Mission Local is publishing a daily campaign dispatch for each of the major contenders in the mayor’s race, alternating among candidates weekly until November. This week: Daniel Lurie. Read earlier dispatches here.
On a hot and sunny Wednesday afternoon in Chinatown, tourists were scarce and business slow. Mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie was paying his third visit to Chinatown merchants.
Sleeves up and white sneakers on, Lurie popped in from shop to shop on Jackson Street and Grant Avenue, one of Chinatown’s main business corridors, adorned with street lanterns and, once upon a time, crowds of tourists.
The complaints Lurie heard from a dozen or so business owners: It’s difficult and unsafe to park, homelessness has gotten worse in the city, the streets are dirty and tourism has yet to recover. They also talked about store thefts, break-ins, and downtown store closures.
Lurie summarized the ills.
“The big issue I kept hearing over and over again was feeling safe and having clean streets, not just during a big conference in town,” Lurie mentioned a few times during his conversations with shopkeepers, making a not-too-subtle dig at Mayor London Breed’s efforts to swiftly clean up downtown streets ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference last September, when President Xi Jinping of China and President Joe Biden gathered with other leaders in San Francisco.
Lurie was accompanied by Kit Lam, his campaign consultant and interpreter, and a group of some eight volunteers holding “Lurie for Mayor” signs. He was also joined by Roger Moy, a Chinatown night patrol volunteer and Lurie’s tour guide for the one and a half hours he spent in Chinatown.
About half of the shopkeepers spoke in English, and the other half in Cantonese — in which Lurie was able to communicate with the help of Lam and Moy. Moy served as Lurie’s ambassador, filling him in on the shop’s specific issues before the candidate. On average, Lurie spent 10 minutes in each store.
“You need to come out here, because no visibility, no vote,” Moy advised Lurie and his campaign team prior to the merchant walk. “You need that face and name recognition.”
And Moy was right; not everyone in Chinatown is familiar with Lurie, or any other mayoral candidates.
After Lurie shook hands with business owners, posed for photos, and moved on to the next store, this reporter stayed behind to ask the store owners what they thought of the mayoral candidate.
“He seems nice,” said Diane Tan, who opened New Fashion Boutique at 780 Jackson St. in 2002. Tan, who spoke in Mandarin, said this is the first time she’s seen and met Lurie in person. It’s also the first time she’s seen or gotten to talk to any mayoral candidate.
“I hope he can help us small businesses. I hope he can help us Chinese people here,” Tan added.
Tan was not alone. Alice Luong, owner of Red Blossom Tea Company at 831 Grant Ave., said Lurie’s team asked for permission to put up a sign in her storefront window right before the mayoral hopeful entered the store.
Luong agreed, and was happy to get to know Lurie in person — and introduce various kinds of tea to him. But Luong said she’s unsure if they can keep Lurie’s sign up in the window, because she doesn’t know which candidate her landlord supports.
Lurie’s appearance, even if the first for many, was generally well-received.
Tane Chan, owner of the Wok Shop at 718 Grant Ave., who has been in business for 57 years, said Lurie’s visit “says a lot.”
“I get to meet you, and I can tell everybody I met you,” Chan said to Lurie excitedly.
“And I’m here a lot, so I’ll come say hi,” he replied.
Jian W. Ma, the owner of Powell Trading Company at 837 Grant Ave., which sells jade jewelry, said in Mandarin that he would consider voting for Lurie. Ma said he thinks a “political newcomer” like Lurie can bring changes compared to other candidates who have been in City Hall for a long time.
After his stop at the Chinatown Kite Shop at 717 Grant Ave., the candidate came out of the store with two crochet sunflowers that he bought for $12.99 each — one for his mom and one for his wife, as Mother’s Day gifts.
“I think I keep hearing that, over and over again from people, that they want the city to be helping them, instead of making things harder on them,” Lurie said, as he wrapped up his day. “So, simply put, we, as a city, need to do better for our small businesses.”
While Lurie was on his way back to Red Blossom Tea Company to get some mint tea — his flavor of choice — Lam treated the day’s volunteers with boba tea.
By the end of the day, the corridor had many more Lurie signs. And the candidate will get a sense of their endurance when he returns , on Friday for the BeChinatown Night Market and again Saturday for the Lion Dance Me competition.
I’ve already given up on Lurie. I saw him more than a month ago at Mannys. Yes, he seems nice but he talked for about an hour and basically didn’t say anything. I had higher hopes for him.
Old money is just as corrupt and corrupting as new money. Anyway, where does he stand on rent control, the most important issue for many voters?