Sherrill wins District 2 race, backs Lurie housing plan in San Francisco

Stephen Sherrill’s early 71% win in District 2 signaled that voters in the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights want quick movement on housing, public safety and neighborhood livability. The race was still awaiting remaining ranked-choice ballots, but the early result pointed to a clear mandate in one of San Francisco’s most upscale and moderate-leaning districts.

District 2 is where citywide housing fights land on some of the most expensive blocks in San Francisco, along with busy small-business corridors and tourist-heavy streets that shape daily life for residents. Sherrill’s victory gives him a stronger claim to speak for voters who are looking for more housing supply without losing the character and stability of neighborhoods that have long driven city politics toward the center.

The result also deepens the significance of Sherrill’s support for Mayor Daniel Lurie’s housing plan, which would allow denser and taller development in parts of the city. KQED reported that Sherrill argued San Francisco had not created enough housing for 30 years and said it costs almost $1.2 million to build an affordable unit. That position lines up with the city’s broader push to accelerate production, but it is likely to collide with resistance from residents and officials who fear taller buildings and faster change in already dense west-side neighborhoods.

His opponent, Lori Brooke, took the opposite view and argued for using vacant and illegal units before adding more construction. That split reflected the core tension in District 2, where voters were weighing how much growth the neighborhood can absorb against concerns about affordability, street safety and the day-to-day quality of life around local commercial strips.

Sherrill first reached the Board of Supervisors in December 2024, when then-Mayor London Breed appointed him to fill the seat left vacant after Catherine Stefani won election to the California State Assembly. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors says Sherrill previously led the Mayor’s Office of Innovation under Breed and earlier worked in New York City under Michael Bloomberg, including on clean streets and disaster response. That background, along with his emphasis on public safety and service delivery, helped define a campaign that ended with a strong early showing in one of the city’s most closely watched districts.

The early results also matched broader coverage showing appointed supervisors Alan Wong and Sherrill both winning their races. For District 2, the message was less about a routine special election than about what Marinabacks and Pacific Heights homeowners expect next: more housing, steadier streets and a supervisor ready to deliver without losing sight of neighborhood concerns.