San Francisco — London Breed, San Francisco’s first black female mayor, conceded the mayoral race Thursday to Levi Strauss’ successor, Daniel Lurie, pledging a smooth transition as he takes office.
The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner because tens of thousands of ballots have not yet been counted and added to ranked-choice voting calculations.
Breed, who was raised by his grandmother in public housing, was unable to overcome deep discontent among voters and was following in the footsteps of Lurie, a philanthropist and founder of an anti-poverty nonprofit.
“At the end of the day, this is bigger than any one person and what’s important is that we keep moving this city forward,” Breed said, adding that he called Lurie to congratulate him. “I know we are both committed to improving the city we love.”
San Francisco’s streets have been cleaner in recent months and homeless tents have been much harder to find, but Breed’s fellow Democratic challengers on the campaign trail have criticized homeless tent encampments, outdoor drug use and shameless retail for doing too little, too late. continued to criticize her administration. During her six years in office, thefts soared.
Political analyst Dan Schnur said calls for a change in leadership exist across the country.
“London Breed did not create the crime and homelessness crisis, but voters criticized her for failing to solve the problems,” he said.
She faced four high-profile candidates, including two San Francisco supervisors and a former mayor pro tem.
But voters flocked to Lurie, 47, who comes from a historic family and promised to bring accountability and public services back to City Hall. He is the founder of Tipping Point Community, which he says has invested more than $400 million since 2005 in programs to help people with housing, education and early childhood challenges.
“I am deeply grateful to my amazing family, my campaign team, and everyone in San Francisco who voted for accountability, service, and change,” Lurie said in a statement. “No matter who you supported in this election, we will stand united in the fight for San Francisco’s future and a safer, more affordable city for everyone.”
Lurie poured nearly $9 million of his own money into his mayoral bid, a move that drew criticism from Breed and other opponents. But he said he had to present himself to voters as a political outsider, and that ultimately some voters liked that Lurie’s financial wealth prevented him from being tied to special interests.
Lurie is the successor to Levi Strauss. & The company got its fortune through his mother, Mimi Haas, who married Peter Haas when Daniel was young. Levi Strauss’ great-nephew Peter Haas was the longtime CEO of the iconic clothing company who died in 2005.
Both Levi’s name and the Haas family’s charitable foundation are deeply ingrained in San Francisco’s history and identity.
Lurie’s father, Brian Lurie, was a rabbi and former executive director of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation.
Breed won the June 2018 mayoral election to serve the remainder of Mayor Ed Lee’s term.
She was re-elected in 2019 to a full term lasting five years instead of the usual four years after voters changed the election schedule to coincide with the presidential election.
