Big Money Looms Over SF Mayor Race and Other Takeaways From 1st Candidate Forum

Daniel Lurie is rich, and he knows San Franciscans might have qualms about it.

An heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and candidate for San Francisco mayor, Lurie leaned into his upbringing on Tuesday night at the first mayoral election forum this year. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club hosted it at the First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center on Franklin Street.

Lurie said he had no choice in growing up wealthy. Instead, the choice he made was to create an anti-poverty nonprofit, Tipping Point, to try to help people using his resources, he told Jeffrey Kwong, president of the Milk Club and the forum’s moderator.

“Every door that’s been open for me, I’ve tried to bring along as many people as possible,” Lurie told Kwong on stage. ”There’s no buying this election. This is why you’re not going to see a candidate work as hard as me.”

Kwong bluntly told Lurie that people have a “visceral” response to seeing such a wealthy person enter the mayor’s race. Some fear his money could sway the election, Kwong said.

“If you read about me these days, the first thing you hear is ‘Levi’s,’” Lurie told the crowd. “I run toward that.”

As the five mayoral candidates faced questions about their policies and personal histories from the club of progressive Democrats, Lurie wasn’t the only one to be grilled about his finances.

Mark Farrell, a former supervisor and mayor, denied his campaign had any unethical ties with independent political groups that wield significant spending power.

Text messages revealed by Mission Local and the San Francisco Chronicle suggest coordination between independent political groups TogetherSF, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco — which have spent millions from wealthy tech funders on behalf of moderate Democratic causes — and Farrell’s campaign. Some coordination between such groups may flout state and local ethics laws. The Milk Club’s members pressed Farrell on the issue.

“These are all organizations that every single candidate, I’m sure, that is up on the stage is courting,” Farrell told Kwong on stage. “And they have independent boards, and I hope to earn their support.”

Speaking to KQED, Farrell denied that Kanishka Cheng, TogetherSF Action’s CEO, and her husband Jay Cheng, head of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, unethically coordinated with his campaign.

“Kanishka was someone who used to work for me in City Hall. She’s done amazing things running her organization inside of City Hall, and she’s a friend, and that’s it,” Farrell said after the event. When pressed to answer directly whether either of the Chengs coordinated with his campaign, he said “no.”

Catch up fast: The forum gave San Franciscans their first public glimpse into the policies and character of the top contenders in the mayor’s race: Lurie, Farrell, Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Ahsha Safai and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin.

Kwong interviewed each candidate for 30 minutes in front of roughly 200 attendees, with no debate between candidates. The forum was announced after San Francisco’s first planned mayoral debate began to crumble last week over the alleged ties between Farrell’s campaign and political advocacy organizations. That debate would have been hosted by TogetherSF Action until Breed and Peskin questioned its independence.

It’s a novel election, as incumbent mayors are not usually challenged. A poll conducted for the San Francisco Chronicle in February showed that 71% of San Franciscans did not approve of Breed’s job performance as mayor, a result mirrored in multiple polls, revealing Breed to be vulnerable to challenge.

Why it matters: Lurie’s opponents have publicly mocked a billboard funded by his mother, Mimi Haas, touting her $1 million donation to a group supporting her son’s candidacy. The candidates have all taken turns alleging Lurie is unequipped to be mayor because he’s never held public office.

Lurie’s messaging during the forum previewed what he may say on the campaign trail to rebut those claims. Jim Ross, a political consultant who ran Gov. Gavin Newsom’s successful 2003 campaign for mayor, said every campaign has a question to answer, almost like a central thesis.

“Lurie’s obvious question he has to answer is basically, ‘Is being rich enough of a qualification to be mayor?’” Ross said.

As for Farrell, ethics laws bar certain types of cooperation between such groups. That firewall forms the backbone of campaign finance law that allows independent political groups to fundraise in any amount to support multiple candidates, as opposed to candidate-controlled campaigns, which can only accept a maximum donation of $500.

Ross said TogetherSF mishandled its bad press, saying that a statement backing Farrell might have eased off some of the scrutiny the group has come under.

“Because they kind of are trying to seem neutral or hide it and come off as independent, it’s making it a story,” Ross said. “It’s not the scandal, it’s the cover-up.”

Other candidates in the hot seat: Lurie and Farrell weren’t the only ones questioned on controversial topics by Kwong.

Kwong told Breed that progressive Democrats bristle at her support for police and her relatively silent treatment around the need for police reform after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer. Breed disagreed with Kwong’s characterization but ultimately doubled down on supporting police and public safety. Audience members shouted slogans against the police department during the discussion.

“People are hollering ‘defund the police,’” Breed said, “but let something happen to you, and you’re calling 911 and wondering why the police didn’t get there. I get that people have issues and concerns, and they’re not perfect, but I’ve worked really hard to build those bridges.”

Kwong said Peskin’s critics have characterized him as a NIMBY and dislike that he blocks housing in his home neighborhood, North Beach.

“We can grow San Francisco without destroying our neighborhoods,” Peskin said, who cited his work to build 10,000 housing units in the Mission, South of Market and Central Waterfront as part of the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan, among other efforts.

Safai was challenged on his progressive bonafides. He said he’s the only candidate with a long history in the labor movement, working with a local janitors’ union for a decade.

What we’re watching: Peskin, Lurie, Farrell and Safai all had critical words for Breed, but due to the format, Breed had no opportunity to rebut them. Breed is a skilled orator; it’ll be fascinating to watch the first debate where Breed and her challengers can engage in dialogue together — even if it’s not yet certain when that will be.