The SF District 9 Supervisor is one of eleven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, elected to a four-year term to represent the Mission, Bernal Heights, Portola, and neighboring areas on the city’s legislative body. The position pays roughly $166,000 a year, carries a two-consecutive-term limit, and comes with a vote on every ordinance, budget, and land use decision the board takes up.1SF.gov. City and County of San Francisco Salary Ordinance
What the Supervisor Does
The Board of Supervisors holds the primary legislative power in San Francisco’s consolidated city-county government. The District 9 Supervisor introduces and votes on ordinances, which are the enforceable local laws covering zoning, land use, tenant protections, public health, and more. The board also passes resolutions that set official policy positions or direct city departments to act.
Budget authority is where the office carries the most visible weight. The mayor proposes an annual spending plan, and the board reviews, amends, and adopts it before the fiscal year begins on July 1. San Francisco’s annual budget runs into the billions, and the board’s power to reshape it gives each supervisor direct influence over how money flows to neighborhoods and city services.2San Francisco Ethics Commission. Budget
Most of the detailed work happens in standing committees before anything reaches a full board vote. Each supervisor typically sits on two or three committees, including bodies that handle budget and appropriations, land use and transportation, government audit, public safety, and board rules.3SF.gov. Board of Supervisors For District 9, a seat on the Land Use and Transportation Committee carries particular weight, because housing projects and transit changes along corridors like Mission Street move through that committee first.
District 9 Boundaries and Neighborhoods
District 9 covers a swath of San Francisco’s southern and central neighborhoods, including the Mission, Bernal Heights, and Portola. The district is bounded by streets like 16th Street to the north, Cesar Chavez and portions of Potrero Avenue along its edges, and Bayshore Boulevard and Alemany Boulevard to the south. The current boundary lines were last redrawn in 2022.4San Francisco Department of Elections. District 9 Map
The supervisor acts as the direct link between these neighborhoods and City Hall. The Mission has been a flashpoint for displacement and affordability debates, which means the District 9 seat regularly sits at the center of the city’s most politically charged land use fights. Whether a proposed housing development on a vacant lot or a change to transit service, the supervisor’s vote shapes what gets built and how the neighborhood functions day to day.
How the Seat Is Elected
San Francisco holds its regular Board of Supervisors elections in November of even-numbered years. The next general election for the District 9 seat takes place on November 3, 2026.5San Francisco Department of Elections. Board of Supervisors Candidate Guide
The city uses ranked-choice voting, in place since 2004. Rather than picking a single candidate, voters rank up to 10 candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins an outright majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed to each voter’s next-ranked choice. The process repeats until one candidate crosses the majority threshold, and no separate runoff is needed.6SF.gov. Ranked Choice
Running for the Seat
Two hard eligibility rules come straight from the San Francisco Charter. A candidate must be a registered voter and must have lived within District 9 for at least 30 days before filing a declaration of candidacy. Residency doesn’t stop at filing: the charter requires the supervisor to continue living in the district throughout the term, and moving out triggers removal.7American Legal Publishing. San Francisco Charter SEC 13.110 – Election of Supervisors
Before soliciting or accepting any campaign contributions, a candidate files a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501) with the San Francisco Ethics Commission and a Declaration of Intent with the Department of Elections.8San Francisco Ethics Commission. Getting Started – Intention Statements Nomination papers come next. Signatures must come from registered voters who live inside District 9, with a minimum of 20 valid signatures and a maximum of 40 accepted. Candidates are encouraged to collect more than the minimum, because some signatures get tossed during verification.5San Francisco Department of Elections. Board of Supervisors Candidate Guide
Filing nomination papers also requires a nonrefundable filing fee. A candidate who wants to reduce that fee can collect additional voter endorsements in lieu of paying the full amount. Once the Department of Elections verifies the submissions, the name goes on the ballot.
When a Vacancy Opens Mid-Term
If the seat opens between elections due to death, resignation, recall, or inability to serve, the mayor appoints someone to fill it. The appointee doesn’t simply hold the chair until the next regularly scheduled election. The charter requires a special election at the next election occurring at least 120 days after the vacancy, to fill the unexpired term. If a regular election for the seat is already scheduled less than a year away, the appointee serves until that election.9American Legal Publishing. San Francisco Charter SEC 13.101.5 – Vacancies An appointee who serves more than two years of a four-year term is treated as having served a full term for term-limit purposes.
Pay, Term Limits, and Ethics Rules
Supervisors earn $6,398 biweekly under the most recent city salary ordinance, or about $166,348 per year.1SF.gov. City and County of San Francisco Salary Ordinance The term is four years, with a cap of two successive terms. After completing two consecutive terms, a former supervisor must wait at least four years before serving again, whether by election or appointment. Resigning with less than two years remaining still counts as a full term under the charter’s anti-circumvention language.10American Legal Publishing. San Francisco Charter SEC 2.101 – Term of Office
Every year, each supervisor files a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) disclosing personal financial interests that could intersect with their official duties. Because supervisors vote on such a broad range of city business, the disclosure categories tied to this office are among the most comprehensive in city government.11San Francisco Ethics Commission. Form 700 – Statement of Economic Interests
Supervisors are also bound by California’s statewide gift limit. Through the end of 2026, state and local officials who file Form 700s cannot accept gifts totaling more than $630 in a calendar year from a single source.12FPPC. Gifts, Honoraria, Travel Payments, and Loans Separate city rules go further by restricting gifts from anyone who contracts with the city or has administrative proceedings before the supervisor’s office.13San Francisco Ethics Commission. Gifts to Individual Officers or Employees