SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco District 8 Supervisor candidate Manny Yekutiel lost several major endorsements on Thursday amid a fresh round of sexual assault allegations. Yekutiel, a San Francisco Democratic Party darling, had overcome earlier allegations to win the official endorsement of the San Francisco Democratic Party back in August.
At the time, Yekutiel, the owner of Manny's in the Mission, denied the allegations that were put forth. Brad Chapin, a local political organizer, told KRON4 that at a party in 2020, Yekutiel had violently grabbed his genitals.
"He squeezed and he yanked and every time I tried to get away, he squeezed harder and yanked," said Chapin. "It wasn't the sexual parts that mattered so much as the intentional infliction of pain."
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Despite these accusations, Yekutiel earned the backing of the SF Dem Party, which said it could not substantiate Chapin's claims.
However, in the wake of new allegations reported by the SF Standard on Thursday, Yekutiel has lost backing of several major supporters, including San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
"My endorsement is a statement of my confidence in someone's character and leadership, and in light of the additional accounts reported today I am withdrawing it," said Lurie in a statement. "Coming forward is hard and these survivors deserve to be heard, and treated with dignity and respect."
Manny Yekutiel invites in an attendee before US Presidential candidate Tom Steyer's appearance at Manny's in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
State Sen. Scott Wiener, Chan's opponent in the race for Pelosi's seat, also called on Yekutiel to drop out.
“While I have not made an endorsement in the District 8 Supervisor race, I believe Manny Yekutiel should suspend his campaign given the repeated allegations of sexual misconduct and the pattern they represent,” said Wiener in a statement.
Joe Sangirardi, a member of the SF Democratic Club, also rescinded his endorsement.
Supervisor Connie Chan, one of the two candidates vying to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress, called for Yekutiel to "immediately end his campaign."
"San Franciscans deserve leaders they can trust, and those who have endorsed Manny -- including the San Francisco Democratic Party -- should rescind their support," Chan said in a statement.
The three other candidates in the District 8 race, Gary McCoy, Darshini Patel, and Michael Nguyen, issued a joint statement calling on Yekutiel to end his campaign and announcing they will no longer appear alongside him at events.
“Sexual assault and nonconsensual touching are unacceptable in any form. This summer, Brad Chapin bravely came forward to detail an assault perpetrated by Manny Yekutiel. Now Ryan Clark and his partner have shared a separate account, alleging that Yekutiel groped them at a nightclub in 2023 after they made clear that his advances were unwanted. People who come forward with allegations of sexual assault deserve to be heard and treated with dignity, not dismissed or stigmatized, especially by our leaders," their statement read in part. “We believe survivors, and we are calling on Yekutiel to end his campaign immediately, to apologize to those he assaulted, and to take responsibility for his actions."
SF Supervisor Matt Dorsey also announced Thursday that he'd withdrawn his endorsement of Yekutiel as his "number two" choice in the race, behind Gary McCoy.
According to the Standard, two men, Ryan Clark and his partner, have come forward to accuse Yekutiel of groping them without consent at a Pride event in 2023. Yekutiel allegedly grabbed one of the men's testicles outside his clothing and put his hand down the other man's pants.
The San Francisco Democratic Party announced it will hold a special meeting on Sunday, Oct. 11 to reconsider its endorsement of Yekutiel. Other SF Democratic groups have moved far more quickly to condemn Yekutiel.
Both the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club and the San Francisco Women's Political Committee issued statements Thursday issued statements calling for Yekutiel to immediately drop out of the race.
KRON4 has not independently confirmed the allegations against Yekutiel.
