A group of Chinatown elders flexed its influence in the San Francisco mayoral race Tuesday, vowing to swipe votes away from City Attorney Dennis Herrera in retaliation for his opposition to the proposed Central Subway project.

Gerry Shih/The Bay Citizen

Members of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association criticize City Attorney Dennis Herrera for opposing the Central Subway Sept. 6, 2011

The Bay Citizen first reported Friday that Herrera was on the verge of publicly opposing the $1.7 billion subway linking San Francisco’s Chinatown and South of Market neighborhoods. The project has increasingly come under fire from critics like former supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick who condemn it as an inefficient and poorly conceived “subway to nowhere.”

On Tuesday, a dozen members of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association — the umbrella group of the family associations that once held sway in Chinatown — accused Herrera of betraying the city's Chinese residents, who make up more than one-fifth of the population.

“Through history, any politician, when they are running for office, will choose a minority, a soft spot, and attack to get more votes,” said Stephen Lee, the leader of the Lee Family Association, which still boasts 10,000 members in San Francisco with the last name Lee — including the mayor.

“I want to tell Dennis Herrera that today, the Chinese in San Francisco is not a weak spot,” Lee added to murmurs of approval and applause. “I want to make sure that he is not going to get elected.”

In an interview, Lee explained how he planned to accomplish that: “We have 10,000 Lees in San Francisco. I want every one to call five people — that’s 50,000 votes — to make sure he doesn’t get that vote,” Lee said.

Herrera would join Public Defender Jeff Adachi and former supervisor Tony Hall — two of the mayoral field’s fiscal conservatives — in opposing a project that is supported by several former mayors as well as Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Mayoral candidates David Chiu, the Board of Supervisors president whose district includes Chinatown, and interim Mayor Ed Lee both remain committed to the project.

“If everyone is saying this is such a great thing, they shouldn’t have problems putting it up for scrutiny,” Adachi said Tuesday. “At a minimum, the city leaders need to look at whether it makes sense to go forward. The cost overruns and the burden on an already overtaxed public transit system, along with the design defects, would raise a bunch of flags for anyone looking at this.”

Jill Nelson, a spokeswoman for Herrera, declined to respond to the criticism, saying the campaign was still fleshing out a comprehensive policy position on the issue and would release it to the public within the next few days.

Many of the leaders of the Consolidated Benevolent Association, formerly known as the Chinese Six Companies, said Muni’s existing bus lines have been woefully inadequate as Chinatown has continued to grow and attract tourists.

“Chinatown is the most populous place in the city. Eighty percent of the citizens rely on public transit,” said Charles Chou, the acting president of the association.

Tuesday’s press event marked an abrupt, if brief, return to the limelight for an aging institution that once provided a safe harbor for new immigrants and anchored life in Chinatown. Family associations' influence has waned somewhat as Rose Pak, the outspoken powerbroker and supporter of Lee, has maneuvered herself into the nexus of San Francisco's resurgent Chinatown and a slew of social service nonprofits have cropped up.

Norman Fong, deputy director of the Chinatown Community Development Center, a housing nonprofit, was visibly emotional as he urged the subway's critics to change their mind.

“Progressives have fought for Chinatown, and now we need them to stand up,” Fong said. “Aaron Peskin, Dennis Herrera, please reconsider. Other mayoral candidates, do you love Chinatown or not?”