Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has endorsed San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Connie Chan in the election to replace her in the House of Representatives.

“I know and love this district. I know the Congress, and I know Connie. I’m proud to endorse Democrat Connie Chan and ask you to join me in electing her to Congress,” Pelosi said.

Watch below:

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Reactions to Pelosi’s endorsement suggested the 86-year-old may not know her city as well as she thinks.

The endorsement quickly sparked a war of words over San Francisco’s future — exposing simmering anger from moderates, housing activists, tech leaders and even far-left progressives who view Pelosi as the embodiment of the city’s political establishment.

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“WTF. Pelosi endorsed Connie Chan, a progressive supervisor in SF who opposed the Chesa Boudin recall, blocked every form of housing, and voted against streamlining permits and cutting red tape,” investor Sheel Mohnot posted on X. “The opposite of an abundance candidate.”

Daniel Owens, a pro-housing activist in the city, blasted Pelosi as out of touch with San Francisco’s needs.

“Pelosi isn’t pro-housing. She doesn’t even understand local SF issues on a deep level,” Owens wrote on X.

“She’s been disconnected from SF culture for decades. She relies on a small inner circle here, while almost entirely focused on national DC politics.”

“I remember seeing San Francisco for the first time when I was 13 years old. I did not speak a word of English but I had heard this was a sanctuary city where anything was possible,” Chan said, according to NBC News.

“Today, to be endorsed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to follow her in Congress — I know that is true. That’s San Francisco and that is the city we are fighting for,” she added.

NBC News shared further:

Early in her career, Chan was a volunteer Chinese interpreter and a community organizer. In 2006, she began as a legislative aide to then-Board of Supervisors member Sophie Maxwell and later held roles with Kamala Harris when she was the San Francisco district attorney.

Chan has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2021 and is chair of the Budget Committee.

There had been early speculation that Pelosi was grooming her daughter Christine Pelosi to succeed her in Congress. But Christine Pelosi announced she would run for Weiner’s state Senate seat rather than try to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

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Nancy Pelosi has been close allies with Chan. But when she was asked in November whether she was preparing to endorse a successor, she told NBC News, “It isn’t my current plan.”

With her full-throated endorsement of Chan, it was clear Pelosi’s plans had changed.

“The past six months have given San Franciscans the opportunity to hear candidates for Congress make their case for the future of our city and our country. I have been watching this race closely with all of you — and I believe one candidate stands above the rest,” Pelosi will say in a two-minute endorsement video set for release on Tuesday.

“Connie Chan is the leader best prepared to carry forward the fight for San Francisco in the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi will say.

 

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