ONE OF THE most important elections in San Francisco, a contest that could determine control of the city's legislative agenda for the next year, will almost certainly be decided by a small number of voters. Turnout in the runoff for the District Eight Board of Supervisors seat will probably be low; it's the only item on the ballot, in a holiday season election. But the two candidates offer very different political visions – and the stakes are high.

If Eileen Hansen, a longtime community activist, wins the runoff, the progressives on the board will have a shot at holding on to an eight-vote majority, which means they can override mayoral vetoes. But it's already a shaky majority, and if Bevan Dufty, a lobbyist and former aide to Mayor Willie Brown, wins the seat, the mayor will be back in firm control.

As we've reported in the past two weeks, Dufty wants to distance himself from Brown and to blur the distinctions between the two candidates on the sorts of neighborhood issues that are likely to influence district voters. But the facts are very clear:

• Hansen has been on the side of the neighborhoods and the progressive agenda in every single major battle over the past 10 years. She opposed Proposition R, the anti-tenant condo-conversion measure that went down to defeat last month. (Dufty supported it.) She opposed Care Not Cash, the antihomeless measure. (Dufty supported it.) She was an active proponent of the public power measure. (Dufty claimed to back it but never pushed the issue.) She was part of the grassroots neighborhood movement fighting Brown's development-at-all-costs policies that did such damage to the city. (Dufty was working for the mayor, trying to make those destructive policies sound palatable).

• Hansen is a committed activist with real solutions to real problems. As a member of the People's Budget Collective, she has plenty of experience finding wasted money in the city budget – and proposing new, fair sources of revenue to fund essential services. At a time when the city is facing the worst budget crisis in at least a decade, Dufty offers nothing in the way of concrete answers.

• Hansen has the support of the tenants, the public power leaders, the environmentalists, the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club, the more liberal unions, the community-based planning activists, and just about every other part of the progressive coalition. Dufty is backed by the landlords, the development interests, the Brown machine, and assistant police chief Alex Fagan, who may be connected to the emerging scandal over the recent Marina District brawl.

This is a critical race, and both sides are making a big push to turn out voters. Top staffers of the Brown administration are working on Dufty's campaign, and the mayor's political allies are giving Dufty money. A sizable volunteer crew from the Harvey Milk Club and other community-based organizations, along with paid canvassers from the city-employee unions, are knocking on doors for Hansen.

That's because both sides realize that the outcome of this race could not only shift the balance of power on the board but also serve as a bellwether for the direction of San Francisco politics as the city gears up for next year's mayoral campaign.

Hansen is a key part of the coalition that led the rebellion against Brown and his policies, and her election would demonstrate that the progressive, independent, and neighborhood forces are – despite a depressing November election – able to win key races. And if Hansen wins, it will be a strong validation of the historic politics of the Castro District: Hansen would become the heir to the district seat once held by Harvey Milk and later by Harry Britt. Even Mark Leno, the former incumbent District Eight supervisor who has moved on to the state assembly, showed signs of political independence. Although appointed by Brown, he was willing and able to stand up to the mayor on some key issues (public power, for example) toward the end of his term.

Dufty's election would represent a big step backward, away from the Milk-Britt-Leno legacy. He has demonstrated none of the politics that characterized previous District Eight supervisors, who saw the gay and lesbian community struggles as part of a larger progressive agenda. Remember: while Brown's policies were driving out longtime San Franciscans, destroying community institutions, and handing over the city to big campaign contributors, Dufty was standing with the mayor, never once criticizing any of his policies, never once lifting a finger to protect the neighborhoods from Brown's corruption and cronyism.

If you live in District Eight, your vote – every vote – will make a huge difference Dec. 10. Get out and vote for Eileen Hansen.

District Four: Fiona Ma

Neither of our favorite candidates in the race, Joel Ventresca and Barry Hermanson, finished in the running. The runoff pits Fiona Ma, an aide to state senator John Burton, against Ron Dudum, a small-business owner who has long been active in neighborhood issues.

Unfortunately, neither candidate offers any coherent ideas on how to tackle the biggest issue the new board will face: the looming budget deficit. Both mumbled and ducked and told us they would have to figure it out once they got elected. Still, on balance, Ma is the better alternative.

Dudum is an articulate fiscal conservative with an independent streak. But we disagree with him on almost all the key issues: He opposes public power, he supported Proposition N (the antihomeless initiative) and Prop. R and opposed Proposition L (the increase in real-estate transfer taxes). He told us he would be inclined to oppose any new taxes to close the deficit.

Ma remains a serious disappointment on public power, continuing to parrot Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s lies. But she opposed Prop. N and supported Prop. L, and she's at least open to looking at new revenues to offset what will be brutal service cuts. Vote for Fiona Ma.

Berkeley District Eight: Andy Katz

Andy Katz, a 22-year-old graduate student, is young but hardly inexperienced: in the past few years he's worked with 13 different city task forces, committees, and councils (everything from the Zoning Adjustments Board to the UC Academic Planning Council). He's a strong advocate for affordable housing and would be a voice for students, who make up a sizable part of the city's population but are often ignored at city hall. His runoff opponent, Gordon Wozniak, is a more conservative, pro-landlord candidate who was backed in the general election by outgoing mayor Shirley Dean. Vote for Andy Katz.