Political Notebook: LGBTQ leaders raise concern with Lurie’s bouncing of SF trans commissioner

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s decision to bounce a transgender member from a prominent city commission is raising concern among LGBTQ leaders. The move comes at a time when the trans community, in particular, is under attack by the Trump administration.

It also comes as Lurie continues to face questions about how supportive he is of the trans community. Since becoming mayor earlier this year, Lurie has been criticized for budgetary decisions that defunded trans programs and was booed out of the annual Trans March event over the city’s Pride weekend in late June.

In August, during Transgender History Month, Lurie had named social studies teacher Monroe Lace to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. She had made history in 2023 as the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss San Francisco.

But last Friday, Lurie’s office announced he had named Nancy Tung, chair of the local Democratic Party, to the San Francisco Airport Commission. In doing so, he decided not to reappoint Jane Natoli, a trans woman and prominent transit and housing advocate, to another term on the prominent city oversight body.

Natoli told the Bay Area Reporter she was officially informed of the decision on September 26 by the commission’s secretary. She had been appointed to the body by former mayor London Breed in October 2021, and her term had expired August 31, though Natoli had continued to serve through this month.

“I think, to some degree, I abide by the decision of the mayor. Obviously, I am disappointed and would like to continue serving,” said Natoli, San Francisco organizing director with Yimby Action, the pro-housing advocacy group. “At the same time, I don’t think it is some aggressive abuse of power. I think there are a lot of paths to serving the airport.”

Her feelings about the decision likely would be different, added Natoli, if she felt Tung wasn’t qualified to serve as an airport commissioner. Tung is expected to be seated by the next time the oversight body meets on October 7.

One reason Natoli wanted to remain an airport commissioner had to do with the Trump administration restricting recognition of transgender people by federal agencies, such as the transportation department, and ordering the X option on U.S. passports for people who don’t identify as male or female to be removed. She had spoken up about trans travelers’ concerns, Natoli said, with the Transportation Security Administration.

“It was one of the things I was excited to do and work on, and did do some advocacy for,” said Natoli. “On top of that, just looking at the times we are living in, everyday it seems like we are seeing some new national headline about how the Trump administration is trying to erase trans people today. It is really hard in this time to deal with all that, so that part of it really disappointed me in the sense of that.”

On Saturday, Natoli briefly spoke with Lurie. She said she stressed the need for trans people to be appointed to various leadership posts in the city.

Apart from the trans advisory committee convened by the Mayor’s Office of Transgender Initiatives, serving as vice chair on the city’s Sweatfree Procurement Advisory Group is Coyote Marin, who is trans and nonbinary. They are a supervisorial appointee to the body housed within the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement.

There are at least four trans members on oversight bodies for city departments and agencies. In addition to Lace, Joaquin Guerrero is a homelessness oversight commissioner, Jessy Ruiz Navarro is an immigrant rights commissioner, and Cecilia Chung sits on the Commission on the Status of Women. Guerrero and Navarro are supervisorial appointees, while Chung was appointed by Breed last year. She had previously served on the Health Commission for several years.

“We need representation; we deserve it,” Natoli said. “Especially at this time, we need to live up to our San Francisco values. That is not just saying them, that is actually living them.”

Lurie spokesperson Charles Lutvak told the B.A.R. the mayor is open to finding another post for Natoli to serve in.

"Mayor Lurie is grateful to Jane for her service on the Airport Commission and, as he told her, is working with her to find her next opportunity to serve San Francisco. Nancy Tung has also dedicated years to serving our city, and we’re excited to have her joining the commission,” stated Lutvak.

One of the first people to publicly speak out about Natoli not being reappointed was Gary McCoy, a gay man who worked closely with her as a longtime board member and former co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club. In several social media posts Friday night, McCoy called Lurie’s decision “a missed opportunity” and noted having LGBTQ representation matters.

“Especially at a time when the trans community is under attack by the Trump administration – with nearly 1,000 anti-trans bills nationwide throughout 49 states targeting the trans community, and the constant harmful rhetoric coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. What we do in San Francisco matters, everywhere,” noted McCoy, widely expected to run for the District 8 seat on the Board of Supervisors next year. “When San Francisco leads, the nation pays attention. When we demote our strong LGBTQ community members from commissions, what message does that send to those in power that want nothing more than to eradicate our rights and our existence? And what message does that send to members of our community that are looking for the strength to be themselves in a difficult time in our country?”

Current Alice Co-Chair Martin Rawlings-Fein, a trans man, also expressed disappointment in the mayor’s decision. Speaking for himself, as the club has yet to take a formal position, he told the B.A.R. that the optics of the move are questionable.

“I think we need to look at representation on boards and committees and figure out is this the right move to remove a trans person from this position?” said Rawlings-Fein, particularly in a case like Natoli, whom he said, “was a great find” to appoint to the oversight body for the city’s airport.

Outreach needed by mayor
Moving forward, he said he would like to see better communication from Lurie’s administration and the local transgender community, especially around the appointment process for city boards and commissions. He said many people don’t know when there is a vacancy to apply for on such bodies.

“I would love to see the mayor reach out to the trans community and actually find good people who can actually do the job, because he will find a lot of them in the trans community for lots of boards and committees,” said Rawlings-Fein. “But lots of people don’t really know about them when these openings happen.”

Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ civil rights advocacy organization, told the B.A.R. it had reached out to Lurie’s office to share its concerns and to encourage the administration to work with Natoli on identifying new opportunities for her to remain “as the visible leader and dedicated public servant San Francisco needs." She serves on EQCA’s board and is vice president of its executive committee.

"Jane Natoli is a fantastic community leader whose service on the Airport Commission was exemplary,” noted Tom Temprano, a gay San Francisco resident who is EQCA’s managing director. “At a time when trans people are facing unprecedented attacks from Donald Trump and his extremist followers, San Francisco should be lifting up trans leadership on boards and commissions - bodies that remain far too lacking in trans representation. In this moment, Jane’s removal from the Airport Commission is especially disappointing.”

This is not the first time Natoli’s service on a city commission has generated headlines. In 2020, a bloc of progressive supervisors prevented her from being seated on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's board of directors, to which Breed had nominated her to serve on, as the B.A.R. reported at the time.

Mayoral appointments to the five-member airport commission are not automatically voted on by the Board of Supervisors. Any of the 11 supervisors can request a review of a nominee within 30 days of the announcement, though it requires a supermajority of eight votes to reject the person being seated.

Gay board President Rafael Mandelman told the B.A.R. he “is not thrilled about” Tung being appointed in place of Natoli, of whom he said, “by everything I hear, she was a good commissioner.”

Nonetheless, he doesn’t believe there would be enough support among the supervisors to sink Tung’s appointment. While he had not heard, as of Monday, that any of his colleagues would request such a vote, Mandelman said it could happen.

“I am not going to oppose Nancy Tung’s appointment. But I believe a member of the board could request it be heard by the full board,” said Mandelman, who represents District 8.

Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a former chair of the supervisors’ rules committee, also said he would not object to Tung’s appointment. At the same time, he praised Natoli as a “tremendous leader” and said he expected she would be nominated to another role either by the mayor or the supervisors.

“It is the prerogative of the mayor to make appointments, but I have a feeling Jane will be working on other things. I certainly will be advocating for her,” said Dorsey, who was first appointed by Breed to his supervisor seat before winning it outright. “I tend to take the view, if it is a mayoral appointee, I feel there is deference owed to the mayor on who he wants or, in London’s case, who she wants. I think the world of Jane and I can imagine her being sought after for appointments we, as a board, may get.”

As for perceptions that Lurie doesn’t support the trans community, Mandelman told the B.A.R., “I can’t speak for the trans community. I have found him generally to be a strong supporter of the LGBTQ community. But I do think this, the non-reappointment of Jane, is unfortunate.”

Added Dorsey, “I do understand the sensitivities. It is a difficult time for our community, and no more difficult than for the trans communities.”

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a former city supervisor and local Democratic Party chair, told the B.A.R. that both Tung and Natoli “are fantastic people.” At the same time, he said that LGBTQ representation on city regulatory bodies is a matter of concern.

“I also think it is important to make sure we are maintaining and growing representation from many communities, including the LGBTQ community,” said Wiener. “Jane is a fantastic person and a great leader, and I want to see her in leadership in San Francisco.”

He said he hopes Lurie considers naming Natoli to another leadership position in the city.

“The mayor has been supportive of the trans community, but it would be, and I think it is, important to have LGBTQ people, including trans people, in positions of leadership,” said Wiener. “And Jane is someone who is really an exceptional person and an exceptional leader. She really is just fantastic, and I want to make sure she is in a position of leadership.”

Wiener argued that five years ago, due to her being “a fantastic transit advocate,” Natoli should have been approved to serve on the SFMTA board. He again hopes her talents don’t go to waste.

“There were people on the Board of Supervisors who rejected her, and so let’s make sure we are looking at the big picture here,” said Wiener. “Jane Natoli is a great leader for San Francisco, and we need to make sure we are utilizing her incredible talent to benefit the city, and we all have a role to play in making that happen.”

UPDATED 9/30/25 to add another trans advisory body member.

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