The store was at the center of the mini-scandal that ultimately forced Alcaraz to resign seven days into her tenure, after the woman who took over the store from Alcaraz in April, Julia Baran, went to the media with evidence that the 29-year-old Alcaraz had mismanaged the store, and had apparently paid employees under the table to evade taxes.
Just five days ago. SF Mayor Daniel Lurie named complete political unknown Beya Alcaraz as the new District 4 supervisor, following the September recall of Joel Engardio. And the problem with complete unknowns is that, well, there a lot of things you don't know about them. Lurie's pick was all the more curious in that Alcaraz had no experience in city politics, nor even any apparent previous interest in city politics, and she brought a fairly skimpy resume to the table (former pet shop owner, music and art teacher in an afterschool program). An op-ed published in today's SF Standard points out that Alcaraz does not even have a college degree, having dropped out of both City College and Diablo Valley College. While a college degree is not required to serve on the Board of Supervisors, that Standard op-ed points out that far more junior City Hall positions require "a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and three years full-time equivalent experience performing professional-level analytical work.