San Francisco Mayor Says City Heading ‘In the Right Direction’ in 100 Days Remarks

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie makes remarks on his upcoming 100 days in office on April 17, 2024. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said on April 17 that the city is “trending in the right direction” in a speech marking his first 100 days in office.

In his address at Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr., Center for Performing Arts, Lurie highlighted improvements to public safety, progress in tackling homelessness and drug issues, and in revitalizing the city’s economy.

“Over the past few years, our foundation has been shaken, we lost our way.” Lurie said. “It’s not a political thing to want to feel safe walking our kids to school, open a business, or have clean streets.”

Citywide homeless people’s tents and structures reached the lowest level since track began in 2019, and crime in San Francisco is at its lowest point in 23 years: violent crime is down 15 percent, and car break-ins, which account for more than half of all property crime in San Francisco, are at a 22-year low, according to the Mayor’s office.

Some of these trends started from the end of former Mayor London Breed’s term, Lurie told reporters after the speech.

He said he’s excited about the numbers. “I don’t care who gets the credit. I want crime to go down. I want families to feel safe in our city again.”

As his first priority to address the fentanyl crisis and homelessness issues, the mayor restructured the street response team with a new model that coordinates seven key departments to deliver one unified neighborhood-based approach.

“We will not shy away from making tough calls,” Lurie said in his speech.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie shakes hands with Supervisor Matt Dorsey after his speech on the eve of his 100 days in office on April 17, 2025. Lear Zhou/The Epoch Times

Under his “Breaking the Cycle” executive directive, a decades-old city practice handling drug use supplies for free has been stopped, and addicts must now receive treatment, counseling, or be connected to services to receive them.

Kunal Modi, director of Health, Homelessness, & Family Services, shared a post on social media platform X that a mobile triage team based on 6th Street for 30 days logged nearly 17,000 engagements with community target, completed 275 shelter and housing placements, directed 1,100 people to medical and behavioral health services, and made 349 arrests.

“We are going to continue to let the world know that you don’t come to San Francisco to deal drugs anymore, you don’t come here to sit on the streets and do drugs anymore, and you don’t come here to sleep on our streets. And that is a message that has not broken through, and that is a message that we will break through,” Lurie said to the media.

Lurie touted the sign of improvements in the economy: Moscone Convention Center bookings have increased 53 percent compared to last year, generating $174 million in revenue, and the NBA All-Star Weekend alone generated an estimated $350 million in economic activity for the Bay Area.

“People are betting on San Francisco again,” said Lurie, adding that fashion brand Zara had decided against closing their store and are now bringing a four-story flagship to Union Square.

Under Lurie’s order, two recently established civic organizations will help with San Francisco’s economic revitalization.

“The Downtown Development Corporation is focusing on the revival of our economic core, while the Partnership for San Francisco, a council of some of the most innovative business leaders of our time, will serve as ambassadors for those in this city and around the world who are interested in bringing business back to San Francisco,” the mayor.

Just after his inauguration on Jan. 8, Lurie issued a hiring freeze and contracting pause knowing the city was facing a nearly $1 billion deficit—the largest in city’s history.

According to the latest evaluation from the Controllers’ Office, San Francisco will have a $840 million deficit in the upcoming two year budget. Considering possible Medicaid and Department of Housing and Urban Development cuts, Lurie told the press, “forget anything having to do with our policies, we could see much bigger cuts.”

“It’s not just a billion dollars that is possibly on the table, it’s more. And so we have to tighten our belts now.”

Lurie will have to submit his budget to the Board of Supervisors in June. He said it will be a balanced budget and that “the city will be on better financial footing because of what we’re going through right now.”