SF House Candidates Clash on Taxes, Transit in Debate to Replace Pelosi

Three leading candidates running to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi in the U.S. House of Representatives sparred over public transit, tax policy and their approach to governance Tuesday night during a spirited debate in San Francisco.

State Sen. Scott Wiener received most of the heat from fellow Democrats Connie Chan, a San Francisco supervisor, and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former software engineer and congressional aide. The pair criticized Wiener for opposing progressive tax proposals, while Wiener touted his legislative experience and poked at the track records of his opponents.

Wiener, Chan and Chakrabarti would all be considered liberals in Congress, and each vowed to stand up to the Trump administration, increase access to health care and vote against funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many of the night’s sharpest divisions emerged around their respective political styles.

The exchanges grew spiciest when moderators Scott Shafer and Sydney Johnson of KQED gave the candidates the opportunity to ask each other questions, soliciting gasps from the crowd of more than 1,500 at the Sydney Goldstein Theater.

Chakrabarti asked Wiener why he was not supporting Proposition D, a measure on San Francisco’s June ballot that would place a surcharge on large corporations in which the top executive earns 100 times more than the company’s median employee. He framed the tax as a way to backfill funding from federal cuts.

“If you can’t stand up to your donors to fight Trump tax cuts now, how will you do that in Congress?” Chakrabarti asked Wiener.

Moments later, Chan followed up, pressing Wiener on why the measure he wrote to authorize a regional tax to support BART, Muni and Caltrain took the form of a sales tax, instead of a tax on corporations.

“Why is it that when you have a chance to actually have a progressive taxation, a regional overpaid CEO tax, and yet you chose to actually go for a regional sales tax?” she asked.

Wiener responded that San Francisco’s downtown recovery was not moving along fast enough to warrant a new tax on large businesses. He framed his bill authorizing a sales tax vote on transit as a form of political pragmatism.

“Yes, we could have gone with a business tax, and it would not have passed the Legislature, and I’m pretty sure the governor would have vetoed it,” Wiener said. “We could have said let’s do a business tax, and the whole thing falls apart, or we could say, let’s do a sales tax, which can pass … and actually not have BART and Muni and Caltrain fall apart.”

Chakrabarti, who was chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, faced questions about his own participation in local elections.

Chakrabarti said he skipped some elections because he was not politically engaged when he first moved to the city, noting he voted in New York when campaigning for Ocasio-Cortez.

Wiener dismissed Chakrabarti’s retort that Wiener’s supporters were amplifying the residency attacks in political mailers.

“I got my little tiny violin out because let’s be clear: Mr. Chakrabarti has spent more of his tech, hedge-fund money than everyone else combined, including outside campaigns,” Wiener said, referencing the $1.4 million Chakrabarti has contributed to his own campaign.

The self-funding has allowed Chakrabarti to keep pace with Wiener, who has raised money for a potential congressional run for years, and ended 2025 with more than $2.7 million, according to campaign finance filings. Chan entered the race in November, leaving her with comparatively less — around $174,000, reported before the end of the year.

Chan has represented the Richmond District on the Board of Supervisors since 2021. A progressive, Chan is known for her outspoken opposition to the board’s moderate majority on issues such as housing. Last year, she voted against Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “Family Zoning” upzoning plan.

Wiener said Chan’s opposition to a rapid bus line on Geary Boulevard has slowed transit in her district. Chan said she supported a transit-only lane on the side of the street, but not the rapid line that would have run down the center of the street on an elevated platform, as on Van Ness Avenue.

Pressed by the moderators on whether her strident opposition to several major initiatives should raise concerns about her ability to get things done, Chan said, “Government is not just about winning a vote.”

The debate, co-sponsored by KQED, City Arts & Lectures, the Commonwealth Club World Affairs and Manny’s, was the largest yet ahead of the June 2 primary.

The trio of candidates has emerged as the top contenders in an 11-candidate field vying to succeed Pelosi. The 86-year-old Democrat and former House speaker is not seeking reelection after holding the seat since 1987.

The fireworks began early when candidates were asked whether the U.S. should rethink its relationship with Israel.

At a candidate forum in January, Chan and Chakrabarti held up “yes” signs indicating they believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, while Wiener did not answer the question. The interaction went viral, and days later, Wiener changed course and posted a video on his social media saying Israeli attacks “qualifies as genocide.” He later resigned as co-chair of the state’s Legislative Jewish Caucus.

On Tuesday, all three candidates described Israel’s actions as genocide and vowed to oppose future military spending for Israel.

As the candidates spoke, a woman in the crowd yelled that Wiener was promoting genocide, causing a halt in the debate while she was removed from the theater.

The top two finishers in the June primary, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. There are eight other candidates on the ballot, including attorney Marie Hurabiell and technology advocate Omed Hamid — both Democrats — along with Republicans David Ganezer, publisher of a Santa Monica newspaper, and Jingchao Xiong, a social management scientist and former state Senate candidate.