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Browse our guide on the best concerts, plays, galleries, and more to see this fall.
<em>Life, Automated</em> explores how AI and automation are reshaping everyday life through conversations with researchers, practitioners, artists, and other unexpected experts.
See TV Programming Manager Emma Casley’s recommendations from this month’s KQED 9, PLUS and Passport schedules.
Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events.
Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift.
The San Francisco Democratic Party voted to endorse Manny Yekutiel for District 8 supervisor despite sexual assault allegations against the local cafe owner who has forged close ties with many of the city’s prominent political leaders.
The endorsement arrived the same day the local party announced the conclusion of an investigation into allegations made by Brad Chapin, who claimed Yekutiel assaulted him at a party in 2020.
An ombudsperson tasked with reviewing Chapin’s complaint said that no judgment could be made about whether the alleged incident occurred.
Yekutiel said in a statement that he was grateful for the party’s endorsement.
“Our campaign is focused on delivering results on the issues voters care about most, making San Francisco more affordable, building the housing we need, supporting small businesses and keeping our neighborhood safe,” he said. “I’m proud of the momentum behind this campaign, and I’m going to keep taking that message directly to voters across District 8.”
Chapin’s case was one of the first tests for the San Francisco Democratic Party’s newly created policy for reporting sexual misconduct in political spaces. Chapin, a city gardener who previously worked as an organizer in local politics, filed a police report in April before reporting the incident to the local Democratic Party.
Chapin said he did not receive a response through the reporting process until he came forward publicly with his story in the media, however.
An adjudication panel met on Tuesday to review the investigator’s findings, according to a letter sent to Democratic Party Chair Nancy Tung.
“The accusation cannot be substantiated,” the letter said, stating that the event in question was not at an official meeting or event sponsored by a political club. “This is not a determination on the merits of whether a sexual assault occurred.”
Speaking during public comment at Wednesday night’s Democratic Party meeting, Chapin called the process a “sham.”
“I’m really disappointed in your investigation,” he said. “You should all be…ashamed of yourselves.”
Yekutiel has powerful allies in City Hall, including Mayor Daniel Lurie, with whom he started the nonprofit Civic Joy Fund. His restaurant, Manny’s, serves as a civic gathering space that has hosted prominent political figures both local and national.
Yekutiel has endorsements from the majority of the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who is a member of the Democratic Party’s committee on sexual assault, abstained from the vote on Wednesday night but has personally endorsed Yekutiel.
“I support him because he embodies Democratic values and he’s lived through them for years doing civic engagement, bringing people together, championing equality and inclusion. He has truly built community,” a District 8 resident named Trey Gwen said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Yekutiel is facing off against three other candidates also running to represent District 8, which includes the Castro, Noe Valley and Glen Park neighborhoods.
They include Gary McCoy, a former aide for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi; Democratic Party member and lawyer Michael Nguyen; and former DoorDash employee Darshini Patel.
The Democratic Party narrowly voted against backing McCoy, who has an endorsement from Pelosi, as a second-rank candidate.
“I know Gary very well. He is somebody I consider a friend, and I think he would be a terrific colleague,” said Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who said the two met through drug recovery meetings. “It would mean a lot to people in the recovery community.”
Catie Stewart, a spokesperson for McCoy’s campaign, said in a statement on Wednesday that they share “grave concerns” about the Democratic Party’s process and findings around Chapin’s assault allegations against Yekutiel.
“Its conclusion on the day of a critical endorsement meeting, after months of initially ignoring Brad Chapin’s complaint, is suspect, bordering on absurd,” the statement said. “That the ombudsperson says they are both unable to substantiate the claim nor determine whether or not a sexual assault happened provides no meaningful information.”
Yekutiel has asserted that Chapin’s complaint was politically motivated, which Chapin has denied outright.
San Francisco’s Democratic Party created its sexual assault reporting policy following accusations against prominent political organizers including John Jacobo and Kevin Ortiz, two progressives who have both denied the allegations.
The goal was to create an independent process for vetting complaints outside of the inherently political body.
But concerns around the reporting process more generally, including its appeal process and notification system, were echoed by members of the city’s political community after Wednesday’s endorsement vote.
Gina Roccanova, a professional mediator and arbitrator who chairs the Democratic Party’s judicial committee tasked with the investigation, declined to comment.
“The policy is sloppy and wasn’t adequately considered. They were not effective at creating an environment where they could hear from a variety of survivors about what our needs were, and so those needs are not reflected in the policy,” said a woman who has accused Ortiz of sexual assault and who requested anonymity to discuss the policy because she has not come forward publicly. “It’s a betrayal to all survivors because you can’t just pick and choose which assaults matter based on who politically aligns with you.”
