San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Apologizes After Sexual Assault Policy ‘Broke Down’
The top official for San Francisco’s Democratic Party issued a public apology for failing to adequately evaluate sexual misconduct allegations and endorsing former San Francisco supervisor candidate Manny Yekutiel, who abandoned his bid to represent District 8 last week after multiple men accused him of sexual assault.
Chair Nancy Tung’s statement comes after mounting criticism over how the party handled the accusations against Yekutiel, who dropped out of the race after three men publicly accused him of sexual assault.
Brad Chapin, a former city gardener and political organizer, came forward earlier this year alleging that Yekutiel sexually assaulted him at a party in 2020. San Francisco’s Democratic Party voted to endorse Yekutiel after Chapin spoke up. Last week, two additional men — a man named Ryan Clark and his partner — made similar allegations.
“I publicly and sincerely apologize to Mr. Chapin for how our process treated his complaint and for an endorsement decision that caused him further harm,” Tung wrote. “As party chair, I also apologize for how this endorsement hurt Ryan Clark, his partner and others.”
But Chapin said Ting’s apology didn’t land for him.
“I believe that she’s only apologizing because she got caught and everybody can see it and she wants to save her own reputation,” he said.
Chapin filed a police report in April, and also reached out to the local Democratic Party to file a complaint through the organization’s relatively new reporting policies for sexual assault and harassment.
The party’s policy created ways for a person to submit a complaint, including to an ombudsperson who determines whether the complaint potentially violates the code of conduct.
If so, an independent investigator reviews the facts and evidence of the report and submits findings to the party’s judicial commission and adjudication panel to determine whether the violation occurred. If it did, consequences could include private or public admonishment or expulsion from the club or party.
The party adopted the policy in December 2024 after accusations surfaced against prominent political organizers, including John Jacobo and Kesvin Ortiz, two progressives who have both denied the allegations.
Some survivors of sexual assault criticized how the party handled those past allegations and the protocol designed to handle future cases.
Chapin said he did not receive a response from the Democratic Party’s ombudsperson or investigators until after he came forward with his story publicly in the media.
After following up on Chapin’s claims, the adjudication panel for the Democratic Party met to review an independent investigator’s findings, ultimately saying that the accusation could not be substantiated and that it was outside of their jurisdiction. The party then voted to publicly endorse Yekutiel.
Chapin went to the endorsement meeting, publicly calling the process a “sham.”
Meanwhile, Yekutiel’s campaign appeared to weather the initial allegation, with many allies continuing to support him. Mayor Daniel Lurie, who created the Civic Joy Fund with Yekutiel, endorsed him after Chapin came forward.
The political climate changed last week, however, when Clark and his partner came forward alleging that Yekutiel had sexually assaulted them at a nightclub in San Francisco in 2023. Within hours of the new allegations coming out, prominent backers revoked their endorsements for Yekutiel, including Lurie and other elected officials.
“My endorsement is a statement of my confidence in someone’s character and leadership, and in light of the additional accounts reported today I am withdrawing it,” Lurie said in a statement last week, adding that he will not make a new endorsement in the District 8 race. “Coming forward is hard and these survivors deserve to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect.”
Yekutiel has denied the allegations.
“I am not admitting to having assaulted anyone and some of the things that are being said about me are fundamentally untrue,” Yekutiel said in a statement when he announced he would drop out. “But I am deeply sorry for any boundaries that I crossed. I’m going to take this time to work on myself.”
Chapin is still reeling from the consequences and backlash he faced for coming forward.
“Her apology rings pretty hollow,” Chapin said of Tung’s response on Monday. “She gave me almost none of the rights outlined in her own code of conduct.”
He said he handed over 55 names of witnesses who could support his allegations but did not know if any had been contacted.
“The process is designed to insulate the political aspect of the party, and so I don’t actually know what Mr. Chapin’s complaint looked like. I don’t know what he turned over to the investigators,” Tung said. “The investigation was done by a professional law firm that specializes in these types of misconduct complaints, and so I don’t know if those 55 people had been contacted or not.”
Chapin also said he was not given time to appeal the findings before the adjudication panel made them public and the party voted to endorse Yekutiel. Chapin said he has also requested a copy of the investigation, and that Tung has refused to share the file.
“Because the judicial counsel did not act on [the complaint], I chose not to release the investigation,” Tung said. “Given what’s happened recently, it’s a conversation I’m willing to have with Mr. Chapin and his lawyer to see if there is something that we should consider.”
Rafael Mandelman, a moderate Democrat, currently represents District 8, which includes the Castro, Glen Park, Diamond Heights, Noe Valley and other neighborhoods. He is terming out, leaving an open seat on the city’s current majority-moderate Board of Supervisors.
Before last week, Yekutiel was a frontrunner. He is well-connected through his cafe in the Mission District, Manny’s, which frequently hosts events with prominent political and community leaders.
The race now comes down to Gary McCoy, who previously worked for Rep. Nancy Pelosi and has the former Speaker of the House’s endorsement, as well as patent attorney Michael Nguyen and former DoorDash employee Darshini Patel.
Tung said the episode is prompting changes to the code of conduct on sexual misconduct. The party is holding a special meeting on Oct. 11 to reconsider its endorsement in District 8, and Tung said she will be endorsing Gary McCoy in the race. Some supervisors who previously endorsed Yekutiel have also since moved their endorsement to McCoy, including Stephen Sherrill, Danny Sauter and Bilal Mahmood.
At the same Oct. 11 meeting, Tung said there will be a discussion about reexamining the code of conduct around sexual assault and harassment and outlining next steps to revise the policy.
“There are hard lessons all the way around this process, but we need to keep trying,” Tung said. “I hope that people and organizations will decide that they want to move forward together with the party and to try to do something, to try to create something better out of all of this.”
Some critics are calling for Tung herself to step down following the episode.
“She has lost the trust of survivors, allies and the community at large,” an Instagram post from the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee said. “Brad Chapin came forward when it was hard, and he deserved action when it mattered. An apology after the fact does not undo that.”
When asked for a response to the calls for resignation, Tung said, “It’s all very fresh. I do want to speak to members of the SFWPC. I don’t think that trading statements over Instagram is necessarily the best way to have a conversation.”
Tung said she reached out to Chapin on a messaging app, but the two have not spoken directly as of Monday, when she released her public apology naming him.
“We need a Democratic Party and a local government that advocates and protects survivors,” Chapin said. “I look forward to hopefully having a meeting with the mayor and others who are capable of making real change happen.”