Democrat Resigns After Dead Animals Found in Freezer

San Francisco’s progressive elite are once again scrambling for cover—this time after a Democrat supervisor abruptly resigned following the discovery of dozens of dead animals and rotting rodents inside a pet shop she once operated.

Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz, 29, was hailed as a rising star by San Francisco’s liberal mayor Daniel Lurie—until her past caught up with her in the most grotesque way imaginable. Just seven days after being sworn in as District 4 Supervisor, Alcaraz was forced to step down amid an avalanche of scandal.

The horror began when Julia Baran, the woman who bought Alcaraz’s Sunset District pet store, The Animal Connection, went public with what she found: “It smelled like death,” she said, describing a freezer packed with dead lizards, guinea pigs, and the stench of urine-soaked cages and rodent nests.

“We were finding hundreds of dead mice behind shelves and inside walls,” Baran told The San Francisco Standard. “There was poop and pee on everything. You could barely breathe.”

Baran and her brother reportedly buried the decomposing animals after uncovering them in May 2025—shortly after Alcaraz handed over the keys.

Mayor Lurie, a Democrat, had named Alcaraz as the youngest-ever supervisor and praised her as a model small business owner. In a now-embarrassing statement, he called her a “hard-working neighborhood leader.”

But critics say this is just the latest example of Democrat virtue-signaling gone wrong.

“This is what happens when Democrats prioritize identity politics over actual vetting,” said former San Francisco lawmaker Bill Hanes. “You don’t need a diversity hire. You need someone who can run a clean business and not leave a freezer full of carcasses behind.”

Alcaraz, a self-described community organizer and first-generation Filipina American, had no political experience before her appointment. Lurie cited her pet store as proof of her grit. Turns out, it was a ticking biohazard.

City records show the shop had already been flagged. A May 2024 inspection found rodent feces, foul odors, and dirty animal cages, violating state health codes. A follow-up in July confirmed the filth remained.

The records, obtained by Axios, reveal that Alcaraz had received a formal warning to clean up or face consequences. Instead, she walked away—and into a cushy government post.

Baran, who took over the lease, said she was stunned to find out Lurie never asked basic questions about the store’s condition.

“To say you’re a successful businesswoman is not true,” she told The San Francisco Chronicle. “You can’t run a business like that and get appointed to office.”

Text messages and financial records suggest Alcaraz may have skirted tax laws as well. In messages obtained by Mission Local, she casually admitted:

“I pay people under the table now.”

In another, she referred to writing off dinner and drinks with friends as business expenses.

Tax experts say if true, this could trigger serious IRS penalties. “Paying off the books and mislabeling expenses? That’s asking for trouble,” said former IRS agent Carl Rosenberg.

From 2020 to 2023, The Animal Connection was losing money, and Alcaraz was behind on rent for months, according to lease records reviewed by The Standard. A leasing agent even declined to transfer the lease, citing her payment history and activity.

After mounting pressure and a PR nightmare, Lurie issued a late-night statement on Thursday claiming that Alcaraz had voluntarily stepped down. In truth, insiders say she was told to walk or be fired.

“The Sunset deserves a supervisor who is fully focused on serving the community,” Lurie said.

Alcaraz echoed the language from her swearing-in speech:
“I believe my community deserves someone who will work 24/7 to advocate for us… I understand that today’s news stories would distract me from doing that.”

But the damage was done—and critics are calling this yet another example of Democrat incompetence, media whitewashing, and woke leadership backfiring.

Across social media, Republican leaders pointed to the scandal as proof that San Francisco’s progressive machine is rotting from the inside—literally.

“First it was fentanyl. Now it’s dead guinea pigs in freezers,” wrote conservative commentator Benny Johnson. “This is what happens when Democrats run your city.”

While San Francisco officials scramble to fill the vacant seat, one question remains: How did no one in City Hall know they were appointing someone with a record like this?