Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie pledges to make San Francisco safer as mayor

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, who has never held public office, promised on Friday that as San Francisco’s mayor he will do what seasoned politicians before him have not — clean up city streets and bring an end to its open-air drug markets.

“Your voices and your call for accountable leadership, service and change have been heard,” Lurie said at a park in San Francisco's Chinatown, delivering his first public remarks since Mayor London Breed called him to concede the race the previous day.

Lurie said he chose Chinatown for Friday’s event to underscore how important the area's health is to turning San Francisco around. He walked the neighborhood the day after Tuesday's election and visited again Friday. Chinese voters are also critical to winning citywide in San Francisco.

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in Tuesday’s election because tens of thousands of ballots have not yet been counted and added to the ranked-choice voting calculations. San Francisco uses a system that allows voters to list up to 10 candidates in order of preference.

But on Friday, Lurie held a commanding lead in early election results, and Breed called Lurie on Thursday to congratulate him. She said in a statement that she and her staff will work to ensure a smooth transition when he takes over as mayor of a city.

“I know we are both committed to improving this City we love,” Breed wrote.

Lurie's ascent was remarkable for a candidate with little name recognition who appears to have bested two San Francisco supervisors and a former interim mayor.

His deep pockets helped. Lurie spent nearly $9 million of his own money on his first-time campaign for mayor and raised more than $16 million, including $1 million from his mother Mimi Haas. Lurie is the stepson of the late Peter Haas, a great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss and longtime CEO of the iconic San Francisco-based clothing company.

Breed's victory six years ago as the city's first Black female mayor — who grew up impoverished in public housing — showed that no dream was impossible in the progressive, compassionate and equitable city. But the honeymoon was short-lived as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered stores and tech workers retreated to home offices. Tent encampments proliferated, as did public drug use.

Streets did become cleaner and homeless tents harder to find this year, but the daytime shooting in September of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall in a popular central shopping district reignited a debate over public safety. She faced off with multiple opponents who accused her of doing too little too late.

Voters' dissatisfaction with how the city is handling crime and safety was also reflected Friday in their successful recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who campaigned on promises to reduce incarceration rates. She struggled to defend herself during a double-digit percentage increase in violent crime countywide in 2023 and has now been voted out along with George Gascón, Los Angeles County's progressive prosecutor.

On policy, Lurie does not differ much from Breed. Lurie said he wants to build more housing, crack down on drug dealers, get homeless people off the streets and take a compassionate yet firm approach to drug users who refuse help.

But he said that as a political outsider, he would bring a critical eye to bureaucracy, weed out nonprofits and department heads who fail to deliver, and focus on results. As mayor, he would oversee more than 30,000 employees and a $15 billion annual budget.

Lurie plans to beef up the city's police presence, declare a fentanyl state of emergency, set up 1,500 shelter beds within six months, and drastically streamline the permitting process so small businesses can thrive, he said.

His opponents on the campaign trail trashed Lurie for spending so much money, but his supporters did not seem to mind, nor did they seem bothered by his lack of experience in government. Several people at Friday's event said they were familiar with the anti-poverty nonprofit he founded in 2005, Tipping Point Community.

“I’m so happy to have Daniel here because, you see, special interests is gone. He doesn’t need the money, it’s all about passion for this city,” said Shirletha Holmes-Boxx, 67, a community organizer.

Lurie, 47, said he plans to put his holdings into a blind trust and talk to the city attorney about forgoing the mayor’s $380,000 annual salary.

Paul Yep, a retired San Francisco Police Department commander, said Lurie convinced him early on with his ideas, passion and purpose for running.

“I saw his commitment and his love for San Francisco,” Yep said. “I knew that the outsider point of view was exactly what was needed.”

Lurie planned to visit other parts of the city Friday, including a senior center, lunch at a gumbo social, ice cream with his two children and happy hour at a pub.

“So many people love this city, it’s time for us to start making people feel like the city loves them back,” he said Friday, with his wife Becca Prowda at his side as scores of supporters snapped photos, clapped their hands and hooted with joy.

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie, middle, tours businesses as he walks through Chinatown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie tours businesses as he walks through Chinatown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie, middle, is greeted by supporters after speaking at a news conference in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie, middle, greets Wing Pau, manager of Far East Cafe restaurant, as he walks through Chinatown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie, middle, and his wife, Becca Prowda, middle right, walk through Chinatown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie, foreground right, speaks at a news conference next to his wife in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Daniel Lurie, center, speaks at a news conference accompanied by his wife, Becca Prowda, center left, in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Daniel Lurie speaks at a news conference in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Daniel Lurie waves as he arrives at a news conference in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Daniel Lurie speaks at a news conference accompanied by his wife, Becca Prowda, left, in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities have detained a Russia-linked ship as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, according to police and news media reports, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.

Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku said at a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials as a suspected part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers, Yle television reported. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.

The Eagle S anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle reported, relying on police statements.

The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.

Estonia's government was holding a extraordinary meeting on the issue Thursday, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on X. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

“Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation,” she said on X. “The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents.”

Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said that officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.

Estonian network operator Elering says there was enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)