Daniel Lurie, a philanthropist and heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, announced his candidacy for San Francisco mayor this week, seeking to mobilize voters agitated by issues such as homelessness, crime and public drug use.
Lurie is bidding to unseat Mayor London Breed, a fellow Democrat and San Francisco native who is running for reelection. But already in his nascent campaign, Lurie is casting himself as an outsider who can bring new leadership and fresh ideas to the challenging issues San Francisco faces.
“What we are seeing on the streets of San Francisco is not progressive,” Lurie said in a campaign announcement video. “We need change in San Francisco.”
Lurie’s platform emphasizes getting rid of “open-air drug markets” and a “perception of lawlessness” in the city — issues that were central in last year’s decisive recall of Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s former progressive district attorney.
It appears Lurie hopes to appeal to those same dissatisfied voters while still touting many core Democratic policy points, like investing in rehabilitation programs, job training and affordable housing in the deep-blue city.
Lurie is part of a growing cohort of deep-pocketed political candidates who lack traditional governing experience.
“It’s easy to criticize government when you’re not a part of it formally,” said James Lance Taylor, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco.
A similar dynamic played out last year in Los Angeles, where businessman Rick Caruso spent more than $100 million of his own fortune on his ultimately unsuccessful mayoral campaign.
But Taylor said he’s not convinced voters will be that easy to win over, pointing to Breed’s 2016 contest against Dean Preston for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Preston later won the seat after Breed moved into mayoral position.
“She has been through this before, she’s been challenged by a wealthy upstart,” said Taylor, who contributed to the new book “Political Black Girl Magic,” about Black female mayors. “London Breed has been tested … [she] is ready for this.”
Lurie has never run for office but served as chair of the city’s host committee for the 2016 Super Bowl — leading the effort to bring the event to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. His wife, Becca Prowda, works in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
He has spent much of the last two decades leading his anti-poverty nonprofit, Tipping Point Community. Lurie’s stepfather was Peter Haas Sr., the longtime chief executive and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co., who died in 2005. Much of the company’s fortune remains in the family.
Also in the mayoral race at this point is Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, a Democrat who declared his candidacy in the spring. A number of other individuals have also filed paperwork signaling their intent to run.
San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system means a victor will be declared after one round of balloting Nov. 5, 2024, without need for a runoff.
