San Francisco Mayor Says City Heading ‘In the Right Direction' in 100 Days Remarks
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said on April 17 that the city is 'trending in the right direction' in a speech marking his first 100 days in office.
In his address at Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr., Center for Performing Arts, Lurie highlighted improvements to public safety, progress in tackling homelessness and drug issues, and in revitalizing the city's economy.
'Over the past few years, our foundation has been shaken, we lost our way.' Lurie said. 'It's not a political thing to want to feel safe walking our kids to school, open a business, or have clean streets.'
Citywide homeless people's tents and structures reached the lowest level since track began in 2019, and crime in San Francisco is at its lowest point in 23 years: violent crime is down 15 percent, and car break-ins, which account for more than half of all property crime in San Francisco, are at a 22-year low,
Some of these trends started from the end of former Mayor London Breed's term, Lurie told reporters after the speech.
He said he's excited about the numbers. 'I don't care who gets the credit. I want crime to go down. I want families to feel safe in our city again.'
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As his first priority to address the fentanyl crisis and homelessness issues, the mayor restructured the street response team with a new model that coordinates seven key departments to deliver one unified neighborhood-based approach.
'We will not shy away from making tough calls,' Lurie said in his speech.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie shakes hands with Supervisor Matt Dorsey after his speech on the eve of his 100 days in office on April 17, 2025.
Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times
Under his 'Breaking the Cycle' executive directive, a decades-old city practice handling drug use supplies for free has been stopped, and addicts must now receive treatment, counseling, or be connected to services to receive them.
Kunal Modi, director of Health, Homelessness, & Family Services, shared a
'We are going to continue to let the world know that you don't come to San Francisco to deal drugs anymore, you don't come here to sit on the streets and do drugs anymore, and you don't come here to sleep on our streets. And that is a message that has not broken through, and that is a message that we will break through,' Lurie said to the media.
Lurie touted the sign of improvements in the economy: Moscone Convention Center bookings have increased 53 percent compared to last year, generating $174 million in revenue, and the NBA All-Star Weekend alone generated an estimated $350 million in economic activity for the Bay Area.
'People are betting on San Francisco again,' said Lurie, adding that fashion brand Zara had decided against closing their store and are now bringing a four-story flagship to Union Square.
Under Lurie's order, two recently established civic organizations will help with San Francisco's economic revitalization.
'The Downtown Development Corporation is focusing on the revival of our economic core, while the Partnership for San Francisco, a council of some of the most innovative business leaders of our time, will serve as ambassadors for those in this city and around the world who are interested in bringing business back to San Francisco,' the mayor.
Just after his inauguration on Jan. 8, Lurie issued a hiring freeze and contracting pause knowing the city was facing a nearly $1 billion deficit—the largest in city's history.
According to the latest evaluation from the Controllers' Office, San Francisco will have a $840 million
'It's not just a billion dollars that is possibly on the table, it's more. And so we have to tighten our belts now.'
Lurie will have to submit his budget to the Board of Supervisors in June. He said it will be a balanced budget and that 'the city will be on better financial footing because of what we're going through right now.'
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New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
Live Updates: More Protests Flare Up in Cities Across the Country
Mayor Daniel Lurie walking through the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, with William Scott, then the chief of the San Francisco Police Department, on the morning of his inauguration in January. For Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco, there are two words that he dares not mention: Donald Trump. This week, his refusal held true even after the president sent National Guard troops into Los Angeles and called up the Marines, leaving many San Franciscans to wonder if their liberal California city could be next. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Representative Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom have each blamed Mr. Trump for causing chaos. Mr. Newsom, in a nationally televised address on Tuesday night, told Americans that Mr. Trump was putting democracy at risk and that they should rise up to stop him. But Mr. Lurie has staunchly avoided discussing Mr. Trump's actions, even when asked on multiple occasions to respond to the various ways that the president's policies have affected his city. This week, Mr. Lurie instead focused on praising the San Francisco Police Department for the way it handled two protests in the city that were intended to show solidarity with Los Angeles. Mr. Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, won voter support in November on a promise to improve the daily lives of San Franciscans and avoid ideological disputes. The moderate Democrat, five months into his first-ever elected position, would still rather talk about public safety and trash cleanups. One protest on Sunday night turned violent when demonstrators clashed with police officers in riot gear, leading to 154 arrests. Another protest on Monday night was far calmer, but a splinter group vandalized buildings and sprayed graffiti, and the police arrested 92 people. Through Monday, more people were arrested in protests in San Francisco than those in Los Angeles, though Los Angeles has since had more. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:08 - 0:00 transcript Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of San Francisco's Mission District on Monday. [chanting] Get out of the Bay! [chanting] ICE, get out the Bay! [chanting] Get out of the Bay! Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of San Francisco's Mission District on Monday. Credit Credit... Kellen Browning/The New York Times Several members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, akin to a City Council, have taken to the streets with demonstrators or given fiery speeches from the steps of City Hall, a show of solidarity with other residents against Mr. Trump's deportations and use of military force in California. Mr. Lurie, however, spent the protest nights Sunday and Monday huddled with the police chief, fire chief and officials with the Department of Emergency Management in an emergency command center a few blocks from City Hall. He then called news conferences on Monday and Tuesday to praise his police department, announce city crews were cleaning graffiti from businesses free of charge and reiterate that anyone caught vandalizing property would be arrested. Mr. Lurie declined to discuss whether he thought the National Guard might come to San Francisco next. He would not say whether he considered Mr. Trump an authoritarian. He would not offer his opinion of the president saying that Mr. Newsom, for whom the mayor's wife has worked as an aide for years, should be arrested. He answered almost every question with a version of the same answer. 'My message is, we are keeping San Franciscans safe,' Mr. Lurie said. 'We have this under control.' He spent much of Tuesday's news conference discussing a totally unrelated topic: proposed changes to how long recreational vehicles can be parked on city streets. Mr. Lurie's colleagues expressed shock that five months into a presidential term that has targeted California in extraordinary ways, the mayor still won't discuss Mr. Trump. 'It is like he who shall not be named,' Supervisor Myrna Melgar said. Her family arrived in California from El Salvador when she was 12 and lived without legal papers until her father obtained citizenship through his work. Mr. Lurie's effort to revitalize San Francisco after the pandemic relies on the work of undocumented immigrants in hotels, restaurants and construction sites, said Ms. Melgar, who added that the mayor needed to speak out forcefully on their behalf and against the president. 'I have been disappointed that he has been so quiet,' she said. 'We need the kind of leader who steps up to the moment. This is San Francisco, the place that welcomes people from all over, the open, tolerant city.' Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission District, a heavily Latino neighborhood, said she thought the mayor should condemn the actions of the president and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. She said ICE agents picked up 15 people at a San Francisco immigration office building for check-in appointments last week, one of them a 3-year-old. Agents picked up more people from the immigration courthouse on Tuesday. ICE did not respond to requests for information. 'I don't get it,' she said. 'Most San Franciscans despise Trump.' At news conferences this week, Mr. Lurie acknowledged the 'fear and anxiety' in the community and said the city's sanctuary policies of not cooperating with federal immigration officials would continue. On Tuesday, he reiterated that on X after the ICE detentions. But allies of Mr. Lurie said that they understood his strategy. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, the president of the board, said that San Franciscans are not interested in a war of words between their mayor and the president. 'They want him to do everything he can to protect San Francisco's vulnerable communities,' Mr. Mandelman said. Nancy Tung, chairwoman of the San Francisco Democratic Party, suggested that ignoring Mr. Trump may even have kept the president's focus away from San Francisco. 'Maybe his reluctance to utter the president's name or denounce him has actually kept the militaristic type of ICE raids out of San Francisco,' she said. In an interview, Mr. Lurie said that he worked for the residents of San Francisco and understood that some of them were fearful now. Asked if it was true that he would not say the word Trump, Mr. Lurie gave a tight-lipped smile. He said nothing.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
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London Breed's former chief of staff to lead urban think tank SPUR
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New York Times
11 hours ago
- New York Times
5 Months Into Office, No Trump Talk for San Francisco Mayor
For Mayor Daniel Lurie of San Francisco, there are two words that he dares not mention: Donald Trump. This week, his refusal held true even after the president sent National Guard troops into Los Angeles and called up the Marines, leaving many San Franciscans to wonder if their liberal California city could be next. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Representative Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom have each blamed Mr. Trump for causing chaos. Mr. Newsom, in a nationally televised address on Tuesday night, told Americans that Mr. Trump was putting democracy at risk and that they should rise up to stop him. But Mr. Lurie has staunchly avoided discussing Mr. Trump's actions, even when asked on multiple occasions to respond to the various ways that the president's policies have affected his city. This week, Mr. Lurie instead focused on praising the San Francisco Police Department for the way it handled two protests in the city that were intended to show solidarity with Los Angeles. Mr. Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, won voter support in November on a promise to improve the daily lives of San Franciscans and avoid ideological disputes. The moderate Democrat, five months into his first-ever elected position, would still rather talk about public safety and trash cleanups. One protest on Sunday night turned violent when demonstrators clashed with police officers in riot gear, leading to 154 arrests. Another protest on Monday night was far calmer, but a splinter group vandalized buildings and sprayed graffiti, and the police arrested 92 people. Through Monday, more people were arrested in protests in San Francisco than those in Los Angeles, though Los Angeles has since had more. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
