On July 21, 2024, President Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. The following day, Democratic Party leaders in San Francisco gathered in front of City Hall to show their support for Harris’ candidacy.
The attendees included San Francisco Mayor London Breed, California Controller Malia Cohen, California Assembly members Phil Ting, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Nancy Tung, Vice Chair Emma Heiken, as well as City Council members Matt Doresy, Rafael Mendelman, Myrna Melgar, Hillary Ronen, Ahsha Safai, along with several other political candidates and community representatives.
In addition to acknowledging Harris’ abilities, many leaders highlighted her identity as an African-American and Asian woman, capable of representing diverse cultures.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the first speaker at the event, praised Harris and emphasized a sense of urgency, stating, “As Democrats, we have no time to waste, no time to think, no time to decide,” and firmly declared Harris as the best choice.
She further urged fellow Democrats to mobilize, knocking on doors, making calls, sending texts, fundraising, and encouraging voter registration, emphasizing the critical need for unity behind Harris.
The chair of the San Francisco Chinese American Democratic Club, Zhao Xia, expressed, “Harris is a native-born elected official of San Francisco, so I believe she should have a better understanding of the issues in our city.” He hoped that Harris would amplify their voices and continue to prioritize the city’s interests.
Alan Wong, chair of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees, highlighted the significant challenges facing the Democratic Party in this year’s election. With Biden’s withdrawal, he viewed Harris as the best candidate to win the next presidential election due to her nearly four years of experience as Vice President and her roots in San Francisco. He believed that having a president from San Francisco would bring many benefits to the locality, such as representing their interests in Washington and providing valuable resources to the city.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, who has known Harris for 26 years since their time serving as prosecutors together, described her as smart, compassionate, and dedicated to fighting for the people. He shared that 21 years ago, he helped establish the first Asian American committee in support of Harris, even wearing the organization’s t-shirt that day.
Looking ahead to the upcoming campaign challenges, Chiu emphasized the crucial role of Asian American voters in swing states, noting that Asian American votes were pivotal in the 2020 election, particularly in securing Georgia. He outlined his plans to travel nationwide, mobilizing Asian American voters, stressing the importance of this effort in achieving their goals.