A week after being sworn in as San Francisco's District 4 supervisor—on her 29th birthday, no less—Isabella "Beya" Alcaraz resigned Thursday night following a cascade of damaging revelations about her former pet store business. The historic appointment, which made her the city's first Filipina American supervisor, unraveled faster than anyone could have predicted.
Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the resignation late Thursday evening, just hours after Mission Local published text messages seemed to show Alcaraz admitting she paid workers "under the table" and wrote off personal expenses like "dinner and drinks with my friends" as business deductions. "I spoke to Supervisor Alcaraz tonight," Lurie said in a statement. "We also agreed that the new information about her conduct while running her small business, which I learned today, would be a significant distraction from that work."
From Night Market Pitch to Swift Exit
Alcaraz's path to the Board of Supervisors was unconventional from the start. According to San Francisco Chronicle, she approached Lurie at a Sunset night market in September—just weeks after Supervisor Joel Engardio's recall—and pitched herself for the job. Lurie, impressed by her Sunset roots and small business background, appointed her on November 6 to fill the seat vacated when Engardio was recalled over his support for closing the Great Highway.
The mayor touted Alcaraz as "a bridge builder and problem solver" who understood the struggles of small business owners. What he apparently didn't know was just how troubled her business dealings had been.
The Animal Connection Scandal
The problems began surfacing almost immediately after her appointment. Julia Baran, who took over Alcaraz's former pet store, The Animal Connection, at 3401 Irving Street in May, painted a grim picture of the business she inherited. According to The San Francisco Standard, Baran discovered "hundreds of dead mice beneath shelving on the sales floor, cages covered in rodent urine, mounds of trash, and a freezer filled with dozens of deceased pets."
Videos and photos shared by Baran showed the store in what she described as "squalor," with the business "smelling like death," as reported by SFGate. Financial records revealed the pet shop operated at a loss from 2020 to 2023, losing tens of thousands of dollars.
Even city inspectors had noticed problems. According to San Francisco Examiner, the Department of Public Health visited the store at least five times between 2023 and 2024 following complaints about cleanliness. A July 2023 inspection found "rodent droppings all over the place i.e. floors, windows, shelves, etc., bird feces in cages that are not being cleaned, flies all over the place [and] bird seed from open containers attract rats."
Tax Troubles and "Under the Table" Payments
But the final blow came from text messages Alcaraz exchanged with Baran back in March, before selling the business. In those messages, obtained by Mission Local, Alcaraz wrote: "It will be less, since I pay people under the table now, but that's payroll taxes and sales tax mostly." She estimated the business held perhaps $75,000 in cash "on top of the reported revenue."
Alcaraz also admitted to writing off personal expenses: "I spend expense [sic] a bit of money on my personal life so I can use it as a tax deduction. E.g. I pay for my dinner and drinks with my friends or 'clients' as a business expense and then they may or may not pay me back in cash." Jerry Dratler, a retired accountant and former chief accounting officer of Williams Sonoma, told Mission Local that her text messages were "tantamount to an admission that she filed false tax returns—and that's pretty damn serious."
A Vetting Failure
The swift implosion raised serious questions about Lurie's vetting process. Mission Local noted that Alcaraz was "the least experienced supervisor to be appointed in San Francisco in at least 25 years." She had no political experience, had never attended a city government meeting, and according to San Francisco Chronicle, did not have a college degree, having attended but not graduated from both City College of San Francisco and Diablo Valley College.
The mayor had insisted earlier in the week that Alcaraz was "absolutely" vetted, telling reporters "she can't help that she's 29 years old," as reported by Mission Local. But Baran said the mayor's office never contacted her about Alcaraz's track record as a business owner—a glaring oversight given Lurie had specifically highlighted her small business experience as a key qualification.
Legal Implications
The allegations of paying workers under the table and misreporting business expenses could carry serious legal consequences. Paying employees off the books violates federal and state tax laws, depriving workers of Social Security credits, unemployment benefits, and workers' compensation protections. Filing false tax returns is a federal crime that can result in significant penalties and even imprisonment.
Sharky Laguana, former president of the Small Business Commission, told Mission Local that while he has sympathy for small business owners, "The law requires employers to collect and remit taxes for payroll and withhold workers' taxes. There is no dispute that is what the law requires." While acknowledging that under-the-table payments sometimes help people on the edge of poverty or immigrants, he confirmed the practice is "unambiguously illegal."
Lurie's First Major Misstep
The debacle represents Lurie's first significant stumble since taking office as mayor. In his statement Thursday night, he expressed regret: "I admire her commitment and willingness to raise her hand to serve, just as much as I respect her decision to step aside in the best interest of her neighborhood. I regret that I didn't do more to make sure she could succeed."
The appointment had already been controversial within political circles. An opinion piece in The San Francisco Standard called it a "bizarre, cynical pick," suggesting Lurie's political calculus was to appoint "someone who is a blank slate" with "no known positions on anything" who would be "completely loyal to him."
Brief Tenure Ends
In her resignation statement, Alcaraz acknowledged that "today's news stories would distract me from" serving the community effectively. "When I raised my hand to serve as supervisor, I told the mayor that it was time for someone who is from the Sunset to represent the Sunset," she said, according to Mission Local. "I believe that my community deserves someone who will work 24/7 to advocate for us."
Before the revelations emerged, Alcaraz had defended her business practices, stating Thursday morning: "I don't owe a dollar in taxes, and I paid the young people who came to work in my store because I believe in my core that young people in my community and every community deserve to be paid for their work," as reported by Mission Local.
District 4's Turbulent Year
The saga adds another chapter to District 4's tumultuous political year. Former Supervisor Joel Engardio was recalled in September with 64.6% of voters supporting his removal, according to SFGate. Engardio became the first sitting San Francisco supervisor to be successfully recalled after he co-sponsored Proposition K, which permanently closed a stretch of the Great Highway to create Sunset Dunes park—a move that angered many residents who relied on the highway for their daily commutes.
Lurie now faces the task of finding another appointee for the seat. The position will be up for election in June 2026, when voters will decide who finishes the remainder of Engardio's term through January 2027. Whoever wins that election will need to run again in November 2026 if they want a full four-year term.
Community Reactions
Supervisor Matt Dorsey of District 6 offered words of support for Alcaraz in the mayor's statement, saying: "Beya impressed me as someone who sought a role in local politics for the right reasons, and in the end I think her classy decision to step aside affirms her commitment to do right by her district and her city," as reported by San Francisco Examiner.
Baran, the new owner of The Animal Connection, had called on Lurie's office to "own up to what they did, apologize and promise to do better" after sharing her concerns about the appointment, according to Mission Local. "How are you going to think you're responsible enough to represent the whole people of the Sunset when you can't operate a business?" she asked.
The appointment—and its swift unraveling—will likely prompt changes to how the mayor's office vets future appointees. As The San Francisco Standard noted, "City Hall had been abuzz for the last week with questions over how Lurie's team had missed such major concerns with Alcaraz's business experience."
For now, District 4 remains without a supervisor as Lurie begins the search again. "My team and I will get back to work finding that person right away," he said Thursday night.
