THIS WEEK AT THE VOICE FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026
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by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
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by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
What was supposed to be a calm process to secure the remainder of Eric Swalwell’s term serving the 14th congressional district across the Bay has instead become another proxy war between the Democratic party’s progressive and establishment wings.
State Senator Aisha Wahab still leads in Tuesday’s special election to fill the disgraced Swalwell’s seat after beating BART board president Melissa Hernandez by more than 20 points in both June primaries, but now by a much smaller margin. Ballots are still being counted, with results to be announced Friday. As Politico reported, Wahab’s decision to run in the first place undercut State Delegation Chair Zoe Lofgren’s and other Democratic leaders’ effort to consolidate the field around a caretaker, former state Senator Bob Wieckowski.
Stakes rose dramatically when AIPAC-linked groups began pouring millions of dollars into the race, backing Hernandez and attacking Wahab. The New York Times put the contest in the spotlight as part of a larger battle over the Democratic Party’s direction and the mounting influence of pro-Israel spending in Democratic primaries. More than $4 million in independent expenditures has been reported in the race, an extraordinary sum for a low-turnout East Bay special election. In the end Wahab still looks to win Tuesday’s vote, albeit by a much smaller margin.
Wahab and Hernandez are already scheduled to face each other again in November for a full two-year term. So this week’s special election may have been less the end of the Swalwell succession fight than another round of an unusually expensive Bay Area Democratic civil war.
Cataloging and cross-referencing political endorsements is hard. This writer has on occasion compared the task to climbing a ladder while carrying a box of glass Christmas ornaments. And the vagaries of San Francisco supervisorial elections appear to have tripped up a widely cited independent source for elections, Ballotpedia.
Set up as a Wikipedia-style site based on user contributions in 2007, it shut down its “Guest Editor” program in 2016 in an effort to preserve its quality and neutrality — a perhaps understandable move in an era when Trumpism has made disinformation and political smack talk ubiquitous norms.
That said, in doing some background research on the upcoming November supervisors’ races, Yours Truly discovered a big boo-boo on the site. It conflated the endorsements of Gary McCoy, one of the frontrunners in District 8, with Guy McCoy, who is running in District 2 against incumbent Stephen Sherrill.
Gary McCoy, a well-connected political operative and aide to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, has many endorsements, including Pelosi and San Francisco’s other representative in Congress, Kevin Mullin. Guy McCoy is a political unknown who, according to his nomination papers, manages a Super Duper Burger (not the one in the Marina; we checked during dinner Tuesday night).
(At least we are dealing with homonymous contenders in the same race. This week also featured an open primary contest for an Alaska Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan. One of his opponents was a retired teacher, Dan J. Sullivan, also a Republican. Democrat Representative Mary Peltola handily finished first in the primary, with the incumbent Sullivan behind by several points; they will face each other in a runoff.)
We reached out to spokespersons for both Pelosi and Mullin, who confirmed that neither endorsed Guy McCoy. A spokesperson for Ballotpedia told us they were reviewing the endorsements and would correct any errors. And when we last checked, they had fixed some of the issues. But not all: another page created for another Kevin Mullin (a former Republican congressman from Vermont) still listed endorsements for Gary McCoy, Stephen Sherrill — and Eric Swalwell.
Finally, we wanted to address the drama (or non-drama, depending on who you talk to) over new committee assignments back home at City Hall, released Friday. District 5 Supervisor and would-be Mamdani acolyte Bilal Mahmood is crying foul over his losing his seats on the Land Use and Transportation Committee and the Government Audit and Oversight Committee.
While the narrative seems to be a united Moderate Middle holding the line against boosters of Builders’ Remedies on one side and sellers of Social Housing on the other, most coverage fails to highlight that Mahmood is now vice-chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, where some sources assert he could do even more … boat-rocking.
Check out links to our latest content below, or just bookmark our homepage to see the latest.
Top News
EDUCATION
School district plan to control citizen oversight of $1.5 billion bond spending lands in court
Local coalition sues Superintendent Su and school board
Back-to-school week is turning into back-to-court week for San Francisco Superintendent of Schools Maria Su and the school board. On Tuesday, a diverse group of public school graduates and supporters, taxpayers, and local organizations sued the school district in Superior Court seeking to block the district’s attempt to control the membership, meetings, and authorities of the independent public watchdog committee that oversees how the district spends $1.5 billion in school bonds.
OPINION
Absence of measurement isn’t equity; it’s the illusion of equity
Crowing about “retention” numbers masks an inconvenient and inequitable distinction: the students who got blindsided because they didn’t understand their own poor preparation for a quantitative major count exactly the same as the students who planned for a non-quantitative major from the start.
by Elizabeth Statmore
VOICE BOX
Treasure Island has had 537 power outages. That is not bad luck. It is a long-running, city-owned failure that the city refuses to name because naming it would force action.
by Barklee Sanders
Quote of the week
“If blue
Is a hue
You aspire to
The beaches of San Francisco are calling to you …”
—Will Durst in “IF BLUE (a poem)”
Nomi toon
In Case You Missed It
NEWS
Why S.F. neighborhoods are up in arms over new environmental rankings that could cost them money
CalEnviroScreen 5.0 dropped key San Francisco neighborhoods from top pollution rankings.
by Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CalMatters
A&E
Heroes are not so hard to find … on TV
If it feels like real-world heroes are in short supply these days, the fictional variety can be easily found on television.
by Michael Snyder
A&E
SFMOMA presents landmark Jacob Hashimoto installation ‘Giant Arc’
Hashimoto‘s layered, modular components draw on video games, virtual worlds, and cosmology.
by Sharon Anderson
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EVENTS
Out and about Aug. 20–26, 2026
What to do this weekend and beyond.
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
For your enjoyment the next several days, there are some street and block parties, a few concerts, both indoor and outdoor, a Museum Monday suggestion, and more. Read on.
Thursday, Aug. 20
Join Rob Thomson, the Presidio’s federal preservation officer, in celebration of the Presidio’s 250th anniversary. Learn about its history from precontact beginnings, its 217 years of military use, to today’s status as a beloved National Park site and one of the most successful historic preservation projects in the country in the speaker series, Making History Fun Again. 6 p.m. (cocktail hour at 5 p.m.) in the Redwood Room at the Clift. Free admission (excluding cocktails); RSVP at the link above.
Friday, Aug. 21
Baroque & Brew: Coffee Concert, performed by members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra playing period instruments, performing Versailles Salon: Court Music from Baroque France in the beautiful Conservatory at One Sansome, sounds like the best way to have coffee to me. 10 to 11 a.m. Free (including coffee and pastries).
Head to Fridays on Front for your outdoor happy hour and sports watch party to cheer on our Golden State Valkyries as they take on Chicago. Also enjoy live music, bar specials, and more, like the “freedom of sipping your favorite beverage in the street.” Free admission; RSVP at the link above.
The ninth annual San Francisco International Piano Festival kicks off tonight with a program of Samuel Barber, Derek Bermel, and Franz Liszt featuring Éva Polgár (piano) and Jeffrey LaDeur (piano), and Kindra Scharich, (mezzo-soprano). Friday and Sunday through Aug. 30 at Old First Church. Tickets from $30.
Saturday, Aug. 22
Pier 39 is hosting a Summer of Love weekend with live concerts on two stages, a tie-dye experience, Grateful Dead-inspired shopping, special dining offers, and of course, everyone’s favorite pier-plopping pinnipeds. Noon to 7 p.m. through Sunday. Free admission.
Sunday, Aug. 23
Sunday Streets is headed to the Bayview today for a four-block festival and party to foster community connection, movement, recreation, culture, and engagement. The event will feature cultural performances, exercise classes, and more, including an all-you-can-eat seafood boil by Gumbo Social, BBQ specials, live jazz and blues, a kids’ zone, and more. Noon to 5 p.m. on Lane Street between Thomas and Underwood avenues and K.C. Jones Playground. Free (excluding seafood boil).
Today’s Golden Gate Band concert is Celebrating Ukrainian Culture, featuring folk melodies, lively dances, and heartfelt anthems. So grab a picnic, your jacket, and enjoy your Sunday afternoon of music that reflects Ukraine’s “vibrant history and enduring pride.” 1 p.m. to 2:30–2:45 at the Bandshell. Free admission.
Listen to our podcasts
- Spending our money at SFUSD: CBOC going to court
- The Swalwell scandal continues, drama on the S.F. Board of Supervisors, Mayor Lurie begins his efforts aiming at November and breaking news on the SFUSD
- The Girl of the Golden West: An interview with Thomas Clark
- S.F. an ICE-free zone? The clash of the titans Newsom and Harris and the challenges we face ahead
- Plus more (and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible or everywhere else you get your favorite podcasts)
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(This newsletter was revised due to technical issues.)
