Local leaders and community members in San Francisco’s District 4 are reacting to Beya Alcaraz’s decision to step down from the role of supervisor of the district just one week after being sworn in.
“I’m relieved,” Julia Baran, who took over Alcaraz’s small business earlier this year, said in an interview. “She was just not qualified to do it.”
Alcaraz, a political newcomer, was appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie to fill the vacancy in District 4 on the west side of the city after voters recalled the district’s previous supervisor, Joel Engardio, in September.
However, her tenure has ended abruptly amid allegations that she mismanaged her former small business.
“I spoke to Supervisor Alcaraz tonight,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie in a statement Thursday. “We also agreed that the new information about her conduct while running her small business, which I learned today, would be a significant distraction from that work. In our conversation, she told me she intends to resign as supervisor.”
Alcaraz ran a pet store for 10 years called The Animal Connection in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Some community members in District 4, like Albert Chow, were surprised when Alcaraz was chosen.
“I think a lot of people scratched their heads when the appointment was made. Nobody knew her, and we had all been expecting someone that we would know and trust.”
Albert Chow, People of Parkside Sunset president
Chow owns Great Wall Hardware on Taraval Street and is the president of People of Parkside Sunset, a coalition of Parkside and Sunset neighborhood residents and local business owners. In addition to being a prominent voice in the recall effort against Engardio, Chow’s name circulated as a potential pick for District 4 supervisor.
“I think a lot of people scratched their heads when the appointment was made,” Chow said. “Nobody knew her, and we had all been expecting someone that we would know and trust.”
Baran said she was “shocked” when she learned that Alcaraz had been appointed.
Allegations of business mismanagement
When Alcaraz gave Baran the keys to The Animal Connection, the store was apparently left in unsanitary conditions with finances in the red. She also accused Alcaraz of improperly filing taxes for the business.
“The store was left with hundreds of dead mice in it. It never turned a profit,” Baran said. “She wrote off all her personal expenses on the business.”
Alcaraz did not respond to requests for comment.
Amid the allegations made by Baran, Alcaraz made the move to resign.
“I’m happy that what I said made a difference,” Baran said. “I was definitely surprised. I didn’t think that she would resign.”
The Chinese American Democratic Club is an organization that promotes civic engagement in San Francisco’s Chinese American community and the group said it hoped the resignation will force Lurie to ensure that he is appointing someone who is a more well-known figure in District 4.
“While we had kept an open mind about the Mayor’s appointment and invited the new appointee to work with us, we were shocked to learn that the reason she did not appear at our meeting as planned this evening was because she had resigned,” CADC said in a statement Thursday.
“With the vacancy now extended and ongoing instability in the seat, we had hoped — and continue to wish — that CADC’s recommended criteria, which were repeatedly presented, would finally be considered.”
‘She got in over her head’
CADC had hoped that Lurie would appoint Chow, Selena Chu, or CADC president Josephine Zhao. Chu and Zhao were also in support of recalling Engardio.
“I feel sorry for her,” Chow said, referring to Alcaraz. “I think she came in with the highest intention and the best of intentions, but she got in over her head rather quickly.”
Chow said he is unsure if he would accept an appointment.
Matt Dorsey said in a statement on social media that he admires Alcaraz’ move to resign.
“I think her classy decision to step aside affirms the strength of her commitment to do right by her district and her city,” Dorsey wrote. “Politics can be tough, and I applaud anyone willing to step into this arena. But the scrutiny that goes with public life is often intense, and it’s a hard thing to prepare for.”