The majority of San Franciscans who voted in Tuesday's special election were in support of recalling three San Francisco school board members, with 79% voting to oust Alison Collins, 75% saying yes to recalling Gabriela López and 72% opting to remove Faauuga Moliga, according to tallies by the San Francisco Department of Elections.
Mayor London Breed will now appoint board replacements to serve until another election in November. Read more about the school board recall and what happens next on SFGATE.
The election was the first recall in San Francisco since 1983, a failed attempt to remove then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein. The school board has seven members, all Democrats, but only the three were eligible to be recalled.
Parents in the politically liberal city launched the recall effort in January 2021 out of frustration over the slow reopening of district schools while the board pursued the renaming of 44 school sites and the elimination of competitive admissions at the elite Lowell High School.
“The city of San Francisco has risen up and said this is not acceptable to put our kids last,” said Siva Raj, a father of two who helped launch the recall effort. “Talk is not going to educate our children, it’s action. It’s not about symbolic action, it’s not about changing the name on a school, it is about helping kids inside the school building read and learn math.”
The mayor, one of the most prominent endorsers of the recall, praised the parents, saying they “were fighting for what matters most -– their children.” Opponents called the recall a waste of time and money as the district faces challenges that include a $125 million budget deficit and the need to replace retiring Superintendent Vincent Matthews.
Collins, Lopez and Moliga had defended their records, saying they prioritized racial equity because that was what they were elected to do.
One of the first issues to grab national attention was the board’s January 2021 decision to rename 44 schools they said honored public figures linked to racism, sexism and other injustices. On the list were Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Feinstein. The effort drew swift criticism for historical mistakes. Critics said it made a mockery of the country’s racial reckoning. Angry parents asked why the board would waste time renaming schools when the priority needed to be reopening classrooms.
After an uproar, the school board scrapped the plan.
Collins came under fire again for tweets she wrote in 2016 that were widely criticized as racist. In them Collins, who is Black, said Asian Americans used “white supremacist” thinking to get ahead and were racist toward Black students. Collins said the tweets were taken out of context and posted before she held her school board position. She refused to take them down or apologize for the wording and ignored calls to resign from parents, Breed and other public officials.
Collins turned around and sued the district and her colleagues for $87 million, fueling yet another pandemic sideshow. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Many Asian parents were already angered by the board’s efforts to end merit-based admissions at the elite Lowell High School, where Asian students are the majority. As a result, many Asian American residents were motivated to vote for the first time in a municipal election. The grassroots Chinese/API Voter Outreach Task Force group, which formed in mid-December, said it registered 560 new Asian American voters.
Also in the Tuesday election, Supervisor Matt Haney and former Supervisor David Campos led the four-candidate race for the state Assembly District 17 seat representing the east side of the city. Haney and Campos face a runoff in April because none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the vote.
Haney led with 37% of the vote, Campos 35%, former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood 21% and San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby 6%, the department of elections reported.
LATEST Feb. 15, 9:30 p.m. Early results from Tuesday's special election were largely in favor of recalling three San Francisco school board members. In the initial returns, 79% voted to oust Alison Collins, 75% said yes to recalling Gabriela López and 73% opted to remove Faauuga Moliga.
Early in the night, it was clear that all three school board members will be recalled.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who endorsed the recall, released a message in response to the election results: "The voters of this City have delivered a clear message that the School Board must focus on the essentials of delivering a well-run school system above all else. San Francisco is a city that believes in the value of big ideas, but those ideas must be built on the foundation of a government that does the essentials well. I want to recognize all the parents who tirelessly organized and advocated in the last year. Elections can be difficult, but these parents were fighting for what matters most – their children. The days ahead for our public schools will not be easy.
"Our kids have suffered tremendously during this pandemic, dealing with serious learning loss and significant mental health challenges. It’s time we refocus our efforts on the basics of providing quality education for all students, while more broadly improving how this City delivers support for children and families."
State Senator Scott Wiener, who was also in favor of the recall, wrote in a statement: “Today San Franciscans made a clear statement: We need a Board of Education focused like a laser on stabilizing our schools, keeping them open, and supporting students and families in the most effective possible way.”
The board members will be replaced by mayoral appointments.
After two rounds of results were counted in the state Assembly District 17 race, SF District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney had 38% of the vote, former SF Supervisor David Campos 35%, former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood 21%, and San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby 6%.
If Haney, Campos, Mahmood or Selby don't win a simple majority of votes, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff in April. The winner would face re-election in November.
Feb. 15, 8:10 a.m. It's the last day to vote in San Francisco's special election, and officials will begin tallying ballots today.
You can get live results on the SF Elections website.
If you live in the city, you were mailed a ballot and may have already turned it in. As of Tuesday morning, 23% of voters in the city have returned their ballots. You can view vote-by-mail turnout data for each district in city on the SF Elections website.
If you haven't already returned your ballot, there's still time to put it in the mail (postage is paid), stop by your polling place or drop it off at one of 34 drop boxes around the city. You can also vote in person at City Hall through 8 p.m. tonight. There's a complete rundown of all the ways to vote on the SF Elections website.
There are three contests on the ballot. The highest profile race is the recall effort in which voters can decide whether to remove three members of the San Francisco Board of Education: President Gabriela López and board members Faauuga Moliga and Alison Collins.
Voters in Assembly District 17, which covers three-fifths of the city, are picking a new Assemblymember and choosing between four candidates: District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, former Supervisor David Campos, San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby and former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood.
A vote for the city's assessor-recorder is also on the ballot for all residents. Mayor Breed appointed Joaquín Torres as the assessor-recorder in January 2021, replacing Carmen Chu who became the city administrator. Because the assessor-recorder is an elected position, Torres must run in a citywide election to continue in the position. He is running unopposed.
Mayor London Breed will now appoint board replacements to serve until another election in November. Read more about the school board recall and what happens next on SFGATE.
The election was the first recall in San Francisco since 1983, a failed attempt to remove then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein. The school board has seven members, all Democrats, but only the three were eligible to be recalled.
Parents in the politically liberal city launched the recall effort in January 2021 out of frustration over the slow reopening of district schools while the board pursued the renaming of 44 school sites and the elimination of competitive admissions at the elite Lowell High School.
“The city of San Francisco has risen up and said this is not acceptable to put our kids last,” said Siva Raj, a father of two who helped launch the recall effort. “Talk is not going to educate our children, it’s action. It’s not about symbolic action, it’s not about changing the name on a school, it is about helping kids inside the school building read and learn math.”
The mayor, one of the most prominent endorsers of the recall, praised the parents, saying they “were fighting for what matters most -– their children.” Opponents called the recall a waste of time and money as the district faces challenges that include a $125 million budget deficit and the need to replace retiring Superintendent Vincent Matthews.
Collins, Lopez and Moliga had defended their records, saying they prioritized racial equity because that was what they were elected to do.
One of the first issues to grab national attention was the board’s January 2021 decision to rename 44 schools they said honored public figures linked to racism, sexism and other injustices. On the list were Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Feinstein. The effort drew swift criticism for historical mistakes. Critics said it made a mockery of the country’s racial reckoning. Angry parents asked why the board would waste time renaming schools when the priority needed to be reopening classrooms.
After an uproar, the school board scrapped the plan.
Collins came under fire again for tweets she wrote in 2016 that were widely criticized as racist. In them Collins, who is Black, said Asian Americans used “white supremacist” thinking to get ahead and were racist toward Black students. Collins said the tweets were taken out of context and posted before she held her school board position. She refused to take them down or apologize for the wording and ignored calls to resign from parents, Breed and other public officials.
Collins turned around and sued the district and her colleagues for $87 million, fueling yet another pandemic sideshow. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
Many Asian parents were already angered by the board’s efforts to end merit-based admissions at the elite Lowell High School, where Asian students are the majority. As a result, many Asian American residents were motivated to vote for the first time in a municipal election. The grassroots Chinese/API Voter Outreach Task Force group, which formed in mid-December, said it registered 560 new Asian American voters.
Also in the Tuesday election, Supervisor Matt Haney and former Supervisor David Campos led the four-candidate race for the state Assembly District 17 seat representing the east side of the city. Haney and Campos face a runoff in April because none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the vote.
Haney led with 37% of the vote, Campos 35%, former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood 21% and San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby 6%, the department of elections reported.
LATEST Feb. 15, 9:30 p.m. Early results from Tuesday's special election were largely in favor of recalling three San Francisco school board members. In the initial returns, 79% voted to oust Alison Collins, 75% said yes to recalling Gabriela López and 73% opted to remove Faauuga Moliga.
Early in the night, it was clear that all three school board members will be recalled.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who endorsed the recall, released a message in response to the election results: "The voters of this City have delivered a clear message that the School Board must focus on the essentials of delivering a well-run school system above all else. San Francisco is a city that believes in the value of big ideas, but those ideas must be built on the foundation of a government that does the essentials well. I want to recognize all the parents who tirelessly organized and advocated in the last year. Elections can be difficult, but these parents were fighting for what matters most – their children. The days ahead for our public schools will not be easy.
"Our kids have suffered tremendously during this pandemic, dealing with serious learning loss and significant mental health challenges. It’s time we refocus our efforts on the basics of providing quality education for all students, while more broadly improving how this City delivers support for children and families."
State Senator Scott Wiener, who was also in favor of the recall, wrote in a statement: “Today San Franciscans made a clear statement: We need a Board of Education focused like a laser on stabilizing our schools, keeping them open, and supporting students and families in the most effective possible way.”
The board members will be replaced by mayoral appointments.
After two rounds of results were counted in the state Assembly District 17 race, SF District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney had 38% of the vote, former SF Supervisor David Campos 35%, former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood 21%, and San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby 6%.
If Haney, Campos, Mahmood or Selby don't win a simple majority of votes, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff in April. The winner would face re-election in November.
Feb. 15, 8:10 a.m. It's the last day to vote in San Francisco's special election, and officials will begin tallying ballots today.
You can get live results on the SF Elections website.
If you live in the city, you were mailed a ballot and may have already turned it in. As of Tuesday morning, 23% of voters in the city have returned their ballots. You can view vote-by-mail turnout data for each district in city on the SF Elections website.
If you haven't already returned your ballot, there's still time to put it in the mail (postage is paid), stop by your polling place or drop it off at one of 34 drop boxes around the city. You can also vote in person at City Hall through 8 p.m. tonight. There's a complete rundown of all the ways to vote on the SF Elections website.
There are three contests on the ballot. The highest profile race is the recall effort in which voters can decide whether to remove three members of the San Francisco Board of Education: President Gabriela López and board members Faauuga Moliga and Alison Collins.
Voters in Assembly District 17, which covers three-fifths of the city, are picking a new Assemblymember and choosing between four candidates: District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, former Supervisor David Campos, San Francisco City College trustee Thea Selby and former Obama administration official Bilal Mahmood.
A vote for the city's assessor-recorder is also on the ballot for all residents. Mayor Breed appointed Joaquín Torres as the assessor-recorder in January 2021, replacing Carmen Chu who became the city administrator. Because the assessor-recorder is an elected position, Torres must run in a citywide election to continue in the position. He is running unopposed.
