November 2026: SFLCV Endorses Gary McCoy for District 8 Supervisor

The San Francisco League of Conservation Voters (SFLCV) endorses Gary McCoy for D8 Supervisor.

District 8 is among the densest, most walkable, and most transit-served parts of San Francisco. In the coming years, the next Supervisor will vote and lead on transit, safe streets, housing, and the future of water, energy, and waste.

Gary McCoy aligned with SFLCV across each of these priority areas and has a track record of advocating for these positions.

Transit

McCoy is a Muni supporter, rider, and policy expert who understands its value as well as its complexity. He supports both November transit measures (Regional Transit Measure or RTM: Connect Bay Area and Prop H: Stronger Muni for All) and treats stable operating funding as foundational. He is also clear about what happens if either the RTM or Prop H fails. If they do fail, McCoy would not treat service cuts as the answer. He would pursue (1) a tax on rideshare and autonomous vehicle trips; (2) congestion pricing that reflects the real cost of driving downtown; and (3) progressive local revenue rather than a balanced budget paid for by riders. 

On Transit First, McCoy supports converting mixed-traffic lanes to transit-only lanes and making transit-priority improvements. His stated test is whether a lane change would significantly speed up transit, and he has found this to be the case for the Church corridor supporting the J-Church.. 

At the Parks Department, he spearheaded the early expansion of Car Free JFK expansion, years before the 2022 ballot measure. He did it by bringing the disability community and the SF Bicycle Coalition to the table from the start. He led the Golden Gate Park Traffic Safety Project to install speed humps and calming measures. He worked with then-Assemblymember Phil Ting to change state law so speed limits through the park could be lowered. As Vice Chair of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, he pushed for daylighting, bulbouts, and raised crosswalks as far back as 2012. 

Safe Streets

McCoy supports the Safer, Better 17th proposal to extend the 17th Street protected bike route to the Castro, removing parking if necessary to protect cyclists. 

He supports the district's Slow Streets, will fight to keep Slow Sanchez, and supports strengthening the network with traffic diverters and modal filters. He wants to connect schools and parks to transit, so the network serves a safe and convenient transportation route as well as recreational space.

Housing

Dense urban housing is an urgent climate priority.  McCoy supported the Family Zoning Plan and supports SB 79. He would upzone transit-rich corridors such as Upper Market, the Church and Market hub, and the Castro commercial core that are underdeveloped today. He proposes 2,000 new homes at the Church and Market Safeway site, with the majority dedicated as affordable family housing.

He pairs upzoning with demolition controls and tenant protections so that existing renters are not displaced. SFLCV shares that goal and will watch how those protections are drafted. 

Water, energy, and waste

McCoy opposes the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's position on Tuolumne River flows, arguing that the city can best protect ratepayers through conservation, recycled water, and groundwater rather than by pushing the cost of its water demand downstream. 

McCoy supports strong all-electric standards for new construction; incentives and financing to help homeowners and small landlords electrify existing buildings without passing costs to tenants; expanding CleanPowerSF; and a path toward public power through acquisition of PG&E's electric assets in San Francisco. 

He supports requiring reusable foodware for onsite dining, expanding composting and recycling access in multi-unit buildings and commercial corridors, and holding City contractors and large institutions to the single-use plastic standards we ask of everyone else. His demonstrated understanding of these complex issues will assist him in making an impact immediately after the election. 

A record of delivery

McCoy espouses the connections SFLCV has argued for since our founding: climate policy and the daily work of running this city are the same work; safe streets get people out of cars; housing near transit shortens the commutes that drive our emissions; conservation-focused planning regarding water, energy, and waste ensures we are thinking of the future impacts of nuanced and complex decisions. 

McCoy's record is unusually deep for a first-time candidate. McCoy has spent more than a decade actually building on these principles in San Francisco, often before it was popular. That record is what District 8 needs at the Board.

SFLCV encourages voters to support Gary McCoy for District 8 Supervisor.