On Nov. 8, 2024, Daniel Lurie made his first appearance as mayor-elect. Although approximately 140,000 ballots have yet to be counted, the writing is on the wall. Mayor London Breed had conceded the election the night before, and Lurie was announced as the winner.
The press conference was at St. Mary’s Square in Chinatown. This neighborhood has been economically devastated by the significant decline in tourism over the past few years, as well as a string of brutal attacks on Asian elders. Steps away is a mural commemorating Vicha Ratanapakee, the 84-year-old Thai immigrant, murdered by then-19-year-old Antoine Watson. Like all areas of San Francisco, the neighborhood has experienced a rise in open-air drug use and property crime.
“What I learned over these past 13 months is that so many people love this city,” he said. “It’s time for us to start making people feel that the city loves them back.”
Amidst this backdrop, Lurie spoke. Flanked by campaign volunteers, local business owners, workers, and residents, the overall sense was relief and excitement. Also in attendance were a smattering of labor leaders, including SEIU Local 87 President Olga Miranda, but they appeared muted. District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí was the union-focused mayoral candidate, and he was eliminated quickly in rank choice voting.
Lurie began by thanking London Breed for her service, then recognized how badly cynicism has affected the people of San Francisco. After years of watching the city deteriorate, positive change was almost too much to expect. So he acknowledged the gnawing sense among residents that maybe it has to be this way, then defied that attitude.
“Our mandate is to show that the government has to deliver on its promises,” Lurie said. “There will be clean and safe streets for all. We will tackle our health and behavioral crisis. We will be shaking up the corrupt and ineffective bureaucracy, building enough housing so our neighbors can afford to live here, supporting our small business, and breathing life into downtown.”
He recognized the challenges ahead but said the advantages are more powerful.
Lurie also took the opportunity to address politics at large, explaining that in his experience, people don’t see themselves as progressives, moderates, or conservatives but as San Franciscans.
“What I learned over these past 13 months is that so many people love this city,” he said. “It’s time for us to start making people feel that the city loves them back.”
The overarching theme of Lurie‘s first unofficial speech as mayor was that San Francisco would not run the same as it had been. He will be bringing on a new administration and is conducting an aggressive search for those who will be right for the job. The people Lurie hires and appoints will not be in service to him but to San Franciscans.
In the crowd was Shirletha Holmes-Boxx, a community organizer for Greenaction. Decked in a glittery “Lurie” hat, she said she likes Breed but is thrilled by how the highly contentious election turned out. “He’s not in it for the money, but because he loves the city,” said Holmes-Boxx.
Carlito Pantig, a San Francisco caregiver and community activist, says he is hopeful. “We have too many people selling drugs here,” he said. “Daniel Lurie is the best person to change the image of San Francisco.”
Indeed, San Francisco has become an international embarrassment due to the current administration’s acceptance of harm-reduction policies. When asked what he would do differently, Lurie emphasized his commitment to declaring a fentanyl state of emergency, getting tough on drug dealers, and ensuring that people would receive treatment for their addictions.
To Holmes-Boxx, Pantig, and the rest of the crowd who stood on the corner of California Street and Grant Avenue, with St. Mary’s church bells ringing, Lurie’s assurance that he would change the way the city has been functioning was met with cheers.
Story updated on Nov. 10 to correct SEIU Local 87 President Olga Miranda’s name and title.
