THIS WEEK AT THE VOICE FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2025
To view in browser, get past issues, or subscribe, CLICK HERE
by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
BROKEN FIXER: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50, which would replace the current state congressional district map with a temporary one drafted by the state legislature in response to President Donald Trump’s gerrymandering play in several GOP-dominated states, continues to garner voter support according to polls in August and September. But as we reported last month, some local “progressives” seem to be siding with Trumpers in opposition.
Add to the list: Cynthia Dai, the controversial former elections commissioner who helped orchestrate havoc during San Francisco’s supervisorial redistricting process in 2022, as well as a retaliatory campaign against Elections Director John Arntz.
Dai is one of three former state redistricting commission members that signed off on the rebuttal to Newsom’s argument in favor of Proposition 50 in the ballot handbook.
Dai also led an effort to undo San Francisco’s 2022 redistricting, with a possible charter amendment for which former Supervisor Aaron Peskin campaigned.
Most recently, she made a bid for a seat on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force but was rebuffed by supervisors.
MORE D4 INTRIGUE: A source tells us that Peskin dropped more intel, or rumors, regarding who Mayor Daniel Lurie is purportedly looking into for appointment to the soon-to-be-vacant supervisorial seat, while attending an opening reception for the San Francisco Public Library’s World War II Comfort Women exhibition.
The former board president and mayoral candidate apparently floated Realtor Steven Huang as a possible candidate Lurie was considering. (Does the mayor have an OPSEC problem?) The following weekend, a reporter from a Chinese-language paper tried to pin Huang down, but he wouldn’t confirm or deny that he was under consideration.
Huang is president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors and a board member of the state association. He’s also involved in parent advocacy and frequently attends political events, which he (or a staffer?) dutifully documents on his Facebook page, a public figure page with about 6,000 followers. That said, he doesn’t appear to have held any public positions, appointed or otherwise.
Also, pro-recall forces apparently aren’t impressed. Activist Selena Chu posted about the rumor on X, calling Huang “a politician-chaser” and “social climber.”
Chu has also made it known that she’s interested in the job.
Check out links to our latest content below, or just bookmark our homepage to see the latest.
Top News
CITY HALL
From Union Hall to City Hall, new policy, political fight over surveillance tech
Left-leaning supervisors gearing up for a two-front war over safety cameras.
by Mike Ege
As San Francisco law enforcement authorities tout recent gains against criminal activity, made possible by the use of new automated license plate reading (ALPR) street cameras, they and the data they generate are becoming an issue at City Hall again as members of the Board of Supervisors revisit regulation of the cameras. Meanwhile, the issue is also being used as ammunition in a factional fight within the local Democratic Party.
EDUCATION
Over $35 million in city funds spent by school district without required accountability
Supervisors should invoke City Charter before sending over another $29 million
by John Trasviña
NEWS
K-9 guardians provide safety and empathy in San Francisco’s emergency rooms
Hospitals statewide are using K-9 units to enhance security and deter crime.
by Liz Le
Quote of the week
“I spent a long time studying this race before deciding to get in. In a regular cycle, it wouldn’t be possible for someone like me to win this race because this race just wouldn’t get the kind of attention. However, there is now a widespread awareness that we’re in a crisis, and I think that’s what makes this different.”
— San Francisco activist and fund manager Patrick Wolff on his run for state insurance commissioner
Nomi toon
In Case You Missed It
POLITICS
Patrick Wolff is running for insurance commissioner
S.F. activist, fund manager aims for Sacramento.
by Mike Ege
CRIME
Grandpa Vicha murder trial continued to Oct. 15
Optimism that series of delays is at an end
by John Trasviña
A&E
Sibling conflict and songs hit the streets of S.F.
Ari and Ethan Gold dramatize their filial relationship in an intimate urban odyssey with music.
by Michael Snyder
Like what you see? Support us | Subscribe to this newsletter
EVENTS
Out and about Oct. 2–8, 2025
What to do this weekend and beyond.
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
It’s music, music, music this week from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to Ledisi and swing, outdoor festivals, a heart-warming and funny theater production, what’s likely to be a pretty curtailed Fleet Week, and more. Read on for my picks for the week.
Thursday, Oct. 2
Fog City Swing, a relatively new jazz and swing band, is a small band with a big band sound. It has been playing to sold-out crowds with a song list that ranges from Sinatra to Count Basie to Michael Jackson. See them tonight at the Keys Jazz Bistro. Tickets: $30.
ACT’s heartwarming, award-winning comedy-drama Kim’s Convenience, which inspired the Netflix series hit about a Korean family-run bodega in Toronto, is a “feel-good ode to generations of immigrants who have made Canada the country that it is today.” Kim struggles with the gap between his values and those of his Canadian-born children while also facing neighborhood gentrification. Tickets from $29.
Friday, Oct. 3
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass kicks off today and will feature over 70 artists on six stages, including Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, and many more, like the Hellman family bands Marco and the Polos and Purple Glaze. Through Sunday. Free admission.
Stop by the Shipyard Silent Art Auction and Reception, featuring over 130 original works donated by the Shipyard artists. Meet the artists, preview the collection, and make note of your favorites so you can be among the first to bid. Free admission.
Saturday, Oct. 4
Today is the 9th Annual Richmond Autumn Moon Festival, where community, culture, and good food come together. You’ll find nearly 80 vendors offering food, beverages, and of course, moon cakes; arts and crafts; live performances including lion dancing and kung fu demonstrations, guzheng music; and more like a giant Labubu appearance. Free admission.
There’s a Star Party in the Presidio tonight, organized by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers, featuring stargazing, moongazing, planet-gazing, and globular cluster-gazing through telescopes. Visit the SFAA site to confirm the party’s on because heavy fog/overcast skies cancel. Karl’s been on vacay for a few days and not scheduled to return tonight after a sunny day, but that was at press time. Free admission.
Sunday, Oct. 5
Courtesy Museo Italo Americano
Coffee aficionados will enjoy Un caffé con Luciano at Museo Italo Americano, which will feature a presentation by master roaster and original owner Luciano Repetto of the city’s oldest (and many say finest) coffee roastery, the iconic Graffeo. Includes a tasting. Tickets: $15.
How’s this for a Sunday fun day: Ride the ferry over to Treasure Island’s new Cityside Park (with beautiful views of the city skyline) for the Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy live music, pick out your pumpkin (a small one if you’re ferrying), watch the kiddos in the bounce house and playing on the hay bale pyramid, love on the adorable fuzzies in the petting zoo, indulge in sweet treats and savory food, and more. Free, RSVP here.
Canadian Forces Snowbirds | Instagram
Today marks the start of a scaled-back Fleet Week, pending the resolution of the government shutdown. If that doesn’t happen, the airshow will feature our friends from the north, the Canadian Snowbirds (making their first appearance since 2017), as well as other aerial performances, and there will still be visiting ships from Canada and Colombia. Officials stress that the week is not canceled, so stay tuned for updates from local media and the Fleet Week site, which had not been updated at press time. Free admission.
Listen to our podcasts
- Have your cake and eat it too! The Golden Gate Park Band bake sale Oct. 12
- The changing face of San Francisco and beyond
- The end of EV perks, crackdown on CSUs, parking fees in the Presidio, and the impact of a government shutdown as Fleet Week approaches
- Can Mayor Lurie reform the city focusing on results?
- Plus more (and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible or everywhere else you get your favorite podcasts)
Support our newsroom
With the support of readers like you, we provide thoughtful articles and media for a better San Francisco. This is your chance to support credible, community-based, public-service journalism. Please join us!
