GARY McCOY
FOR DISTRICT 8
SUPERVISOR

“He’s trusted, tested, and ready to deliver for our City and District. When Gary speaks, I listen.”

Endorsed by
Speaker Emerita

NANCY PELOSI

Gary McCoy has deep roots in both local and national government. He’s running for Supervisor to put his experience to use for our district. San Francisco can deliver safer streets, thriving businesses, and more housing. Gary knows how.

Join Us!

He Survived the Streets. Then He Built
the Experience to Fix the System.

ABOUT GARY

Gary grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and moved to San Francisco in 2002. Gary McCoy spent his twenties unhoused in San Francisco, battling addiction and an untreated HIV/AIDS diagnosis. His journey took him from the streets to shelter, treatment, supportive housing, and long-term recovery. Now, he’s been sober for 15 years and lives in the Castro with his husband, Kory, and their dog, Xander.

Gary’s lived experience became his motivation for his 15-year career in public service. He has served as Nancy Pelosi’s political director, aide to then-Supervisor Scott Wiener, the leader of San Francisco’s two LGBTQ Democratic Clubs, and on local and state homelessness committees.

Real Experience. Real Results.

Housing advocates and tenant advocates don’t always see eye-to-eye, but they agree on Gary. Gary is endorsed by both SF YIMBY (#1 Choice) and the San Francisco Tenants Union. He knows we don’t have to choose between building homes and helping neighbors stay in theirs. He will build housing at every income level – from permanent supportive housing to market-rate housing – cut red tape holding up good projects, and strengthen tenant protections through rental assistance, legal aid, and safeguards for seniors and working families.

Much of Gary’s professional career has been devoted to expanding addiction and behavioral health treatment. As Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs at HealthRIGHT 360, Gary helped preserve vital residential substance-use treatment beds for gay men, fought to expand San Francisco’s non-police Street Crisis Response Teams, and expanded behavioral-health and addiction-treatment access across 11 California counties. He even endured a successful 60-hour hunger strike, ending it when SF Supervisors agreed to take action on opioid overdose deaths.

Gary understands the system. His own path — moving from the streets to shelters, SROs, recovery, transitional and supportive housing, and finally to market-rate apartments — required a comprehensive housing ladder. Today that ladder no longer exists, and Gary is determined to rebuild and modernize it. Having audited shelter conditions on San Francisco’s Shelter Monitoring Committee and served on the Governor-appointed California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, Gary combines lived experience with policy expertise.

Gary McCoy earned the #1 endorsement of both the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club and Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club – only the third time in 26 years the two clubs have agreed on a top choice for District 8 Supervisor. Gary’s expansive policy proposal for our queer community includes protecting funding for vital programs, championing HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, protecting the Office of Transgender Initiatives, and investing in our cultural institutions.

Gary knows true public safety requires a comprehensive approach – fully resourced police and fire, expanded behavioral health treatment and 311 response, protecting our immigrant communities, and evidence-based violence prevention. And he knows we can keep our neighbors safe without jeopardizing the safety of vulnerable communities. That’s why he’ll introduce legislation within his first 90 days to end Flock surveillance in San Francisco.

Gary managed a successful campaign to expand funding for Muni and led the effort to expand car-free Saturdays on JFK Drive – helping lay the foundation for today’s JFK Promenade. Viewing street safety as a core component of overall public safety, he strongly supports the Vision Zero initiative. As Supervisor, he’ll fight for reliable transit, expanded slow streets, longer service hours, safer bicycle lanes, and traffic calming devices.

Small business owners and neighborhood leaders support Gary because he knows small business corridors are vital for our community vibrancy and economic growth. He will address storefront vacancies by streamlining the city’s permitting process and continuing the “First Year Free” program for new businesses and grow programs that support our longstanding anchor and legacy businesses.