Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie enters race for San Francisco mayor

Next year, Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, will run for mayor of San Francisco.

Lurie, a local philanthropist and founder of an anti-poverty organization, will run against incumbent London Breed in a pivotal election for a city dealing with a slew of issues, including downtown business closures, homelessness and drug use on the streets, and an increase in robberies.

“We are facing a leadership crisis, and the direction we are heading has me deeply concerned that the next generation will not love San Francisco as much as we do,” Lurie, a Democrat, said in a statement announcing his candidacy on Tuesday. “This moment demands a new era of leadership from the outside.”

Lurie’s bid is an unusual move in a city where many mayors, including Senator Dianne Feinstein and California Governor Gavin Newsom, have risen through the political ranks and used the office as a stepping stone to higher positions. However, observers believe the city’s current slew of issues could open the door for Lurie, a candidate who has never held public office but comes from a prominent San Francisco family.

“When voters feel especially lost and hopeless, that’s usually when they turn to political outsiders,” said Dan Schnur, a political analyst in California. “The exodus from downtown, the housing and homelessness crisis, the challenges with crime and fentanyl have created an environment where many voters have simply lost faith in the traditional political system.”

Lurie is the son of Rabbi Brian Lurie, the former executive director of the Jewish Community Federation, and Miriam “Mimi” Haas, who divorced when he was a child. His mother remarried Peter Haas, philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir, who died in 2005. According to company filings, the extended family owns a stake in the jeans manufacturer worth more than $2.7 billion. Mimi Haas has the largest individual stake in the company, with an 11% stake worth approximately $570 million. Daniel Lurie is not named as a shareholder.

“Money can’t buy you an election like this, but it can serve as table stakes,” Schnur stated. “It can get you in the game.”

Lurie, 46, is a San Francisco native who founded Tipping Point Community, a nonprofit inspired by best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell that invests tens of millions of dollars in Bay Area organizations to fight poverty. He also established the Civic Joy Fund last year, which focuses on civic engagement and economic recovery in San Francisco.

Lurie has ties to the city’s political establishment through his charitable work. Former Mayor Ed Lee appointed him to head the 2016 Super Bowl committee. Becca Prowda, his wife, worked for Newsom when he was mayor and is now his director of protocol.

Breed, a moderate Democrat seeking re-election, faces a difficult re-election campaign as polls show her popularity among city residents has declined. According to a May survey sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 76% of San Francisco voters believe the city is on the wrong track.

“I’m not doing this job because I’m afraid of losing it; I’m doing it because I’ve been here my whole life and I know we have problems,” Breed said at the Bloomberg Technology Summit in June. “I’m willing to put it all on the line and do whatever it takes and turn things around.”

San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safa has also announced his intention to run for mayor against Breed, promising to improve public safety and restore trust in local government.

Breed has clashed with progressive opponents on issues ranging from housing to homelessness to police reform. She’s also been chastised for the deterioration of San Francisco’s downtown, where workers have been slow to return following the pandemic and many businesses have closed due to reduced foot traffic.

According to CBRE Group Inc. data, the city’s office vacancy rate reached a new high of nearly 32% in the second quarter, up from less than 4% in 2019. As a result, tax revenue is being squeezed, and the budget deficit is expected to exceed $1 billion by 2026.

Nonetheless, San Francisco has begun to show signs of recovery, with tourism increasing and artificial-intelligence firms increasing demand for office space. Breed also has a devoted following, including billionaire Ripple Labs Inc. founder Chris Larsen. In early September, he told Bloomberg that he wished Lurie hadn’t planned to run and called the campaign a “waste of resources.”

According to Jim Ross, a political consultant who worked on Newsom’s mayoral campaign, Lurie will have to demonstrate that his nonprofit work has made a difference in the city’s problems, particularly homelessness, which has been his main focus. “He needs to create a contrast with the mayor on leadership, on his successes and things that he’s doing in philanthropy and the private sector,” he stated.

In his announcement on Tuesday, Lurie, a newcomer to politics, stated that Tipping Point has held its partners accountable and cut funding to those who were not delivering results. If elected mayor, he promised to fully staff the police force, provide shelter and mental health care for the homeless, and reform the criminal justice system.

“We’re seeing the opposite at City Hall, where the system serves itself instead of the public,” said Lurie. “That must change, and it will.”