Political newcomer and State Assembly District 17 candidate Bilal Mahmood is under fire from some opponents for his sparse voting record.
Voting records show Mahmood – a scientist, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the youngest candidate in the race at 34 – has voted in only six elections. They include the general elections in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2020, and the special election for the governor’s recall in 2021.
By comparison, Mahmood’s three contenders for the vacant Assembly seat representing the eastern side of San Francisco have long track records of voting in primaries and generals for local, state and national elections in the city, where they have all held elected office. Mahmood’s voting record was first reported by Mission Local.
While Mahmood has lived in San Francisco since 2014, he was registered to vote in Santa Clara County with his parents until August 2020, according to the San Francisco Department of Elections. Four of his ballots were cast in Santa Clara County and two in San Francisco.
That means he missed the primary election in March that year for the most recent race of David Chiu, whose shoes he hopes to fill in the Assembly. He did vote for Chiu in the 2020 general.
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Mahmood’s only political experience is working for half a year in the Obama administration, but critics point out he didn’t vote in Obama’s 2008 primary. Mahmood said that win activated him, in college at the time, into politics.
Mahmood, who is running on a platform of bringing innovation to government, called the attacks an example of “political gatekeeping” by more established opponents who are threatened by his run. He said like “most Americans and San Franciscans” he focused on presidential elections prior to becoming more politically engaged in the pandemic.
“Like other political newcomers who have similar voting history and challenge the status quo, I don’t have a perfect voting record,” he said.
Similar attacks were made against outsider candidates and now U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, he added. New York voting records show Ocasio-Cortez voted in Obama’s primary in 2008, but otherwise only cast a ballot in general and presidential elections until the year before running for office. Bowman didn’t vote in primaries until two years before running.
But some of Mahmood’s opponents say his minimal voting record matters as he aspires for an important higher office.
“Voting is our most basic civic duty and fundamental to democracy,” said Supervisor Matt Haney in a statement. “Voters expect that candidates for elected office regularly vote. … It’s really the bare minimum.”
Haney, 39, has voted in 22 elections spanning state, local and national races, records show.
City College Trustee Thea Selby said Mahmood’s record was “disappointing.”
“We expect people to be civicly engaged prior to having the desire to run for office,” she said.
She brought up that Mahmood has put $300,000 of his own money into the campaign so far, saying that “you can gain name recognition by working hard in the communities and getting to know people and listening for years and trying to make a difference, and you can gain name recognition by spending a lot of your own money.”
Mahmood previously responded to criticism that his wealth could put him out of touch with voters by pointing to the fact that he was raised by immigrant parents who built their lives from the ground up. On his personal spending, he told the Chronicle he will do “whatever’s necessary” to win.
Selby, 58, pointed out that even before she entered elected office later in life, she voted regularly. She’s cast a ballot in 41 elections in San Francisco.
David Campos, 51, has also voted in 41 elections. When asked to respond to criticism about Mahmood’s voting record, Campos said his campaign is “focused on building a coalition to advance the change California desperately needs,” citing health care, climate and homelessness as priorities.
Mahmood said he would continue to run a “positive campaign.”
“We’re above that and should be focused on the issues,” he said. “There’s a pattern of political outsiders that make outsized change, and that’s what we want to see.”
Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench
