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 Monday evening, the sound of some 300 singers with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus filled the ballroom on the ground floor of a three-story Art Deco building on Valencia Street near Duboce Avenue.
Mayoral contender Daniel Lurie was sitting by the side of the ballroom, occasionally standing up to sneak a photo of Michael Tilson Thomas. The music director of the San Francisco Symphony was onstage giving “a master class” that evening at the chorus’ last rehearsal before the Tuesday performance “All We Need Is Love” in collaboration with the symphony.
“I’m a fan!” Lurie whispered as he was returning to his seat, smiling exuberantly as he looked at those sitting next to him — his senior advisor Matthew Goudeau, the former director of the city’s Grants for the Arts, who joined Team Lurie in early March; and former Senator Mark Leno, who is a friend and former partner of Tilson Thomas.
After sitting and watching for about half an hour, Lurie left with Goudeau and Sarah Cohan, the director of development for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Cohan then gave a brief tour of the historical building at 170 Valencia St. where the chorus rehearses. It is the home of the Chan National Queer Arts Center, which provides space for LGBTQ+ artists in the city to gather and create arts.
“They’re iconic everywhere they go,” Lurie said of the chorus. “I grew up knowing about them.”
Cohan said the group raised $1.02 million at this year’s fundraiser, but not one dollar from philanthropist and Levi Strauss heir Lurie or his family yet. She was hoping after the tour, the mayoral candidate could become a donor.
“Are you going to become a donor after this?” this reporter asked.
“They’re worthy of support. I’ll put it that way,” the mayoral candidate said.
If only he could get them to shorten the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club’s questionnaire, just over eight pages of questions requiring detailed attention.
Earlier on Monday, Conor Johnston, supporter and former staffer of the incumbent Mayor London Breed, pointed out on X that Lurie had failed to complete it.
“We’ve answered 20-plus questionnaires in detail,” Lurie said about this past month. “We’ve provided as many answers to them as others.”
Lurie, who hopes to get the club’s endorsement, said he respects the club greatly and the process of going to forums and filling out questionnaires. However, he said, the questionnaire is “lengthy,” and the amount of staff time going into questionnaires and debates and forums has been “quite extensive.”
“I think other campaigns also haven’t filled out all of every questionnaire,” he said in his defense, and offered a solution.
“There are some [questionnaires] where you’d rather just sit and talk to their group,” Lurie said, and then left for home to celebrate the last day of school with his family.
