Manny Yekutiel withdrew from the District 8 supervisor race Thursday, hours after new sexual assault allegations surfaced San Francisco Standard.
“I don’t admit to assaulting anyone, and some of the things that are said about me are fundamentally untrue. But I’m deeply sorry for the lines I crossed. I’m going to take this time to work on myself,” Yekutiel said.
Ekutiel’s candidacy has become untenable. Hours after the allegations, which Yekutiel said he had “no recollection of,” most of his supporters withdrew their support, including Mayor Daniel Lurie and six city supervisors.
“My endorsement is a statement of my confidence in someone’s character and leadership, and in light of the additional testimony reported today, I withdraw it,” Lurie said. Other backers, including unions and advocacy groups like GrowSF, have also withdrawn their support.
Gary McCoy, a former aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is now the presumptive front-runner in District 8. He has formed an alliance with rival Darshini Patel and also faces Michael Nguyen as an opponent. All three had called on Yekutiel to step down.
Even if Yekutiel suspends his campaign, his name will still appear on the ballot; the deadline to withdraw passed in June.
Yekutiel was first accused of sexual assault in June by progressive political organizer Brad Chapin, who alleged that in 2020, Yekutiel put his hands down his pants and painfully grabbed his testicles at a house party.
Thursday’s allegations closely matched Chapin’s: Ryan Clark and his partner told the Standard that Yekutiel grabbed their testicles, inside and outside their pants, at a Pride club party in 2023.
Clark said he was motivated to come forward after seeing Yekutiel’s supporters stand by him after Chapin’s allegations, and particularly by Lurie’s decision to do so: In August and September, Yekutiel became the official choice of Mayor Lurie and the San Francisco Democratic Party.
The new allegations were too much for most of Yekutiel’s supporters.
The party’s local chapter has now scheduled a vote on October 11 to reconsider its support, which will almost certainly be withdrawn.
Even District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who stood with Yekutiel the morning of the new allegations, had withdrawn his support by the afternoon.
“Manny is an extraordinary person who has made an extraordinary contribution to San Francisco,” Mandelman said. “Unfortunately, it has become painfully clear to me that he has work on himself and is not ready to serve as a public official. So I have asked him to remove my name from his supporters.”
Additional reporting by Kelly Waldron.
Gn usa
