29 April 2026/SF Politics/Jay Barmann (SFist.com)
Some pre-primary shenanigans are afoot, and the culprit appears to be someone linked to state Senator Scott Wiener and/or his campaign, though no one has yet taken responsibility.
A small van emblazoned with the message “Saikat lives in Maryland!” has been seen parked around San Francisco, trolling House candidate Saikat Chakrabarti over a home that he purchased in Maryland in 2018, and declared his primary residence.
And the Chronicle reports today that the van appears to be registered to Conor Johnston, the former aide to Mayor London Breed and longtime local political prankster. Johnston has not taken responsibility for the van, but the stunt makes perfect sense, given Johnston’s longstanding connection to Scott Wiener, who is running against Chakrabarti.
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Also, this is a replay of a very similar negative-campaigning effort by Johnston when Daniel Lurie was running against Breed in 2024. As was widely reported that year, Johnston was behind the “Malibu Dan” nickname for Lurie, which was similarly meant to accuse him of carpetbagging and calling out the $15.5 million home Lurie purchased in Malibu’s Point Dume in 2021.
(As a reward for his efforts and his loyalty, Johnston was rumored to be among the potential appointees to the Board of Supervisors to fill Catherine Stefani’s seat, but that instead went to Stephen Sherrill, possibly as a favor to Michael Bloomberg, for whom Sherrill formerly worked and who seems to have been a benefactor of Breed’s.)
The Chronicle notes that Wiener and a super-PAC that is backing him, called Abundant Future, have previously accused Chakrabarti of carpetbagging in his effort to swoop in and run for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat.
Neither Wiener nor the PAC have commented on the provocative van.
As the Chronicle reports, Chakrabarti has denied living outside of San Francisco, and has insisted that he never lived in the Maryland home, which he says he purchased for his parents.
“This city is home. It’s been home for a long time,” Chakrabarti told the paper in an interview. “Like most San Franciscans, I’m not part of the local political establishment. But I’ve also had the opportunity to work in federal politics.”
Those federal policies include the proposed Green New Deal, which Chakrabarti reportedly had a hand in crafting, while working as an aide to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
And more damage has likely been done to Chakrabarti’s campaign over the recent kerfuffle caused by AOC declining — twice — to publicly endorse him, when asked by a reporter if she would do so.
Pelosi, also, has held back from endorsing a candidate ahead of the primary, perhaps in deference to the labor unions that are backing the third major candidate in the race, SF Supervisor Connie Chan. But Pelosi made an appearance last week at a Chan fundraiser, so there’s that.
The anti-Saikat van has been seen parked in multiple parts of the city, including Twin Peaks and outside Chakrabarti’s own campaign headquarters, per the Chronicle.
Chakrabarti has reportedly spent $5 million, mostly of his own money, on his campaign, which has included many television and online ads. And that has helped him land a seemingly solid second place in recent polling. The most recent poll that was not sponsored by Chakrabarti himself, from pollster GQR, has Wiener in the lead at 44%, Chakrabarti at 26%, and Chan at 11%.
