San Francisco — Philanthropist and Levi’s successor Daniel Lurie wins the hotly contested San Francisco mayoral race, ushering in a new era of leadership in a city where voters have shown they are fed up with brazen retail theft and sprawling tent cities. brought about.

San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to select multiple candidates in order of preference, took two days to determine a winner. The city uses a multi-pass process to count ballots, and it may take several counts before a winner receives more than 50% of the votes. Thousands of votes remained uncounted Thursday night, but the gap between Mr. Lurie and his opponents was deemed too large to close.

Lurie, a centrist Democrat, outperformed incumbent Mayor London Breed and three other prominent local Democrats, receiving 56.2% of the ranked votes as of Thursday’s tally, compared to Breed’s vote share. The rate was 43.8%.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin, the only viable candidate running as a traditional progressive, came in third place after being eliminated as a candidate with 21.6% of the first-choice votes, while the moderate Mark Farrell, a venture capitalist, followed in fourth place. . Supervisor Ayesha Safai received just 2.7% of the first-choice votes and was quickly dropped from the race.

Lurie did not immediately issue a statement after the race was called Thursday. But at an election night event, he summed up his leadership vision to adoring supporters who had gathered at a Mission District music venue to cheer him on.

“Our challenge and opportunity is to show how governments can deliver on the promise of safer and more affordable cities,” Lurie said. “And delivering on these promises will require courage, compassion and honesty from us.

“It has never been clearer to me that so many people love this city. Now is the time to make people feel like this city loves them back.” It’s coming.”

in a statement posted on social media On Thursday night, Breed said she called Lurie to congratulate him.

“Becoming Mayor of San Francisco is the greatest honor of my life, and I am extremely grateful to the residents for giving me the opportunity to serve the city that raised me,” Breed wrote. “In my final two months as mayor, I will continue to lead our city as San Francisco’s greatest champion, just as I have since day one.”

The transition from Breed to Lurie represents a remarkable change in many ways.

Breed, 50, made history six years ago when she became the city’s first black female mayor. She was born into poverty in the Western Addition, one of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods at the time, and was raised by her grandmother. She lost her sister to a drug overdose and has a younger brother in prison for robbery. Before being elected mayor, she served as chair of the powerful Board of Supervisors.

Lurie, 47, was also born in San Francisco, the son of a rabbi. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother, Miriam Haas, married Peter Haas, who helped raise Lurie. Peter Haas is the great-grandson of the late Levi’s founder and a longtime executive at the company. Lurie and his mother are among the main heirs to the Levi Strauss family fortune. Mr. Lurie has never held elected office.

Throughout his campaign, Lurie emerged as a political outsider against four City Hall veterans. He promised to root out government corruption, which has been a concern among voters following a series of incidents. political scandal City departments and non-profit organization In recent years.

the election was widely watched as a referendum About Breed’s efforts to deal with homeless encampments, crime and a faltering post-pandemic economy that is undermining voters’ sense of a safe and well-functioning city.

“This is not an election about changing or rejecting the breed based on ideology or policy,” said Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University. “This is someone who was able to portray himself as a different outsider, someone who acted in a different way.”

Remarkable changes in San Francisco’s wealthy tech industry played an influential role In this year’s race. Tech giants with roots in the city poured millions of dollars into campaign contributions, seeking an outcome that would inject more centrist politics into the famously liberal city.

That money paid overwhelming dividends for Lurie, Farrell, and Breed.

“This is a billionaire’s election,” said Jim Ross, a veteran Democratic strategist in the Bay Area.

Breed was first elected in 2018 in a special election following the unexpected death of then-Mayor Ed Lee. She said that amid the early and worrying spread of COVID-19 and subsequent pandemic shutdowns, many downtown residents found they could work remotely and more cheaply from other cities. led the city through a difficult period, including an exodus of skilled workers. .

Despite San Francisco’s liberal reputation, Breed was never a hard-core progressive. But six years ago, Breed was more willing to experiment with a progressive reformist agenda when it came to hard-to-solve problems like addiction and poverty.

For the past two years, by contrast, she has been at the forefront of a movement to crack down on homeless and addicted people who refuse protection and treatment. And this year, she successfully sponsored two local ballot measures that would increase police oversight powers and require drug testing and treatment for county welfare recipients suspected of illegal drug use.

Many of her supporters touted her swift action to shut down San Francisco at the beginning of the coronavirus emergency, a decision credited with saving thousands of lives. And she won influential support from housing organizations based on her work to alleviate San Francisco’s affordable housing shortage.

In making his case for re-election, Breed touted recent data showing improvements in some of San Francisco’s biggest problems, particularly a decline in property and violent crimes over the past year.

Her opponents dismissed that progress as too little, too late, and used voter dissatisfaction to sell themselves as a more qualified alternative.

Lurie and Farrell He promised a more coordinated crackdown on crime and homelessness and a boost to the downtown economy.

Lurie used his family’s vast wealth to raise his profile. He poured more than $8 million of his own money into his campaign. His mother donated more than $1 million to an independent committee supporting his mayoral bid.

He touted his role as founder of Tipping Point, a San Francisco nonprofit that funds efforts to lift people out of poverty, and emphasized his commitment to solving difficult problems. He said the organization has funneled $500 million to Bay Area organizations focused on early childhood education, scholarships, housing and job training since its founding nearly 20 years ago.

Mr. Farrell entered the race with support he had amassed during his seven years as supervisor, arguing that his blend of political and business experience made him the best person to get San Francisco back on track. But his campaign was hampered by ethical concerns. This week he agreed to pay the fee. $108,000 fine An ethics investigation found that he illegally funded his mayoral campaign by funneling money to another voting committee he sponsored to reduce the number of San Francisco government committees.

Mr. Peskin, who has been a director for many years, A powerful grassroots movement It focused on traditional liberal ideals, such as making the city affordable for nurses, teachers, and the artists and bohemians who had long made San Francisco a creative center.