SF D4 supe Alcaraz resigns after 1 week following multiple scandals

Just one week after her lightning ascent from political obscurity to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and attending one special meeting, Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz resigned late Thursday. Her decision came after a conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie, who’d appointed her before scandals about how she ran a local business came to light.

Alcaraz stated that she spoke with the mayor November 13.

“When I raised my hand to serve as supervisor, I told the mayor that it was time for someone who is from the Sunset to represent the Sunset,” Alcaraz, 29, stated. “I believe that my community deserves someone who will work 24/7 to advocate for us. And I understand that today’s news stories would distract me from doing that. As a result, I told Mayor Lurie this evening that I would resign from my position as District 4 supervisor.”

By “today’s news stories,” Alcaraz wasn’t referring to earlier reports she had left the bodies of hundreds of dead mice, urine, trash, as well as dead animals in a freezer at an Irving Street animal store she gave away earlier this year after years in the red.

The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back came Thursday afternoon, when Mission Local reported that Alcaraz admitted over text messages that she paid employees “under the table” and wrote off nights out as business expenses on her taxes.

The outlet reported that while writing off expenses is common, the texts’ tacit admission it was for the purposes of lowering her tax bill is serious.

Lurie issued a statement following the Mission Local report.

“She and I agreed, as we always have, that the Sunset deserves a supervisor who is fully focused on serving the community. We also agreed that the new information about her conduct while running her small business, which I learned today, would be a significant distraction from that work. In our conversation, she told me she intends to resign as supervisor,” Lurie stated late Thursday. 

“In Supervisor Alcaraz, I saw someone with deep roots in the Sunset who cares deeply about healing a divided community,” he added. “I admire her commitment and willingness to raise her hand to serve, just as much as I respect her decision to step aside in the best interest of her neighborhood. I regret that I didn’t do more to make sure she could succeed.”

In a Friday news conference, Lurie promised he’d thoroughly review his office’s vetting process, though he did not elaborate how.

“This is not the first time that I have gotten something wrong. It won’t be the last,” Lurie said. “But what I commit to all of you, and the people of San Francisco, is that I’m going to learn from this. And I’m going to grow. And this city is going to be stronger because of this.”

The B.A.R. had an interview with Alcaraz set up for Monday; when the B.A.R. emailed following Alcaraz’s resignation to ask if the interview was still on, an automated return email stated the message couldn’t be delivered.

Alcaraz had been selected as District 4 supervisor after gay Supervisor Joel Engardio was recalled in a September 16 special election due to voter outrage over his support of Proposition K, a ballot measure that permanently closed the upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic. After its passage by city voters last November, a new park dubbed Sunset Dunes was created along the stretch of roadway.

The D4 seat had been vacant for 20 days following Engardio’s departure October 17. It will be up to Lurie to make another appointment to fill the board vacancy again, as supervisors debate his family zoning proposal that would lift some westside height limits. The board’s land use committee is set to weigh in on the rezoning plan again at its meeting Monday, having pushed forward amendments to it last month.

“My hopes for the Sunset haven’t changed. I’ve heard again and again about the fraught politics that have divided District 4, and I believe the residents of this community deserve better,” Lurie stated. “They should have a supervisor who can be fully dedicated to representing them, advocating for their families, and bringing people together. My team and I will get back to work finding that person right away.”

Attended 1 meeting
Alcaraz did attend one board meeting as a supervisor. A special Board of Supervisors meeting was held Monday, November 10 (the board didn’t have its usual Tuesday meeting due to the Veterans Day holiday). At that time, she added herself as a co-sponsor to an ordinance related to a $9.1 million appropriation of state and federal reserve funds for CalFresh. It was the second and final vote on legislation authored by gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey and co-sponsored by the nine other supervisors and the mayor.

The only comment Alcaraz made at the meeting was to request being added as a co-sponsor. That item was the only one on the agenda.

On social media, Dorsey wrote about his now-former colleague. 

“Beya Alcaraz impressed me as someone who sought a role in local politics for the right reasons, and in the end I think her classy decision to step aside affirms the strength of her commitment to do right by her district and her city,” he posted on X.

Dorsey, who represents the South of Market area, didn’t want the fact that Alcaraz was San Francisco’s first Filipina supervisor to be forgotten.

“I know Beya’s appointment was incredibly meaningful to San Francisco’s Filipino American community, who hailed it as a history-making first for their community,” he stated. “As someone who’s been very close to the Filipino community – both as a parishioner of St. Patrick’s Church, and the D6 supervisor representing the SoMa Pilipinas Cultural District – I’ve heard from several Fil-Am leaders since news broke about Beya’s resignation. I know they’re urging Mayor Daniel Lurie to interview and consider other Filipino community members as possible successors. And I’m committed to convey that message, too.”

Dorsey continued, “I wish her well in her next chapter. There are myriad options to serve that don’t involve elective office, and I have every confidence Beya will make meaningful contributions to her neighborhood and our city in many other ways. I hope we’ll have opportunities to work together in the future.”

Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, a gay man who as District 8 supervisor represents the Castro on the board, didn’t immediately return a request for comment for this report.

Queer District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder did not return a request for comment.

Alcaraz – who, when asked by the San Francisco Standard if she’d ever been to a supervisors’ or commission hearing before being appointed replied, “I have been diligently reviewing the videos.” 

Prop K
Alcaraz had signaled a willingness to revisit the Great Highway matter. District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan has floated putting a ballot measure before voters – something Engardio was adamant he would work toward preventing. 

Reached for comment Friday, Engardio focused his remarks on the Sunset Dunes park that now sits atop the old thoroughfare.

“The Sunset deserves a steady hand,” he stated. “I hope our next supervisor will consider Sunset Dunes settled. The park is popular and the traffic impact is minimal and manageable. We need to focus on housing affordability, reviving our city’s economy to avoid more budget cuts, and not let public safety slip.”

Engardio has yet to publicly confirm he will not seek to be reelected to the D4 seat next year. Alcaraz’s appointment was to last through a special election on the June 2 primary ballot, which would fill the seat through the end of the year. The contest for a full four-year term in the seat will be held on the November 2026 fall ballot.

Already, Natalie Gee, chief of staff to District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, has announced her candidacy for the June race. She blasted the process that resulted in Alcaraz being appointed, albeit briefly.

“It is unacceptable for any district in our city to be subject to what has transpired in District 4,” Gee stated. “Sunset residents did not have a leader that understood our needs, went without a supervisor for nearly a month, and have spent the last week as part of an ill-fated political game. This entire time, concerns about street conditions, public safety and other basic needs went unaddressed.”

Though Gee had stated to the Sunset Beacon and Richmond Review that she did not anticipate Lurie selecting her before Alcaraz’s appointment, she stated Friday, “I would welcome the opportunity to begin serving the people of the Sunset immediately while continuing my work to earn their votes in the next election.”

Alcaraz had run a pet supply store called The Animal Connection on Irving Street. She took it over back in 2019 but gave away the business earlier this year, citing her frequent need to see her family, who had recently returned to the Philippines, according to the Standard. After Julia Baran took over the store, she found hundreds of dead rodents, garbage, and a freezer filled with dead pets, including lizards and guinea pigs. 

Baran told the B.A.R. Tuesday that she had not heard from Alcaraz after her appointment to the board, but that the mayor’s office had asked her what they could do to ameliorate the situation.

“Basically, they just kept asking me, ‘What do you want us to do about it?’” she said. “I said, ‘I don’t want anything, I just want you to take accountability for not vetting someone who’s going to take public office and who the community is going to pay for to represent them, and represent their best interest.’ … It’s the truth, and if I didn’t know the truth, I would want to know who this person was, and I think so many politicians get away with things because people don’t speak up. The people of San Francisco deserve better.”

Baran didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.

Updated, 11/14/25: This article has been updated with a comment from Mayor Lurie at a news conference.