In a city transformed by the technology boom, the Richmond District feels like an outlier, a neighborhood full of families and longtime ethnic communities.

Keeping it that way is among the top priorities for the 10 candidates seeking to replace termed-out District One Supervisor Eric Mar.

The front-runners are school board member Sandra Lee Fewer, 59, and political consultant Marjan Philhour, 42. Fewer, a lifelong resident of the district, is favored by the board’s progressive bloc. Philhour, a political consultant who hopes to be the first Filipino American supervisor, is favored by the moderates.

They could see competition from David Lee, executive director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee who ran for the seat four years ago and came in second. Another potential challenger is Jonathan Lyens, a senior contract analyst with the San Francisco Department of Public Health who is an advocate for people with disabilities — Lyens is blind.

A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Fewer grew up in the Richmond and raised her family there. She spent 18 years as a stay-at-home mother raising her children, who are now grown. Her husband, John Fewer, worked for the San Francisco Police Department for 35 years, retiring in 2012. Despite her husband’s association with the department, the police union endorsed Philhour. Fewer attributed the slight to her liberal politics — she criticized the union as hostile to reform.

From 2001 to 2008, Fewer worked as director of parent organizing and educational policy at Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth. In 2008, she was elected to the San Francisco Unified School District board. In that role, she led a successful effort to add ethnic studies to high schools. She also proposed changes to the school assignment system to give families a greater chance of getting into their neighborhood school. The proposal narrowly failed.

Fewer speaks softly and has a reputation for getting emotional and tearing up at school board meetings. She emphasizes her long history in the neighborhood and familiarity with its residents as a key reason voters should support her.

“I have lived in the district for 50 years,” she said. “I think I am going to live here forever, in the Richmond District.”

If Fewer’s political career began later in life, Philhour’s began early. Her first campaign was a run for sixth-grade class president — even though she was new to the school.

“Every recess and lunch I went around and introduced myself to every sixth grader.” she said. “I had one friend who was my campaign manager.” She won.

“I don’t believe in sitting back and waiting for things to happen,” Philhour said.

The daughter of immigrants, Philhour grew up on the Peninsula, attended UC Berkeley, and spent four years in Washington, D.C., working for various Democratic members of Congress. She later worked in Gov. Gray Davis’ administration and was a staff fundraiser for John Kerry’s presidential bid. In 2006, she opened her own political consultancy business.

Philhour’s husband teaches physics at University High School. Their children are young.

Despite their shared experience as mothers of three children, Fewer and Philhour differ on important policy issues, housing chief among them.

Both say affordability is a big problem. But Philhour is more supportive of building market-rate housing alongside affordable housing. Fewer wants to see the city build 100 percent affordable buildings, meaning the units are rented at below-market prices.

“I don’t think that the trickle-down approach to housing is working,” Fewer said. “In this neighborhood, I am looking to build spots that are 100 percent affordable.”

Philhour called that unrealistic.

“The days of 100 percent affordable housing, where the state and federal government subsidizes that — we are no longer in that time, and we need to focus on creating the highest net number of units that are affordable to low- and middle-income earners.”

The two candidates also disagree on many of the measures on the November ballot.

Fewer supports four ballot measures that Philhour opposes: creating an office of public advocate, creating a housing commission, requiring special elections when a supervisorial seat is vacant, and giving the Board of Supervisors more oversight of the Municipal Transportation Agency.

Philhour supports Proposition Q, which would allow the city to remove a homeless encampment, as long as its residents are given 24-hour written notice and the offer of a shelter bed or other form of housing. Fewer opposes it.

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen

District One candidates

Brian Larkin

Age: 65

Occupation: Owner of consulting practice business

No. 1 goal: Bring Muni rail service to the Richmond District.

David Lee

Age: 47

Occupation: Professor and nonprofit director

No. 1 goal: Improve public transportation and pedestrian safety, and reduce crime.

Samuel Kwong

Age: 61

Occupation: Owner of ARCUS Architecture and Planning

No. 1 goal: Rebuild trust as a leader and do something constructive.

Sandra Lee Fewer

Age: 59

Occupation: Commissioner on the San Francisco Board of Education

No. 1 goal: Promote affordability and sustainable city planning.

Andy Thornley

Age: 56

Occupation: Analyst with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

No. 1 goal: Carry out a comprehensive neighborhood plan for for Geary and Clement, from Arguello to 25th Avenue.

Sherman D’Silva

Age: 43

Occupation: Store manager at Shermsonia Cleaners

No. 1 goal: Install traffic lights on Geary Boulevard to improve pedestrian safety.

Jonathan Lyens

Age: 34

Occupation: Analyst with the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s General Hospital rebuild team

No. 1. goal: Protect tenants and ensure a sound fiscal future for the city.

Marjan Philhour

Age: 42

Occupation: Owner of professional services firm Philhour and Associates

No. 1 goal: Keep families in the district and prioritize day-to-day neighborhood services.

Jason Jungreis

Age: 54

Occupation: Attorney

No. 1 goal: Reduce the cost of city government to ensure long-term economic sustainability.

Richie Greenberg

Age: 54

Occupation: Businessman/startup adviser

No. 1 goal: Reduce the city’s budget as a result of “uncontrolled spending.”