Mission Local is publishing campaign dispatches 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.
It was 86 degrees amid San Francisco’s hottest week of the year and Daniel Lurie pulled up to the corner of 19th and Castro streets in his Rivian truck, wearing a long-sleeved white button-down shirt, black suit pants and dress shoes.
Lucky for this mayoral candidate, the one-hour walk on Castro to introduce himself to shopkeepers and passersby would happen on the shady side of the street.
“To be honest, I wish I was in your attire instead of this,” Lurie said to Christian Scognamillo, who wore a white t-shirt and navy blue shorts while sipping a glass of chilled white wine with his friend outside of Swirl, a wine shop at 572 Castro St. The candidate later admitted that he didn’t have time to change into something lighter.
His staffers and Scognamillo all burst into laughter.
“I’m running for mayor,” Lurie announced.
“I’ve heard!” Scognamillo quickly replied. “You’re all over the TV!”
“We’re gonna win,” Lurie then said with a grin.
“Why?” Scognamillo asked.
“We’re leading in all the polls,” Lurie answered quickly. “So, that’s why.”
At least, that’s what his campaign’s latest poll indicated this week. In it, 23 percent of the voters surveyed support the incumbent London Breed as their first choice, and 22 percent want Lurie. If you plug and chug the ranked-choice voting permutations, Lurie would win. At least according to this poll.
“Why are you a better choice than London Breed?” asked Ryan, Scognamillo’s friend sitting nearby.
“She’s been in office for 12 years. She is still blaming the Board of Supervisors for many of the issues,” Lurie replied. “Do you know what her last job was? She was on the Board of Supervisors.”
As the three kept on talking about the race, Matthew Goudeau, the Lurie campaign’s senior advisor said to this reporter: “You probably have these lines memorized.”
He’s not wrong: After all, it has been one year and six days since Lurie launched his campaign for mayor, in Potrero Hill at the end of September last year. Lurie stayed on message. He touts his experience chairing the Super Bowl 50 and his nonprofit Tipping Point’s affordable housing build on Bryant Street, “on time and under budget, with good-paying union labor.” To those who say he has no experience, he says those with years of experience in government have had their chance.
In the Castro, Lurie seems at ease, enjoying the late afternoon’s slightly cooler breeze. He also seems popular; during the one-hour walk down the two blocks between 19th and Market streets along Castro Street, at least half a dozen people stop Lurie on the street, exchanging a hug, a handshake, or a shoutout of “you’ve got my vote already!”
Lurie sees the same problems that small businesses in the Castro and across the city face: Safety.
Lurie recalls how Lazy Susan, a Chinese restaurant in West Portal, had its huge window smashed overnight, just as ZGO Perfumery, a perfume store at 19th and Castro streets, had its window broken not long ago and burglarized by four men with ski masks in the middle of the day.
When asked what he thinks of the fact that Breed, one of his major opponents, keeps saying that crime is down, Lurie said he believes “violent crimes are down.”
“I walk into every business, and they’re like ‘yeah, people just come in” and shoplift, Lurie said. “It’s not down.”
The walk ended at the southwestern corner of Market and Castro streets outside of Soul Cycle, where a Harris-Waltz tent is pitched outside, basking in heat and scorching sunlight.
With the election about a month away, Lurie said his day-to-day life hasn’t yet changed much.
“Everyone was like, ‘oh, it’s gonna pick up, it’s gonna pick up,’” the candidate said. “I mean, what picked up were more forums and debates.”‘
Lurie said one of the things that remains the same is the meet-and-greets — an event in which his supporters or voters who wish to know him better gather at a friendly site. They usually start with a pitch to the audience and end with a round of questions.
Lurie did the math: “I think we’re at 220.”
