The unexpected death of former mayor Ed Lee on Dec. 12 has resulted in a special election scheduled for June 5, offering some juniors and seniors a chance to vote for mayor for the first time.

“I’ve been excited to vote in an election ever since the 2016 election,” senior Isabel El-
gin, who says she plans to vote in the mayoral election, said. “Since I didn’t agree with the way things turned out, I’ve wanted to have my own say in what’s going on in the government.”

Senior Katie Thomis, who pre-registers 16 and 17 year olds to vote, recommends researching all the candidates before voting by finding out what legislation they have supported in the past and what they are currently involved in doing for the city.

“Young people need to vote because it’s their democratic responsibility,” Thomis said “Voting is young people’s chance to get involved and make an actual change. Every vote has the ability to make a difference, so it’s important to use yours.”

The following eight candidates qualified for the ballot. Angela Alioto (D) is a San Francisco native running for mayor for a third time. She is an anti-discrimination attorney and has served two terms on the Board of Supervisors representing District. Her key campaign issues are combatting homelessness and increasing the quantity and quality of affordable housing.

London Breed (D) is the President of the Board of Supervisors, represents District 5 and served a brief stint as acting mayor following the death of Ed Lee. Her primary platform issues include building and protecting affordable housing, increasing public safety, improving environmental health and modernizing public transportation.

Michelle Bravo, no information was available about this candidate at press time, and her campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Richie Greenberg (D) identifies his policies as “conservative/centrist,” ran for the District 1 Supervisor seat in 2016, and has experience as a business adviser and consultant. His platform includes decreasing funds for homelessness programs, increasing teacher salaries and improving public transportation and infrastructure.

Mark Leno (D) has served as a California State Senator and Assembly Member and as the District 8 supervisor. As a small business owner, he has pledged to protect small businesses’ interests. His legislative history includes support of tenants’ rights, increasing the minimum wage and eliminating discrimination of LGBTQ and disabled Americans.

Amy Farah Weiss (D) is a public activist with experience in community organizing and multi-sector program development. Her platform includes the development of a public bank in San Francisco,
increased affordable housing, creation of transitional villages for the homeless, economic justice for African Americans, and public broadband for highspeed internet across the city.

Jane Kim (D) represents District 6 on the Board of Supervisors and previously served on the Board of Education. She describes herself as a “progressive leader” and has fought for the expansion of affordable housing, protections for renters, closure of the wage gap and improvements for public
schools.

Ellen Lee Zhou, whose party affiliation is not known, is a volunteer social worker, union representative and a member of the Sunset Neighborhood Emergency Response Team. Her platform is built on opposition to cannabis legalization, tackling drug-abuse problems, providing affordable housing and addressing homelessness policy.