SF Mayor London Breed Appoints Office Of Innovation Director Stephen Sherrill Next District 2 Supervisor

“I am deeply proud and eager to serve the residents of District 2, and I am humbled by the opportunity Mayor Breed has given me to step into this role and build on her legacy of leadership and progress,” said Sherrill on Wednesday. “Catherine Stefani’s example is one that I will strive to meet in ensuring that the government is responsive to the people of District 2 and the City as a whole, and not the other way around.”

Mayor Breed added in a statement that “I am confident that Stephen will bring the experience and skills necessary to represent the residents of District Two and to build a stronger, more resilient City. He is dedicated to making San Francisco safer and more affordable for everyone, including supporting the housing, transit, and infrastructure we need, and committed to the transparency and accountability our residents deserve. With his experience in both the public and private sectors, I know he will be a strong addition to the Board of Supervisors and a committed neighborhood advocate.”

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However, Sherrill’s appointment has been fraught with controversy. Bloomberg, for whom Sherrill served under in New York, is also a major donor in San Francisco. He had personally donated over $1 million to Breed’s failed reelection campaign this year and his charity funds the Office of Innovation – the very office Sherrill had headed. Sherrill had to take the unusual step and deny that Bloomberg’s ties had anything to do with his appointment on Thursday.

“The mayor made the appointment based on her belief in Stephen’s qualifications and abilities, nothing else,” said Breed’s office on Thursday.

The appointment was also pointed out as it being Breed’s attempt to keep San Francisco in as much as her vision as possible before leaving office – something compounded by other recent appointments and hirings.

“This is blatant favoritism and not being based on merit whatsoever,” explained Bay Area pollster Erica Chau to the Globe on Thursday. “That’s what we’ve been hearing from residents. We created a word cloud of the most associated words and the top one was “Favoritism”. We also have “Unexperienced”, “Out of touch”, “Oligarchic”, and “Undeserving”. One respondent said “The Breed machine lives on”.

“I’ve never really seen this kind of negativity with a pick like this, but then again, picks usually have someone who were elected in office before, had proved themselves, or were community organizers or something like that. Sherrill doesn’t fit any of that. He’s the son of a staunch Republican, who also has connection to high level Democrats. Breed seems to be going out with a bang and selecting people who constituents don’t like.”

Sherrill is to hold office until at least to the June 2026 Primary, where the winner of that race will fill out the remainder of Stefani’s term until November 2026.