Connie Chan (born Chan Sze-man, October 8, 1978; Chinese: 陳詩敏) is an American politician serving as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 1 since January 8, 2021, after defeating Marjan Philhour in 2020, and again in 2024. Chan is a progressive Democrat. District 1 includes the Richmond, Lone Mountain, Sea Cliff, and Presidio Terrace neighborhoods, and parts of Golden Gate Park.
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Early life, education, and career
Connie Chan was born Chan Sze-man in British Hong Kong on October 8, 1978, to a police officer father and a social worker mother and the family moved to Taiwan when she was five years old. Her family then immigrated to the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco when she was thirteen years old, where she quickly changed her name to Connie Chan—after the Chinese-American news anchor Connie Chung. She attended high school at the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology and earned her bachelor's with a double major in Religious Studies and Classical Chinese at the University of California, Davis.
Chan was a spokesperson for the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and City College of San Francisco. She also worked for the San Francisco Zoo and Gardens. At various points, Chan was an aide to Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, and Supervisor Aaron Peskin.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
2020 election
Two days after incumbent Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer announced she would not seek re-election in 2020, Chan (a resident of the Richmond District) announced her candidacy for the open District 1 seat. Fewer endorsed Chan to be her successor. She also received the endorsement of two former supervisors who held the seat, Eric Mar and Jake McGoldrick.
In the November 2020 general election, Chan won by 134 votes against challenger Marjan Philhour, a senior adviser to Mayor London Breed. Philhour, a more conservative candidate, had previously run for the seat in 2016, but was defeated by Fewer.
Tenure
Chan was sworn into office on January 8, 2021.
Chan supported legislation by Supervisor Dean Preston to create a city-run public bank. In February 2021, Chan supported a plan to provide free Summer Activities for San Francisco's elementary school students.
In February 2021, Chan and Peskin called upon the city controller and Budget Analyst's Office to investigate the San Francisco Parks Alliance, amid a debate on whether to renew the city's contract with the Alliance to operate the SkyStar Wheel, a Ferris wheel at Golden Gate Park. Chan and fellow Supervisor Aaron Peskin blocked a decision by the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission to extend the wheel's stay through 2025, referring it to a vote in the Board of Supervisors. Instead of the Commission's proposal for a four-year extension, Chan and Peskin proposed a one-year extension, citing complaints from Ferris wheel opponents regarding the wheel's bright lights and electric generator, which they said might injure wildlife, as well as the San Francisco Parks Alliance's linkage to a corruption investigation. The Board of Supervisors rejected the Chan/Peskin proposal on a 6–5 vote.
During the 2022 recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, Chan opposed the recall effort. This stance drew scrutiny as it diverged from the voting patterns of her constituency; in Chan's own District 1 (Richmond), 57% of residents voted in favor of the recall. Additionally, polling indicated that 67% of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters citywide supported the recall, leading to criticism from constituents that her opposition was out of step with the community's concerns regarding public safety.
As chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Peskin appointed Chan as chair of the Budget Committee, whose other members were Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Joel Engardio. As Budget Committee chair, Chan supported extension of the COVID-19 pandemic-era CalFresh emergency benefits and called for eventually making the Muni system fare-free.
Chan disagreed with several of Mayor Breed's key priorities. Chan and other supervisors, along with the mayor, ultimately negotiated a $14.6 billion budget, which ended a $780 million deficit that had emerged in the two years of the pandemic, and largely preserved Breed's major proposals on public safety and economic policy. The budget included close to $63 million in additional funding for San Francisco Police Department, representing an 8.5% increase in the department's budget. Chan opposed Breed's separate proposal for an additional $27 million supplemental appropriation to SFPD. The budget also adopted a compromise negotiated between Breed and supervisors regarding funding of the San Francisco emergency homeless shelter network. The budget adopted a limited version of Breed's proposal to offer tax incentives to firms opening new offices in downtown San Francisco.
2024 election
Chan sought reelection in 2024, running again against Philhour in a rematch of the 2020 race. The race was described as "hotly contested" by the San Francisco Chronicle. As was the case in the campaign four years earlier, Chan ran as a progressive while Philhour has run as an establishment oriented pragmatist.
Chan won her reelection in a count that was called on November 11. The final vote tally after the ranked-choice election was 51.90% for Chan and 48.10% for Philhour.
2026 congressional campaign
Chan announced her 2026 candidacy for California's 11th congressional district on November 20, 2025, after incumbent Nancy Pelosi stated on November 6 that she would retire at the end of her term. Pelosi endorsed Chan on May 18, 2026. Chan and state senator Scott Wiener advanced to the general election in the June 2 primary.
Personal life
Chan's longtime partner, Ed, is a member of the San Francisco Fire Department. The couple have a son.