Artwork / Simón Malvaez
Statewide Direct Primary Election - June 2, 2026
(these are not ranked-choice races, so make sure to only vote for one)
Federal
United States Congress, District 11: Connie Chan. This is the hottest race in the June primary. There are three very strong candidates and only two will make it to the November general election to replace Speaker Pelosi, who is retiring after decades representing our city. This is both a difficult and easy choice. Connie is clearly qualified. She is the candidate backed by labor unions, which is important to me as labor interests continue to be drowned out by corporate campaign spending. She is also an immigrant who grew up in Chinatown, a mother (just like me), and a twice-elected Supervisor for the Richmond District, which is a tough seat for a progressive to win. I understand that many of my followers will be voting for her challengers. I have known Senator Wiener for a long time. He is extremely hard-working and knows San Francisco better than the back of his hand, even if our values are not always aligned. Scott is very likely to make it to the general election. On the other hand, a third candidate, Saikat Chakrabarti, is running on a progressive platform. You’ve probably heard of him because he’s blanketing the city with fliers funded by the fortune he made as an early engineer at Stripe. It’s very hard for me to trust someone who didn’t vote in San Francisco for a decade and who donated heavily against progressive
United States Congress, District 15: No Endorsement. The vast majority of San Franciscans live in District 11. District 15 includes Daly City, South San Francisco, and San Mateo, but only a small piece of San Francisco.
State - CA
Governor: Tom Steyer, Katie Porter - You can only vote for one of these candidates. Tom Steyer is the most progressive on both immigration rights and healthcare, although I’m a bit chuffed to vote for a billionaire with little experience in public office. Katie Porter is the smartest and most competent, although has pivoted on some important issues. Just as I am concerned about voting for a billionaire, I do like voting for a single mother with a strong history of public leadership. I’m cautious of splitting the vote, but with any luck, these two will make it to the general election in November.
Lieutenant Governor: No Endorsement. I truly don’t know why we elect a Lieutenant Governor. It’s a stepping stone for seat climbers.
Attorney General: Rob Bonta. Bonta is running for re-election and deserves your vote. He’s been a real champion when it comes to challenging the Tr*mp Administration and protecting Californians from corporate power.
Secretary of State: Shirley Weber. The Secretary of State runs our election system, among other things. And at a time when they very integrity of elections are under attack by Tr*mp, Weber has been a strong and principled defender of democracy.
Controller: Malia Cohen. Malia Cohen. You may remember her as San Francisco Supervisor Cohen, when she represented Bayview Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, and the Dogpatch. Cohen will handily win re-election, and there’s no harm in checking out her challenger Meghann Adams, who is a longshot running from the left.
Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim – (learn more at upcoming “Insurance Is A Drag” at The Café on May 16th). This is one of the most important seats in state government. Insurance touches everyone - renters, homeowners, patients, even pet owners. And insurance rates are skyrocketing amid a crisis of concentration and increased disaster risk. Jane is a fierce, whipsmart advocate who will use the full breadth of her power to deliver for Californians. And she’s my drag daughter - Polly Tickle!
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Frank Lara - Frank Lara is a local educator and union leader who deserves your vote.
Treasurer: Anna Caballero. Current Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis is almost certainly going to win, but it feels like re-arranging deck chairs. State Senator Caballero had a progressive record in the legislature and deserves your vote.
State Board of Equalization D2: Sally Lieber. The State Board of Equalization has authority to hold corporations accountable to their taxpaying obligations. Sally Lieber is the incumbent and has done a good job.
State Assembly AD 17: Matt Haney. Meet another of my drag daughters, Viktoria Landslide. I’ve known Haney since his days as District 6 Supervisor, and now he’s running for re-election. He has introduced some strong legislation in the state legislature, and I’d like to see him pass more of it going forward.
State Assembly AD 19: Catherine Stefani – (Although Stefani was one of the more conservative members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, she caucuses with progressives in the state legislature. That should tell you something about state politics and question whether the label “progressive” means much. She will win, but if you vote for her, make sure you hold her accountable to your values
Local - San Francisco / Bay Area (these are rank-choice elections, meaning you can vote for more than one candidate in ranked order, but your decision on how or whether to do so is important)
Supervisorial District 2: Lori Brooke – Lori Brooke is a strong independent woman and neighborhood leader running against a wealthy pseudo-Republican technocrat. I advise against ranking Stephen Sherrill.
Supervisorial District 4: Natalie Gee – Natalie Gee is a longtime legislative aide to Supervisor Shamann Walton now making the leap to represent her home district of the Sunset. She’s accomplished, competent, and fun to be around. I advise against ranking the Mayor’s appointee, Alan Wong, if only because he has shown an unwillingness to dig in on details and depart from the Mayor’s priorities.
SFUSD School Board, Special Election: Virginia Cheung, Brandee Marckmann – Virginia Cheung, Brandee Marckmann. Virginia is endorsed by the United Educators of San Francisco teachers union, and Brandee is a progressive public school mom. I recommend ranking these two candidates.
SF Superior Court, Seat 16: Alexandra Pray – She’s accomplished, experienced, and a collaborative public defender. She’s clearly the most qualified candidate in the race and deserves your vote.
Local Propositions
Prop A: Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond: YES
After decades of living in a rent-controlled building in an earthquake-prone historic district, you can be sure I will be voting for anything that funds strengthening our emergency resilience. That being said, City Hall has been lax recently in its diligent vetting of bonds – and the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and Capital Planning Committee could use a refresher course in how to put together the best package possible. (One that doesn't sacrifice affordable housing and transit to pad vague upgrades to police facilities, for example – housing and transit need earthquake safety, too!)
I love a good beauty contest, and I love pork carnitas (reminder to come to my next Powerblouse and Beatpig), but when it comes to infrastructure priorities, I expect a little more vetting from our local politicians… I'll be voting yes, but watching that the next bond has less pork padding and politician pet projects.
Prop B: Lifetime Term Limits for Mayor and Members of the Board of Supervisors: NO
I thought we already had term limits for the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor's Office? Apparently, not to the satisfaction of some very influential mega-millionaires, who have created a lot of hype to justify this solution, looking for a problem. (At a time when we kind of need politicians to get serious about putting out real fires – there's plenty to choose from!) If you follow the money trail, you will see that this measure is funded by several shady PACs and unsavory billionaires at the behest of one Supervisor. Why? Because ultimately voters decide whether a Supervisor or Mayor can run again for a third non-consecutive term – meaning they can exercise their discretion and judge for themselves whether a candidate is worthy of holding that post again after being out of office for 4 years. Just like I did when I voted for Aaron Peskin to be my District 3 Supervisor again in 2015, after he was drafted by community leaders to take on the Mayor's lackluster appointee.
In fact, he is the only person ever to attempt this and win, which tells me the system is working just fine. To recap this public service announcement to the dark forces of electioneering: 1) please stop wasting taxpayer money on silly non-issues; 2) voters will let a candidate know if they've passed their shelf life by exercising their right to vote; and 3) you must get a life and stop letting Aaron Peskin's successful tenure as a Supervisor live rent-free in your heads. That's all!
Prop C: Decrease to Business Taxes: NO
Prop C was put on by the Chamber of Commerce and its deep-pocketed backers to confuse, distract, and obfuscate voters from reigning in the out-of-control wage disparities between San Francisco's top CEO's and the employees who are struggling) to power our local economy.
Did you know that America's CEO's have seen an over 1,000% increase in their wages since 1978, while workers haven't even seen a 25% increase? That is criminal – and clearly, I'm in the wrong business. (For someone who has been called Boss Lady more times than I can count, apparently I'm due a big raise!)
Prop D: Business Tax Increase Based on CEO-to-Employee Pay Ratio: YES
Prop D was put on the ballot by labor unions (including my friends and neighbors from the mighty UNITE HERE Local 2) to restore the 2018 Overpaid CEO tax, which was later chopped back in the cautious, gloomy days of the pandemic. We were all so worried about economic recovery back then. But as my friend and SF Drag Laureate Per Sia said recently, the reality is that, after years of corporate tax breaks, San Francisco is back, but for who?! The Mayor is about to finalize brutal budget cuts that will impact the LGBTQIA+ community, seniors, immigrants, artists, and healthcare programs. Prop D restores the voter-approved Overpaid CEO tax on corporations with CEOs who make over 100x more than their average employees. The tax is projected to raise $250M-$300M annually to help restore these critical programs for all of us.
Here's the little SF catch – as with any good political battle between good and evil, there are some poison apples in the mix. Both Prop C and Prop D have a poison pill that disqualifies the other if it gets more votes – meaning that if they both get over 50+1% of the vote, whoever gets more votes is the ultimate champion. So please vote NO on C and YES on D, and let's restore a little big of equity to our city and a little bit of mula back into everyday San Franciscans' pockets.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.