{"id":37685,"date":"2024-11-18T11:11:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=37685"},"modified":"2024-11-18T11:11:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:11:46","slug":"breed-lost-after-burning-bridges-leaving-daniel-lurie-to-put-out-flames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/11\/18\/breed-lost-after-burning-bridges-leaving-daniel-lurie-to-put-out-flames\/","title":{"rendered":"Breed lost after burning bridges, leaving Daniel Lurie to put out flames"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Mayor
Mayor London Breed failed to maintain relationships needed to survive stiff political headwinds, insiders say. |\u00a0Source:Jason Henry for The Standard<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez<\/a> Published\u00a0Nov. 15, 2024 \u2022 (SFStandad.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would be forgiven for thinking billionaires Bill Oberndorf, the national Republican benefactor, and Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist and chairman of The Standard, are always at odds with Mayor London Breed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, Oberndorf and Moritz were among the four biggest individual spenders in the November election, and that money went squarely against Breed\u2019s candidacy. As recently as last year, however, the trio were allied, considering policy they thought would move the city forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was during an early 2023 meeting at Oberndorf\u2019s office on Front Street, overlooking grassy, dog-friendly Sydney G. Walton Square, that Breed began to lose them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men were hot to reform San Francisco\u2019s charter to give the mayor\u2019s office more executive authority, particularly over commissions that were \u201cdriving her nuts<\/a>,\u201d one attendee recalled. They would spend big to back such a measure at the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breed wasn\u2019t so sure. She suggested a smaller change, asking Oberndorf and Moritz to fund a tweak to city rules that would allow her to more easily declare a state of emergency. This would enable her to bypass byzantine rules to quickly address matters such as the fentanyl crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The billionaires didn\u2019t think this would be enough to effect significant change in the mayor\u2019s authority, one insider recalled. Breed said she\u2019d stew on alternatives. It took weeks of cajoling to get her to follow up. It became a turning point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do like her. I don\u2019t bear her animosity,\u201d Moritz told The Standard. But, he said, \u201cwe expected her to come with more concrete ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oberndorf and Moritz began to drift from her, an insider said. His own shift was \u201cgradual,\u201d Moritz recalled \u2014 but Breed\u2019s lack of follow-through from the meeting played a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Breed concedes mayor\u2019s race as frustrated voters seek change<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photos: London Breed\u2019s rise and fall in San Francisco politics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explain Breed\u2019s reelection loss last week to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, a man with no governmental experience, observers are pointing to one of the mayor\u2019s foundational mistakes: She mismanaged political relationships, to her detriment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political relationships are ineffable, unmeasurable things that can have effable, measurable consequences. Breed\u2019s failure to cultivate Oberndorf and Moritz led them to spend a collective $4.3 million to back candidate Mark Farrell and Proposition D, a government reform initiative that had roots in last year\u2019s discussions between the three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farrell and Prop. D both failed. But the groups spending that money, TogetherSF and Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, initially had their proverbial cannons loaded to help Breed. As one insider told it, it was easy to imagine a scenario in which Breed redirected those power players toward large-scale changes that would benefit her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI truly believe if she had played it differently, that she could\u2019ve kept them inside the tent,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s not just the billionaires who fled the circus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entities who backed Breed in her inaugural mayoral run, in 2018, either changed allegiances or were conspicuously absent this election: key unions like SF Fire Fighters Local 798<\/a>, the building trades, and the Deputy Sheriffs\u2019 Association; campaign experts; influential Chinese community groups; wealthy and grassroots donors; and major endorsers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Breed greets a San Francisco firefighter on Election Day in front of the Castro Theater. She lost support of the firefighters’ union in her reelection bid. | Source:Manuel Orbegozo for The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is the backbone of the moderate coalition, a loose collection of power players in public safety, housing construction, and transportation improvement. Throughout this election season, insiders talked of a moderate Democrat \u201cdivorce\u201d as they split allegiance among Breed, Farrell, and Lurie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor is the de facto leader of this coalition, and much of its cohesion \u2014 the glue \u2014 is found in the relationships cultivated by leadership. The coalition\u2019s fracture may spell trouble for Lurie, too, as these allies have the ability to help San Francisco defend itself against dual threats<\/a>: President-elect Donald Trump and the city\u2019s anticipated $800 million budget deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insiders told The Standard that Breed had accepted their donations years ago, then froze them out and opened up lines of communication again this year only to solicit donations for her reelection. By contrast, some local politicians host policy summits for financial backers to weigh in on key issues, from fentanyl to downtown\u2019s economic recovery \u2014 so the donor \u201cfeels like they aren\u2019t just a blank checkbook,\u201d one insider said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fucking smart politics,\u201d the source added. \u201cThey become your army. She didn\u2019t have an army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining relationships can be far simpler. Mayors will have lunch with key supporters or text them on special occasions. When advised to do more \u201clittle things\u201d to keep allies happy, Breed would often say she was too busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political consultant Dave Ho, who said he enjoys a positive relationship with Breed, recalled the late Mayor Ed Lee frequently touching base with members of his coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you do something for the mayor, anything for the city as a civic responsibility, Ed Lee would have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you, and you\u2019d never get a call from London Breed,\u201d Ho said. \u201cIt\u2019s a governing style, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Daniel
Daniel Lurie, left, shares a laugh in 2014 with Ed Lee, then SF mayor, and Jamie Matthews, then Santa Clara mayor. | Source:Lea Suzuki\/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The stories from insiders are numerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One longtime union ally who was instrumental in Breed\u2019s 2018 election told The Standard he was stunned to rarely hear from her after she won office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSix months into [Breed\u2019s] administration, I got more texts from Gavin [Newsom] and Kamala [Harris] than from her,\u201d the union ally said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ally from a different part of Breed\u2019s coalition once learned of a ballot measure affecting the group \u201cin the newspaper,\u201d instead of being allowed to weigh in early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The long, ugly feud that\u2019s making the mayor\u2019s race so nasty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another insider who has worked on previous San Francisco mayoral campaigns remembered prepping in-depth information that would prove vital in Breed\u2019s 2018 election. When Breed was set to review the copious findings in a meeting, she instead focused on something trivial: whether the three-hole punches in the research papers were aligned. She wouldn\u2019t move on with the meeting, and refused to review the information that took hours to prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It felt degrading, said the insider, who made sure to bring a three-hole punch to subsequent meetings and said the experience was one among many that left a bad taste in the mouth. This insider did not come back to help on Breed\u2019s 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you blow through relationships the way she did, you don\u2019t attract the best for the city and county,\u201d the insider said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Natoli, SF organizing director for YIMBY Action, counts her group as among the last few standing in Breed\u2019s coalition as she ran for reelection. YIMBY Action was well served by the mayor, Natoli said, and Breed is known as a charming, charismatic leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every insider echoed that sentiment: Breed rose to office on her unique political strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mayor
Breed addresses the crowd Oct. 5 at the YIMBY Prom. The Yes in My Backyard contingent is among her most steadfast supporters. | Source:Han Li\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She is commanding, and her swift decision-making is credited with saving lives during the pandemic. At a moment\u2019s notice, she can be incredibly warm, easily wowing voters in small groups and at large rallies alike. And Breed knows how to translate her harrowing personal experiences into arguments for policy change \u2014 a quality that helped launch her political relationships in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Natoli acknowledged that Breed failed to nurture the relationships necessary to keep the moderate coalition stitched together. And, she said, as groups like TogetherSF, Neighbors, GrowSF, and YIMBY Action diverged in their views and approaches to San Francisco\u2019s myriad challenges, their leaders took harder stances that drove wedges between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take people time to process that and get over that,\u201d Natoli said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time is not on their side. The budget crisis is looming, and Trump poses an existential challenge to San Francisco\u2019s values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWinter is coming,\u201d Natoli said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez can be reached at joefitz@sfstandard.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez Published\u00a0Nov. 15, 2024 \u2022 (SFStandad.com) You would be forgiven for thinking billionaires Bill Oberndorf, the national Republican benefactor, and Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist and chairman of The Standard, are always at odds with Mayor London Breed. After all, Oberndorf and Moritz were among the four biggest… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37686,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37685\/revisions\/37686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}