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Melgar-Re-election
Supporters gather in Golden Gate Park for Myrna Melgar's re-election campaign launch. July 27, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron

• • • • • • • BEST OF THE NET • • • • • • •

Re-elected Supervisor Melgar Beats the Odds—Leaves Big Spenders TogetherSF & GrowSF in the Dust

• • • • • • • November 20, 2024 • • • • • • •

Reprinted by permission from Mission Local

Four years ago, when Myrna Melgar ran for District 7 supervisor, she won the race with 53 percent of the vote. This year, she’s in the exact same spot: Winning with 53 percent of the vote.

“It’s official — I’ve been re-elected District 7 Supervisor!” Melgar wrote in a statement shared with Mission Local. “This victory is not mine alone — it belongs to each and every one of you who believed in our shared vision for a safer, more affordable, and better Westside.”

While Melgar’s chief opponent, Matt Boschetto, successfully tapped into a base that opposes Melgar on housing, transit infrastructure and closing the Great Highway, Melgar benefited from her record, and a changing and more diverse district. 

In 2022, when the city’s district boundaries were redrawn, District 7 lost its most conservative precincts to District 4, and gained more progressive ones from District 5. 

Those precincts are what pushed Melgar across the finish line. Her team also said it counted on more votes from more progressive, younger constituents, according to John Whitehurst, Melgar’s campaign consultant.

There are 50,973 registered voters in District 7, and 35,315 votes have been counted so far. Overall, Boschetto received 37 percent of the first-choice votes, behind Melgar’s 47 percent. After ranked-choice voting, the gap narrows: Melgar holds 53 percent of the vote, and Boschetto has 47 percent. 

Ranked choice votes
Last updated on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. Data from the San Francisco Department of Elections. *Incumbent. Table by Kelly Waldron.

Boschetto could not be reached for comment on Monday. He does not appear to have conceded in the race. 

“We’ve shown how close we are to unseating an incumbent,” said Boschetto, the day after the first results trickled in. Boschetto added that the results show “how out of step she [Melgar] is.” 

Boschetto is currently 1,914 votes behind Melgar, even after gaining most of the transfer votes (2,935 votes) from the other two candidates in the race, Stephen Martin-Pinto and Edward S. Yee. Melgar gained 1,225 transfer votes. 

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District 7 supervisor candidate Matt Boschetto pictured at a “No on K” rally in October. Photo by Kelly Waldron.

“I’m a brand-new candidate. I’m an outsider,” said Boschetto. “The fact that we are in striking distance, considering the matchup, is a victory in and of itself.” 

In 2020, Melgar, then a planning commissioner, ran in a crowded race against six opponents with no incumbent. This year, it has been a two-way battle between Melgar and Boschetto, a political newcomer who outraised her by $37,000 and is backed by well-funded advocacy groups GrowSF and TogetherSF. 

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In 2022, when the city’s district boundaries were redrawn, District 7 lost its most conservative precincts to District 4, and gained more progressive ones from District 5.”

“This time is much more personal,” said Melgar, over the phone the afternoon after Election Day. “Everybody knows me now. People love me or hate me.” 

Melgar’s campaign also had to contend with an electorate that has shown dissatisfaction with the status quo: Voters ousted incumbent Mayor London Breed in favor of political newcomer Daniel Lurie, and incumbent District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, electing Bilal Mahmood, who is also new to City Hall. 

District 7 is the city’s largest district by area, and it encompasses different political pockets, from a progressive base in the Inner Sunset to a staunchly moderate base in West Portal. As supervisor, Melgar has leaned into the duality of her district’s voters, forming alliances across the political spectrum. 

“I don’t know which side of the fence I put Myrna on,” said Jim Stearns, Aaron Peskin’s political consultant. But in this election, he said, “she was vehemently opposed by the TogetherSF money machine,” referencing the deep-pocketed public pressure group backed by venture capitalist Michael Moritz

Boschetto’s campaign, and his supporters, focused on Melgar being on the wrong side of the fence — whichever side that may be. 

Boschetto consistently contradicted Melgar on most issues in a weekly Q&A with Mission Local. When Melgar proposed preventing cars from driving through the intersection where a horrific traffic accident killed a family of four, Boschetto advocated against the changes. Boschetto also sponsored the campaign against Proposition K to close the Great Highway, which Melgar placed on the ballot. 

To a certain extent, Boschetto’s strategy seems to have worked, at least within the boundaries of West Portal, Forest Hills and St. Francis Wood. According to the precinct-level first-choice results, Boschetto has homed in on his base.

D7 vote for Supervisor
Note: Chart only shows first-choice votes. Last updated on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. Data from the San Francisco Department of Elections.

But it was not enough to carry him across the finish line. 

Meanwhile, with Melgar to remain the district’s supervisor, the prospect of her becoming board president is in the cards. 

“It’s not up to me; it’s up to my colleagues,” she said. “I am the bridge builder. We’re going to need that, for sure,” she added. 

Additional reporting by Joe Rivano Barros.

Reporter Kelly Waldron writes for MissionLocal.org

November 2024

Ballot Questions

Voting for District 7's Interests — Props L & G

SupervisorMyrna Melgar
Supervisor Myrna Melgar

Editor's Note: All election recommendations are the opinion of the author, the Westside Observer does not endorse candidates or measures and welcomes opinions to the contrary.

•••••••••• November 1, 2022 ••••••••••

On your November 8 ballot, you will see many propositions to vote on. From protecting the right to choose to increasing voter access, San Franciscans will have the power to shape the future of our state and our City. With so many crucial decisions on the ballot, we cannot overlook Proposition L and Proposition G. Prop L will dedicate new resources to fund transportation projects. Prop G will provide over $1 million in grants to community schools using state funding. Fear not, neither proposition will increase taxes for San Franciscans.

Passing prop L will ensure it’s easy, convenient, and predictable for our west side community members to get where they need to go—within their neighborhoods and across the entire city. Prop L most directly helps people who take Muni or who walk (through traffic calming). But it also helps drivers by paying for road repaving. Crucially, it includes investments in paratransit for seniors and people with disabilities who can’t use Muni independently. Last year, paratransit services provided SF community residents with almost half a million trips – a lifeline to get people to doctor’s appointments, grocery stores, visit with their grandkids, and more. And it helps us all by improving emergency vehicle response times by paying for new, “smart” traffic signals that can keep the traffic light green when a fire truck or ambulance needs it. Muni riders will enjoy new vehicles, including our eventual transition to an all-electric fleet, which directly helps us combat the climate crisis.

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I worry that without these resources, our most vulnerable west side community members—from school kids to seniors, and everyone in between —will continue to face unneeded challenges as we recover from this pandemic.”

Prop G will utilize excess ERAF funding the state has been setting aside to create a Student Success Fund that invests in community schools, which include social workers, nurses, mental health providers, community members, and trained coordinators. We know that schools have the capacity to be much more than classrooms; for many students, they are the primary resource for nutrition and healthcare as well. The community school model embraces this philosophy by creating a space for students and their families to access many of the most essential services all in one familiar place. Our students are still suffering from the devastating impact of the pandemic and the learning loss and trauma that it caused. As our City and our students struggle to recover, we have the opportunity to leverade the full potential of funds we have already dedicated to our youngest San Franciscans.

All of us see the room for improvement of San Francisco’s transportation system and in our public schools. We know that we can and we will do better. But that’s only possible if we pass Proposition L and Proposition G. I worry that without these resources, our most vulnerable west side community members—from school kids to seniors, and everyone in between —will continue to face unneeded challenges as we recover from this pandemic.

Myrna Melgar is the elected Supervisor for District 7

November 2022

Doorsign-Melgar.
Since We're Neighbors ...

It has been just over a month since I was sworn in as the District 7 Supervisor. I am grateful to the many neighbors and community members who trusted me to do the job, and I would also like to thank the talented and smart people who vied for this seat: Joel Engardio, Vilaska Nguyen, Stephen Martin Pinto, Ben Matranga, Emily Murase, and Ken Piper. Thank you for your energy, good ideas and spirit of civic engagement. I commit to working with all of you over the next four years to help us recover and improve the lives of people in our District.

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We will begin holding regular office hours in the community this month, as well as posting a monthly e-newsletter.

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Aides Jen Low, Erica Maybaum (currently on maternity leave) Jennifer Fieber, Megan Imperiale meet on theSupervisor's patio. Not shown, Lila Carrillo who is filling in until Erica comes back

The events in our nation’s capital last month served to remind us that our Democracy is precious and that we are all responsible for maintaining it. I will work with all interested neighbors to support all our residents — including those who have been historically disadvantaged — to flourish here. I am committed to progress and equality, and will listen and collaborate, with a pragmatic focus on timely achievement of good results. I have been assigned to chair the Land Use and Transportation Committee at the Board of Supervisors, as well as representing the Board on the First Five Commission, where I hope to support our city’s investment in family supports for early education. Our district 7 office is up and running virtually, as City Hall is not yet open to the public. Our District 7 staff includes Jen Low, as Chief of Staff, Megan Imperiale and Lila Carrillo as legislative aides and Jennifer Fieber as administrative aide. We will strive to be promptly responsive and give the highest level of constituent services to our community. We will begin holding regular office hours in the community this month, as well as posting a monthly e-newsletter.

My priorities include reducing homelessness; increasing the availability of affordable housing and homeownership opportunities for San Franciscans; improving rent control protections for tenants; supporting small businesses, supporting the rights of workers, improving our public transportation infrastructure, reducing our city’s carbon footprint and expanding education opportunities for disadvantaged San Francisco youth and families. I will focus my efforts in the next few weeks on pandemic recovery and coordination, improving the Westside’s access to senior services, channeling resources to our small businesses, restoring and improving throughout District 7 and supporting the safety and resilience of neighborhoods and commercial corridors.

Please reach out to us at Melgarstaff@sfgov.org, and I look forward to working with you over the next four years to support our neighborhoods, and help pave the way for a bright future for the next generation. If there are topics of particular interest to you and your neighbors that you would like me to address more in depth through this column, email me at myrna.melgar@sfgov.org. Stay safe, and stay healthy.

Supervisor Myrna Melgar lives and works in District 7.

March 2021