2011 San Francisco mayoral election

2011 San Francisco mayoral election

← 2007 November 8, 2011 (2011-11-08) 2015 →

Candidate Ed Lee John Avalos Dennis Herrera Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round vote 59,775 37,445 21,914 First round percentage 30.75% 19.26% 11.11% Final round vote 84,457 57,160 eliminated Final round percentage 59.64% 40.36% eliminated   Candidate David Chiu Leland Yee Jeff Adachi Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First round vote 17,921 14,609 12,534 First round percentage 9.09% 7.41% 6.36% Final round vote eliminated eliminated eliminated Final round percentage eliminated eliminated eliminated

First choice results by county supervisorial district Lee:      20–30%      30–40%      40–50% Avalos:      20–30%      40–50%

Mayor before election Ed Lee Nonpartisan Elected Mayor Ed Lee Nonpartisan

Elections in California
show Federal government U.S. President 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 Dem GOP 2000 Dem GOP 2004 Dem GOP 2008 Dem GOP 2012 Dem GOP 2016 Dem GOP 2020 Dem GOP U.S. Senate 1849 1850 1852 sp 1856 1857 sp 1860 1860 sp 1868 1872 1873 1873 sp 1878 1880 1885 1886 sp 1887 1891 1891 sp 1893 1895 sp 1897 1900 sp 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1946 sp 1950 1952 1954 sp 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1992 sp 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 U.S. House of Representatives 1849 1851 1852 1854 1856 1859 1861 1863 1864 1867 1868 1871 1872 1875 1876 1879 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 12th sp 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1987 5th sp 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 32nd sp 2002 2004 2005 5th sp 48th sp 2006 50th sp 2007 36th sp 2008 12th sp 2009 10th sp 32nd sp 2010 2011 36th sp 2012 2014 2016 2017 34th sp 2018 2020 25th sp 2022 v t
show State government (executive) Governor 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1867 1871 1875 1879 1882 1886 1890 1894 1898 1902 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2003 (recall) 2006 2010 2014 2018 2021 (recall) 2022 Lieutenant governor 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Treasurer 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Controller 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Insurance Commissioner 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Superintendent of Public Instruction 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 State Board of Equalization 2018 v t
show State government (legislative) State Senate 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Special State Assembly 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Special v t
show State government (judicial) Court of Appeals 1994 1998 2002 2006 v t
show Propositions 1910–1919 1911 4 7 8 1960–1969 1964 14 1970–1979 1974 9 1978 8 13 Briggs Initiative 1980–1989 1982 8 1986 64 65 1988 98 99 1990–1999 1994 187 1996 196 209 215 218 1998 6 10 227 2000–2009 2000 21 22 36 39 2003 53 54 2004 1A 55 56 57 58 59 60 60A 61 62 63 64 65 66 69 71 2005 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 2006 81 82 83 85 87 89 90 2008 91 92 93 94, 95, 96, and 97 98 and 99 1A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 2009 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 2010–2019 2010 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2012 29 30 32 34 37 38 39 2014 47 2016 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 2018 68 69 6 7 9 10 12 2020–2029 2020 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 Full list v t
show Elections by year State elections 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 sp 2006 2008 Feb Jun Nov 2009 2010 Jun Nov 2012 Jun Nov 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 v t
show Anaheim Mayor 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 v t
show Bakersfield Mayoral elections 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 v t
show Fresno Mayor 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 v t
show Irvine Mayoral elections 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 v t
show Long Beach Mayor 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 v t
show Los Angeles General 2009 2011 2013 2020 Mayor 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1909 (M) 1909 (N) 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1929 1933 1937 1938 1941 1945 1949 1953 1957 1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2022 City Attorney 2009 Board of Supervisors 1980 1996 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 Ballot measures 1980 A 1986 U 2008 R 2012 B J 2016 M 2017 S v t
show Oakland Mayor 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 v t
show Orange County District Attorney 2018 Board of Supervisors 2018 2020 v t
show Riverside Mayor 1997 2001 2005 2009 2012 2016 2020 v t
show Sacramento Mayor 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 v t
show San Bernardino Mayor 2005–06 2009 2014 2018 v t
show San Diego Mayor 1887 1889 1891 1893 1895 1897 1899 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1932 1935 1939 1943 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1983 (sp) 1984 1986 (sp) 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2005 (sp) 2008 2012 2013–14 (sp) 2016 2020 City Attorney 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Municipal elections 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 Special Board of Supervisors 2020 v t
show San Francisco Mayor 1971 1975 1979 1983 (recall) 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2018 (special) 2019 2023 Board of Supervisors 1977 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 General elections Mar 2004 Nov 2004 Nov 2005 Jun 2006 Nov 2006 Nov 2007 Feb 2008 Jun 2008 Nov 2008 Nov 2009 Jun 2010 Nov 2010 Nov 2011 Jun 2012 Nov 2012 Nov 2013 v t
show San Jose Mayor 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 v t
show Stockton Mayoral elections 2008 2012 2016 2020 v t
v t

The 2011 San Francisco mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, to elect the mayor of San Francisco. The incumbent Ed Lee, appointed to fill the vacant mayoral seat, succeeded in his bid to become the first elected Asian-American mayor of a major American city.^[1]

Background[]

Gavin Newsom, first elected in 2003 and reelected in 2007, was elected Lieutenant Governor of California in 2010 and sworn in on January 10, 2011.^[2] Ed Lee was appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to finish the balance of Newsom's mayoral term and was sworn in on January 11, 2011. Lee initially pledged not to seek election, although an active movement arose to draft him into the race.^[3][4] By the end of July observers were expecting that Lee would agree to run.^[5] On August 8, 2011, Lee announced he was running for Mayor of San Francisco.^[6]

The mayoral election was run using instant runoff voting, which was adopted by a referendum in 2002. This voting method was first in effect for the 2007 mayoral election, but no transfers of votes were needed in 2007 since incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom received a majority of the first round votes.^[7]

Candidates[]

There were sixteen candidates running:^[8]

• Jeff Adachi, Public Defender of San Francisco
• Michela Alioto-Pier, former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 2
• Cesar Ascarrunz, nightclub owner and community service entrepreneur,^[9] mayoral candidate in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, and 1999
• John Avalos, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 11
• Terry Baum, playwright and actress
• David Chiu, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 3
• Paul Currier
• Bevan Dufty, former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 8
• Tony Hall, former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 7
• Dennis Herrera, City Attorney of San Francisco
• Emil Lawrence
• Ed Lee, incumbent Mayor of San Francisco
• Wilma Pang, City College of San Francisco professor
• Joanna Rees, venture capitalist
• Phil Ting, Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco
• Leland Yee, California State Senator from California's 8th State Senate district

Debates[]

• May 5, 2011: The Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at the University of San Francisco partnering with a national non-profit, buildOn, hosted 'San Francisco Mayoral Candidate Forum on Service' featuring selected mayoral candidates. In attendance were Michela Alioto-Pier, John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Tony Hall, Dennis Herrera, Joanna Rees, Phil Ting, and Leland Yee.^[10]
• June 16, 2011: Automattic, the developer of WordPress, hosted 'SFOpen 2011', a town-hall forum focused specifically on open government, citizen engagement and leveraging technology to build better government, moderated by tech entrepreneur Mitch Kapor. The candidates in attendance were Michela Alioto-Pier, John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Tony Hall, Dennis Herrera, Joanna Rees, Phil Ting and Leland Yee.^[11]

• July 11, 2011: Valencia Corridor Merchants Association and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted a mayoral candidate debate at Public Works at 161 Erie St. In attendance were John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Dennis Herrera and Leland Yee.^[12][13]
• August 24, 2011: The Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club hosted a mayoral candidate debate at the JCC at 3200 California Street. In attendance were Jeff Adachi, Michela Alioto-Pier, John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Dennis Herrera, Ed Lee, Phil Ting and Leland Yee.^[14][15]
• October 5, 2011: The League of Women Voters of San Francisco, in partnership with UCSF, hosted a mayoral candidate debate at the Robertson Auditorium, UCSF Mission Bay at 1675 Owens Street. Cheryl Jennings of ABC-7 was the moderator. In attendance were Jeff Adachi, Michela Alioto-Pier, John Avalos, Terry Joan Baum, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Tony Hall, Dennis Herrera, Ed Lee, Joanna Rees, Phil Ting, Leland Yee.^[16][17]

Polling[]

• Note: Results are for first choice only

Results[]

Results Summary[]

The following table shows a summary of the instant runoff for the election. The table shows the round in which the candidate was defeated or elected the winner, the votes for the candidate in that round, and what share those votes were of all votes counting for any candidate in that round. There is also a bar graph showing those votes for each candidate and categorized as either first-round votes or votes that were transferred from another candidate.

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though most candidates in San Francisco do receive funding and support from various political parties.

Vote counts by round[]

The following table shows how votes were counted^[18] in a series of rounds of instant runoffs. Each voter could mark which candidates were the voter's first, second, and third choice. Each voter had one vote, but could mark three choices for how that vote can be counted. In each round, the vote is counted for the most preferred candidate that has not yet been eliminated. Then one or more candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated. Votes that counted for an eliminated candidate are transferred to the voter's next most preferred candidate that has not yet been eliminated.

Continuing votes are votes that counted for a candidate in that round. Exhausted ballots represent votes that could not be transferred because a less preferred candidate was not marked on the ballot. Voters were allowed to mark only three choices because of voting system limitations. Over votes are votes that could not be counted for a candidate because more than one candidate was marked for a choice that was ready to be counted. Under votes are ballots were left blank or that only marked a choice for a write-in candidate that had not qualified as a write-in candidate.

References[]

External links[]

• San Francisco Department of Elections: November 8, 2011 Municipal Election
• SmartVoter.org: November 8, 2011 Municipal Election

Campaign websites

• Jeff Adachi
• Michela Alioto-Pier
• John Avalos
• Terry Baum
• David Chiu
• Paul Currier
• Bevan Dufty
• Tony Hall
• Dennis Herrera
• Ed Lee
• Wilma Pang
• Joanna Rees
• Phil Ting
• Leland Yee