When the San Francisco Standard ran a tabloid style article on an alleged sexual assault by Manny Yekutiel, owner of civic cafe Manny’s and a candidate for District 8 supervisor, one of the authors stood out: Joe Fitz Rodriguez. That’s because “Fitz” as he’s known, has a long reputation for helping politicians on the left, and, in fact, I have some personal experience with that. In early 2020, when supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen, and Shamann Walton tried to take the Marina Times newspaper’s small city ad contract away because I wrote critically of them, it was Fitz they went to.
In his official capacity as vice president of the Society for Professional Journalists Northern California chapter, he called me one evening after I appeared on KGO Radio to discuss the egregious attempt by politicians to stomp on my First Amendment rights. “Susan,” Fitz drawled. “Joe,” I drawled back. “You have to back off of the progressives.” I was shocked as Fitz explained that he spoke with Preston about how to “handle the situation,” and then, without hesitation, he said, “You’re making it really hard for me to help you.” Playing dumb, I asked him why. “If you keep going after the progressives, I can’t help you,” came his arrogant reply. When word got out, Fitz took to Twitter to “explain” why he talked to the politician rather than the journalist he attacked. “Let me clarify for those troubled by this statement: SPJ hasn’t signed onto anything, but I certainly did call Sup. Preston with our concerns re: 1st amendment. He kindly engaged in a thoughtful discussion. …,” Fitz wrote.
Fast forward to the sloppily written, one sided, unresearched article about the alleged Yekutiel sexual attack, and Fitz isn’t the only questionable character. “In April, Brad Joseph Chapin, a political activist and former Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club board member, filed a police report alleging a 2020 incident involving Yekutiel. The San Francisco Police Department launched an investigation,” the story reads. The alleged assault occurred six years ago at a party, according to Chapin. On social media platform X, a cast of the usual characters came out to comment and support Chapin, including well-known political gadfly Brandon Harami. If that name sounds familiar, Harami left San Francisco for Oakland with hopes that his boss, councilmember Sheng Thao, would become mayor, which she did. Then she was recalled and later arrested for corruption, and Harami was fired not long after.
Harami, who has been mostly absent from X comments since the Thao scandal, appeared under the Standard article to say that he has been “friends with Chapin for a decade.” Both Harami and Chapin are Democratic Socialists and both spent time with the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club (which has had corruption issues of its own related to political endorsements). In the District 8 supervisor race, the Milk Club has endorsed Gary McCoy, who served as their co-president September 2024 through January 2025 and has been a member for more than a decade. McCoy is best known as a harm reduction advocate for the controversial HealthRIGHT 360 and for working as Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s California political director for seven years. Yekutiel entered the race in mid-September of 2025 with McCoy announcing his candidacy at the end of the same month. Despite both having progressive leanings, Yekutiel has ties to San Francisco’s popular mayor Daniel Lurie and his wealthy friends, which helped him quickly become the frontrunner, leaving McCoy in the fundraising dust.
“I grew up in rural Missouri, as part of the only immigrant family within 11 miles in any direction, but the worst racism I’ve ever encountered was in 2020, right here in the proud progressive bastion of San Francisco.”
— Former congressional candidate Shahid Buttar
Important details emerge
Once the San Francisco Standard ran their story, the San Francisco Chronicle followed up with a far better researched and detailed account stating that the newspaper had first contacted Chapin in March 2026 after hearing of his allegations, which he then disclosed to a reporter in a series of interviews. According to author Alyce McFadden, the Chronicle sought to independently verify the accusations but couldn’t reach any witnesses who attended the party. One of the party’s hosts, who held the event at a Mission District condo, didn’t respond to multiple attempts to discuss the event. Therefore, they decided not to run the story. After the Standard ran their version, the Chronicle said they decided to publish their findings since the allegations have “become an element of the campaign.”
The Chronicle piece adds pertinent facts missing from the Standard article, including Chapin participating in a “pretext call” to which a San Francisco Police Department investigator was listening. “He sought to get Yekutiel to admit that more than six years earlier, during a late-night encounter at that condo party, Yekutiel had reached into his pants and grabbed his genitals without consent. Yekutiel said he didn’t recall the party and suggested they meet in person. “Yekutiel said he could tell that what Chapin wanted to discuss was serious and, as a result, told Chapin he thought it would be better to speak face-to-face,” McFadden writes.
The acquaintances agreed to meet that day at Duboce Park. This time, Chapin concealed a recording device provided by police in a jacket pocket. Yekutiel said he vaguely remembered attending the party but did not remember doing — and would not do — what Chapin alleged. Two months later, police say the case is “in an inactive status,” which is police-speak for lacking sufficient evidence to move forward.
That hasn’t stopped the Standard from running several more stories about Yekutiel losing endorsements and the San Francisco Democratic Party “not responding to Chapin’s accusations.” It also hasn’t stopped the Milk Club and Democratic Socialists of San Francisco (DSASF) folks from attacking Yekutiel based on the Standard’s reporting (while, of course, not mentioning the Chronicle’s). If you have been around San Francisco politics for a while like I have, all of this may have a familiar ring.
In 2020, Shahid Buttar, a Muslim immigrant, Democratic Socialist, and Stanford-educated constitutional lawyer, became the first Democrat since 1987 to face then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in a general election. Though he garnered just 22.4 percent of the votes, that was more than any other Pelosi challenger since she assumed her seat, and he was the first candidate to pass the 20 percent mark against her since 1990.
“After the 2020 primary, Buttar emerged as Pelosi’s first real threat to her seat ever,” noted pollster Greg Firenze in 2021. “He was still probably not going to win, but it was looking like he could get 30 percent, even 35 percent of the vote. Remember, Sanders won the California Democratic Primary. More left-leaning candidates were beginning to win on the local level, especially around here. He was rising.”
Buttar likely could have come even closer if it weren’t for the accusations of sexual assault lobbed by the far-left Democrats who once passionately supported him — and it just so happens they were from the same clubs and many of the same people attacking Yekutiel now.
Up Next: I examine the false sexual assault accusations against Shahid Buttar. Even after the allegations fell apart, members of DSASF. SFBerniecrats, and the Milk Club didn’t correct themselves or apologize and continued their smear campaign against Pelosi’s rival.
