[2] In 2016, she ran for the 11th California State Senate District, but lost to Scott Wiener in a run-off election after finishing first place in the primary.

[2] SFPO worked against several California ballot propositions in November 2005, and assisted with health care and affordable housing measures for San Franciscans through 2006.

[14] In 2003 while campaigning for Green Party mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez, Kim observed that Asian Americans were not well represented in San Francisco politics despite the size of its population.

[15] Kim's election was part of a more liberal shift in the school board joining Fellow Green Mark Sanchez, Eric Mar, and Kim-Shree Maufas.

[20] In June 2008 Kim and Norman Yee submitted a proposal to accept JROTC programs as optional after-school activities, without giving students physical education (P.E.)

Kim complimented a youth village program near Haifa, recommending its director be brought to San Francisco to help train educators.

[15] As board president, Kim had to negotiate statewide budget cuts that resulted in a two-year shortfall of $113 million for San Francisco schools.

She authored and led the first district-wide Restorative Justice Program to address the disproportionate suspension and expulsions of African American students and won a pilot to establish ethnic studies classes in all San Francisco public high schools.

[27] Kim stated that the program will “be a cost savings to the district if we’re able to retain more students” and that there is “flexibility to find funding” in a budget of $400 million.

She told KoreAm magazine that without the backing of labor unions and the media, and with her own Democratic Party endorsing her opponent, the only strategy she had available was the "old-fashioned" one of visiting as many constituents as possible.

[33] Kim stood up during the Pledge of Allegiance at Board of Supervisors meetings but refused to recite it in keeping with the decision she had made in her youth.

"[11] On July 10, 2013, following the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, declaring unconstitutional the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Kim recited the Pledge along with the other supervisors.

In January 2011, Twitter announced it was considering moving a few miles south to the city of Brisbane because the company was expanding and needed ten times more space.

[39][40] Mayor Ed Lee indicated that he wanted Twitter to stay, so Kim led a team made up of mayoral staffers and Supervisor David Chiu to quickly shape a proposal which she sponsored in early February: Twitter would benefit from a six-year payroll tax exemption on net new jobs if it moved into the neglected and distressed mid-Market Street neighborhood of Kim's district.

Observers felt that this, Kim's first proposal as supervisor, signaled a break with her previous progressive record, to show a pro-business aspect.

[42][43][44][45] Former supervisor Chris Daly was critical; he said the plan could not help the city's budget shortfall, a serious problem resulting in jobs and services being cut.

[47] The city Controller's Office reported that the difference between Twitter leaving entirely or moving to mid-Market with the tax break was possibly worth $54 million in added revenue spread over 20 years.

[50] The Twitter tax break remained a defining issue in the San Francisco mayoral election of 2011: Incumbent Lee supported the exemption while challenger John Avalos criticized it.

Mirkarimi, a fellow ex-Green Party member and progressive politician, accompanied Kim one day during her District 6 door-to-door campaigning in the border area.

[32] Mirkarimi was elected sheriff in 2011, but he was soon embroiled in a controversy regarding violence allegations that he had restrained his wife by grabbing and bruising her arm.

[56] Despite this popular sentiment, in October 2012, Mirkarimi was reinstated through the votes of four progressive supervisors: Kim, Avalos, David Campos and Christina Olague.

[58] San Francisco Chronicle columnist C. W. Nevius criticized Kim's position as that of a "political weathervane," unworthy of a leader.

[59] San Francisco Bay Guardian editor Steven T. Jones was more supportive, describing how Kim was persistent in questioning Deputy City Attorney Sherri Kaiser to determine what misdemeanor might be considered too small for the mayor to dismiss any elected official.

[60] Kim explained to her supporters that her decision was based on Mirkarimi not abusing the power of his office to commit wrongdoing, a point required by the city charter.

[61] SF Weekly columnist Joe Eskenazi suggested that Kim's support for Mirkarimi kept her out of the running for president of the board of supervisors in 2014.

[70] Along with Supervisors Yee and Avalos, in January 2014 Kim called for the city to adopt a multifaceted bicycle and pedestrian safety initiative modeled after the Swedish Vision Zero program.

[75] In April 2013 Kim proposed a competing set of reform rules which Eric Brooks of the Green Party reported as "more CEQA friendly.

The bill also removed lease restrictions created by landlords on roommates that are less than the maximum number of persons permitted by applicable laws, such as the SF Housing Code.

[99] Kim plays electric bass guitar and has performed with the all-female indie rock band Strangely at small San Francisco venues including the Brainwash Cafe and Laundromat.

She said she appreciated the work of San Francisco Entertainment Commissioners who ease the friction between nightlife venues and local residents.