SAN FRANCISCO — Three days after winning the election, Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie declared a new day in San Francisco in a victory speech surrounded by hundreds of supporters in Chinatown.
“Your calls for responsible leadership, service and change have been heard,” Lurie, 47, said to loud cheers and applause.
That same enthusiasm helped Mr. Lurie, a centrist Democrat who has never held elected office, to an upset victory in this month’s mayoral race over incumbent London Breed and three other City Hall veterans. Ta.
Mr. Lurie’s opponents have underestimated his appeal, blaming his lack of political experience as a disqualifying factor in leading an iconic American city known for its complex bureaucracy and Machiavellian politics. did.
It turns out that his status as a “non-politician” is exactly why voters like him.
In what appears to be a referendum on fighting homelessness and street crime post-pandemic, Mr. Lurie has pitched himself as a change agent who will usher San Francisco into an era of recovery.
He has pledged to make public safety a top priority, including plans to declare a fentanyl emergency on his first day in office. He wants to “get tough” against drug dealers and homeless people who refuse protection and treatment. And he vows to revitalize downtown’s economy with art and an array of new businesses.
As of this week’s tally, Mr. Lurie ultimately won 55% of San Francisco’s ranked votes to Mr. Breed’s 45%.
“I entered this election not as a politician, but as a father who couldn’t explain to his children what was happening on the streets,” Lurie said. “In our house, when you love something as much as you love San Francisco, you fight for it.”
Daniel Lurie walks with his daughter Taya (left) and wife Becca Pravda while campaigning in San Francisco.
(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)
The last time San Francisco elected a mayor with no prior government experience was five years after the city was devastated by the 1906 earthquake. In a speech to donors and campaign volunteers at a music venue in the Mission on election night, Lurie compared that disaster to the “tipping point” facing San Francisco today.
He said a “new approach” was needed to turn the city around.
But even as a political newcomer, Mr. Lurie is by no means an outsider.
Lurie was born into a prominent Jewish family. His father, Brian Lurie, was a rabbi and community leader. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother, Miriam Haas, married Peter Haas, the great-grandson of Levi Strauss, the founder of the iconic denim company. Peter Haas, a top Levi’s executive, became Lurie’s stepfather. He died in 2005, leaving Lurie and his mother to inherit the vast family fortune.
“We have to give credit where credit is due. … They have succeeded in positioning the heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune as outsiders,” said one of Mr. Lurie’s opponents. said Eric Jay, a Democratic political consultant who worked on an independent appropriations committee that supported one Board of Supervisors Chairman, Aaron Peskin.
Mr. Lurie’s personal wealth supported his candidacy. He poured nearly $9 million of his own money into his campaign, and his mother donated another $1 million to the Independent Expenditure Committee that supported his campaign. His brother contributed $150,000 to the committee and his father spent $25,000, according to campaign finance records. Combined family spending makes the 2024 mayoral race one of the most expensive in modern history.
The city’s tech sector also played an influential role, with millions more being poured into an independent commission that overwhelmingly favored Lurie, Breed and former Superintendent Mark Farrell. Both are moderate Democrats, and the tech giants saw them as the best option to move San Francisco politics closer to the center.
This was a marked change for a sector that had little involvement in local politics, but its leaders were frustrated by what they saw as dysfunctional governance.
Lurie earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Duke University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2005, he founded Tipping Point, a Bay Area nonprofit organization. Tipping Point has raised more than $400 million for community organizations focused on job training, housing, and early childhood initiatives.
Before Tipping Point, Mr. Lurie met his wife, Becca Pravda, while the two worked at the Robin Hood Foundation, another poverty-focused nonprofit in New York. Prowda currently serves as a senior aide to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Lurie doesn’t downplay the role his family’s wealth has played in his success. But he also credits his family with inspiring his life of service. She said her father was the longtime executive director of the Bay Area Jewish Community Federation, which helped people living in poverty and fleeing persecution. His mother is an advocate for early childhood education to help balance low-income youth. The Haas family has a long tradition of philanthropy.
“I want you to look at what I’ve done in my career and understand that we need to always serve this community, involve people of means, and provide opportunity for everyone. The goal was to get people to do it,” Lurie said. “Every time a door opened for me, I brought as many people through that door as possible.”
Still, when it comes to becoming mayor, some of those most familiar with San Francisco’s political scene question whether he’s ready for it. Most agree that Lurie is a good guy, but I don’t know if he has the joints or elbows needed to be a leader.
“He’s been talked about for quite some time,” said Susie Tompkins Buell, a longtime Democratic donor who supported Mr. Breed. “I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about him. It’s always been free. He just doesn’t have the experience.”
Buell said Lurie’s family is “very philanthropic,” and it’s clear Lurie shares those values.
But when it comes to politics, “you have to learn on the job,” Buell said. “You have to learn how to dance and fight at the same time and make some very serious decisions that will make you unpopular.”
Among the upcoming decisions that could cost Mr. Lurie is a popularity contest. Tackling a budget crisis that may require significant department-wide cuts. Stabilize the financially unstable city school system. and curbed an addiction crisis that led to more than 800 fatal overdoses last year.
“He has to get up and act and learn one of the most difficult jobs in America without having any experience doing it,” said Jay, the political consultant.
Those who worked with Lurie on Tipping Point and the campaign said it would be a mistake to underestimate him. They say he is a hard worker and a capable leader who knows how to build coalitions across ideological spectrums.
“He’s an incredibly nice guy, but don’t let that fool you,” said Sam Cobbs, who became Tipping Point’s CEO in 2020 after Lurie’s resignation. “He’s an incredibly passionate person who holds people accountable. He just does it in a good way.”
Is it that bad?
“Who wants to be represented by a mean, spiteful, vindictive mayor?” said Mr. Lurie’s campaign strategist, Tyler Roe.
Roe said Lurie won because voters were tired of the “narrowness and toxicity” of San Francisco politics and wanted a mayor who focused on results.
Lurie’s winning strategy included daily walks through different neighborhoods, talking to store owners, families and residents desperate for someone to listen to their struggles. His campaign knocked on tens of thousands of doors, used some of Lurie’s money to buy television ads, and flooded mailboxes with campaign materials.
“For a year and a half, he showed up every day in every neighborhood. He listened and talked to everyone he met,” said the strategist who chaired the Independent Appropriations Committee supporting Mr. Lurie. Dan Newman said. “He was willing to meet with anyone, listen to what people had to say, and politely disagree when necessary. And if you look at the results, virtually every San Franciscan loved Daniel Lurie. I like him and respect him.”
Lurie said he will continue to walk the streets of San Francisco as mayor, just like the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein took the job after becoming mayor during another period of crisis, following the assassinations of her predecessor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978.
“In our city, we’re going to see a mayor demanding accountability, demanding action, and serving the people once again,” he said.
Like Feinstein, Lurie also plans to make time for her family. He said he wants to be home at least once a week for dinner with his children, who also have hectic schedules. His daughter, Taya, 13, attends ballet class six days a week and is preparing for a performance of “The Nutcracker.” His son Sawyer, 10, spends his weekends playing in a baseball league.
Feinstein, like Lurie, was a member of San Francisco’s wealthy elite and was the wife of financier Richard Blum. But Feinstein “was a great mayor because he never backed down,” Jay said. If Feinstein is Lurie’s inspiration, he will need her grit and determination in the face of sharp opposition. That and a staff of wise staff who can help him “not only realize his vision, but also understand all the many, many political landmines that await him.” added Jay.
Lurie on Monday announced a transition team to help prepare for his inauguration. Co-chairs include OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, and a list of prominent Democrats who have served in city government. Lurie has already overcome some criticism of his choice after the San Francisco Standard noted that OpenAI was lobbying the city for tax breaks.
Lurie said he is not naive about the challenges ahead and how difficult the job will be. But he believes he is the right person to help write a new chapter for the city.
“That’s the mission given to me by the people of San Francisco,” he said. “They want results. They want action. And I’m fully committed.”
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