By Janie Har | Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco’s first black female mayor, London Breed, on Thursday conceded the mayoral race to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, promising a smooth transition when she takes office.
The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner because tens of thousands of ballots have yet to be counted and added to ranked-choice vote calculations.
Breed, who was raised by her grandmother in public housing, could not overcome voters’ deep discontent and trailed Lurie, a philanthropist and founder of an anti-poverty nonprofit.
“At the end of the day, this work is greater than any one person’s work and what matters is that we continue to move this city forward,” Breed said, adding that she called Lurie to congratulate him. “I know we are both committed to improving this city we love.”
As San Francisco’s streets have gotten cleaner and homeless tents much harder to find in recent months, Breed’s Democratic opponents on the campaign trail have repeatedly hammered his administration for doing too little, too much. late, like homeless tent encampments, open-air drug use, and brazen retail. thefts increased during his six years in office.
She faced four high-profile challengers, including two San Francisco supervisors and a former acting mayor.
But voters flocked to Lurie, 47, a city native from a famous family who is committed to bringing accountability and public service back to City Hall. He is the founder of Tipping Point Community, which says it has invested more than $400 million since 2005 in programs to help people with housing, education and early childhood.
“I am deeply grateful to my incredible family, my campaign team and all San Franciscans who voted for accountability, service and change,” Lurie said in a statement. “No matter who you supported in this election, we are united in the fight for San Francisco’s future and a safer, more affordable city for everyone. »
Lurie pumped nearly $9 million of his own money into his first mayoral bid, drawing criticism from Breed and other opponents. But he said that as a political outsider, he had to introduce himself to voters, and ultimately some voters said they appreciated the fact that Lurie’s financial wealth protected him from being beholden to particular interests.
Lurie is heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune through his mother, Mimi Haas, who married Peter Haas when Daniel was a child. Peter Haas, great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss, was a longtime CEO of the iconic clothing company, who died in 2005.
The Levi’s name and the Haas family’s philanthropic foundations are deeply rooted in the history and identity of San Francisco.
Lurie’s father, Brian Lurie, is a rabbi and former longtime executive director of the San Francisco-based Federation of Jewish Community.
Breed won the mayoral election in June 2018 to fill the remainder of Mayor Ed Lee’s term.
She was re-elected in 2019 to a full five-year term instead of the usual four, after voters changed the election calendar to align with presidential elections.
