Democratic San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie spoke Tuesday of his “common sense” approach in contrast to progressive Mayor London Breed, whom he defeated last week.
Lurie, a first-time candidate, heir to Levi Strauss and founder of an anti-poverty nonprofit, positioned himself as the tough-on-crime alternative to Breed's lax policies on theft, drug use and homelessness that They ravage the city. Then he defeated Breed by more than 10 points last week.
In an interview Tuesday, CNN's Erin Burnett asked Lurie if he attributed his victory to running against “progressive” politics.
“I'm a lifelong Democrat, but here in San Francisco we don't consider ourselves progressive, moderate or conservative,” Lurie said. “We just want to get back to common sense. We have to get to the basics, and that's my plan. That's the mandate I was elected to serve.”
San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie spoke Tuesday on CNN about his “common sense” approach to governing. (CNN Screenshot)
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He added: “We have to make sure we have a fully staffed police department. We have to get a handle on our behavioral health and drug crisis in our city. We need to make sure our small businesses can thrive. Our big businesses need to come back to San Francisco.” . We need to be open for business again. I don't think it's a turn to the right. “That's a common sense approach.”
Burnett broadcast footage of Lurie's advertisements and events in which he appeared to attack the city's current approach to crime and other issues.
“I want to be a safety-first candidate here in San Francisco. You can't just be for public safety during an election year. We need more police officers focused on our hospitality so that our convention-goers, our shoppers, our tourists can feel safe,” Lurie said in the footage.
Daniel Lurie defeated incumbent San Francisco Mayor London Breed in the city's mayoral race. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AP/Jeff Chiu)
He continued to denounce the state of the city on CNN and reiterate that reducing crime rates and encouraging business growth are not partisan issues.
“I think people want results, and they weren't seeing them. There's nothing progressive about 806 people dying from drug overdoses in our city last year. Property crime is rampant. Our small businesses struggle every day. They want a mayor who focuses on getting results, that's the mandate I was voted in for,” Lurie said.
He continued: “I don't think that's anything more than… those are progressive values, so I understand that I'm speaking to a national audience. This is not liberal, progressive or conservative. People want to feel safe walking around “We had a lot of cases of anti-Asian hate on our streets. “Those are things we need to address.”
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Breed's defeat came alongside several significant GOP shifts within the state, with nearly 40% of Californians vote for President-elect Donald Trump, after he only obtained 34% and 31% in 2020 and 2016, respectively. The state also overwhelmingly supported efforts to repeal progressive policies like Proposition 36, which rolled back previous soft-crime policies.
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Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
