Gary McCoy
Candidate for San Francisco County Supervisorial District 8
Gary McCoy was once homeless. He also struggled with addiction. He has been sober for 15 years. He rebuilt his life in San Francisco. He moved into public service. He started as a volunteer. He then became a legislative aide. In a district office, he handled constituent complaints. These included things like streetlights and potholes. He went on to serve as a legislative aide in three district offices. He also served as chief of staff to a supervisor. From 2018 to 2026, he worked as political director. He worked for Congressmember Nancy Pelosi. Most recently, he served as campaign manager. This was for her national Save Our Health Care campaign. He is a former president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. He is also a former co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club. He has served on several city and state bodies. These include the California Homeless Coordinating & Financing Council. They also include the San Francisco Shelter Monitoring Committee, where he served as vice chair. They also include the San Francisco Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee. He is a gay man living with HIV. He is also a renter in the district.
Positions in brief
McCoy's platform centers on building more affordable housing. He wants to use underused sites for this. He wants to protect tenants from budget cuts. He also wants to protect city safety-net services. He wants to support small businesses and safer streets too.
McCoy wants to build housing at every income level. He wants to focus on underused parcels. Examples include the Castro Safeway site. Another is land near the Glen Park BART station. Another is surface parking in Diamond Heights. He wants to pair new development with strong protections. These would guard against demolition of rent-controlled buildings. He supports the Family Zoning Plan. He also supports the Tenant Protection Ordinance. He argues housing production and tenant protection must go hand in hand. On the budget, he wants to protect the city workforce from layoffs. He wants to fund the full continuum of homelessness and behavioral health services. This includes HIV programs. He wants to push progressive revenue measures. He says this would make wealthy corporations and individuals pay more. On public safety, he supports continued investment in mental health response. He also supports substance use treatment. He supports traffic-safety redesigns too, like protected bike lanes and raised crosswalks.
On the issues
- Housing & Homelessness
Wants to build housing at every income level on underused sites like the Castro Safeway, land near Glen Park BART, and Diamond Heights parking lots, paired with strong tenant protections against demolition.
“Each of these can become hundreds of homes without displacing a single tenant.”
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Wants to protect city workers from layoffs and fund homelessness, behavioral health, and HIV services fully, funded in part by progressive revenue measures.
“Budgets are moral documents”
Source → - Economy & Jobs
Wants to support existing small businesses along merchant corridors, not just fill vacant storefronts.
Source → - Infrastructure & Transportation
Supports redesigning streets to be safer by default, including protected bike lanes, slower speeds, and traffic-calming infrastructure.
“Safety should not depend on who you are or where you live. It should be a guarantee for everyone.”
Source → - Government, Elections & Democracy
Opposes eliminating district-based elections for the Board of Supervisors.
“District elections are how a renter, a bartender, or a nonprofit worker can knock on enough doors to win a seat at City Hall without a citywide fundraising machine behind them.”
Source →
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