It’s not a high bar, but let’s be real: a Republican will never be San Francisco mayor. When that time comes, it’ll be because the city has truly devolved into Bakara Market-Mogadishu conditions. Yet Mayor Daniel Lurie seems sensible. If we need to have a Democrat Mayor, is he the one we can hope for? Look, at least he’s admitting what we already knew about San Francisco: its insane experiment of letting people essentially do whatever they want has led the city astray (via NY Post):
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie blamed the city’s progressive politics for fueling its homelessness, drug overdose and business exodus crises, admitting in a new interview that the city had “lost its way.”
Lurie, who has made restoring San Francisco’s battered public image a priority since taking office, told CNN’s Dana Bash that his administration is taking a more hard-nosed approach to crime while working to make the city friendlier to businesses.
But Bash pressed the mayor on why San Francisco needed a turnaround in the first place — prompting a blunt admission about the city’s far-left reputation.
“We lost our way as a city. We were focused on the wrong things and today we’re focused on common sense,” he said.
“I mean, we got so, entrapped in our progressive values and talking about progressivism that, we weren’t taking stock of what was happening on our streets,” he added.
San Francisco has drawn national scrutiny in recent years for controversial policies aimed at addressing its problems, including a proposal to give welfare recipients an extra $100 a week to stay sober and nonprofit groups handing out free tents to homeless people.
Lurie pointed to the deadly consequences of the city’s drug crisis and the toll of rampant property crime.
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That’s the truth, but I’m sure the city’s left-wing cohort probably thought Lurie, a lifelong Democrat, betrayed the party. The city’s lawlessness has been mocked, too. Comedian Andrew Schulz had an excellent set about the state of the city a couple of years ago:
So, yes, there’s a mayor who seems to know that the city has gone off the rails. Will it be fixed? Let’s not put money down on that right now.
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