2018 San Francisco mayoral special election
Ed Lee, who was appointed Mayor of San Francisco in 2011 following Gavin Newsom's election as Lieutenant Governor of California, elected to a full term in 2011, and reelected in 2015, died of cardiac arrest on December 12, 2017. London Breed, the President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, became the city's acting mayor.
2018 San Francisco mayoral special election
On January 23, 2018, the Board of Supervisors selected Mark Farrell to serve as interim mayor until the special election could be held. Citing Ron Conway's role as a benefactor to Breed, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim, considered the progressive members of the board, sought to deny Breed the benefits of incumbency going into the election.