San Francisco voters elect Bilal Mahmood as District 5 supervisor, replacing Preston
The results are in and newcomer Bilal Mahmood has beat incumbent Dean Preston for San Francisco's District 5 Supervisors seat.
While some in the city may be surprised by the result, Bilal said he is anything but.
"I've been underestimated in my career from the private sector to every, from when I run for office, but we kept our heads down and did the work and we talked to voters," said Mahmood.
KPIX talked to Mahmood at Shalimar, a restaurant in the Tenderloin he's been going to since he was a kid.
"I still think it's the best in the city, but you can't beat their chicken," said Mahmood.
Over a plate of chicken and rice, he shared his thoughts on why his campaign was so successful.
"For too long in San Francisco there's been a focus on ideology rather than compromise, kind of textbook definitions on how to address housing and safety, but we formed a coalition of a campaign that included people from progressives and moderates," said Mahmood.
He is one of the candidates who's benefited this election from what many see as San Franciscans moving away from more liberal candidates and policies, towards more moderate ones.
Sachin Agarwal is the co-founder of GrowSF, a group that has worked for years to try and oust Dean Preston and who endorsed Mahmood.
Sachin said the win shows the city wants change and wants new leadership to enact that change.
"What we're seeing in San Francisco is a return to common sense. The things that we are trying to fight for in this city like public safety and good public schools. These are just the basics, and what we had in city hall for so long were people who were not prioritizing the needs of everyday residents here," said Agarwal.
Mahmoud told KPIX he's ready to work with his fellow supervisors and Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie to tackle those needs.
He said he supports Lurie's promise to declare a fentanyl state of emergency on day one. He also plans to work with Lurie to tackle the city's housing issues.
"I think we approach things in a similar manner. We both recognize that a lot of the issues in San Francisco have been bureaucracy and unfortunately bureaucracy often leads to corruption and so we're both aligned on the way to solve our housing crisis is to cut the red tape," said Mahmood.
He said he is optimistic voters will see real change when this new leadership takes over.
He said he's honored to be a part of it, especially as the board's first Muslim and South Asian supervisor.
