Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Name Dates Comments
Terry A. Francois 1964-1978 Appointed 1964 by Mayor John F. Shelley to succeed Supervisor John J. Ferdon . Elected 1967 , 1971 , and 1975 . Resigned 1978
Robert H. Mendelsohn 1968-1977 Elected 1967 , 1971 , and 1975 . Resigned 1977 to accept appointment by President Jimmy Carter as Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Ronald Pelosi 1968-1980 Elected 1967 , 1971 , 1975 , and 1977 . Defeated for re-election 1979
Robert E. Gonzales 1969-1980 Appointed 1969 by Mayor Joseph Alioto to succeed Supervisor Leo T. McCarthy . Elected 1971 , 1975 , and 1977
Dianne Feinstein * 1970-1978 Elected 1969 , 1973 , and 1977 . Served as acting mayor upon the assassination of Mayor George Moscone in 1978 . Elected mayor by the Board of Supervisors one week later
Quentin L. Kopp * 1972-1986 Elected 1971 , 1975 , 1977 , 1980 , and 1984 . Resigned 1986 after election to the California State Senate
John L. Molinari * 1972-1989 Elected 1971 , 1975 , 1977 , 1979 , 1980 , and 1984 . Did not seek re-election in 1988
Gordon J. Lau 1977-1980 Appointed 1977 by Mayor George Moscone to succeed Supervisor Robert H. Mendelsohn . Elected 1977 . Defeated for re-election 1979
Jane McKaskle Murphy 1977-1978 Appointed 1977 by Mayor George Moscone to succeed Supervisor Dorothy von Beroldingen
Lee S. Dolson 1978-1980 , 1981-1983 Elected 1977 . Defeated for re-election 1979 . Elected 1980 . Defeated for re-election 1982
Ella Hill Hutch 1978-1981 Elected 1977 and 1980 . Died in office in 1981
Harvey Milk 1978 Elected 1977 . Assassinated 1978
Carol Ruth Silver 1978-1988 Elected 1977 , 1980 , and 1984 . Defeated for re-election 1988
Dan White 1978 Elected 1977 . Resigned 1978 . Assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk
Donald T. Horanzy 1978-1981 Appointed 1978 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein to succeed Supervisor Dan White . Defeated for first election in 1980
Louise Renne 1978-1986 Appointed 1978 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein to succeed Feinstein on the Board of Supervisors . Elected 1980 and 1984 . Resigned 1986 to accept appointment by Feinstein as city attorney
Harry Britt * 1979-1993 Appointed 1979 by Mayor Dianne Feinstein to succeed Supervisor Harvey Milk . Elected 1980 , 1984 , and 1988 . Did not seek re-election in 1992
John Bardis 1980-1981 Elected 1979 . Defeated for re-election 1980
Ed Lawson 1980-1981 Elected 1979 . Defeated for re-election 1980
Nancy G. Walker * 1980-1991 Elected 1979 , 1980 , 1982 , and 1986 . Did not seek re-election in 1990
Board members and transitions since 1980
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body of San Francisco, California, United States. The body consists of eleven members elected from single-member districts through ranked choice voting. From 1977 to 1979, and starting again in 2000, supervisors were elected from eleven single-member districts. Prior to 1977 and from 1980 to 1998, members were elected at-large, all running on one ballot, with the top vote-getters winning office. In 1980, elections shifted from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, and because of the shift from district to at-large elections, all seats were up for election, with some members winning four-year terms and some winning two-year terms. Similar cases of supervisors elected to truncated terms happened in 1977 and 2000, when elections shifted to district elections. Several members were initially appointed by the mayor. San Francisco's city charter gives the mayor the power to fill any vacancies and to suspend members in limited circumstances; the latter case has happened only once, when Mayor Gavin Newsom suspended Ed Jew due to allegations of lying about his residency and extortion. A few members were elected to the board, but appointed to their seat by the mayor during the weeks between the election and the beginning of their term. This has generally been done when supervisors were elected to the state legislature, since the terms of state legislators begin earlier than those of supervisors. The most recent example occurred in 2008, when David Campos was elected to the District 9 seat held by Tom Ammiano. In the same election, Ammiano was elected to the California State Assembly and resigned his seat a month early to take his new office.