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San Francisco officials are keeping a close eye on Chicago's mayoral race. They aren't exactly rooting for Republican Bernard Epton in his campaign against Democrat Harold Washington. But San Francisco officials fear that if Washington, a black, wins as expected, his city will gain the inside track in the bidding for the 1984 Democratic National Convention. The feeling here is that the convention will go either to Chicago or San Francisco. The City by the Bay was considered the front-runner until Washington upset Mayor Jane Byrne in Chicago's March 1 primary. Some 60 Democratic Party officials arrived in San Francisco March 10 to size up convention facilities. The city would have to spend some $4 million for beefed-up security and $6.5 for improvements at the Moscone Center.

But the expense is worth it: The convention would produce $35 million in business.m