Clockwise from top left: Natalie Gee, Albert Chow, David Lee or Alan Wong are the leading candidates for District 4 supervisor in San Francisco. 

When Joel Engardio was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2022, he broke a two-decade streak of Chinese Americans representing District 4.

On Tuesday, unless there’s a major upset, a Chinese American once again will be elected as District 4 supervisor.

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Engardio was recalled by voters last year, and the four presumptive favorites in the special election to finish his term are Chinese American — Alan Wong, who was appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie to fill the seat; Albert Chow, hardware store owner and a leader of the recall campaign; Natalie Gee, an aide to District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton; and David Lee, an educator and former Recreation and Parks Commission member. Political newcomer Jeremy Greco is the lone non-Chinese American candidate.

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About half the population in District 4, mostly the Outer Sunset neighborhood, is Asian American, and most of them are Chinese.

Does the District 4 supervisor need to be Chinese American? No, but when one group represents a large proportion of the population, it helps. Gordon Mar, who narrowly lost to Engardio in 2022, told me it matters that a Chinese American is in the District 4 seat.

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