Sexual Assault Allegations Against Manny Yekutiel Roil San Francisco Democrats

Yekutiel, who is gay, has denied the allegations. But they have prompted some one-time allies to abandon their endorsements and others to say they are waiting to learn more before making a decision about whether to back him or rescind support.

“Right now, this situation is, what are they willing to accept?” said local political consultant Jim Ross, regarding Yekutiel’s backers who have continued to stand with him. “The big question is, what if more comes out?”

Already some elected Democrats, like Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Attorney General Rob Bonta, have withdrawn support for Yekutiel, and some speakers for events at his cafe in the Mission District have dropped out.

But there was little mention of the allegations at a rally on Tuesday on the steps of City Hall in support of sexual assault survivors. And many of Yekutiel’s supporters, which currently include the majority of the Board of Supervisors, say they are waiting for more evidence before they change their positions.

“Because there are allegations on him, and frankly other people that I’ve already heard running for office, I’m waiting for that investigation to be completed before making a decision,” said Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who spoke at the rally on Tuesday, and is currently endorsing Yekutiel’s campaign to represent District 8, which includes the Castro and Noe Valley.

City gardener and community organizer Brad Chapin accused Yekutiel, who interned in the Obama White House and worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for president, of sexual assault at a party in 2020.

Chapin said Yekutiel grasped him aggressively and stuck his hand down his pants, groped his genitals and pulled hard as Chapin tried to push away.

During the incident, Chapin said, Yekutiel lifted up Chapin’s shirt, grabbed his belly and said “ew,” humiliating him during an unwelcome sexual advance.

“I remember being very scared,” Chapin told KQED. “Every time I tried to get away, he would literally pull me back and squeeze harder, and the entire time he was staring at me in the eyes.”

At the rally this week, organizers said they decided to avoid addressing specific cases in part to draw attention to the broader issue of sexual assault that happens across all industries, not just in politics. But for many in attendance, the recent allegations were top of mind.

Former supervisor Mabel Teng was the sole speaker to address them.

“As someone who knows the recent publicized survivors and victims, I am free to call out their names, Judy and Brad,” Teng said, also referring to Judy Lee, who recently accused the Chinese Chamber of Commerce board president Donald Luu of harassment and retaliation.

The chamber organizes the city’s Chinese New Year parade. Luu has since resigned and filed a defamation lawsuit against Lee, the chamber’s program director. “You are not alone. And to all of the survivors and victims, we see you, we hear you, we feel you and we believe in you.”

Yekutiel categorically denied the allegations and called them politically motivated. Chapin is a former vice president of the progressive Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, which has endorsed Yekutiel’s opponent, Gary McCoy, in the District 8 race. Chapin denied that coming forward was politically driven.

“I didn’t do what these accusations suggest, and I do think it’s because I am here and I’m running for office that this is coming out now,” Yekutiel told KQED. “The San Francisco Police Department looked into it, and there was nothing.”

The SFPD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chapin, who is also gay, says the personal fallout has been traumatic. On social media, people have scrutinized his character and questioned his motives for coming forward after so many years.

He has completely stepped away from political activism, saying it was detrimental to his mental health to be in those spaces after his experience with Yekutiel and other high-profile sexual assaults in politics.

“People really don’t understand how scary it is to come forward when there’s not a lot of evidence,” Chapin said. “In some ways, I think if someone is involved in politics, it does make it even less likely for [survivors] to come forward.”

He told friends about the incident shortly after it happened, text messages show, but Chapin said he waited years to publicly come forward out of fear and because Yekutiel was not running for public office at the time.

“I was scared to tell another soul,” Chapin said. He eventually filed a police report in April and came forward. “I was so anxious about this person being in power and what would happen.”

Before his accusations became public, Chapin said he reached out to several political figures he knows, including termed-out current District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who is still listed as endorsing Yekutiel, and for whom Chapin said he formerly helped organize and volunteered. But the supervisor isn’t convinced.

“I haven’t felt a reason to particularly doubt Manny’s account. It was an event that was six years ago, and it hasn’t caused me to reevaluate my endorsement,” Mandelman told KQED. “I think how long ago something supposedly happened matters. I think numbers and believability of accusations matter. Sometimes there’s a flood that follows an initial accusation. I hope that’s not the case here. But I do think this is very different from a situation where there’s rumors from multiple people, and then someone comes forward, and then the dam breaks.”

Eric Jaye, a political consultant who has donated to Yekutiel’s campaign, said even serious accusations like Chapin’s are processed politically in San Francisco.

“American politics right now is so partisan and so divisive that you care about these accusations when they’re leveled against somebody you oppose and you excuse or disbelieve them when they are directed to someone you support,” he said.

The District 8 seat is crucial to moderates trying to keep their majority on the board. Yekutiel is facing off against McCoy, who most recently served as campaign manager for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s Save Our Healthcare initiative, and patent attorney Michael Nguyen.

“Politicians are going to take a watch-and-wait approach to this. If it’s a one-off, I don’t think it will have much impact on the race. If it emerges that there was a pattern, then that will be a different situation,” Jaye said.

If that prediction plays out, the case will stand in stark contrast to those of other politicians whose campaigns have swiftly collapsed in recent months.

Earlier this year, after multiple women accused Swalwell of drugging and raping them, he quickly lost support and exited the race for California governor.

“Usually with politicians, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. So the question is, is there something else? And I don’t know that. But I think that’s what a lot of [Yekutiel’s] endorsers are waiting to see,” said Ross. “If another person comes forward or another issue comes up, then it becomes much more fraught for his supporters.”

For Yekutiel, some of the fallout could be economic. He has become a widely recognized Democratic pillar in San Francisco, where his cafe regularly hosts talks with government leaders and activists. He’s amassed powerful allies in the city’s Democratic sphere, including Mayor Daniel Lurie, with whom he started the Civic Joy Fund nonprofit. Lurie has so far not endorsed anyone in the District 8 race.

“My supporters are going to make their own choices. The overwhelming majority of my supporters are standing strong with me,” Yekutiel said. “And the few people that did rescind their endorsement, I’m looking forward to working with them as a supervisor.”

Mahmood, the supervisor, is on a committee focused on addressing sexual assault complaints within the San Francisco Democratic Party, which was formed following a series of allegations in local Democratic clubs. The party adopted a new set of reporting policies for sexual assault and harrassment in December 2024.

But critics say there are flaws in the process. Chapin said he filed a complaint to the organization’s ombudsperson and never received a response.

Chair Nancy Tung declined to publicly comment on the reporting process or current allegations in the District 8 race.

“The Democrats who made a big issue around sexual assault a few years ago, it was moderates attacking the progressives over that issue. And now they created a system and a process that was supposed to protect people and that pretty much failed,” Ross, the political consultant, said.

Chapin received a response from the party’s ombudsperson after reporting about his allegations went public. The inquiry is ongoing.

“It’s been absolute hell, but I just couldn’t not do it,” Chapin said on his decision to come forward. “That’s not a thing for me.”