It also comes as Asian representation among San Francisco officials has dropped — and none of the leading candidates in the race are Chinese American.

“Almost 20 years ago, only a handful of San Francisco candidates even had literature of mailers in Chinese, and they were usually Chinese and Asian American candidates,” said former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, who now serves as the California director of the Working Families Party. “Now, almost all campaigns try to hire Chinese bilingual organizers and come up with the best Chinese name” to appear on the ballot.

San Francisco has given candidates the option to print their name — or a chosen name — in Chinese characters on the ballot for nearly 25 years in an attempt to appeal to Chinese-speaking voters. While the policy has met controversy, it symbolizes how any serious candidate must make inroads with Chinese-speaking communities to have a shot in the race.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about the network and community. Who are your neighbors and people you’re playing mahjong with and doing tai chi with? What are they saying? That’s how it’s really being relayed back to Asian voters,” said Supervisor Connie Chan, who is currently the only AAPI supervisor and running for reelection. “This is why endorsements are so critical and why the people that you know are so important.”

Kim, Chan, along with Assmeblymember Phil Ting and former Supervisor Gordon Mar are all backing Peskin.

Meanwhile, Breed has support from State Attorney General Rob Bonta, Sheriff Paul Miyamota and Board of Education Commissioner Jenny Lam.

Despite their backing, Breed faces a tough reelection battle this fall. She’s had to assuage some skeptical voters who are still reeling from the spike in attacks against Asian residents during the pandemic — which spurred one Chinatown rapper to put out a diss track against Breed. He later apologized for the song.

“What they really need to do is listen to Chinese voters and understand their needs. They need to provide campaign information so voters become educated, and then they have to get out the vote with Chinese volunteers,” said Russell Jeung, an Asian American studies professor who teaches at San Francisco State University. “That’s the voter education our communities need.”

A wide range of views

From 2010 to 2020, the Asian population in San Francisco had the highest growth rate among all ethnicities in the city, according to US Census data, and Chinese residents make up nearly 22% of the city’s overall population, making them a key voting bloc for mayoral hopefuls.

However, like any major demographic, opinions vary widely within the Chinese American community on issues like public safety and how that should be addressed. Having more representation within campaigns is important to understanding that, said Jeung.

“We are seeing a range of different political views, and that, to me, shows the maturation of the community. You can’t just talk about the stereotypical Asian vote,” he said.

For many Chinese American voters, Supervisor Chan said, improving public safety isn’t about simply increasing police budgets or policies around harsher prosecutions. Often, she said, people’s general well-being — like the ability to pay the bills, access healthcare, walk on clean streets, attend good schools — shape feelings and conversations around safety and are part of solutions voters want to see.

“What they consider as a safety issue is not just about incarceration or prosecution. It’s actually really more of a day-to-day, like, do I feel safe? Can I go shopping? Can I do my daily routine without being interrupted or any type of incident?” Chan said. “Those are more their top concerns.”

For friends and San Francisco natives Richard Fong and David Zhao, public safety is a concern. However, the two said they are most interested in seeing a candidate who can provide housing to people who are homeless on the streets as a solution.

“We need someone to get people off the street and into houses,” said Fong, who is heading off to college this fall but plans to place an absentee ballot for the mayor’s race.

To better capture those varying opinions among Asian voters, candidates are also stacking their campaigns with bilingual staffers and volunteers.

“We have volunteers and paid staff who do speak Cantonese, and that’s really helpful for us when we are in neighborhoods where the majority language is monolingual Cantonese,” said Lauren Chung, a Chinese American and the campaign manager for Ahsha Safaí, another leading mayoral candidate who currently serves on the board of supervisors. “It’s definitely something we need on a campaign in San Francisco so we don’t leave any communities out.”

Mayoral candidates also promise to increase Asian representation among department heads and other city positions if elected. On Monday, Breed announced the city’s first Chinese American to serve as interim Fire Chief, Sandy Tong.