San Francisco Mayor Declares City is Moving ‘In the Right Direction’ in 100-Day Address

April 21, 2025 TruthUSA

On April 17, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie expressed optimism that the city is “trending in the right direction,” during a speech commemorating his initial 100 days in office.

Speaking at the Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, Lurie emphasized advancements in public safety, efforts to combat homelessness and drug problems, and initiatives to rejuvenate the city’s economy.

“In recent years, our foundation has been shaken, we lost our way,” Lurie stated. “It’s not a political issue to desire the safety of walking our children to school, starting a business, or having clean streets.”

The number of homeless individuals living in tents and structures across the city has reached its lowest point since tracking began in 2019. Additionally, crime rates in San Francisco have dropped to a 23-year low, with violent crime decreasing by 15 percent, and car break-ins—which represent over half of all property crimes—hitting a 22-year low, as reported by the Mayor’s office.

Lurie noted that some of these positive trends began towards the end of former Mayor London Breed’s administration, and he shared his enthusiasm about the statistics. “I don’t care who receives credit. My goal is to see crime decrease, so families can once again feel safe in our city.”

As a primary initiative to address the fentanyl crisis and homelessness challenges, the mayor revamped the street response team, creating a model that integrates seven key departments for a comprehensive neighborhood-based strategy.

“We will not hesitate to make difficult decisions,” Lurie asserted during his remarks.

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) — 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

Through his “Breaking the Cycle” executive directive, a long-standing city policy that provided drug use supplies for free has been terminated, requiring addicts to engage in treatment, counseling, or service connections to receive them.

Kunal Modi, the director of Health, Homelessness, & Family Services, shared a post on the social media platform X, stating that a mobile triage team operating on 6th Street for a month had nearly 17,000 engagements in the community, completed 275 placements in shelter and housing, directed 1,100 individuals to medical and behavioral health services, and made 349 arrests.

“We will continue to communicate that San Francisco is no longer a place to come and deal drugs, consume them publicly, or sleep on the streets. That message hasn’t resonated yet, but we are determined to ensure it does,” Lurie told the press.

The mayor also noted signs of economic recovery: bookings at the Moscone Convention Center have surged by 53 percent compared to last year, bringing in $174 million in revenue. Additionally, the NBA All-Star Weekend alone is estimated to have generated $350 million in economic activity for the Bay Area.

“People are starting to invest in San Francisco again,” Lurie remarked, adding that the fashion retailer Zara has opted to keep its store open and is expanding with a new four-story flagship location in Union Square.

Under Lurie’s directive, two new civic organizations will contribute to the city’s economic revitalization efforts.

“The Downtown Development Corporation will concentrate on revitalizing our economic core, while the Partnership for San Francisco, consisting of some of today’s most innovative business leaders, will advocate for bringing business back to San Francisco,” the mayor explained.

Shortly after his inauguration on January 8, Lurie implemented a hiring freeze and contracting pause, recognizing the city faced nearly a $1 billion deficit—the largest in its history.

According to the latest assessment from the Controllers’ Office, San Francisco is projected to have an $840 million deficit in the forthcoming two-year budget. Given potential cuts to Medicaid and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Lurie informed the media, “forget anything regarding our policies; we could see significantly larger reductions.”

“It’s not just a billion dollars that could be at stake; it could be more. We need to start tightening our belts now.”

Lurie must submit his budget to the Board of Supervisors in June. He assured that it would be a balanced budget and stated, “the city will be in a better financial position as a result of the challenges we’re currently facing.”

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