San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie claims victory, outlines vision for city
San Francisco's Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie declared victory Friday morning as he addressed the city for the first time since incumbent Mayor London Breed conceded the race Thursday afternoon.
Speaking in St. Mary's Square on California St. at 11 a.m. alongside his wife and a group of supporters, Lurie opened his comments by acknowledging his win. In the very same park where he held one of his earliest campaign events, Lurie hoisted the title of mayor-elect, promising to lift San Francisco and its residents as well.
"Your voices and your call for accountable leadership, service and change have been heard," he said. "I stand before you humbled and inspired with the great honor and privilege of serving you the people of San Francisco as your next mayor."
He continued by thanking his family -- including his children who were in school -- and the people of San Francisco, as well as Breed.
"Yesterday, I received a gracious call from Mayor London Breed. She offered her assistance during this transition, and we are both committed to working together to prepare for the hard work ahead," Lurie said. "Her love for this city has always been clear, and I want to thank her for her service."
There had been rumblings that Breed might concede the race earlier Thursday having come in behind Lurie in the latest returns. She initially announced her concession on social media just after 4:30 p.m. prior to addressing the media at San Francisco City Hall less than an hour later.
Best known as the heir to the Levi Strauss and Co. fortune prior to his run for mayor, Lurie focused his energies on his nonprofit entities including the Bay Area anti-poverty organization Tipping Point and the Civic Joy Fund, an organization he co-founded last year that aims to help San Francisco's post-pandemic economic recovery and increase civic engagement.
Running against the incumbent mayor and other candidate with current or previous experience on the Board of Supervisors (or, in the case of Mark Farrell, interim mayor of the city), Lurie positioned himself firmly as a political outsider during the campaign.
"I entered this race not as a politician, but as a dad who couldn't explain to my kids what they were seeing in my streets. In our house, when you love something as much as San Francisco, you fight for it. We knew it wouldn't be easy," Lurie said. "Our biggest opposition was cynicism itself. A gnawing sense that maybe it has to be this way. But I can tell you after 250 meet-and-greets, 150 merchant walks, and our team knocking over 140,000 doors and thousands of open and honest conversations in every neighborhood across seven square miles, hope is alive and well in San Francisco."
Lurie campaigned on addressing some of the city's toughest challenges, including homelessness, the drug crisis, public safety and affordable housing. Mixed in with the air of celebration was the acknowledgement that what Lurie has won is a responsibility address the city's challenges, many of which have vexed mayors for decades.
"Our mandate is to show how government must deliver on its promises: clean and safe streets for all, tackling our drug and behavioral health crisis, shaking up the corrupt and ineffective bureaucracy, building enough housing so our neighbors can afford to live here, supporting our small businesses and breathing life back into downtown," he said.
He also emphasized the need to move beyond partisan politics to make changes.
"We must turn the page on the politics of demonizing each other on every issue in the realities of everyday life," Lurie said. "People see themselves as progressives or moderates or conservatives. We see ourselves as San Franciscans."
Lurie additionally stressed accountability as he alluded to his plans to shake up City Hall.
"We have started an aggressive search for a world-class administration that reflects the passion and the diversity of the San Franciscans they will serve," he said. "Let me be clear, the people I hire and appoint will not be in service to me. They will be in service to all of you. They will be in service to you and your desire to have a city hall that works, that listens to you, even when we don't agree. "
Lurie also addressed the significant change of President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House with his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
"As we celebrate this victory, I recognize that many feel a great sense of fear and loss about the state of our country. I share those concerns," Lurie said. "Under my watch, San Francisco will stand up for the rights of all of our neighbors. We will never turn a blind eye to racism, bigotry or anti-Asian hate. We will continue to harness the power of innovation, protect the future of our planet, and once again, become a magnet for creative minds."
When asked repeatedly to address national politics, Lurie steered away from ideology.
"Listen, I have serious disagreements with President Donald Trump," Lurie answered. " But I will never let those disagreements get in the way of addressing the problems facing San Francisco."
Afterwards, Lurie traveled through the city in what felt a lot like a kind of victory tour. He got congratulatory dumplings during a merchant walk through Chinatown, snapped photos with well-wishers, and bumped into old friends, like San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer.
"I just realized that I've known Daniel more than half of his life, going back three decades," Baer said of Lurie. "So I think it's gonna be fantastic to have him. The good thing about him is he's a great listener. He really knows the city and he really cares about the city."
The mayor-elect drew heavily on his family fortune during the campaign, pumping nearly $9 million of his own money into his bid for for the office. That became a frequent point of criticism from Breed and other opponents.
However, when Breed was asked if she felt that Lurie had bought his way into the job Thursday after her concession speech, she replied, "The campaign has to be behind us. We need to move forward as a city. We can't look backwards. The voters of San Francisco have made their decision. And I, as mayor of San Francisco, have always respected the voters and honored the decisions that they made."
In regards to his personal wealth, on Friday Lurie said that he would place all of his holding into a blind trust the day he takes office. He also noted that he did not anticipate taking a salary for the job, but said he would need to talk to the City Attorney about the issue.
Besides the challenges Lurie mentioned Friday morning, he also will inherit an estimated $800 million budget deficit in San Francisco over the next two years.
A significant portion of that budget also comes from federal funding, which could be in jeopardy under the incoming second Trump administration.
Wilson Walker contributed to this report.