San Francisco, CA
Daniel Lurie’s bizarre, cynical pick for Sunset supervisor
Last week, Mayor Daniel Lurie stole a page from the script of the president whose name he refuses to utter. By appointing a glaringly inexperienced and unqualified supervisor to represent the Sunset District, the mayor made an uncharacteristically cynical and risky move — especially for someone whose own thin resume was a liability in his run for office.
As far as I can tell, Lurie’s political calculus in naming to the Board of Supervisors Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz — a 29-year-old former pet-supply shop owner who never had shown the slightest interest in San Francisco’s civic affairs — goes something like this. By appointing someone who is a blank slate, with no known positions on anything other than loving the Sunset, Lurie has birthed a lawmaker who will be completely loyal to him. If Alcaraz can somehow win a special election in June, and then a general election five months later, he will have created an iron-clad ally on the famously fractious board.
But this is a huge risk for the mayor. He and the team that vetted Alcaraz will be wholly responsible for guiding her through the complexities of governing and politicking, from helping staff her legislative office to positioning her for a campaign against formidable competition.
The mayor got Alcaraz off to a quick start: As The Standard’s Power Play newsletter reported Sunday, Lurie is activating his “prodigious fundraising network” to support the new supe, and his staff is already helping her hire her own. On Friday, he accompanied her to the annual Bruce-Mahoney football match between St. Ignatius College Preparatory School and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, where Lurie (opens in new tab)threw an impressive, pre-game spiral (opens in new tab) and Alcaraz wore her SI varsity jacket from her days on the high school’s crew team.
Lurie is already attempting to spin Alcaraz’s shortcomings into positives. “When I talk to Beya, I see someone who is not a career politician, but has spent her life in service to this community,” he said at her swearing-in ceremony. “She doesn’t owe anyone anything other than the people who live right here in the Sunset.”
It’s impossible to fault Alcaraz, who had the gumption to approach Lurie at a night market, for wanting this role. Before last week, she was working for an after-school enrichment program, having apparently mucked up her failed pet store, which smelled “like death” when she handed it over to a new owner, The Standard reported Monday. Now she is (opens in new tab)earning more than $175,000 a year (opens in new tab) in a government job with top-notch benefits.
Chutzpah alone, however, is a poor substitute for qualifications, experience, or even previously demonstrated curiosity about the subject matter.
Alcaraz attended Diablo Valley College in the East Bay and City College of San Francisco, but didn’t receive a degree from either. She told me in a brief phone interview Saturday that she studied physics and business, but didn’t finish the coursework because she devoted herself seven days a week to her store. (She bought the store in 2019, when she would have been at least 22 years old, more than enough time to have earned a two-year associate degree.)
College is neither for everyone nor a prerequisite for success in life. It is, however, required for many jobs in the government of the City of San Francisco. For example, the city stipulates that candidates for a senior administrative analyst role, a relatively low-level bureaucratic position, have “a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and three years full-time equivalent experience performing professional-level analytical work.”
Legislative aides on the Board of Supervisors, the type of people who will work under Alcaraz, must have “two years of general administrative or office-management experience, preferably in a public or community-based agency,” or have graduated from “a four-year college or university … or an equivalent combination of training and experience.”
Alcaraz doesn’t merely lack credentials. Before she pitched Lurie, she hadn’t shown any clear interest in government. I asked her over the weekend if she had ever been to a Board of Supervisors meeting or a commission hearing. “I have been diligently reviewing the videos,” she told me, referring to (opens in new tab)SFGovTV (opens in new tab) replays of legislative sessions, which I took to mean she hadn’t.
I have, in past columns, railed against the multitude of San Francisco’s commissions, and I often am stupefied at the hours of time wasted by the city’s prodigious public commentariat. But say one thing for the volunteer public servants on the dais and the gadflies who grill them: They show up. They demonstrate their interest in the city’s governmental affairs.
Alcaraz listed for me examples of her civic engagement. “I’ve always been very active in the service world. I have volunteered at at-risk youth camps. I coached basketball. I did a pet-food bank. I would work the church fundraisers for sports camps and help plan parts of the dinners.” She also compared herself to Lurie: “I think the mayor is kind of an example of someone who wasn’t in office before, and then suddenly was,” she said.
Oh my. I am not here to denigrate the value of bake sales and church dinners and the good deeds they fund. But they hardly are preparation for the complexities of this city’s legislative affairs, which are a convoluted mess that take even seasoned operators decades to learn.
Alcaraz told an affecting tale last week about her frustration with applying for a permit to build an animal-waste shed behind her shop, and how the experience will help her empathize with the plight of small-business owners. No doubt. But that’s a bit like saying that suffering the indignity of being kept waiting for hours in the emergency room makes you eligible to be a surgeon.
The elephant in the room of Alcaraz’s unlikely ascension is the outsized controversy over last year’s Prop K — which closed a section of the Great Highway to cars and created the Sunset Dunes park — as well as the subsequent firestorm that cost Engardio his job. Alcaraz has refused to say how she voted on K. She told me she wants to look forward rather than “causing new divisiveness.”
Based on a defensive comment she made last week, though, I’m guessing she voted yes. “The way I voted on Prop. K is because we didn’t have all the facts,” she said at her appearance with Lurie. “We weren’t informed. I did the best I could with the information I was given.”
I asked her why she felt uninformed. “What I mean by that is the way in which Prop K was introduced,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously, the Sunset felt completely betrayed and blindsided. There was no public forum. We weren’t able to voice our feelings.”
The response suggests Alcaraz already has mastered the typical gripe of San Franciscans who don’t like a thoroughly aired out policy decision — and proceed to complain they aren’t being heard. That Engardio bamboozled his constituents is an assertion with which opposing sides will never agree. That the Sunset wasn’t able to voice its feelings before and after the vote on Prop K is laughably untrue.
Americans may have to settle for a (opens in new tab)TV host as defense secretary (opens in new tab) and an (opens in new tab)insurance lawyer (opens in new tab) as the U.S. Attorney in a key federal district for years to come. That’s a reality that liberal San Franciscans have to live with. But residents of District 4 will not have to accept Alcaraz. They will have their say about who represents them — and how respected by the mayor they feel — in seven short months.
If Lurie doesn’t regret this decision already, he may then.
The people cheering and banging drums on the front steps of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice are usually quietly keeping the calendars and paperwork on track for the city’s courts.
Those court clerks are now hitting the picket lines, citing the need for better staffing and more training. It’s the second time the group has gone on strike since 2024, and this strike may last a lot longer than the last one.
Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges agree that court clerks are the engines that keep the justice system running. Without them, it all grinds to a slow crawl.
“You all run this ship like the Navy,” District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said to a group of city clerks.
The strike is essentially a continuation of an averted strike that occurred in October 2025.
“We’re not asking for private jets or unicorns,” Superior Court clerk employee Ben Thompson said. “We’re just asking for effective tools with which we can do our job and training and just more of us.”
Thompson said the training is needed to bring current employees up to speed on occasional changes in laws.
Another big issue is staffing, something that clerks said has been an ongoing issue since October 2024, the last time they went on a one-day strike.
Court management issued their latest statement on Wednesday, in which the court’s executive officer, Brandon Riley, said they have been at an impasse with the union since December.
The statement also said Riley and his team has been negotiating with the union in good faith. He pointed out the tentative agreement the union came to with the courts in October 2025, but it fell apart when union members rejected it.
California’s superior courts are all funded by the state. In 2024, Sacramento cut back on court money by $97 million statewide due to overall budget concerns.
While there have been efforts to backfill those funds, they’ve never been fully restored.
Inside court on Thursday, the clerk’s office was closed, leaving the public with lots of unanswered questions. Attorneys and bailiffs described a slightly chaotic day in court.
Arraignments were all funneled to one courtroom and most other court procedures were funneled to another one. Most of those procedures were quickly continued.
At the civil courthouse, while workers rallied outside, a date-stamping machine was set up inside so people could stamp their own documents and place them in locked bins.
Notices were also posted at the family law clinic and small claims courts, noting limited available services while the strike is in progress.
According to a union spokesperson, there has been no date set for negotiations to resume, meaning the courthouse logjams could stretch for days, weeks or more.
The San Francisco Giants are likely to break camp with one of their top prospects on the 26-man roster. But they’re all getting plenty of work in camp.
The thing is, just because a prospect doesn’t make a 26-man opening day roster doesn’t mean they can’t help a Major League team at some point in the season. Others, for now, are working on developing talent.
In this exercise, five prospects that are part of Major League camp were selected to determine if they’re real depth this season or if they’re marketing names — for now. Marketing names can become real depth before one knows it, such as the first Giants prospect listed.
Bryce Eldridge: Real Depth
Eldridge has nothing left to prove at the minor league level after he was selected in the first round in the 2023 MLB draft. Back then, he was the classic example of a marketing name, one that creates buzz in the organization and with fans.
But, after more than two years of development and a taste of the Majors, he’s real depth. He’s expected to make the opening day roster and share time at first base and designated hitter with Rafael Devers, one of the game’s most established sluggers.
On Wednesday, he hit his first spring training home run, one of three in the 13-12 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Blake Tidwell: Real Depth
Tidwell was acquired from the New York Mets in July in the Tyler Rogers trade. He only pitched in four games for the Mets, so he still has prospect status. But that MLB service time, combined with his early impressions in camp, make him real depth for a team that only has one or two spots available on the pitching staff.
Tidwell may not make the team out of camp for opening day. But he’s one of those prospects that could make his way to San Francisco during the season due to injury or underperformance. It’s an example of using the time in spring training wisely and paving the way for a future promotion.
Will Bednar: Real Depth
The Giants have been waiting for their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft to pay off, and this might be the year that Will Bednar finally makes the jump to the Majors. He’s in Major League camp and he’s been converted into a reliever in the past couple of seasons.
He went 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 38 games, his full season as a reliever. But he’s impressed the new coaching staff during camp and there’s enough buzz around him to consider him a potential call-up during the season. He’s in his fifth professional season so the Rule 5 draft is a consideration this coming offseason.
Parks Harber: Marketing Name
For now, the young third baseman is going to create a lot of buzz in the farm system in 2026, but he isn’t a threat to anyone’s job yet. Picked up in the Camilo Doval trade, he only has 102 minor league games under his belt after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees. He got his first spring training hit on Wednesday. His career slash of .312/.413/.528 is encouraging but he hasn’t played higher than High-A Eugene.
Bo Davidson: Marketing Name
The Giants signed Davidson as an undrafted free agent and he’s starting to generate real buzz in spring training as a non-roster invitee. He’s not quite real depth yet because he has yet to play above Double-A Richmond. But the way he’s playing in the spring he should be at Sacramento sometime this season, which puts him in the position to be real depth.
He’s hit well at every stop, but he showed off more power than ever last season. He hit a career-best 18 home runs and 70 RBI as he slashed .281/.376/.468. He played 42 games at Richmond last season.
The San Francisco Giants weren’t giving up that undefeated spring training slate without a fight, apparently.
Wednesday’s game between the Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers came down to a raucous ninth inning that saw the two teams combine for seven runs. Milwaukee had the final at-bat and rallied to win, 13-12.
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A lot happened in this one, not the least of which was Harrison Bader’s home run putting a dent in a food truck.
Here are three important takeaways from the game.
Adrian Houser’s Giants Debut
Before this game got out of hand, Adrian Houser made his first spring training start and looked solid.
He pitched two innings, giving up three hits, one run and one walk. He also allowed a home run. He threw 36 pitches, 23 of which were strikes. The right-hander figures to be the third or fourth starter in the rotation, depending upon how San Francisco wants to line up Houser and Tyler Mahle behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.
Houser resurrected his career last season with the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays, as he combined to go 8-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 21 starts, with 92 strikeouts and 38 walks in 125 innings. It was his best season since going 10-6 with Milwaukee in 2021.
Power Surge
The Giants are looking for more slug in their lineup in 2026. Part of that is a long-term project that included signing Willy Adames last offseason and trading for Rafael Devers last June. Both hit at least 30 home runs last season. That’s sustainable power for San Francisco. But they could use more and some of that was on display in Wednesday’s game.
Bader’s home run got a lot of attention. But two other Giants hit home runs, each slugging their first of spring training. Luis Matos, an outfielder that was the designated hitter, slammed one in the second inning. Then, Bryce Eldridge, who played first base, hit one in the third inning.
San Francisco’s ability to compete offensively with the top teams in the National League won’ just hinge on Adames and Devers. It will hinge on what others can produce, too. From that standpoint Wednesday was a good day.
Parkr Harber’s Instant Offense
Parks Harber isn’t going to make the opening day roster. But that’s not expected. The top prospect, acquired in the Camilo Doval trade from the New York Yankees, is off to a solid start to his first spring training with the Giants.
He entered Wednesday’s game as a pinch-hitter and in his only at-bat he claimed a hit and drove in a run. It pushed his spring training batting average to .333. The downside? It was his first hit of spring training. But, the fact that a young player entered the game as a pinch hitter and drove in a run is a good sign for his ability to come off the bench later in his career and give the Giants something.
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