D8 hopefuls meet voters
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B.A.R.
Since 1971 ‘Michael’
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Vol. 56 • No. 18 • April 30-May 6, 2026
CA Gov candidates pledge to back gender-affirming care
by Matthew S. Bajko
Courtesy mayor’s office
Matthew Goudeau, left, was appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie to lead San Francisco’s new Arts and Culture department.
Goudeau to lead new SF arts dept. by John Ferrannini
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an Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Matthew Goudeau to become the city’s first-ever executive director of arts and culture Monday. As the director, Goudeau will lead a consolidated department overseeing the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and the San Francisco Film Commission. A start date has yet to be determined, the mayor’s office stated. Goudeau, a gay man, served as the director of Grants for the Arts from 2019 to 2020, overseeing the distribution of millions of dollars to the city’s arts organizations. Prior to the Grants for the Arts position, Goudeau worked for many years in the San Francisco protocol department. He’s currently the chief development officer at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Goudeau, an early supporter of Lurie’s, served as director of the mayor’s transition office and as his deputy chief of staff. “San Francisco’s artists and cultural organizations bring so much energy and excitement to our city, and they deserve a government that gives them the tools to succeed,” Goudeau stated in a news release. “I am lucky to have been part of this community for years, in both major cultural institutions and small. In every role I’ve had, I have gone to bat for these organizations as well as the artists, workers, and visitors that keep them going – and it will be a privilege to be their champion in city government.” The restructuring of the city’s arts agencies was announced by Lurie in January. A news release from Lurie’s office at the time stated that the reimagined arts strategy will power more transparent grantmaking (including general operational grants), stronger coordination, and a system that supports the full arts and culture landscape so organizations can succeed and be resilient – such as simpler grant applications, better-aligned timelines, and ensuring resources continue to reach working artists. The creation of the executive director of arts and culture position was Lurie’s next step to strengthening support for artists and cultural institutions and ensuring the arts can continue to drive San Francisco’s comeback, the release stated. Established in 1932 in the City Charter, the San Francisco Arts Commission oversees municipal art, including the preservation of the Civic Art Collection, architectural designs for local building projects, and grant distribution to individual artists and arts nonprofits, the San Francisco Examiner noted in a recent article. SFAC also maintains two public art galleries and supports the city’s seven neighborhood cultural centers – four brick-and-mortar, three virtual – through annual grants, the Examiner noted. Since its creation in 1961, Grants for the Arts has distributed $400 million to hundreds of nonprofit arts and culture organizations, its website stated. See page 8 >>
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nding transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth’s access to the healthcare they require to live as their authentic selves has been a main goal of the Trump administration. It issued an executive order last year interpreting federal law to mean health providers that are recipients of Medicare or Medicaid coverage are prevented from providing gender-affirming procedures to minors. The directive led to multiple lawsuits being filed in federal courts by LGBTQ advocacy groups. But it also prompted a number of hospitals to preemptively end their providing such healthcare to young people under the age of 19, such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, and Stanford Medicine in the Bay Area. A recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon blocked U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s declaration issued last December claiming gender-affirming care fails to meet professionally recognized standards of care, therefore doctors or hospitals providing such care from federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid could be disqualified from them. Earlier this month, in light of the ruling, California Attorney General Rob Bonta reaffirmed that gender-affirming care remains legal in California. And he reiterated that providers in the Golden State
Mahan, courtesy the campaign; Porter, screengrab from EQCA forum
Democratic gubernatorial candidates Matt Mahan, left, and Katie Porter pledged to support gender-affirming care for trans youth.
“can and should continue to provide the care their patients count on without fear of unjust retaliation” as the matter works its way through the courts. “The district court has rightfully ruled to block the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to delegitimize and restrict access to gender-affirming care,” stated Bonta, part of the coalition of 18 state attorneys general along with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the District of Columbia that
filed a lawsuit challenging the Kennedy Declaration. “This ruling protects transgender Americans’ rights to receive crucial care from providers they trust without unfair roadblocks. Gender-affirming care remains legal, and Trump’s proposed rules targeting providers of gender-affirming care are just that: proposals.” See page 8 >>
Hurabiell clashes with House opponents on trans policies by John Ferrannini
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woman who helped spearhead the recall of ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin four years ago has thrown her hat into the ring vying to replace Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco) in the U.S. House of Representatives, arguing she represents the city’s silent majority. Marie Hurabiell, a former Republican appointee of President Donald Trump’s to the Presidio Trust during his first term, later became a Democrat. But she holds views – including on transgender rights – that are to the far right of the three main candidates for the 11th Congressional District seat – gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and straight allies District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti, a wealthy tech investor who for eight months in 2019 was chief of staff to Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York). The Bay Area Reporter covered Chan, Chakrabarti, and Wiener appearances in recent weeks. In an interview Tuesday, April 28, Hurabiell said she got in the race after two individuals whom she didn’t name decided not to enter after previously committing, or considering, to do so. “You’ve got three people who are kind of on one end of the spectrum, and there’s this whole other, center left, center, center right, no party preference, independents, Republicans to the extent there are any in San Francisco, who are kind of left out, and there’s no one for them,” she said of her opponents during an in-person interview at a westside San Francisco cafe. “I think there was a massive, massive hunger from San Franciscans for a common sense, pragmatic bridge builder to enter this race.” In the past, Hurabiell has stated on social media that trans women aren’t women. The B.A.R. asked if that is still her position and how it would translate into policy. “I respect all people,” she said. “I want all people to have the opportunity for fulfilling their maximum potential, for having fulfilling lives, for, for being happy.” However, Hurabiell takes issue with Senate Bill 132, Wiener’s successful 2020 legislation mandat-
Courtesy the campaign
Democratic House candidate Marie Hurabiell has views far to the right of her three main competitors in the race.
ing that the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation house transgender, nonbinary, and intersex prisoners in accordance with their gender identity. In 2024, a federal judge tossed a lawsuit against SB 132. More recently, at the national level, trans female prisoners affected by President Donald Trump’s executive order on gender were told they could make their case as to why they shouldn’t be transferred to federal men’s prisons. “If you want to be a woman, do whatever you want,” she said. “But that doesn’t give you the ability to enter female spaces and female sports. It’s too dangerous for women. And girls. And so, we need to, we need to have a dialogue about this.” Hurabiell claimed that trans people convicted of violent crimes could present a risk to incarcerated cisgender women, calling it “truly heartbreaking” and adding, “These women are already vulnerable, and they are in, you know, they’re in prison, they’re in locked spaces with perpetrators.” She also takes issue with trans participation in athletic activities in accordance with players’ gender identity.
Asked about the sports issue, she said, “I want all kids to be able to participate in anything they want to participate in. But that doesn’t mean putting other people in danger or at risk.” Asked about the Equality Act – long-stalled federal legislation that would extend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to LGBTQ people – Hurabiell said she would need to do more research. “Everyone should be accorded dignity and all basic rights,” she said. “But if this, if the idea behind this is that you can sit here and tell me that you’re a woman and follow me into the bathroom, and that would be protected, that’s not OK.” Asked about funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, Hurabiell said, “I think we should continue that funding. I think that’s important funding.” The program, which seeks to end HIV/AIDS in the U.S. by 2030, started during Trump’s first term. It has been threatened by potential GOP House budget cuts in the years since, but has remained funded. The B.A.R. reached out to the Wiener, Chakrabarti, and Chan campaigns to ask if they had a response to Hurabiell to include with this report. Chan stated, “Trans women are women. Every person deserves the right to be who they are and want to be and be treated fairly and with respect. I am proud to be running for Congress as a strong ally and advocate for our LGBTQ community.” Chan led the Board of Supervisors to adopt a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to healthcare for trans people earlier this year, as the B.A.R. reported. Tiffaney Bradley, campaign spokesperson for Chakrabarti stated, “San Francisco must have a representative who’s fully willing to stand up for the trans and LGBTQ community. Saikat has been clear that he’ll do that. He’s fighting for a Democratic Party that will stop throwing trans people under the bus for political convenience. Trans rights are human rights, and we should not be horse-trading on them.” Wiener spokesperson Joe Arellano defended the candidate’s record. See page 9 >>