Look, we're not going to pretend that pop culture branding is a substitute for policy substance. San Francisco doesn't need a candidate who's merely relatable on Instagram — it needs leaders willing to tackle a $800 million budget deficit, a retail vacancy crisis, and streets that still don't feel safe after dark. The city has had plenty of politicians who were great at vibes and terrible at governance.

That said, there's something genuinely refreshing about a candidate who's actually walking neighborhoods and talking to voters face-to-face. In a city where too many elected officials seem to govern exclusively for donors, nonprofit insiders, and the professional activist class, the simple act of knocking on doors and listening to regular people is almost radical. Almost.

The real question — the one that matters far more than whether your campaign aesthetic is anime-coded — is what Gee actually plans to do. Where does she stand on spending? On public safety? On the endless layers of bureaucracy that make it nearly impossible to open a business, build housing, or fix a pothole in this city? Personality gets you noticed. Policy gets you taken seriously.

We'll be watching to see if the substance matches the energy. San Francisco has burned through enough charismatic politicians who turned out to be empty vessels for the same old spending-and-stalling playbook. If Gee wants to stand out, she should pair that grassroots hustle with a concrete vision for fiscal sanity and accountable government.

In the meantime, at least someone's actually talking to voters. That alone puts her ahead of half the incumbents.