Pelosi Aide Gary McCoy Opens Up Past as He Runs for Supervisor
Gary McCoy, a longtime aide to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is stepping into the spotlight with a candid and unusual campaign strategy. At 47, he’s not only running for San Francisco’s District 8 supervisor seat, but he’s also putting his troubled past right out in front for voters to see. Instead of hiding it, McCoy is sharing his criminal history, his struggles with addiction, and his long road to recovery—framing it all as the very foundation that makes him the right person to lead.
McCoy’s past isn’t easy reading. His record includes drug charges, grand larceny, probation violations, and time spent in jail. For years, he carried the fear that his background would block him from opportunities. Each job application required him to explain his past, and each time came with anxiety. Yet, despite these hurdles, McCoy managed to climb the ladder in San Francisco politics, serving first as an aide to local supervisors before eventually becoming Pelosi’s California political director.
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Now, with nearly 15 years of sobriety under his belt, McCoy is aiming higher. His campaign launch comes with a full disclosure of his record, some of which has been partially expunged, because he believes transparency is essential. He also argues that his lived experience—battling drug use, facing homelessness, living with HIV—gives him a unique perspective on San Francisco’s toughest crises: housing, addiction, and public safety.
McCoy’s story stretches back to Virginia in the early 2000s, when he was a punk rock promoter known as “Sharky.” Behind the scenes, his life was unraveling under the weight of meth and heroin addiction. Petty thefts escalated into felony charges, and probation violations landed him in jail. His move to San Francisco was supposed to be a fresh start, but instead, his addiction deepened. At one point, after being diagnosed with AIDS-related cancer, McCoy admitted he simply wanted to die.
What changed was the compassion he found in San Francisco’s recovery community. Instead of condemnation, he was met with support at harm reduction programs and rehab centers. With persistence, he turned his life around, completing a drug diversion program and eventually clearing much of his record.
Today, McCoy is leaning on those lessons as he campaigns. He has already won endorsements from across San Francisco’s political spectrum, from moderates like Supervisor Matt Dorsey to progressives like Connie Chan. Even Pelosi has described him as a trusted and tested advocate.
McCoy often says that handcuffs didn’t get him sober—people did. That belief in people, not punishment, is what he wants to bring into public office. As he tells voters, they’re not just getting a politician; they’re getting someone who has lived through the very struggles the city is facing. And now, he says, he’s ready to give back to the city that helped him survive.
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