Manny Yekutiel, a candidate for District 8 supervisor in San Francisco, dropped out of the race Thursday following a growing list of city leaders withdrawing their support amid allegations of sexual assault.
The decision came after multiple people accused Yekutiel of sexual assault, with the latest allegations surfacing Thursday morning. Yekutiel denied the allegations.
“After a great deal of reflection, I have made the difficult decision to end my campaign for District 8 Supervisor,” he said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “I am not admitting to having assaulted anyone and some of the things that are being said about me are fundamentally untrue. But I am deeply sorry for any boundaries that I crossed. I’m going to take this time to work on myself.”
I am deeply sorry for any boundaries that I crossed. I’m going to take this time to work on myself.
Yekutiel, the owner of a cafe and political event space named “Manny’s,” was running for supervisor in District 8, which includes neighborhoods like the Castro, Noe Valley and Glen Park. The seat is up for grabs since the current representative, Board President Rafael Mandelman, is termed out.
Manny Yekutiel, SF District 8 candidate
Supervisor Bilal Mahmood was one of the first city officials to withdraw his support after the new allegations were made public.
“I can no longer in good conscience lend my support to his campaign,” Mahmood said in a statement Thursday morning. “Now new allegations have been reported by multiple people.”
‘Deeply troubling’
Over the course of the day, more and more supervisors stopped supporting him and called on him to end his campaign.
“Manny is an extraordinary person who has made extraordinary contributions to San Francisco,” Mandelman said in a statement on social media. “Unfortunately, it has also become painfully clear to me that he has work to do on himself and is not ready.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie and supervisors Alan Wong, Danny Sauter and Matt Dorsey also withdrew their support.
“What has been reported today is deeply troubling,” Wong said in a statement. “Everyone has the right to have their physical and sexual boundaries respected, and allegations that those boundaries have been violated must be taken seriously.”
Supervisors Chyanne Chen, Connie Chan, Myrna Melgar, and Jackie Fielder — all of the women on the board — asked Yekutiel to step out of the race.
“Regardless of Manny Yekutiel’s qualifications, we do not believe he should continue his campaign for the Board of Supervisors,” the women said in a joint statement. “San Francisco cannot reward serious allegations of sexual violence with elected office. Our residents deserve a full investigation of these allegations before anyone asks them to trust this candidate with public power.”
The remaining candidates in the race are Gary McCoy, Darshini Patel and Michael Nguyen.
