For the first time since 1987, San Francisco is choosing a new representative in Congress. For the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, which says Nancy Pelosi has opposed its recognition fight for decades, the Nov. 3 election is the biggest opening in a generation. So far, neither candidate has said what they would do with it.
State Sen. Scott Wiener and Supervisor Connie Chan, both Democrats, were the top two finishers in the June 2 primary for California’s 11th Congressional District, CBS News projected the day after the vote. Eleven candidates ran. Former Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti finished third and ended his campaign. The district lies entirely within San Francisco and covers most of the city.
Wiener has represented San Francisco in the state Senate since 2016, after serving on the Board of Supervisors, and won the California Democratic Party’s endorsement in February. Chan has represented the Richmond District, Sea Cliff and Presidio Terrace on the Board of Supervisors since 2020. Pelosi, who announced last year that she would not seek reelection, endorsed Chan in May.
The one public poll of the general election, a Tavern Research survey of 658 likely voters taken Sept. 15–17, had Wiener ahead 45% to 34%, with 21% undecided.
What the debates covered, and what they didn’t
The two candidates met twice in October: on Oct. 1 at KQED, and on Oct. 13 at a debate moderated by Mission Local and The New York Times. According to coverage by NBC Bay Area and Mission Local, the debates focused on artificial intelligence, housing, public safety, affordability and foreign policy. Chan framed the race as “a corporate Democrat” against “a labor Democrat.” Wiener said he had “actually taken on and beaten the most powerful corporations in the world.”
We found no report of either candidate being asked about California’s unrecognized tribes, the Ohlone people, or the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s 45-year effort to be restored to the federal list. We also found no public statement from either campaign on the issue. If one exists, we will gladly publish it.
The Presidio test
The closest either candidate has come is the Presidio. When President Trump fired the Presidio Trust’s board in April, both reacted, as reported by the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon.
“The Presidio Trust is a model for good governance and a San Francisco treasure, and of course, Trump wants to dismantle it,” Chan said. “I will fight to make sure Presidio remains a legacy open space for San Franciscans for generations to come.”
Wiener called the Presidio “a success story – a military base now a self-sustaining national park,” and added: “Trump is the destroyer president.”
Neither statement mentioned the Ohlone, even though the same article reported that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe has asked for the Presidio to be returned to it. In a March 2025 letter to the President, the Tribe argued that its people “have never ceded, surrendered, or in any way abrogated aboriginal title” to the land. Both candidates defended the 1996 arrangement Pelosi championed. Neither acknowledged the first people of the land it governs.
That silence matters because of the history. In the same letter, the Tribe named Pelosi, the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Zoe Lofgren as “the Tribe’s most ardent enemies” in its recognition fight. Lofgren’s opposition is on paper. In 2024 she wrote to the San José City Council to object to its pro-recognition resolution. Her letter was included in the packet Santa Clara’s council reviewed before it voted 6-0 in June to back the Tribe anyway.
What a new member could do
A House member cannot recognize a tribe alone. But Congress has the power to restore recognition by statute, and a bill needs a sponsor. We are not aware of any member of the Bay Area delegation ever introducing one for Muwekma. San Francisco’s member of Congress represents the Presidio and Mission Dolores, one of the three missions where, the Tribe says, its ancestors were taken after capture. That member would be the natural person to introduce or co-sponsor a Muwekma restoration bill, or to press Interior on the Tribe’s case.
Pelosi’s endorsement went to Chan. Wiener is the front-runner in the only public poll. Neither owes the Tribe anything yet. That is exactly why the Tribe’s supporters in San Francisco should ask now, before Nov. 3, on the record.
Our question for both candidates is simple. Do you support restoring federal recognition to the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, and will you introduce or co-sponsor legislation to do it? The Muwekma Times will publish any answer we receive, in full.
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