Will Levi Strauss Heir's Bold First Step As Mayor Keep Residents In San Francisco?

San Francisco's mayor-elect, billionaire Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, is set to confront the city's persistent housing and homelessness crises as he prepares to take office.

Lurie, who won the election with a platform centered on addressing crime, drug addiction and affordable housing, pledged to declare a state of emergency on drugs on his first day in office, according to Realtor.com.

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"We are going to get tough on those that are dealing drugs and we are going to be compassionate but tough about the condition of our streets," Lurie said in his first press conference after the election.

His victory marks a shift in leadership. He replaces London Breed, the city's first Black female mayor and promises a more aggressive approach to the city's challenges.

Lurie's campaign emphasized restoring public safety and cleanliness while working to create more affordable housing and support services.

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San Francisco has grappled with a spiraling housing crisis and homelessness problem, exacerbated by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city's population has declined and its downtown area continues to suffer from high office vacancies and declining foot traffic.

Lurie has pledged to tackle San Francisco's soaring housing costs, partly driven by a significant housing shortage. While still among the highest in the nation, the city's median home list price has been declining, dropping from $1.4 million in 2020 to $1.2 million in 2024, according to Realtor.com data.

As part of his vision, Lurie has committed to building enough housing to ensure affordability for current and future residents.

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Sam Fitz-Simon, a veteran real estate agent based in the East Bay, told Realtor.com that many of his clients have left San Francisco, seeking safer and more family-friendly communities elsewhere.

"One of my clients told me that his family's last straw was finding a needle in a play structure in their neighborhood, Pacific Heights," Fitz-Simon said.

Widespread theft has led to the closure of prominent retail stores and malls in San Francisco's Union Square, a once-thriving area for shoppers and tourists. This and other urban challenges have driven many residents to leave the city.

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San Francisco recently ranked No. 4 among cities experiencing the highest out-migration rates.

While San Francisco continues to experience population decline, out-migration has significantly slowed in recent years, according to Hamilton Lombard, a demographer at the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center.

Migration peaked in 2021, with 57,000 residents relocating to areas like the East Bay, Santa Rosa and Sacramento, as well as cities far afield such as Seattle, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

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"Though high-cost metro areas such as San Francisco or New York continued to experience high levels of out-migration after the pandemic, the parts of their urban core that offer a large number of amenities have been more attractive to people relocating," Lombard said.

As Lurie steps into the challenging role, the city will closely watch his efforts to balance addressing immediate needs with longer-term solutions to revitalize San Francisco's struggling neighborhoods and restore its reputation as a thriving urban hub.

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