| Dolson 1980 | Maher 1982 | Ammiano 1994 | |||
| Hongisto 1980 | Achtenberg 1990 | Leal 1993* | Leno 1998* | Dufty 2002 | |
| Nelder 1980 | Shelley 1990 | Newsom 1997* | Alioto-Pier 2004 |
3. Were there any unusual changes? Why?
Yes. In a three year period, from February 1996 to February 1999, eight new Supervisors were acquired even though no incumbent lost an election.
(1) In November 1995 voters elected Supervisor Terence Hallinan to be District Attorney. In February 1996 Mayor Willie Brown appointed Michael Yaki to replace Hallinan for the remaining 11 months of his term as Supervisor. Yaki was then elected in November 1996.
(2) In December 1995 voters elected Speaker Emeritus Willie Brown to be San Francisco Mayor. On March 26, 1996, voters elected Supervisor Carole Migden to Mayor Brown’s former seat in the Assembly. In May, Mayor Brown appointed Amos Brown to replace Migden on the Board, to serve the remaining 31 months of her term.
(3) In June 1996 Supervisor Kennedy left to become Administrative Officer of the Public Transition Development Corp. Mayor Brown then appointed Leslie Katz to replace Kennedy for the remaining seven months of her term.
(4 and 5) In November 1996 voters elected Leland Yee and José Medina to replace Tom Hsieh and Angela Alioto, who could not run because of the two term limit.
(6) In November 1996 voters elected Kevin Shelley to a State Assembly seat. Mayor Brown then appointed Gavin Newsom to replace Shelley on the Board effective February 13, 1997.
(7) In November 1997 voters elected Supervisor Susan Leal to serve as City Treasurer. Mayor Willie Brown then appointed Mark Leno to succeed Susan Leal effective April 22, 1998.
(8) In January 1999 Supervisor José Medina resigned to accept an appointment by Governor Gray Davis as Director of the California Department of Transportation. Mayor Willie Brown then appointed Alicia D. Becerril to succeed José Medina effective January 25, 1999.
4. Which Supervisors were appointed in recent years?
Here are the appointments in the most recent 20 year period.
Mayor Dianne Feinstein appointed five Supervisors:
Donald Horanzy to succeed Supervisor Dan White, who had resigned.
Louise Renne to succeed Supervisor Feinstein, the new Mayor succeeding George Moscone.
Harry Britt to succeed Supervisor Harvey Milk, killed by former Supervisor White.
Tom Hsieh to succeed Supervisor Louise Renne who was appointed City Attorney.
Jim Gonzalez to succeed Supervisor Quentin Kopp, who was elected State Senator.
Mayor Art Agnos appointed no Supervisors.
Mayor Frank Jordan appointed two Supervisors:
Annemarie Conroy to succeed Doris Ward who was appointed City Assessor.
Susan Leal to succeed Roberta Achtenberg, who resigned to become HUD Assistant Secretary.
Mayor Willie Brown appointed six (or eight, depending on how you think about it) Supervisors:
Michael Yaki to succeed Terence Hallinan, who was elected District Attorney.
Amos Brown to succeed Carole Migden, who was elected to the State Assembly.
Leslie Katz to succeed Willie B. Kennedy, who resigned to become an officer of the Transition Development Corp.
Gavin Newsom to succeed Kevin Shelley, who was elected to the State Assembly.
Mark Leno to succeed Susan Leal, who was elected City Treasurer.
Alicia D. Becerril to succeed José Medina, who was appointed head of CalTrans.
[Note - upon their December 2002 victories, Mayor Brown appointed newly elected Supervisors Fiona Ma and Bevan Dufty to office. He appointed them not to the seats they had won, but to the interim three-week terms remaining when Assemblymen Yee and Leno took their seats in the Assembly.]
Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed three Supervisors (or four, depending on how you think about it):
Michela Alioto-Pier to succeed himself, when he became Mayor
Sean Elsbernd to succeed Tony Hall, when Hall was appointed to run Treasure Island.
[Note - in December, 2006, after Jew's November 2006 victory, Mayor Newsom appointed newly elected Supervisor Ed Jew to office, as Fiona Ma had been sworn into her seat in the California State Assembly.]Carmen Chu to succeed Ed Jew on an interim basis pending the outcome of an Ethics Commission investigation and trial.
As you can see, political promotions and two assassinations contributed to the turnover.
5. Why did Supervisors leave office?
Of the 45 Supervisors in office since 1980, 34 have left:
14 left for another position (Achtenberg, Hallinan, Hongisto, Kennedy, Kopp, Leal, Leno, Ma, Medina, Migden, Newsom, Renne, Shelley, Ward, Yee)
8 were defeated for election or reelection (Becerril, Brown, Conroy, Dolson, Jim Gonzalez, Silver, Teng, Yaki)
5 chose not to run for reelection (Britt, Katz, Molinari, Nelder, Walker)
1 died in office (Hutch)
5 left because of the two term limit (Alioto, Hsieh, Maher, Bierman, Kaufman)
6. Who have been recent Board Presidents?
1981 - 1982 John L. Molinari*
1982 - 1982 Quentin L. Kopp*
1983 - 1984 Wendy Nelder
1985 - 1986 John L. Molinari
1987 - 1988 Nancy G. Walker
1989 - 1990 Harry G. Britt
1991 - 1992 Doris M. Ward**
1992 - 1992 Kevin Shelley**
1993 - 1994 Angela Alioto
1995 - 1996 Kevin Shelley***
1996 - 1998 Barbara Kaufman***
1999 - 2002 Tom Ammiano
2003 - 2004 Matt Gonzalez
2005 - Aaron Peskin
* Supervisor Molinari served as President until June 1982 when a Charter amendment became effective requiring the top vote getter in the most recent election to become president; Supervisor Kopp then served until the following January 8.
** Supervisor Ward served until April 1992 when she resigned to become Assessor; Supervisor Shelley was then selected by his colleagues and served as President until the following January 8.
*** Supervisor Shelley served as President until December 1996 when he resigned to become a member of the State Assembly. Supervisor Kaufman was then elected by her colleagues to serve as President until the following January 8 when she became President as the result of having been the top vote getter in November.
7. Has the committee structure always been the same for the past several years?
No. It has varied greatly. The Board often amends the Rules to approve a new committee structure request of a new President.
These have been recent standing committees:
2003
1. Finance Committee
2. Rules Committee
3. City Services Committee
4. Land Use Committee
5. Budget Committee
2002
1. Finance Committee
2. Health and Human Services Committee
3. Public Works and Public Protections Committee
4. Rules and Audits Committee
5. Neighborhood Services and Recreation Committee
6. City and School District Committee
7. Transportation and Commerce Committee
8. Budget Committee
2000
1. Audit, Labor and Government Efficiency Committee
2. Finance Committee
3. Housing, Transportation and Land Use Committee
4. Neighborhood Services and Parks Committee
5. Public Health and Environment Committee
6. Public Utilities and Deregulation Committee
7. Rules Committee
8. Economic Vitality, Small Business and Social Policy
9. City and School District Committee
1999
1. Audit and Government Efficiency Committee
2. Finance and Labor Committee
3. Housing and Social Policy Committee
4. Parks and Recreation Committee
5. Public Health and Environment Committee
6. Public Utilities and Deregulation Committee
7. Rules Committee
8. Small Business, Economic Vitality and Consumer Services
9. Transportation and Land Use
1998
1. Finance Committee
2. Rules Committee
3. Economic Development, Transportation and Technology Committee
4. Health, Family and Environment Committee
5. Housing and Neighborhood Services Committee
6. Parks and Recreation
1997
1. Finance Committee
2. Rules Committee
3. Economic Development, Transportation and Technology Committee
4. Health, Family and Environment Committee
5. Housing and Neighborhood Services Committee
1993-1996
1. Budget
2. Economic Vitality and Social Policy
3. Government Efficiency and Labor
4. Health, Public Safety and Environment
5. Housing and Land Use
6. Rules
In 1996 there were also three special committees: (1) The Select Committee on Base Closures concerned with the closures of the Presidio, Hunters Point, and Treasure Island, (2) The Select Committee on Implementation of the 1996 Charter, and (3) The Select Committee on Municipal Public Power concerned with whether the City should distribute electricity in San Francisco.
1990-1992
1. Finance
2. City Services
3. Economic and Social Policy
4. Administration and Oversight
1987-1989
1. Finance
2. Government Operations
3. Human Services
4. Land Use
5. Public Works
6. Rules
7. Oversight
1982-1986
1. Finance
2. Rules and Legislation
3. Planning, Housing and Development
4. Civil Service and General Administration
5. Human Services
6. Health
7. Public Works
8. Public Protection
9. Culture and Recreation
10. Energy and Environment
11. Traffic and Transportation
1981 and Before
1. Finance
2. Fire, Safety and Police
3. Planning, Housing and Development
4. State and National Affairs
5. Governmental Services
6. Health and Environment
7. Streets and Transportation
8. Legislative and Personnel
9. Community Services
10. Rules
11. Urban and Consumer Affairs
8. When did the new Charter go into effect?
The 1996 Charter went into effect on July 1, 1996, although a few provisions went into effect over the three months following. The Recorder’s office did not merge with the Assessor’s office until the first of July 1997.
9. What happened to the language in the old Charter?
Some of it was put in the new Charter, some of it was put in an appendix of the new Charter where it has the same legal effect as if it were in the main body of the Charter (but it makes the main section more streamlined), some of it was put in the Administrative Code as ordinances which can be amended by the Board, and some of it was simply deleted as obsolete.
10. How did the overall City government change under the new Charter?
The City government became more centralized. The Mayor’s position and the Board’s position were strengthened.
11. Who has had to leave the Board because of the term limits?
Bill Maher came on the Board in 1983. In 1990 he supported the two term limit proposal and then was not able to run in 1994 because of the limit. He served 12 years. Tom Hsieh, who came on the Board in mid 1986, and Angela Alioto who was elected in 1988, were not able to run in 1996 because of the two term limit. Supervisor Willie B. Kennedy, who served 15 years, and Supervisor Terence Hallinan both would not have been able to run in 1996 but both left to take other positions. Supervisors Carole Migden and Kevin Shelley both left the Board in their sixth year in office to run successfully for the State Assembly. Supervisors Sue Bierman and Barbara Kaufman were unable to run in 2000 because of the two term limit.
12. What were the results of Supervisors’ elections since 1980?
These are the Election results, the order of finish, since district elections ended in 1980:
1980 Election
1. Quentin L. Kopp
2. John L. Molinari
3. Louise H. Renne
4. Carol Ruth Silver
5. Ella Hill Hutch
6. Harry Britt
7. Nancy G. Walker
8. Doris M. Ward
9. Lee S. Dolson*
10. Richard D. Hongisto*
11. Wendy Nelder*
then 54 unsuccessful candidates
1982 Election
1. Wendy Nelder
2. Richard D. Hongisto
3. Doris M. Ward
4. Nancy G. Walker
5. Bill Maher*
then 19 unsuccessful candidates
1984 Election
1. John L. Molinari
2. Louise Renne
3. Quentin L. Kopp
4. Harry Britt
5. Willie B. Kennedy
6. Carol Ruth Silver
then 23 unsuccessful candidates
1986 Election
1. Nancy G. Walker
2. Bill Maher
3. Richard D. Hongisto
4. Doris M. Ward
5. Wendy Nelder
then 14 unsuccessful candidates
1988 Election
1. Harry Britt
2. Angela Alioto*
3. Tom Hsieh
4. Terence Hallinan*
5. Willie B. Kennedy
6. Jim Gonzalez
then 18 unsuccessful candidates
1990 Election
1. Doris Ward
2. Bill Maher
3. Carole Migden*
4. Roberta Achtenberg*
5. Kevin Shelley*
then 20 unsuccessful candidates
1992 Election
1. Angela Alioto
2. Sue Bierman*
3. Tom Hsieh
4. Willie B. Kennedy
5. Barbara Kaufman*
6. Terence Hallinan
then 20 unsuccessful candidates
1994 Election
1. Kevin Shelley
2. Carole Migden
3. Susan Leal
4. Tom Ammiano*
5. Mabel Teng*
then 19 unsuccessful candidates
1996 Election
1. Barbara Kaufman
2. Sue Bierman
3. Leland Yee*
4. Leslie Katz
5. Michael Yaki
6. José Medina*
then 22 unsuccessful candidates
1998 Election
1. Ammiano
2. Newsom
3. Teng
4. Leno
5. Brown
then 12 unsuccessful candidates
2000 Election - Return of District Elections
(number is district represented, not finish order)
1. McGoldrick*
2. Newsom
3. Peskin*
4. Yee
5. Gonzalez*
6. Daly*
7. Hall*
8. Leno
9. Ammiano
10. Maxwell*
11. Sandoval*
then over eighty unsuccessful candidates
*Indicates a non-incumbent elected
2002 Election
(number is the district represented, not finish order)
2. Newsom
4. Ma*
6. Daly
8. Dufty*
10. Maxwell
*Indicates a non-incumbent elected
2004 Election
(number is the district represented, not finish order)
1. McGoldrick
2. Alioto-Pier
3. Peskin
5. Mirkarimi*
7. Elsbernd
9. Ammiano
11. Sandoval
*Indicates a non-incumbent elected
2006 Election
(number is the district represented, not finish order)
2. Alioto-Pier
4. Jew*
6. Daly
8. Dufty
10. Maxwell
*Indicates a non-incumbent elected
13. Were there district elections several years ago?
In 1975 voters approved district elections. In 1977 there were eleven Supervisors elected from districts. In 1979 voters elected Supervisors from six of the eleven districts, the odd numbered districts. Then in August 1980, the voters amended the Charter to go back to at-large elections in November 1980.
14. Who were elected to those district seats in the 1970’s?
In 1977 five previously at large Supervisors were elected by a district. They were Supervisors Dianne Feinstein, Robert Gonzales, Quentin Kopp, John Molinari, and Ronald Pelosi. The six newly elected from districts were Supervisors Lee Dolson, Ella Hill Hutch, Gordon Lau, Harvey Milk, Carol Ruth Silver, and Dan White.
Then in 1979, Supervisor John Molinari was reelected, Supervisor Harry Britt (having previously been appointed) was elected, and Supervisors John Bardis, Ed Lawson, Nancy Walker, and Doris Ward were newly elected.
Of the 11 at-large Supervisors elected in 1980, nine had previously been district Supervisors. They were Supervisors Britt, Dolson, Hutch, Kopp, Molinari, Renne, Silver, Walker, and Ward. Two new Supervisors were elected that year, Supervisors Richard Hongisto and Wendy Nelder.
15. What was the situation in November 1998?
In November 1998 there was no Supervisor who could not run because of term limits. Supervisors Ammiano, Brown, Leno, Newsom, and Teng all ran for two year terms which do not count as a term under the two term limit. They were able to run in a district in 2000.
A version of the information listed here was originally written by former Clerk of the Board of Supervisors John Taylor, who took an intense interest in documenting the recent history of the Board of Supervisors. His original work, partially updated by the staff of current City Clerk Gloria Young, can be found on the City of San Francisco Website. This version is updated and kept current by Usual Suspects staff. We’re grateful to the past and present City Clerks for their work in creating and preserving this work.
Alexis Ward Smith