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.^[6] Fewer endorsed Chan to be her successor.^[8] She also received the endorsement of two former supervisors who held the seat, Eric Mar and Jake McGoldrick.^[6]

In the November 2020 general election, Chan won by 134 votes against challenger Marjan Philhour,^[7] a senior adviser to Mayor London Breed.^[6] Philhour, a centrist candidate,^[9] had previously run for the seat in 2016, but was defeated by Fewer.^[6]

Tenure

Chan was sworn into office on January 8, 2021.^[1]

Chan supported legislation by Supervisor Dean Preston to create a city-run public bank.^[10] In February 2021, Chan supported a plan to provide free Summer Activities for San Francisco's elementary school students.^[11][12]

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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15][16]

Peskin, as chairman of the Board of Supervisors, appointed Chan as chair of the Budget Committee,^[17][18] whose other members were Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Joel Engardio.^[19] 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.^[17]

Chan disagreed with several of Mayor Breed's key priorities.^[19] 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,^[20] and largely preserved Breed's major proposals on public safety and economic policy.^[19] 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.^[20] Chan opposed Breed's separate proposal for an additional $27 million supplemental appropriation to SFPD.^[17] The budget also adopted a compromise negotiated between Breed and supervisors regarding funding of the San Francisco emergency homeless shelter network.^[20] The budget adopted a limited version of Breed's proposal to offer tax incentives to firms opening new offices in downtown San Francisco.^[20]

2024 election

Chan is seeking reelection in 2024, running again against Philhour in a rematch of the 2020 race. The race is hotly contested.^[31][32] As was the case in the campaign four years earlier, Chan ran as a progressive while Philhour has run as a centrist/moderate.^[9][32]