A San Francisco activist and café owner named Manny Yekutiel has dropped out of the race for District 8 supervisor amid sexual assault allegations from two separate incidents in 2020 and 2023. The withdrawal leaves Gary McCoy, a drug decriminalization advocate who worked with Nancy Pelosi, as the likely frontrunner. Democratic powerbrokers are now rallying behind McCoy after endorsing Yekutiel despite earlier complaints of misconduct. San Francisco's Democratic Party chair has apologized for initially failing to properly evaluate these allegations against Yekutiel.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In San Francisco, Manny Yekutiel, a well-connected Democratic activist and owner of Manny’s Cafe, withdrew from the race for District 8 supervisor due to sexual assault allegations. These accusations include groping two men at a Pride party in 2023 and grabbing another man's testicles earlier this year. As a result, Gary McCoy has emerged as the frontrunner with support from local Democratic powerbrokers. McCoy, who was formerly homeless and a drug user, worked as a political director for Nancy Pelosi and was a VP of policy at HealthRight 360, San Francisco’s largest drug rehab nonprofit. A fierce advocate for decriminalizing drugs, McCoy supports safe consumption sites that allow people to use drugs under supervision. Manny’s Cafe has previously hosted prominent Democrats like Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom, highlighting Yekutiel's influence within the city's political circles.
Written for “San Francisco Dem Election Chaos” on 2026-10-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 64283: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-07
A well-connected San Francisco activist and trendy cafe owner has dropped out of the race for the city’s District 8 supervisor at the last minute due to a series of lurid sexual assault allegations.
asserted
activist → connect → allegations
His decision to withdraw from the race has seen the city’s Democratic powerbrokers throw their weight behind Gary McCoy, who has worked as a political director for Nancy Pelosi and was a VP of policy and public affairs at HealthRight 360, the city’s largest drug rehab nonprofit.
asserted
who → withdraw → HealthRight
McCoy, a recovering drug user who was formerly homeless, has been a fierce advocate for decriminalizing drugs.
asserted
who → recover → drugs
He has defended the city’s first safe consumption site that allowed people to use drugs under supervision and even went on a strike to try to get officials to authorize the use of safe consumption services.
asserted
officials → defend → services
Manny Yekutiel, who owns the Mission district hotspot Manny’s Cafe, has been accused of groping two men at a Pride party in 2023, the San Francisco Standard reported.
asserted
Standard → own → 2023
The cafe has previously hosted top Dems such as former VP Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom and former First Lady Jill Biden.
asserted
cafe → host → Harris
The allegation follows an claim that emerged in July, in which he was accused of grabbing another man’s testicles at a house party in 2020.
uncertain
he → follow → 2020
Yekutiel released a statement denying the allegations but announcing he was withdrawing from the race.
asserted
he → release → race
“I am deeply sorry for any boundaries that I crossed.
asserted
I → cross → that
I’m going to take this time to work on myself,” he said.
asserted
he → go → myself
“After a great deal of reflection I have made the difficult decision to end my campaign for District 8 Supervisor.
asserted
I → make → Supervisor
“Moving through the machinery of San Francisco’s politics has left me with very little light left in my heart.”
asserted
Moving → move → heart
The second round of allegations prompted many allies who stuck with him to back down, including Mayor Daniel Lurie.
asserted
who → prompt → Lurie
“Coming forward is hard and these survivors deserve to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect,” Lurie said in a statement, withdrawing his endorsement.
All city supervisors who had previously endorsed Yekutiel also withdrew their approvals, KQED reported.
asserted
KQED → come → approvals
Yekutiel was at a dance party called Electroluxx at the Midway when he encountered Ryan Clark, the Standard reported.
asserted
Standard → call → Clark
Clark alleged that Yekutiel groped his genitals and buttocks.
asserted
Yekutiel → allege → genitals
Clark told the candidate to stop and mentioned his partner was there.
asserted
partner → tell → candidate
Yekutiel then allegedly turned to the partner and put his hands down his pants to grope him.
uncertain
Yekutiel → turn → him
The initial brushing aside of the first allegation back in the summer has now come under even more scrutiny and is causing backlash.
asserted
brushing → come → backlash
This week, San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Nancy Tung issued an apology for its policy failing to adequately evaluate the sexual misconduct allegations and for the party to still endorse Yekutiel.
asserted
party → issue → Yekutiel
“This policy failed the first survivor to come forward, Brad Chapin, who took the courageous and painful step not only to file a formal complaint, but to stand up and speak directly before our committee during the District 8 endorsement hearing,” Tung said.
asserted
Tung → fail → hearing
”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.”
asserted
that → apologize → harm
Supervisor Connie Chan, who is running for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, said Tuesday she was calling on Tung to resign for that lapse in judgment.
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she → run → judgment
Tung dismissed that resignation call in comments to the Standard.
asserted
Tung → dismiss → Standard
“Under Nancy Tung, the San Francisco Democratic Party has lost all credibility,” Chan said.
asserted
Chan → lose → credibility
The Aporia
