San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie seeks help from business leaders | Real Time Headlines

San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie has begun hiring tech heavyweights and business leaders to help him achieve his goal of overhauling the city’s image. His transition team includes OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Twitter CFO Ned Segal.

Lurie, a centrist Democrat and Levi Strauss heir apparent, unseated incumbent London Breed in a closely watched race and will take over in 2025 this position. He sees Visa and Salesforce as examples of this “two-way street.”

“I had a great conversation with Sam Altman,” Lurie said. “He wants to put down roots in San Francisco. We want to be the home of artificial intelligence, which we are, and I will continue to invest in that.”

Lurie said the city can’t put all its eggs in one basket and needs to expand into other business areas.

“We will be recruiting companies from all walks of life to come back to San Francisco,” Lurie said. “Whether it’s health care, technology or arts and culture, we want to be the No. 1 business sector in this country again.”

Lurie founded the homeless nonprofit Tipping Point, and his plans include declaring a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis on his first day in office and the previously disclosed construction of 1,500 shelters in his first six months in office. Proposal for shelter beds. Lurie said fully staffed police departments and 911 dispatch offices are needed to help businesses and workers return to the city.

“We need to make sure our behavioral health crisis is under control, and that means we need to build more mental health and drug treatment beds,” Lurie said. “We have to get people off the streets. We have to do it compassionately. , but we also have to send a message to the country and the world – and we do – that San Francisco is no longer a place where you come to take care of your business and get high or do drugs or live on the streets.

Lurie added, “We didn’t solve this problem overnight, and we’re not going to solve this problem overnight.”

Part of the solution he envisions is bringing workers back into the office and working with his administration to make that happen. Lurie said his team works five days a week and he hopes the government’s efforts to clean up the streets will entice others to do the same. Providing more affordable housing will also be a priority to ensure workers can afford to live in the city, he said.

He also hopes that future events the city will host over the next year and a half — from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to the 2025 NBA All-Star Game and 2026 Super Bowl LX — will help revitalize the city.

“I’ve talked to Jamie Dimon,” Lurie said. “I talked to the NBA commissioner. They both want San Francisco back.”

Lurie’s election is part of a broader trend of past progressive policies and leaders moving to the right. More conservative district attorneys were elected in major counties, including Los Angeles’ Nathan Hochman, while Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Pamela Price and Auckland Mayor Sheng Thao were successfully recalled. California voters also approved a proposal to toughen penalties for certain drug and theft crimes while rejecting a measure that would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour. The focus for voters up and down the state is the economy, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll, which found the economy, cost of living and inflation are key issues for 35% of voters this cycle.

“In some ways, it’s notable that California remains a blue state and a Democratic stronghold as it considers how people feel about their finances, especially Compared to four years ago.

Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene a special legislative session next week in an effort to shape the state before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Be prepared and secure policies on climate change, reproductive rights, and more.

Lurie told CNBC he disputes the notion that the city is “turning to the right,” adding that his biggest challenge will be combating the cynicism surrounding San Francisco’s status quo.

“What we are doing in San Francisco is returning to common sense through this election,” Lurie said. “This is about getting results for the people of San Francisco — allowing people to struggle and die on our streets is not progress.”