Daniel Lurie's wealth propels his S.F. mayoral campaign into uncharted territory

San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie recently crossed a threshold in his bid to unseat incumbent London Breed: He has now spent more money than all candidates did during the city’s last closely contested mayor’s race six years ago.

Lurie’s campaign reported in a filing to the city’s Ethics Commission on Wednesday that it has spent about $6.3 million to date, far outstripping all of his major rivals in the race, including Breed. Lurie, a nonprofit founder and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has eschewed San Francisco’s public financing program and instead drawn on his personal wealth to help fund his campaign.

The staggering spending by Lurie appears to be unprecedented among mayoral candidates in recent San Francisco history. In the open mayoral race in June 2018, a total of about $6 million was spent by all candidates, excluding funding raised by third-party political action committees. Breed won that costly election, which was held to fill the remaining term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, who died in office.

Lurie’s use of his personal wealth has drawn criticism from opponents who say he’s trying to buy his way into City Hall, despite having never served in government before. But Lurie has stridently defended both the spending and his qualifications for office, saying he has invested heavily to boost his name recognition and explain to voters why he can run the city better than his top rivals. All of the other leading mayoral candidates are current or former elected officials.




https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/daniel-lurie-wealth-uncharted-territory-19795831.php