San Francisco Mayor London Breed lost her reelection bid Thursday night to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie following years in which the liberal city struggled with sky-high crime and deteriorating quality of life.
Breed, whose tenure began in 2017, said she called Lurie, a venture capitalist, to concede the election two days after voters went to the polls in the rank-choice election.
“Being Mayor of San Francisco has been the greatest honor of my lifetime. I’m beyond grateful to our residents for the opportunity to serve the City that raised me,” she said in a statement.
Breed argued the city made progress under her six years in office and was “proud that we have truly accomplished so much” even as the California city has faced numerous problems.
An ongoing drug crisis has killed hundreds of people while crime, including relentless shoplifting and property crime, has diminished the quality of life for residents and frustrated businesses.
Homeless encampments also became a familiar and heartbreaking sight under Breed.
Lurie, who spent millions out of his own pocket, clinched about 56% of support in the rank-choice system while Breed was far behind with 44% when she conceded, according to preliminary results, Bloomberg reported.
Lurie, 47, warned turning around the city “is not going to happen overnight.”
He is an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune through his mother, who married Peter Haas when he was a child. Haas was the past CEO of the clothing company started by his great-grandfather Daniel Strauss.
“No matter who wins this election, we have extremely difficult challenges ahead,” he said according to his campaign website.
