New mayor to soon be tasked with closing massive budget deficit, guiding SFMTA away from fiscal cliff
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie marked his first 100 days in office with an unassuming, modest event down the street from his new professional home in City Hall on Thursday. The mayor basked in the improved outlook in San Francisco , claiming that “for the first time in five years, people feel San Francisco is headed in the right direction.
” But he also acknowledged the gauntlet of challenges ahead. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’re building, but I’m not satisfied. Today is not a victory lap, it’s a progress report,” Lurie said. Barely more than three months into his first term, Lurie has had little time to accomplish many of his more ambitious goals, which include substantially reducing street homelessness and boosting economic development in and around San Francisco’s struggling downtown. Still, his administration pointed to a number of initiatives it has already undertaken aimed at winning long-term dividends, like the creation of a new downtown police task force and the release of a sweeping new plan to attack addiction and reduce homelessness. For a mayor who promised to be focused on tangible results, early signals have been mixed. Crime numbers have continued to decline since he took office, for example, but office vacancy rates remain near all-time highs and fatal drug overdoses dropped in March after four months of increases. This summer, he’s also tasked with closing a crushing two-year budget deficit of about $800 million, guiding the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency away from its own fiscal cliff, and winning public support for a new housing plan that could change the look and feel of San Francisco’s cherished neighborhoods. Lurie has quickly amassed authority and executive power since taking the helm, convincing the Board of Supervisors to give him broad discretion and emergency powers in confronting issues like homelessness and addiction. The new mayor has also rapidly established a new tone in San Francisco politics, which are commonly referred to as a “knife-fight in a phone booth.” Lurie picks up the phone — and uses it to call an under-the-weather supervisor. That’s not to say Lurie’s first few months have been marked by actions which are solely symbolic or part of a long game. He has already put his stamp on key city policies; for example, under his command The City is scaling back pieces of its “harm reduction” strategy on addiction, no longer allowing city-funded outreach workers to freely pass out clean syringes and supplies for drug use on the street. “We have long agreed that fentanyl has changed the game on our streets, but until now we have not changed our approach,” Lurie said. Ex // Top Stories SF foundation doles out first of $5 million arts grants A local foundation on Friday doled out the first of $5 million in pledged grants aimed at supporting downtown San Francisco’s arts scene Huge Embarcadero statue doesn't mesh with SF public art history Arts critic Max Blue writes that “R-Evolution” portends a worrying direction for The City’s public art Trump trade war threatens to catch SF tourism in crossfire A downturn in international travel could be a drag on The City’s fledgling post-pandemic recovery Lurie won over voters by promising to bring an outsider’s perspective to a city government in desperate need of new means to address its most pressing problems, from public safety to permit reform. During the transition period after his election victory and into his first days in office, Lurie worked to assemble an administration that featured an array of experience. He also shook up the structure at the top, adding four “policy chiefs” who would oversee different segments of San Francisco’s sprawling government. He tapped Ned Segal, the former CFO at Twitter, to lead economic development. Alicia John-Baptiste, the former CEO at think tank SPUR, was brought on to handle infrastructure.They include the quick stand-up of a new “mobile triage unit” on Stevenson Street. Initially conceived as a center where people arrested for public drug use could be taken for process and offered treatment or jail; instead, over the course of its initial 30-day pilot, it evolved into a place where officers and outreach workers could direct people and they would receive a variety of services, such as wound care. The center’s operation coincided with ramped-up law enforcement in and around 6th and Mission streets, where open drug markets have become common in recent years. Lurie’s administration has flooded such troubled intersections, including 16th and Mission, with law enforcement, undeterred by criticism that such measures only displace illegal or unseemly activity elsewhere and yield few, if any, arrests of actual drug dealers. In a separate move related to public safety — which Lurie has pledged will be his number one priority as mayor — the mayor convinced the Board of Supervisors to remove Police Commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone, who had feuded with former Mayor London Breed over police reform. Lurie also risked raising the ire of labor unions and city employees by calling on The City to negotiate a four-day in-person workweek for all city employees, up from the three that had previously been required.He introduced a new vision called “Breaking the Cycle” that includes a series of short- and long-term actions meant to make a dent in homelessness and addiction. It included the paring down of The City’s dispersed street outreach teams, from nine that each held a different focus to five teams that would focus on different geographic areas. Lurie has also taken up the state-mandated task of rezoning, releasing a proposal this month that would significantly increase allowed density — largely on the west side — to make way for thousands of units of new housing in San Francisco. Much of Lurie’s long-term ambitions will rely on financial assistance from private donors. To help make that a reality, his fentanyl emergency ordinance will allow him to reach out to private donors. “A series of critical public-private partnerships focused on the fentanyl crisis will begin raising funds to help us end the suffering on our streets,” Lurie said. “Together, these organizations are marshalling resources for the good of our city for generations to come.”
San Francisco San Francisco Politics City Hall
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Day 9 of the 16th St. plaza clean-up: Mayor Lurie promises changeThe side streets continue to get some spill over from the police presence on the plazas. The mayor has promised a big change.
Read more »
Mayor Lurie announces 5 new ‘entertainment zones’ with music, merch and street drinkingMayor Daniel Lurie will close five streets to traffic, allowing for easier pedestrian access, outdoor performances, and public drinking.
Read more »
Lurie at 100 days: A one-on-one with SF's new mayorSan Francisco’s new mayor reflects on his first few months in office — and becoming 'the greatest city in the world again'
Read more »
2025 Morgan Supersport | PH ReviewNew look, new underpinnings, new mission - is the Supersport truly a new dawn for Morgan?
Read more »
SF approves parking meter rate hike to help SFMTA's projected $320 million budget deficitParking meter rates in San Francisco will go up in a few weeks. How this could impact residents, business owners and their customers. 'It adds up every single day.'
Read more »
San Francisco sees 30% drop in Muni fare evasion after SFMTA crackdownAnother Bay Area transit agency is joining BART in its effort to combat fare evasion. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) reported a 30% drop in fare evasion on Muni since July of last year.
Read more »