Dean Preston

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Dean Preston

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5

Successor: Bilal Mahmood

Predecessor: Vallie Brown

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Bowdoin College

Law

University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Personal

Profession

Civil rights attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Dean Preston was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in California, representing District 5. Preston assumed office on December 16, 2019. Preston left office on January 8, 2025.

Preston ran for re-election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to represent District 5 in California. Preston lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Although elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are officially nonpartisan, Preston is known to be affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Preston received an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings.

As of his 2016 run for the board of supervisors, Preston was the founder and executive director of the tenant rights organization, Tenants Together. His professional experience also includes work for California Rural Legal Assistance and as a clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Preston has been a member of the board of directors for the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, established the Tenant Rights Bootcamp project, and is a founding member of the affordable housing organization Affordable Divis.

Elections

2024

See also: City elections in San Francisco, California (2024)

General election

General election for San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5

Select round: Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Bilal Mahmood in round 4 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Bilal Mahmood	53.0	14,741	1,981	Won (4)
		Dean Preston	47.0	13,077	638	4
		Scotty Jacobs	0.0	0	-3,707	3
		Autumn Looijen	0.0	0	0	2
	Submit photo	Allen Jones	0.0	0	0	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Bilal Mahmood	44.1	12,760	864	Won (4)
		Dean Preston	43.0	12,439	355	4
		Scotty Jacobs	12.8	3,707	818	3
		Autumn Looijen	0.0	0	-2,691	2
	Submit photo	Allen Jones	0.0	0	0	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Bilal Mahmood	40.2	11,896	56	Won (4)
		Dean Preston	40.9	12,084	72	4
		Scotty Jacobs	9.8	2,889	93	3
		Autumn Looijen	9.1	2,691	85	2
	Submit photo	Allen Jones	0.0	0	-444	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Bilal Mahmood	39.9	11,840	0	Won (4)
		Dean Preston	40.4	12,012	0	4
		Scotty Jacobs	9.4	2,796	0	3
		Autumn Looijen	8.8	2,606	0	2
	Submit photo	Allen Jones	1.5	444	0	1

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,698
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Preston received the following endorsements.

• U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent)
• Nancy Pelosi (D) - Rep.

2020

See also: City elections in San Francisco, California (2020)

General election

General election for San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5

Select round: Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Dean Preston in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	55.2	22,853	1,070	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	44.8	18,520	1,448	3
		Daniel Landry	0.0	0	-2,846	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	52.2	21,783	299	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	40.9	17,072	295	3
		Daniel Landry	6.8	2,846	456	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	0.0	0	-1,113	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	51.4	21,484	0	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	40.2	16,777	0	3
		Daniel Landry	5.7	2,390	0	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	2.7	1,113	0	2

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,764
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2019

See also: City elections in San Francisco, California (2019)

General election

General election for San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5

Select round: Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Dean Preston in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	50.4	11,723	414	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	49.6	11,538	279	3
		Ryan Lam	0.0	0	-1,035	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	47.9	11,309	70	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	47.7	11,259	51	3
		Ryan Lam	4.4	1,035	85	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	0.0	0	-278	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Dean Preston	47.5	11,239	0	Won (3)
		Vallie Brown	47.3	11,208	0	3
		Ryan Lam	4.0	950	0	3
	Submit photo	Nomvula O'Meara	1.2	278	0	2

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,675
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in San Francisco, California (2016)

The city of San Francisco, California, held elections for six of the 11 seats on its board of supervisors on November 8, 2016. The city utilized instant-runoff voting (IRV) for municipal offices, eliminating the need for runoff elections. Incumbent London Breed defeated Dean Preston in the general election for District 5 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5, General Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
London Breed Incumbent	52.95%	13,235
Dean Preston	46.18%	11,542
Write-in votes	0.87%	218
Total Votes		24,995
Source: San Francisco Department of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," December 6, 2016

Endorsements

Preston received endorsements from the following in 2016:

• San Francisco Tenants Union
• Community Tenants Association
• Affordable Housing Alliance
• Our Revolution (Bernie Sanders’ National Organizing Group)
• Sierra Club
• League of Conservation Voters
• California Nurses Association
• Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
• Latino Democratic Club
• Evolve California
• San Francisco Green Party
• San Francisco Tomorrow
• San Francisco for Democracy
• San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance
• League of Pissed Off Voters
• San Francisco Vision
• Affordable Divis
• Former California Assemb. Tom Ammiano
• Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos
• Former San Francisco Supervisor Matthew Gonzalez
• Former San Francisco Supervisor Christina Olague
• Former San Francisco Supervisor Harry Britt
• San Francisco Supervisor David Campos
• San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos
• San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar
• Former San Francisco Democratic Party Chair Jane Morrison
• Washington Sen. Pramila Jayapal
• Trinidad Mayor Julie Fulkerson

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dean Preston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Dean Preston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Dean Preston completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Preston's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Dean Preston is one of California's leading affordable housing advocates. He helped lead the fight to save rent control in 2008, formed and runs California's only statewide tenant rights group, and works to strengthen housing policies to ensure that everyone has a right to safe, decent and affordable housing. Dean has taken on slumlords and speculators to save countless families from displacement and prevent homelessness. He has created visionary protections, including the only law in the nation to prevent evictions of teachers during the school year. Most recently, in 2018, he wrote and championed Proposition F, our city's groundbreaking law to provide legal representation for all tenants facing eviction, and was an early backer of Proposition C, which tackles our homeless crisis by doubling housing and mental health care to our homeless population.

Dean is running for Supervisor of District 5, one of the most progressive districts in San Francisco and in the nation. Dean has lived in District 5 over 20 years. His daughters attend public elementary school in the district. His neighborhood work includes protecting locally-owned district small businesses, forcing city hall to require more affordable housing from developers, and serving on the board of his neighborhood association. Dean is also a Democratic Socialist who advocates for fundamental change at the local, state and national levels. He believes everyone deserves a dignified, productive, and healthy life through universal policies like Medicare for All, social housing and free education.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Dean's the affordable housing advocate in the race
• Dean has the best plan to tackle homelessness
• Dean is going to fix our broken transportation system

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm running for Supervisor because the status quo in City Hall is not working. San Francisco is the least affordable city in the entire nation, with staggering inequality.

I've never been a City Hall insider. I am civil rights and tenant attorney. I founded California's only statewide tenant group, which helped save rent control when it was under attack. For 20 years, I have been on the frontlines fighting for tenants, neighbors and working people.
I've got deep roots in District 5. It's been my home for more than two decades. My two daughters are 6th generation San Franciscans and go to public school here.
Now is the time for us to take bigger, bolder and more courageous steps. I'm inspired by new leaders like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and like her I am a Democratic Socialist who believes every person deserves health care, an affordable home, a fair wage, and equal access to power.
I have already helped San Francisco take big steps. I wrote and passed the law to guarantee a free attorney to any tenant in SF facing eviction. My campaign is about taking bold steps --a green new deal, a public bank to reinvest in our community, social housing to reverse displacement. Here in the district we need to save Midtown, build affordable housing rather than just luxury condos, and finally get a navigation center.

We can't afford the status quo -- we need to rethink what is possible in San Francisco before it's too late.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2016

Preston's 2016 campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

Housing and Homelessness: Protect Tenants: Outlaw rent gouging and create a Right to Counsel for tenants facing eviction. Build Affordable: Create 2,000 new affordable units in District 5. Preserve Rental Housing: Stop conversion of rental housing into illegal Airbnb hotels. Address D5 Homelessness: Build a Navigation Center in the Haight to get people off the streets and transitioned into permanent housing. Transportation: A MUNI Riders' Bill of Rights: MUNI riders deserve basic rights, like a 30-minute guaranteed trip anywhere in the City. Expand Service: Break ground on an East-West subway in the next 10 years. Safer Streets: Make our streets safer by adding separated bikeways for cyclists and improved sidewalks for pedestrians. Education: Keep Teachers in SF: Support our educators with fair wages and stable housing. Universal Preschool: Start every child with an equal opportunity by providing preschool for all San Francisco families. Bring School Lottery into 21st Century: Use digital tools and real time information to modernize the public school lottery system, minimizing anxiety for parents about available openings and placements. Community Policing and Public Safety: Serve Communities: Make sure officers are engaged with the neighborhoods they serve through community policing and foot patrols. Reform & Accountability: Get serious about police reform with de-escalation policies and body cameras, and create an independent oversight body to ensure accountability for police misconduct. Curb Property Crime: Create a dedicated property crimes division, and leverage digital tools for residents to report break-ins and help police respond more effectively. Neighborhood Character: Preservation: Protect sound housing, historical buildings, and community serving spaces from the wrecking ball with an anti-demolition ordinance. Vacancy Tax: No more empty storefronts–encourage commercial landlords to fill unused properties with a Vacancy Tax. Neighborhood Voice: Host monthly Town Hall meetings to make sure neighbors are heard, and form a D5 Neighbors Council to shape agenda at City Hall. Cleaning up City Hall: Public Advocate: Create an independent Public Advocate to serve as a watchdog over city government. Campaign Finance Reform: Curb the influence of corporate money in our elections by closing loopholes that career politicians won’t touch, like banning Supervisor slush funds.

”

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Vallie Brown	San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 5 2019-2025	Succeeded by Bilal Mahmood