“San Francisco needs leaders who aren't afraid to stand up for what’s right, cut through bureaucracy and get things done,” stated McCoy, a well-known advocate for drug recovery services as a former drug addict himself. “I know what it means to fight; I’ve fought for health care, for housing, for working families, and for our LGBTQ community. I’ve lived the consequences of a system that fails people, and I’ve worked to change that system so others don’t have to endure the same struggles. That’s the fight I want to take to City Hall for District 8.”

For more than a decade Gary McCoy has been a fixture in San Francisco’s political scene. First hired in 2012 as a legislative aide by then-supervisor Scott Wiener, McCoy worked for a number of city supervisors before being hired in 2018 by Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), for whom he has worked in various capacities ever since.

Gary McCoy, a confidant of Rep. Nancy Pelosi who is also a health care advocate and LGBTQ leader, will run to represent San Francisco’s Castro District in what is shaping up to be a heated contest for an open Board of Supervisors seat.

McCoy is hoping to succeed Rafael Mandelman as the supervisor representing District 8, which includes the Castro, Noe Valley and Glen Park. Mandelman’s second term ends in January 2027, and city law forbids him from running again next year.

McCoy, who has lived in the district for nearly 20 years, serves as the campaign manager for Pelosi’s Save Our Health Care Campaign and previously worked for a prominent San Francisco drug treatment nonprofit.

“San Francisco needs leaders who aren't afraid to stand up for what’s right, cut through bureaucracy and get things done,” McCoy said in his press release announcement. “I know what it means to fight; I’ve fought for health care, for housing, for working families, and for our LGBTQ community. I’ve lived the consequences of a system that fails people, and I’ve worked to change that system so others don’t have to endure the same struggles. That’s the fight I want to take to City Hall for District 8.”

Gary McCoy — once homeless and battling addiction — is making his past part of his pitch to voters as he campaigns to represent San Francisco's District 8 as its next supervisor.

Why it matters: The 2026 election will be the first time since 2018 that voters in neighborhoods including the Castro, Noe Valley and the Duboce Triangle choose a new supervisor without an incumbent on the ballot.

The LGBTQ leader has been a resident of District 8, which includes the Castro, for nearly two decades. According to McCoy's news release, he currently resides in Twin Peaks with his husband.

McCoy has held leadership roles with the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club as well as the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, his campaign said. 

Along with Pelosi's endorsement, McCoy has garnered the support of several unions, including the National Union of Healthcare Workers, supervisors Matt Dorsey, Connie Chan, former supervisor and State Senator Mark Leno and SF Public Defender Mano Raju. 

An outspoken advocate for health care and LGBTQ+ rights announced Tuesday his candidacy to run for District 8 Supervisor ahead of the November 2026 election.

Gary McCoy is running to replace Board President Rafael Mandelman, whose term will expire January 2027. Term limits prohibit supervisors from serving more than two consecutive terms.

McCoy’s record has shadowed him throughout his life, even as he got clean and found work that propelled him to the top of San Francisco’s political hierarchy.

It haunted him in 2011, when he was hired as a legislative aide in then-Supervisor Scott Wiener’s office. It resurfaced in 2014, when he joined then-Supervisor London Breed’s team, then three years later, when he became a congressional aide to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. 

Now, McCoy, 47, is disclosing his criminal past as part of his most consequential job application yet: his campaign for District 8 supervisor. 

McCoy has been a leading face of promoting a harm-reduction response to the surging opioid-addiction crisis in San Francisco in recent years. He was previously the vice president of policy and public affairs with HealthRight 360, a provider of mental-health and substance-abuse treatment.

In his career in local and federal government and politics, McCoy said he’s demonstrated "experience, focus and ability to take positions — sometimes strong positions.” He will also look to highlight his personal background as a way to connect with voters: He’s in recovery from addiction and has lived with HIV for more than 20 years.