San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman has stripped Supervisor Bilal Mahmood of two committee assignments following a legislative fight over a historic preservation bill, and Mahmood says the move was retaliation rather than routine reshuffling. Mandelman removed Mahmood from both the Land Use and Transportation Committee and the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, and instead placed him on the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.
The shakeup, first reported by The San Francisco Standard, is being described as the biggest supervisor dust-up of Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration. Mandelman has sole authority to make such assignments under Section 2.116 of the San Francisco Charter, which gives the Board President exclusive power to establish standing committees, assign supervisors to them, and name committee chairs, according to the City and County of San Francisco records. Before the reshuffle, an official June 29 committee roster from the Board President's office had listed Supervisor Myrna Melgar as chair of Land Use and Transportation, with Mahmood and Supervisor Chyanne Chen also serving as members.
A Housing Bill Turns Into a Flashpoint
The rupture traces back to Board File 260622, a Planning Code ordinance on landmark and historic district designation that Mandelman introduced on June 2 to streamline the city's preservation process, according to legislative records. Mahmood sought to amend the bill, which was also championed by Mayor Lurie, arguing that expanding historic preservation designations runs counter to efforts to increase the city's housing stock. Mandelman characterized Mahmood's move differently, telling the Standard that Mahmood picked a fight and hijacked the legislation, adding that his conduct was not particularly collegial.
Grocery Tax Fight Set the Stage
This was not the first friction between Mahmood and City Hall leadership this year. In July, Mahmood proposed the Affordable Groceries Act, which would have levied an annual tax — ranging from $3 per square foot up to a $250,000 cap — on vacant grocery stores and pharmacies operated by major chains, according to Mission Local. The measure was designed to fund neighborhood grocery subsidies after Safeway closed its Webster Street location in the Fillmore, part of Mahmood's District 5, in early 2024, leaving the neighborhood without a full-service grocery store.
Budget Committee Chair Connie Chan pulled that vacant grocery tax ordinance from the committee agenda in July after Mayor Lurie voiced opposition, forcing Mahmood to abandon the measure for the November ballot. Mahmood lashed out at both Lurie and Chan over the episode, according to the Standard's account of the dispute.
Once Allies, Now at Odds
The rift is notable because Mahmood and Mandelman had recently been aligned on major policy pushes. In February, Lurie and Mahmood jointly introduced the BUILD Act, legislation that would cut San Francisco's real estate transfer tax in half, from 6 percent to 3 percent, to encourage institutional investment and unstick delayed housing developments, as Hoodline's earlier coverage detailed. And in January, Lurie and Mandelman formed a 31-member charter reform working group that included both men, tasked with evaluating structural changes to the city's governing document.
Mandelman told the Standard that there have been real disagreements over public safety over the last year and a half. Mahmood, for his part, said public safety is no longer the pressing matter it once was and that housing and affordability have become central to city politics. Mandelman added that Mahmood is finding out what elected official he wants to be.
Housing Mandates Loom Over the Dispute
The stakes extend beyond personal politics. Under California's Regional Housing Needs Allocation mandate for the 2023-2031 cycle, San Francisco is legally required to plan for and enable the construction of 82,069 new housing units, according to SF Heritage. That state pressure underpins Mahmood's broader argument that expanding historic preservation protections could slow the housing production the city is obligated to deliver.
Mahmood represents the Tenderloin and surrounding neighborhoods and ousted democratic socialist incumbent Dean Preston, considered one of the board's most progressive members, in the 2024 election. The Standard describes Mahmood as attempting a Zohran Mamdani-style combination of anti-corporatism and YIMBY political progressivism at City Hall.
Political Futures Add Another Layer
The feud also plays out against a backdrop of shifting political ambitions among city leaders. State Senator Scott Wiener is seeking Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat, and Assemblymember Matt Haney could run for Wiener's state senate seat if that seat opens up. Mahmood made an unsuccessful bid for Haney's Assembly seat in 2022 and has reportedly discussed running for that same seat again. Mandelman has also expressed interest in Haney's Assembly seat, according to the Standard's reporting.
Despite the tension, Mandelman insisted it is premature to declare the end of what Lurie's administration had promised would be a more cooperative era than the infighting, hurt feelings, and standoffs that marked former Mayor London Breed's administration. Mandelman said a supermajority of supervisors still want Lurie and San Francisco to succeed. A spokesperson for Lurie said the supervisors involved should speak for themselves regarding the dispute.
What Comes Next
San Francisco has experienced a rise in rental prices even as car break-ins have declined citywide, the backdrop context for a Board of Supervisors now navigating its first major internal rift under Lurie's tenure. Whether Mahmood continues to pursue his legislative agenda from the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, and whether the falling-out complicates Lurie's charter reform push, remains to be seen as the fall legislative calendar unfolds.
