On June 14th, due to her inability to participate in the recent mayoral candidate debate, Li Aichen lodged a complaint regarding election interference with the San Francisco government departments at a public hearing.
The deadline for candidate registration was June 12th. According to the election website of the San Francisco government, there were 13 qualified mayoral candidates, including Li Aichen. However, during the mayoral candidate debate on the evening of June 12th, only the incumbent mayor Breed, former interim mayor Farrell, nonprofit founder Lurie, Board of Supervisors President Peskin, and Councilmember Safai participated.
In a public hearing at the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 10 a.m. that day, Li Aichen stated that she had been raising election interference issues to the Ethics Commission and had filed complaints with the Public Ethics Commission in 2018, 2019, and 2024. She said, “I came here in February, and I am here again today.”
She mentioned that the Ethics Commission should be responsible for overseeing fraud and any unethical behaviors related to the government.
“I want to ask, have you investigated election fraud or interference? We have 13 qualified mayoral candidates, each paying nearly $7,300 in application fees. So what happened to the other eight candidates? Shouldn’t the Ethics Commission investigate election interference, illegal voting, voter information, public truthfulness, candidate eligibility, City Council, and mayoral candidates?”
She also criticized the Ethics Commission for holding illegal public hearings, not following the legal procedures, not having the required number of people present, and not giving prior legal notice outside the door.
Another mayoral candidate, Jon Soderstrom, joined the meeting via phone and agreed that the recent number of participants in the debate was very limited. The Sydney Goldstein Theater where the debate took place is part of the San Francisco Unified School District and is a city public property. However, the number of candidates allowed to speak was very restricted. He believed that it would be more beneficial to include more candidates in the debate.