Getting to Know Supervisor Alan Wong

As we close out the year, I’m sharing a conversation that feels especially fitting for this moment.

In this episode, I sit down with Alan Wong, the newly appointed Supervisor for San Francisco’s District 4, to talk about his roots in the Sunset, his family’s immigration story, and the experiences that shaped his path into public service.

Before policy positions and headlines, this conversation focuses on the human side - growing up in the neighborhood, learning to serve through student government, protecting language access and education, and navigating leadership in a city that’s always in motion.

This is a reflective, grounded listen to close out the year - about people, place, and how we move forward together, even when change feels uncomfortable.

BONUS:  Earlier this month, I joined the Fun Police podcast with my friends, Ben Bleiman, Sharky Laguana, and Manny Yekutiel, for a candid conversation about District 4 and the Sunset. If you’re looking for more context, that episode is linked here. 

Photo credit: Gabrielle Lurie/S.F. Chronicle

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The Sunset Connection — exploring the stories and histories that connect us.

Chapters

• 0:00 Year-End Setup And Context
• 1:55 Meet Alan Wong, Person First
• 3:56 Family Journey And Sunset Childhood
• 8:36 Values, Emotion, And Early Leadership
• 12:17 Policy Style And How He Unwinds
• 15:42 Language Access And Saving Cantonese
• 20:24 Free City College And Accelerated Path
• 23:24 Lessons From Elected Service
• 24:35 Trivia: Holiday Edition

Transcript

Jessica J. Ho: 0:00

Alright. The final episode of the year. This is the 22nd episode. Before we get started, a quick note. I was recently a guest on the Fun Police podcast, where we had a candid, but honestly pretty fun conversation about District 4, which is the Sunset District in San Francisco. If you want more context on some of the issues we touch on today, I've linked that episode in the show notes. I think it pairs really well with this conversation. Hi, Sunset friends. It's been a year, and I don't think any of us are feeling just one thing about it. The sunset feels like it's waking them up. And with that comes a bit of an identity crisis. Change is uncomfortable. And this year has been uncomfortable in a lot of ways. But I wanted to pause and say thank you to everyone who showed up, listened, shared this podcast, and found something meaningful in the conversations we've had. Today's guest is a product of the sunset and a product of this moment. He's been civically engaged since his student days at Lincoln High School, just a few blocks from here. And that commitment has been consistent over time. Recently, he stepped into a new role as the appointed District Four supervisor at a time when the neighborhood is processing a lot of change. People have questions about the great highway, about parking, about zoning, and those conversations can be intense. But before policy, before positions, this podcast has always been rooted in a simple belief. When we understand where people come from, who they are at their core, we're better equipped to navigate disagreement and move forward together. So today we're learning more about Alan Wong, the human side. So with that, Alan, thank you for being here.

Alan Wong: 1:53

Great to join. I'm excited to be on the podcast.

Jessica J. Ho: 1:57

Great. Well, you grew up in the Sunset, Hoover, Lincoln, these blocks, but a lot of people don't actually know your family story. Can you tell us a little bit about your parents, how they came to San Francisco, why they chose the Sunset District, and what growing up here was like for you?

Alan Wong: 2:14

Both my parents are originally from Hong Kong and they came to San Francisco looking for better opportunity for themselves and for their family. My dad went through the Kelner program at City College and enrolled in ESL classes over at the old Salvation Army Chinatown building. And through that city college training, he was able to get a job as a union hotel cook at the Grand Hyatt on Stockton Street near Union Square. And my mom was a homemaker. Through their hard work, we were able to live in in-laws in the Sunset neighborhood. My parents, they came to Sunset for the same reason many others do. They wanted to come to a neighborhood that was safe and clean and was neighborhoody, and a place where they could potentially send their kids to good quality schools in the neighborhood in the future.

Jessica J. Ho: 3:22

So you said we. So do you have siblings?

Alan Wong: 3:26

I have a younger brother that is five years younger than me. He kind of followed me to some of the public schools that I went to as well.

Jessica J. Ho: 3:37

I think it's so impactful that your parents' story is really a story of the Sunset District as well. That they had you and your brother. What do you remember most about the neighborhood when you were a kid?

Alan Wong: 3:50

I remember, and this is when I was like three years old. My parents would take me to Golden Gate Park, maybe north of 19th Avenue and Lincoln, there's a a park to the went northeast, where you could just climb and jump around. So going to that park brought has brought me many childhood memories. Also, just going to the old KFC on Irving Street, oftentimes after a day when my parents had gone grocery shopping on Irving, or after I had left school and returned from the school bus. Going on Noriega and going to many of the restaurants there with my family. And also taking long bus rides. There was a time when my family didn't have any vehicles, so we would just take the bus everywhere. My parents, we take the L or the N to go to Chinatown, where they would go shop for their groceries. Growing up, I also gained a new appreciation for Chinatown because it's a symbolic home of the Asian community in San Francisco.

Jessica J. Ho: 5:06

Right. What values did your parents emphasize growing up?

Alan Wong: 5:11

I think my parents encouraged me to work hard to focus on school. They weren't too strict with me. My parents weren't tiger parents or anything, but they just told me, hey, make sure you're doing your homework, make sure you're studying. But they didn't push me too hard on anything. I I think they just wanted me to do all right in in school. Many immigrant families, especially from Asia, there's a sort of some difficulty expressing feelings. So I I think growing up we we didn't really express feelings that much to each other about how we we care. And I think growing up, I also learned to develop that part of me a little bit more as well.

Jessica J. Ho: 6:08

That's uh emotional communication, right? And empathy. I'm glad that you found another way to kind of develop those skills, which are critically important and must have led to why you're civically engaged, right? What pulled you towards that leadership? Was that kind of where you learned how to express yourself emotionally or you found some inspiration somewhere to kind of draw you towards a path down civic service?

Alan Wong: 6:38

For me, it's always been about service and making people's lives better. What's drawn me to being civically involved has always been about making lives better for people and doing my little part in that. I remember when I first got involved in student government at Lincoln, it was for me, it was about finding an avenue where I could speak up about maybe better books or cleaner restrooms for our student community and finding a channel to do that. I got elected to student government at Lincoln High School, and then I realized oh, it's mainly focused on dances and posters. So I was encouraged by my associate student body president at the time to get involved in the SFUSD Student Advisory Council. And that was an advisory group of students from each high school that provided feedback to the school board and the superintendent. So that was where I was able to really invest my time and get involved in a way that I felt was meaningful and supportive of my fellow students.

Jessica J. Ho: 8:00

That's a great program. Are they still doing that?

Alan Wong: 8:02

Yes. There continues to be students that serve on the SFUSC Student Advisory Council.

Jessica J. Ho: 8:10

How many of them are there?

Alan Wong: 8:11

There are two from each high school if if all the positions are filled.

Jessica J. Ho: 8:17

Got it. And so in a role where everyone wants immediate answers and when conversations can get real spicy, what are some ways in which you balance being deliberate and consistent with the pressure to move fast?

Alan Wong: 8:34

I think that my perspective in approaching policy issues is try to gain an understanding of all the different ideas that are out there from across the political spectrum. I'm naturally the sort of type that likes to understand what other people are saying, and I think that having disagreements or differing opinions helps sharpen my perspective on things. Is there like anything that you do to unwind I like to go running for the last 20 years? I have been running along the trail on the great highway for my exercise and then doing push-ups on on the pavement uh outdoors while I go running. Also going swimming. And I also like playing Magic the Gathering. And Dominion. And Dominion. I I like board games where you get to play with other people. The neat thing about playing these sort of board games or other card strategy or whatever games is that you You never know what the other person's gonna be doing, right? Because human beings are they're strategic, but at the same time they're a little bit unpredictable. And whereas if you played against an AI, they're either much better than you or w way worse than you, and and they they're predictable in a very good way or a very bad way. So I I like games where there's multiple people playing ideally, and and there's that human interaction and surprise to it.

Jessica J. Ho: 10:28

Right. I find that when you play games, you're pretty strategic.

Alan Wong: 10:33

I I try to.

Jessica J. Ho: 10:34

Yeah. Well, language and education have been a big part of your work, especially around Cantonese and City College. Can you talk about your relationship with language growing up and why preserving access to education and people's native languages feels so personal to you?

Alan Wong: 10:52

Growing up in the sunset, my parents would often face language barriers. And as a young kid, and like many other immigrant kids, sometimes they would help their parents with helping them understand different different things in a another another language. My parents are actually they're pretty proficient in English, but but sometimes there are times when I still had to just step in and help a little bit. And for me, the language stuff is about ensuring that communities get equal access to resources. So for example, if there are people calling 911 and they're domestic violence victim, if somebody is able to talk to them in the same language, they're able to receive that report and respond with empathy and to react in a timely manner. Then they're going to able to get services that they that they need in a timely and appropriate and competent manner. It just helps ensure that people are able to get access to resources. And that's why I felt it's so important to save and fight for the Canteens program at City College, because we had I forget the number, I think it was eight or nine different languages at City College, ranging from Japanese, German, French, and many other languages. And at the same time, when Cantonese is besides English and Spanish, the the other large language in San Francisco, City College was trying to cut the entire Cantonese program, which didn't make sense at all considering how many people that it can serve. I'm just thinking about the police officers and healthcare workers that have signed up for those classes because they want to be better public servants, better healthcare workers, better social workers. And that's why it was so important for me. It wasn't just about language preservation, but about being able to serve the next generation of people in a language appropriate way and to allow the next generation of young people to sign up for those classes so that they can serve immigrants.

Jessica J. Ho: 13:51

Yeah. I actually um started to take classes from City College after your effort to save City College and found that there are a lot of great classes at City College that you can take online. I'm very thankful for that opportunity that we can uh in San Francisco. If you live in San Francisco, you can take classes for free as a resident, which is really amazing because education is such an fundamental part of who I am and it sounds like who you are as well.

Alan Wong: 14:23

Yes. When I was working at City Hall as a legislative aide for District 4, I was the principal staff person working on the free city college legislation in 2019 to guarantee free city college for the next decade. And it's so important because I myself, I was able to attend city college classes for free with a low-income tuition waiver. And that low-income tuition waiver allowed me to afford these opportunities I otherwise would not have been able to. With uh city college classes and AP classes at Lincoln and taking a large load at UCSD, I was able to graduate from UCSD when I was just 19 years old with a bachelor's degree. And those free city college classes or f free classes I got from the low-income tuition waiver at the time helped can contribute to that greatly.

Jessica J. Ho: 15:26

So now that you're serving as the District Force Interim supervisor, are you also still on the City College Board?

Alan Wong: 15:34

No, I resigned that position uh upon the assumption of my current office, and I cannot hold two elected offices at once.

Jessica J. Ho: 15:44

Got it. How do you think that being on the City College Board of San Francisco has prepared you for this moment?

Alan Wong: 15:53

I think that as a elected public official, I learned from that. There are times when I had wins, and there are times when I failed. And I I learned from those things. So it has What have you learned? It has helped me learn when there are opportunities for collaboration. It has helped me learn when there are ways to accomplish common objectives working with other people. And it it's given me a place where I've I've grown as a public servant and I think it has helped contribute to me being a stronger person to be in the office that I'm in currently because of those lessons that I've learned in the past as an elected official already. Because those skills don't don't just show up out of nowhere, they're developed over your life. And being a supervisor in San Francisco, it's it's not for the faint of heart.

Jessica J. Ho: 17:12

Not for the faint of heart, A. Why can you tell us a little bit behind you know, peel back the behind the scenes? What what do you mean by that?

Alan Wong: 17:21

There are when you're in the office, there's this so many issues, right? Um San Francisco has a budget larger than so many states. I'm I'm not even I don't even remember the specific number, but we have a budget that's larger than many, many states, yes. And we have a such a huge responsibility, and so many eyes are on us, looking at our decisions, wanting to meet with us, wanting to persuade and advocate, wanting to negotiate, and it's a huge responsibility. And you also have to in San Francisco, it's one of the most civically engaged and politically active towns in the country. So you also have to be able to survive and advocate and be capable of succeeding in that mix when you're in a public office such as supervisor.

Jessica J. Ho: 18:41

Great. So another thing, speaking of San Francisco as a whole, that people might not know is that you're also on the National Guard. So how does that play into your role now?

Alan Wong: 18:53

I've been in the National Guard for 16 plus years now. I first joined in 2009. I got motivated to join because I saw a story about a colonel and his chaplain. And they were a colonel and his chaplain?

Jessica J. Ho: 19:09

Yes. Oh, tell us the story.

Alan Wong: 19:10

They were visiting soldiers that were under them across Iraq that were about to pass or had passed, and they wanted to do that so that they could go back to their families and tell them that they saw them. That really motivated me to just do my tiny little part. I had never really thought about joining the military before, but I think that moved me to step up and just contribute. So I signed up for the National Guard and I've been serving in for s for sixteen plus years now. It's my longest lifelong commitment.

Jessica J. Ho: 19:52

Is there any lesson are there any lessons from being in the National Guard for sixteen plus years that you think you can also take to being supervisor?

Alan Wong: 20:00

Yes. I think that the military is one of the places that is the best at developing leaders.

Jessica J. Ho: 20:10

Oh.

Alan Wong: 20:11

There's Say more. There's very little places where you put a young person and put them in charge of fifty-three personnel.

Jessica J. Ho: 20:20

Fifty-three? Yes. Is always fifty-three?

Alan Wong: 20:23

Not necessarily. But that was about the number I had.

Jessica J. Ho: 20:27

Oh, okay.

Alan Wong: 20:28

When I was a platoon leader.

Jessica J. Ho: 20:30

And how old were you when you were a platoon leader?

Alan Wong: 20:33

That was a few years ago. I'm trying to remember how old I was. I don't know, maybe maybe 28 or something.

Jessica J. Ho: 20:40

And how did that kind of prepare you for this moment?

Alan Wong: 20:45

When you have to lead a multiple squads of a total of 53 people in your platoon, you have to really develop skills that involve delegating, that involve people managing, that involve being a part of a large structure and being a part of a team. So I think those leadership skills are not not necessarily for this elected office, but for life in general. I think it's it's a good thing to have.

Jessica J. Ho: 21:30

Definitely. You step into the role at a time when the sunset is processing a lot. Housing, the great highway, the parking, and change more broadly. What has surprised you most since taking office?

Alan Wong: 21:43

I don't think I've had that many surprises having worked at City Hall before and understanding the the role. I think in local government and state and federal government. It's hard to find compromise nowadays. People want to have winner take all, and it's often seen as a zero-sum game. And I've always been somebody that has wanted to see if there are options where you can find build the largest coalition possible for something that we can all get around. Um but I I know that sometimes you can't get around that. I I just hope to be able to find more opportunities where we can find common ground with folks and get wins that maybe 80% of the neighborhood bikes or or wants. Not just half.

Jessica J. Ho: 22:46

Yeah, the 80-20 role.

Alan Wong: 22:49

Yeah. And at the same time, coming into this role, some of you know, some of those challenges up ahead are are things that just came with a job. And so I'm ready to step up and lead.

Jessica J. Ho: 23:01

Speaking of which, so as you look ahead, what are you most focused on heading into 2026?

Alan Wong: 23:09

When I started, I was excited to build up my team. So right now I've have two staff focused on constituent services that speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and can talk to the entire district. I've got two policy staff. I'm glad that I've been able to build out my entire team and I felt of all the folks that were considered for this position, I was the one that could start on day one and be ready to hit the ground running because my past experience as a district four aide as an elected official, and I've felt that I I've been able to do that. And at the same time, it's it's still overwhelming. There's so many people that want to meet with you. I'm still building my relationships and getting to know people throughout the the district. There are just so many people in the neighborhoods, so many groups that I still need to get to get to know. So I'm working on building my relationships and getting to know everybody.

Jessica J. Ho: 24:26

Well, best of luck as we move into 2026.

Alan Wong: 24:31

Thanks for letting me join, Jessica.

Jessica J. Ho: 24:33

All right, before we wrap up, I wanted to bring back a little trivia holiday edition. I will be asking you three trivia questions.

Alan Wong: 24:40

Uh-oh.

Jessica J. Ho: 24:42

And they're sunset San Francisco related, and you know, it's a day after Thanks uh Christmas. Day after Christmas. Can you believe it? What a year. Right. Um, question one. When was the first Macy's Union Square Christmas tree lighting in San Francisco held? A. 1945. B. 1949. C. 1951 or D. 1955?

Alan Wong: 25:08

1945.

Jessica J. Ho: 25:10

The answer is 1949. It's okay, very close. Four years difference. Pretty good. Um, this tradition has been around for over 75 years, so just longer than most of us have been alive. Um, but yeah. The second question is true or false. The Dickens Christmas Fair has been a part of the San Francisco's holiday season for more than 50 years.

Alan Wong: 25:32

True.

Jessica J. Ho: 25:33

Correct. It started in 1970, and yes, people have been doing Victorian accents in Daily City warehouses ever since. Last question. Okay, you're one for one. So if you get this next one right, then you win the game, okay?

Alan Wong: 25:48

Okay.

Jessica J. Ho: 25:49

Okay, one of the most famous quotes about SF. The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. What American author allegedly said this, but almost certainly did not in reality. A. Ernest Hummway. B. Jack London. C. John Steinbeck. Or D. Mark Twain. Mark Twain. Mark Twain is correct. Alright, two out of three is a winner in our book, so congratulations, Alan.

Alan Wong: 26:14

What's my prize?

Jessica J. Ho: 26:16

Bragging rights.

Alan Wong: 26:18

Great.

Jessica J. Ho: 26:20

Alright. And with that, we'll wrap up the episode and this year of the Sunset Connection. Thank you, Alan, for joining us today. And thank you, everyone, for listening, for sharing these conversations, and for showing up. This podcast has always been about people and place, how we live here, how we disagree, and how we keep moving forward anyway. That won't change. I'm looking forward to continuing these conversations in the new year in whatever form they take. Until then, take care of yourselves and take care of each other. And I'll see you in the neighborhood.