Daniel Lurie

Last updated

Becca Prowda
(m. 2006)
Daniel Lurie
Daniel Lurie Headshot.jpg
Lurie in 2024
46th Mayor of San Francisco
Assumed office
January 8, 2025
Children2
Relatives Mimi Haas (mother)
Peter E. Haas (stepfather)
Education Duke University (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (MPP)

Daniel Lawrence Lurie [1] is an American politician and philanthropist who is the 46th and current mayor of San Francisco, serving since 2025. He was elected in 2024, having defeated incumbent mayor London Breed. [2] He is the founder and former CEO of Tipping Point Community. [3]

Contents

Early life

Daniel Lawrence Lurie was born and raised in a Jewish [4] family in San Francisco, the son of Mimi (née Ruchwarger) and Rabbi Brian Lurie. [5] [6] His parents divorced when he was two; [6] his mother remarried Peter E. Haas [5] and his father remarried Caroline Fromm Lurie. Daniel is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune as Peter is the great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss. [7] Lurie says he grew up "most of the time in [Haas's] house." [4] Brian was executive director of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. [8]

Daniel has two brothers, Ari [3] and Alexander, and one sister, Sonia. He attended the Town School for Boys and University High School in San Francisco. [5] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Duke University. [5] [6] After school, he worked on Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential campaign [5] as a field organizer in Iowa. [6]

Career

In 2001, Lurie moved to New York City to work for the Robin Hood Foundation, founded by Paul Tudor Jones. [5] [4] In 2003, he returned to San Francisco where he received his Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley, in 2005; [5] [9] his thesis consisted of a business plan for a charitable foundation based on the Robin Hood model. [5]

After he graduated, he founded the Tipping Point Community, which has raised over $500 million from private donors. [10] Other founding members of the board were former football player Ronnie Lott, Katie Schwab Paige (daughter of Charles R. Schwab), and Chris James (founder of activist investment firm Engine No. 1). [5] Tipping Point focuses on education, housing, employment, and family wellness. [5]

Lurie was named by San Francisco mayor Ed Lee to lead the 2016 San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl Bid Committee; after a successful bid, he was able to ensure that 25% of revenue was designated to local non-profits to help fight poverty. [5] In 2018, Lurie committed to raising $100 million in two years to reduce chronic homelessness in San Francisco by 50%. [11] Tipping Point's Chronic Homelessness Initiative (CHI) was a catalyst for bringing city government and nonprofit service providers together to work in new ways, spurred innovation and legitimized promising new solutions before tax dollars were spent. [12] On November 16, 2019, Lurie stepped down as CEO of Tipping Point Community after 15 years of leading the organization. Lurie remains with Tipping Point as chair of the board. [13]

2024 San Francisco mayoral campaign

Overview

On September 26, 2023, Lurie launched his candidacy for mayor of San Francisco in the 2024 election, challenging incumbent mayor London Breed. [14] A committee supporting his candidacy received a $1 million donation from his mother Mimi Haas. [15] A report by The San Francisco Standard concluded that this was possibly "the largest contribution to a committee in support or opposition of a candidate in San Francisco history." [16] Other donors included Jan Koum (co-founder of WhatsApp) and the biotech investor Oleg Nodelman, who each contributed $250,000 to the committee, which raised about $3.5 million in total by January 2024. [15] [16] On November 5, 2024, Lurie was elected. Breed, who finished as runner-up, conceded the race on November 7. [17]

Endorsements

Lurie is a moderate Democrat, and was endorsed by some Republican groups, [18] [19] such as the San Francisco Briones Society. [19] The co-founder of this group, Jay Donde, said that Lurie was the only candidate who could deny being involved in the politics that led to the mess that the city is currently in. [19] Lurie reacted to this endorsement by stating that he is a lifelong Democrat but welcomes the endorsement because he looks for support from anyone, and his policy views are common sense and not political: improve safety, end homelessness, and crack down on drug problems. [19] Former San Francisco mayor and police chief Frank Jordan endorsed Lurie, saying that their political ideals aligned. [20] For example, Lurie called for a fully staffed police department and sheriff's office during the 2024 election. [20]

The San Francisco Chronicle initially endorsed both Breed and Lurie for Mayor, saying that Breed was the safe choice and Lurie was the candidate for change. [21] [22] [23] Then, the Chronicle endorsed Lurie due to his balance of compassion and toughness on key policy issues. [21] [24] [23] Also, it mentioned how Lurie, despite his lack of political experience, can use his connections to surround himself with politically smart people who understand policy. [21] [24] [22] [23]

Campaign

Daniel Lurie was seen as a centrist Democrat. [18] [25] Lurie’s moderate views led him to gain support from the business community. [23] Tech companies were influential in this mayoral race as they spent millions of dollars on candidate’s campaigns for more centrist policies and thus benefited Lurie. [25] Lurie campaigned on tough-on-crime policies. [18] His campaign also criticized City Hall insiders for not building more housing and needing to provide both funding and staff for the police and sheriff departments. [24] Lurie had family wealth, allowing him to contribute more than $8 million to his campaign. [18] [26] [25] [27] [21] [28] Also, his mother contributed more than $1 million to an independent committee that supported Lurie’s mayoral campaign. [25] [27] [21] [28] Overall, Lurie’s campaign raised more than $16 million. [27]

Lurie self-funding a majority of his campaign caused some people to see him as a political outsider competing against people in City Hall amidst corruption and scandals. [25] [28] His campaign played into this view and focused on how he was an outsider with no government experience. [25] [27] [21] [24] [28] The campaign centered on Lurie being a political newcomer with a business background, pitching himself as common-sense and accountable. [18] [26] Some people argued that Lurie won because of high public support for his policy issues and a lack of government experience, [28] which is historic as Lurie was the first candidate to be elected mayor of San Francisco with no government experience since 1911. [26] [21] There was controversy over Lurie’s lack of political experience and self-funding, with opponents critiquing Lurie for spending so much on his campaigns. [26] [27] For example, some critics said that Lurie was buying the election and was a "trust fund kid" relying on family wealth, while others said he was simply campaigning seriously to increase his name recognition. [27] [24] [28]

Election

First-choice votes for the top five candidates were 26.3% for Daniel Lurie, 24.4% for incumbent Mayor London Breed, 22.9% for Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, 18.5% for former Supervisor Mark Farrell, and 2.9% for Supervisor Ahsha Safai. [25] [29] [23] Lurie was the only top candidate who was an outsider to politics, never holding a position in local government. [29] San Francisco mayoral elections use a ranked-choice voting system where voters rank candidates based on their order of preference. The election goes on until one candidate has the majority of the votes. This is done by the candidate with the least number of votes being eliminated, and everyone who voted for them their vote is redistributed, but this time it is for their next choice candidate. Lurie led all rounds of ranked choice voting with an ultimate 56% of votes for Lurie and 43% of votes for Breed. [18] [25] [29] [24] There were 14 rounds of counting. [24] It took two days to validate the winner of San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system. [25]

Expert analysis

San Francisco State University political science professor Jason McDaniel said this election represented change, with Lurie having never held political office but running a well-funded campaign, capitalizing on how ranked choice voting works and focusing on how he will do things differently in office. [25] [24] Jim Ross, a veteran Bay Area Democratic strategist, said this was a billionaire election with high spending on campaigns. [25]

Mayor of San Francisco

On January 8, 2025, Lurie was sworn in as the 46th mayor of San Francisco. [30] [31] He announced prior to inauguration that his salary would be capped at $1 per year instead of the full $364,582 salary. [32]

According to a San Francisco Chronicle poll released on July 21, 2025, 73% of 961 respondents approved of Lurie's mayorship. Residents praised him for tackling cleanliness and crime while criticizing housing prices and lack of shelters for the homeless. [33]

Policy priorities and actions in office

Since taking office in 2025, Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration has focused on trying to reduce crime by decreasing the city's homelessness and behavioral health crises, and by stimulating San Francisco's economy. [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] His administration has also created new shelters and treatment beds as part of the "Breaking the Cycle" plan, which aims to reduce visible street homelessness and connect more people to long-term housing and care. [40] [41]

Lurie's administration has also prioritized the building of more affordable housing. [42] [43] [44] He has also created measures to speed up housing approvals, and has removed some legal barriers for builders and lowered costs for developments. [45] [46] His administration also introduced legislation on February 25, 2025, to make the process of converting empty office buildings into housing simpler and has launched an online tracker of permits to increase transparency and speed up project timelines. [47] [48] In May 2025, the median home list prices in San Francisco increased by 51% compared to a year before in the downtown ZIP code. [49] In the second quarter of 2025, San Francisco's office leasing market also showed signs of recovery. [50] According to preliminary data from real estate firm CBRE, the total vacancy rate in the downtown core declined to 35.1%, down from 35.8% the previous quarter—marking the largest quarterly decrease since 2015. Availability also dropped to 37.7%, reflecting an 80-basis-point improvement. [51] [52]

Lurie set a goal of hiring 425 new police officers, sheriff's deputies, and 911 dispatchers within his first three years to reduce response times and ensure consistent neighborhood patrols to deter crime. [53] [54] [55] On May 13, 2025, Lurie announced a "Rebuilding the Ranks" initiative is aimed at restoring baseline staffing across public safety agencies and reducing reliance on overtime. [56] [57]

Lurie has also committed to making local government more transparent and accountable. [58] [59] In February 2025, he launched a new permitting tracker to increase public visibility into city operations. [60] His administration has pledged to review nonprofit contracts to ensure public funds are being used effectively and to shift resources away from underperforming providers. [61]

Personal life

In 2006, [3] Lurie married Becca Prowda; they have a son and a daughter. [8] In 2019, his wife was named Director of Protocol by California Governor Gavin Newsom. [62] Lurie practices Transcendental Meditation. [4]

References

  1. The Duke Chronicle, vol. 94, no. Commencement '99 Issue: Four Years in Review (Friday, May 14, 1999) Duke University
  2. Morris, J. D. (November 8, 2024). "Daniel Lurie elected San Francisco's next mayor, in rebuke to Breed". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 May, Meredith (July 31, 2011). "Daniel Lurie of Tipping Point does what's right". SFGate. At 34, he is emerging as a leader for a new generation that is tackling poverty with its business expertise as well as its dollars.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Interview with Daniel Lurie". Interviews with Max Raskin. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Daniel Lurie: A Man Who's Wearing Two Hats & Making a Super Difference for Our Greater Community". SiliconValleyTalk.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Swisher, Kara (April 11, 2017). "Full transcript: Tipping Point Community CEO Daniel Lurie on Recode Decode - His nonprofit works with local governments to solve problems like chronic homelessness". Vox Media.
  7. Regimbal, Alec (July 18, 2023). "SF Mayor London Breed will reportedly face another 2024 challenger: a Levi Strauss heir". SFGATE.
  8. 1 2 Carter, Kelly E. (January 8, 2016). "One-on-One with Daniel Lurie, CEO of Tipping Point Community". Haute Living.
  9. "Daniel Lurie (MPP '5) CEO and Founder, Tipping Point Community". Goldman School of Public Policy. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  10. Morris, Connor Letourneau, J.D. "S.F. mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie says he knows how to fix nonprofits. Can he fix City Hall?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 7, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. Knight, Heather (May 31, 2019). "Progress slow for philanthropist with $100 million vision for cutting SF homelessness". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. Stiffman, Eden (February 10, 2023). "Can $100 Million Change San Francisco's Response to Homelessness?". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  13. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon (May 9, 2013). "Tipping Point Community - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved December 27, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. Knight, Heather (September 26, 2023). "Levi Strauss Heir to Challenge Mayor London Breed of San Francisco". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Regimbal, Alec (January 30, 2024). "Billionaire mother of SF mayoral candidate spends $1M on her son's race". SFGATE. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Koehn, Josh (January 30, 2024). "Mom Drops $1M to Help Lurie Win San Francisco Mayor's Race". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  17. Har, Janie (November 8, 2024). "Daniel Lurie Wins San Francisco Mayoral Race—Ousting London Breed". TIME. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Waddick, Karissa. "Outsider Daniel Lurie beats incumbent London Breed in San Francisco mayoral race". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Lu, Xueer (October 4, 2024). "See how they run: Lurie, the Democrat, gets support from S.F. Republican group". Mission Local. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  20. 1 2 "SF mayor candidate Daniel Lurie gets big endorsement". KRON4. March 28, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Beckett, Lois (November 8, 2024). "Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie elected mayor of San Francisco". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Mayoral Candidates Slam SF Chronicle's Support For London Breed, Daniel Lurie For Mayor – California Globe". October 15, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Staff, T. R. D. (October 16, 2024). "San Francisco Chronicle endorses Levi's scion Daniel Lurie for SF mayor". The Real Deal. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Torrez, Andre (November 7, 2024). "San Francisco Mayor London Breed concedes, congratulates Daniel Lurie on victory". KTVU FOX 2. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Levi's heir and political outsider Daniel Lurie wins San Francisco mayor's race". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Photos: Who is Daniel Lurie, San Francisco's new mayor?". The San Francisco Standard. November 9, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie pledges to make San Francisco safer as mayor". AP News. November 8, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carson, Biz; Kamisher, Eliyahu; Bloomberg (November 8, 2024). "Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie set to win San Francisco mayor's race". Fortune. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  29. 1 2 3 Pehling, Dave (November 7, 2024). "Lurie leads Breed, fights off others challengers in San Francisco mayoral race - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  30. "Daniel Lurie was sworn in as S.F. mayor. Here's what he wants to tackle right away". San Francisco Chronicle. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  31. "Daniel Lurie sworn in as 46th Mayor of San Francisco". CBS News San Francisco. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  32. Sharon Song (December 3, 2024). "San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie plans to take $1 annual salary". Fox 2 KTVU.
  33. How's Lurie doing as mayor? Our new poll on the state of S.F. had stunning results. July 21, 2025. Danielle Echeverria
  34. "Mayor Lurie Takes Major Step Forward for San Francisco Safety, Announces "Rebuilding the Ranks" Roadmap to Fully Staff Police Department, Sheriff's Office | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  35. "Mayor Lurie Unveils "Breaking the Cycle," Vision for Tackling San Francisco's Homelessness and Behavioral Health Crisis | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  36. Cassidy, Megan (May 27, 2025). "Mayor Lurie to avoid big cuts to S.F. public safety agencies in upcoming budget". San Francisco Chronicle.
  37. Bloomberg Podcasts (June 5, 2025). How San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie Plans to Revive City (Full Panel) . Retrieved June 27, 2025 via YouTube.
  38. "Mayor Lurie Introduces Legislation to Advance Major Downtown Development, Drive Downtown Recovery | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  39. "Lurie's plan to use the private sector to rescue downtown SF". The San Francisco Standard. June 23, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  40. "Mayor Lurie Unveils "Breaking the Cycle," Vision for Tackling San Francisco's Homelessness and Behavioral Health Crisis | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  41. "SF mayor announces 'Breaking the Cycle' plan to address homelessness crisis". ABC7 San Francisco. March 17, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  42. "San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie unveils "Family Zoning" plan to boost homebuilding - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  43. "Mayor Lurie Introduces Family Zoning Legislation to Make City Affordable for Generations of San Franciscans | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  44. "Mayor Lurie Breaks Ground On New 100% Affordable Housing Developments | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  45. Li, Roland (February 13, 2025). "Mayor Lurie launches initiative to speed up S.F.'s slow permitting process". San Francisco Chronicle.
  46. Klearman, Sarah (June 24, 2025). "Lurie unveils a new San Francisco-specific alternative to state density-bonus law". San Francisco Business Times.
  47. "Mayor Lurie Signs Legislation to Boost Conversion of Empty Office Buildings into New Homes Downtown | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  48. "Mayor Lurie Launches Permit Reform Effort With Focus on Housing and Small Business | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  49. Griffith, Keith (June 20, 2025). "San Francisco Comeback: Downtown Home Prices Rebound as New Mayor Cleans Up the Streets and AI Boom Woos Workers Back to Offices". Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. Archived from the original on June 24, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  50. "San Francisco Office Market Reports | Avison Young US". San Francisco. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  51. Klearman, Sarah (June 23, 2025). "San Francisco's office vacancy rate dropped again in the second quarter. You can thank AI". San Francisco Business Times.
  52. Hoge, Patrick (June 24, 2025). "SF office-vacancy rate heads for biggest decline in 10 years". San Francisco Examiner.
  53. "Opinion | Daniel Lurie's police chief hire will make or break his mayoralty". The San Francisco Standard. May 9, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  54. Barros, Joe Rivano (May 13, 2025). "Mayor Lurie unveils package boosting S.F. law enforcement hiring". Mission Local. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  55. Torrez, Andre (November 7, 2024). "San Francisco Mayor London Breed concedes, congratulates Daniel Lurie on victory". KTVU FOX 2. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  56. "Mayor Lurie Takes Major Step Forward for San Francisco Safety, Announces "Rebuilding the Ranks" Roadmap to Fully Staff Police Department, Sheriff's Office | SF.gov". www.sf.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  57. "San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie issues order to increase SFPD staffing - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. May 14, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  58. Pehling, Dave (January 9, 2025). "San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie promises "new era of accountability" at City Hall". CBS News.
  59. Hoge, Patrick (May 20, 2025). "Mayor champions suite of permit-reform ordinances". San Francisco Examiner.
  60. Li, Roland (February 13, 2025). "Mayor Lurie launches initiative to speed up S.F.'s slow permitting process". San Francisco Chronicle.
  61. "Mayor Daniel Lurie Promises 'New Era of Accountability' In New Homelessness Plan". SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. March 17, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.[ permanent dead link ]
  62. "Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 6.12.19". Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. June 12, 2019. Becca Prowda, 41, of San Francisco, has been appointed director of protocol in the Office of Governor Newsom. Prowda was director of community affairs at Levi Strauss & Co. from 2009 to 2019. She was deputy director of protocol in the Office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom from 2008 to 2009, where she also served as confidential assistant to the Mayor from 2004 to 2007. Prowda was events manager at the Robin Hood Foundation from 2000 to 2004. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100,008. Prowda is a Democrat.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of San Francisco
2025–present
Incumbent