Latest / What's Uptin? / The Mayor Trying to Fix San Francisco

Transcript

The Mayor Trying to Fix San Francisco · What's Uptin?

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  I didn't come in with a lot of history of owing anybody.
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  No one supported me when I was running for office.
• 0:06
  New York Mayor Mamdani has floated the idea of freezing the
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  rents. Do you think that policy can
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  actually work in a city and have you considered that in San?
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  Francisco, San Francisco, it lost 8% of its population in
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  just a few years. Elon Musk called it a failed
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  city. Now a first time politician with
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  no experience is betting he can turn it around.
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  In this episode of What's Up Tim, I sit down with Mayor
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  Daniel Laurie. Some say that AI is saving San
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  Francisco. I mean, the industry is booming
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  right now. Companies are moving in, but at
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  the same time, AI is somewhat threatening to wipe out Massive.
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  Jobs too. I want to know, as mayor of San
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  Francisco, does that concern you?
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  I have concerns about job losses coming.
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  Public safety crime was down 30% in San Francisco last year.
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  Mayor Daniel Laurie, thank you so much for sitting down with me
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  today in front of the One Ferry Building in San Francisco.
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  I mean, this is one of our iconic spots.
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  It's an 80°, almost 80° day here in San Francisco, the most
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  beautiful city in the world. It's good to be with you.
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  So I've been coming to San Francisco since 2020, reporting
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  on it on YouTube. It was kind of a ghost town in
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  2020. You look around now, five years
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  later, six years later almost, it's completely different.
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  The first question I want to ask you, you know, the big narrative
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  right now is AI has saved San Francisco.
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  Is that true? Do you do you agree with that?
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  Statement is San Francisco, save San Francisco every time.
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  Our demise has been written through many different cycles.
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  This is the most beautiful city in the world.
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  It's the most innovative city in the world.
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  Our restaurants are the envy of the world, our arts, our culture
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  and absolutely AI is is is is front and center right now, but
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  it'll be something else 10 or 15 years from now.
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  We're leaning into being the innovative ecosystem, the best
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  innovative ecosystem there is on the planet.
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  And so we, we love that AI is here, but we also love that our
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  wonderful restaurants, our arts and culture are also here.
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  So it's it's a great time to be in San Francisco for sure.
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  San Francisco has kind of a higher percentage of reliance,
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  or at least historically, on the office workers, right?
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  That's one of the reasons I think the pandemic heard it more
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  than say, New York. What are you doing to bring back
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  office workers, Not just companies, but actually get back
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  to the office? I believe it's my job as mayor
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  to create the conditions so that people want to be downtown, that
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  they want to be out and about. Safety is number one.
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  Public safety. Crime was down 30% in San
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  Francisco last year. Our tent count is the lowest
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  it's been on since we started tracking it.
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  I mean, just look around. The vibrancy is back.
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  The hope, the optimism is back here in San Francisco.
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  So we're creating the conditions of people want to be.
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  We have these things called entertainment zones.
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  First Thursdays we have on 2nd St. 20,000 people coming down.
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  There's food trucks, there's live music.
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  And we're doing that all over San Francisco.
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  But I also want to just push back on one thing that you
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  brought up about just office workers.
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  Our #1 industry has been for a very long time, tourism.
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  It's not just tech and, and once again, we'll lean into tech, but
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  look around. People want to come here from
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  all over the world. So on that note of tourism, how
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  do you change the perception? Because if you ask someone,
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  especially internationally, if you say the word San Francisco.
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  They still. You know, they, they kind of.
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  I come on great podcasts and TikTok and, and, and talk to
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  influencers like you and, and tell the real story of San
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  Francisco. We had the lowest homicide rate
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  here in San Francisco last year since 1954.
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  We have some of the safe. I mean, we're one of the safest
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  cities in this country. We have this engine of
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  innovation that's happening here.
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  Young people are having a great time in North Beach and in the
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  Mission District. I mean, we are the envy of the
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  world. And yes, we got punched for
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  sure. And the reputation is, you know,
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  it. We we deserved some of it for
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  sure. And it's one of the reasons I
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  ran for mayor. I was not happy in the direction
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  of our city. I wanted to see change just like
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  everybody else. But walk with me around the city
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  and you'll see the changes. When when you took office you
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  had such a big agenda, how did you prioritize what to to work
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  on 1st? I I'm going to stay focused on
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  three things. Public safety is my number one
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  priority. We need to fully staff our
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  Police Department. We had our first net increase in
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  police hires last year. Since.
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  Seven years and we still have more work to do.
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  We we're still short hundreds of officers, but we're using tech,
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  we're using drones as a first responder.
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  We have this thing called Arctic, a real time
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  investigation center. So if somebody commits a crime
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  now, they're going to get caught and they're going to be
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  prosecuted and. That's with cameras.
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  Cameras we've, we have, we have drones as a first responder, we
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  have the license plate readers. We're using cameras to slow
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  people down on the road. So our, our roads are safer than
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  they've been in a very long time for our pedestrians still have
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  work to do there. But public safety is my number
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  one priority. Second priority is the crisis
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  of, of on our streets, drug crisis, homelessness and and
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  getting people off the street who are using, who are living on
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  the street and into recovery into treatment beds.
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  So we stood up 600 treatment beds last year.
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  And the third priority is how do we make this city and City Hall
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  a partner to our small businesses?
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  How do we make it easier to do business in San Francisco?
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  And, and we have this thing called Permit SF.
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  We're stripping away red tape. We're making it easier to start
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  a small business. We're making it easier for you
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  to park in your own driveway in San Francisco.
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  We used to fine you for doing that.
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  Now you can do it. And we're stripping away decades
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  and decades of bureaucracy that have held us back.
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  So those are my 3 priorities. They were when I took office.
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  They are today. What are you doing about the
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  affordability issues, the housing affordability crisis?
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  You know, San Francisco rents didn't really come down the way
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  a lot of people might have expected the past few years.
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  They they did. They did come down and now
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  they're shooting back up again. And and that's because everybody
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  wants to be in San Francisco. And so that narrative is an old
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  narrative. People are flocking back to San
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  Francisco. And but what we're doing is we
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  pass something called the family zoning plan.
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  We are going to create more ability to get denser housing
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  built along our commercial corridors and around transit
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  hubs. We just launched a First in the
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  Country initiative where if you were a family of four making
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  $230,000 a year or less, childcare 0 to 5 is paid for for
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  you free up to $36,000 a year. Families are going to be saving
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  on early childhood care. No one else has ever done that.
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  We just announced that a couple of months ago.
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  And actually families of four making a $310,000 a year will
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  get 50% off childcare and and some subsidies starting in the
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  fall. So really trying to lean in to
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  make this a more affordable place.
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  We want families to raise their kids here and we want those kids
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  to have a shot at staying in San Francisco, and that's where that
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  family zoning plane cups in. New York Mayor Mum Donnie has
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  floated the idea of freezing the rents.
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  Do you think that policy can actually work in a city, and
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  have you considered that in San Francisco?
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  We have not considered that in San Francisco.
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  So we'll, we'll see what what happens New York, but our, our
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  focus is on creating more housing, building more housing.
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  We are, we have a system of rent control already in San
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  Francisco. We protected the existing rent
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  control laws there, but we will not be expanding.
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  Back to downtown, you mentioned downtown.
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  I want to talk a little bit about Union Square.
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  So this was really interesting to me when I came in 2020-2021.
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  You know, you see Louis Vuitton, Apple, Macy's, Cheesecake
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  Factory, but you don't feel safe.
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  And again, this was five years ago.
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  I've gone back and, and now it feels a lot better.
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  But what are you doing about the retail?
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  You know, the, the big Westfield Mall shut down two months ago.
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  What do you anticipate what happened with that space and
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  what are you doing about the the the retail spaces?
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  It's a great question. So we just, it just was
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  purchased and I go back to what my job is.
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  And my job is not to dictate to the private sector what they
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  should do. My job is to create the
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  conditions so that retailers want to be back in Union Square.
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  And guess what, They're coming back.
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  AT&T just reopened a spot right at the Powell St. cable car turn
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  around. The Real Real closed a couple of
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  years ago, reopened in a space, the same space Apple is still
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  there. We've talked to big retailers
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  who want to come back to San Francisco.
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  They want to be in Union Square. Zara is opening a 40,000 square
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  foot flagship store right on Union Square.
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  It's going to open later this year or early next.
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  So we feel the momentum happening here in San Francisco.
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  But my job, make sure it's safe, make sure the streets are clean,
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  make sure we get people are struggling with addiction off
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  the street and in to help and activate downtown.
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  And we're doing that with those entertainments.
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  What do you think it is about you because you know, you've
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  only been in office a little over a year.
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  What I mean, the, the numbers are, are quite impressive,
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  right? To say crime is down 33% in the
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  first year. I mean, what, what what's, what
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  was your secret to this? I think I just want to get
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  results. I'm not focused on anything
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  beyond this job. I was born and raised in San
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  Francisco. My two children were born on the
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  same floor at the same hospital that I was born in.
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  I I love first. Not only do I love San
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  Francisco, I love this job, which is maybe there's something
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  wrong with me, but, but, but I'm having such a good job, good,
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  good time doing this job. And I think what's different is,
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  is I didn't come in with a lot of history of owing anybody.
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  No one supported me when I was running for office.
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  You know, the institutional folks and all the relationships
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  that I've been building have been built on how do we deliver
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  for the people of San Francisco. That is my only goal, is how do
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  we get the city back to its rightful place as being the
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  greatest city in the world. And by the way, we're already
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  getting back there and people are feeling it.
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  Two years ago, 22% of San Franciscans thought we were
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  heading in the right direction. Today, 2/3 of San Franciscans
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  think we're heading in the right direction.
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  So this is a city that is is on the rise.
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  People are feeling hope and optimism for the first time in a
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  very long time. And it's and it's an exciting
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  time to be here. What is the?
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  Reaction been with some of the CE OS from Silicon Valley that
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  I'm sure you connect with and talk with.
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  We've just started. All of these bells are
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  beautiful, so I don't know if that's going to mess up your
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  sound, but here's what I will say.
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  We looked when I was running for office, I looked at what New
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  York did with the Partnership for New York City in the 1970s
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  when New York went through a really tough time.
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  I really liked what they built. We started something similar
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  called the Partnership for San Francisco about 3540 CE OS
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  getting together quarterly, speaking with one voice.
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  So we've started that. We also started something called
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  the Downtown Development Corporation, which is helping to
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  revitalize Union Square in downtown, modeled a little bit
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  after what Lower Manhattan did after 911.
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  So we've taken some good models that we've seen.
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  We've brought not just business, but labor and the nonprofit
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  community together to say, how do we work together?
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  How do we lift up our city? How do we recruit new companies,
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  how we recruit retailers and and how do we make this city
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  affordable and lift everybody in and the business community's
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  been all in? Yeah.
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  What are you doing to actually get the tourist numbers back,
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  especially heading into a big summer?
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  They're, they're, they're, they're already coming back.
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  February we had Super Bowl 60, we have World Cup coming.
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  We had over Thanksgiving we had the largest 10 day period of
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  travelers coming to and through SFO, our airport.
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  February we had 1.3 million people over Super Bowl, the 10
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  day Super Bowl period, the largest in a February ever.
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  And by the way, we've had Super Bowl here before.
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  So the numbers are starting to come back and and once again,
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  it's about getting on great platforms like yours and saying,
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  I mean, it's March and we're sitting outside by the water and
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  you have a short sleeve shirt on.
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  So come join us. Should a 25 year old move to San
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  Francisco right now? Yes, And why?
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  It's the greatest city in the world.
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  We, we have it all. I'm going to say again, the best
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  restaurants, the best arts and culture.
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  Our neighborhoods are on fire. You go, you just have such a
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  great time going out in our town where the innovative ecosystem
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  capital of like it's all AI is happening here.
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  We want this to be a broad based recovery.
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  So come join us. It's not just about tech or not
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  just about tourism, you know? I want to ask you a question
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  about so you know, AI is obviously the industry is
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  helping California is helping Silicon Valley is helping San
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  Francisco. But there's on the on the flip
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  side of that, there's some some concern that AI is about to
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  take, take out massive amounts of white collar jobs.
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  Some are saying we could hit unemployment rate of 10%, even
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  20%. I want to know, as mayor of San
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  Francisco, does that concern you, you know, looking down the
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  road in the next few years and has universal basic income ever
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  been on your mind? I know I, I've studied Ubi, but
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  I have concerns about job losses coming for there's no question
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  that we have to stay on top of it.
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  I'm, I have a, a group that I consult with who are in the
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  industry talking about, OK, how do we prepare if, if these
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  losses, job losses do in fact come?
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  But I'm also and optimist when it comes to human nature.
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  I mean, we've gone through waves of innovation over the last
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  hundred, 150 years in this country, whether you're talking
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  about the printing press, you're talking about the automobile,
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  you're talking about the World Wide Web.
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  Like people would always talk about job losses and then new
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  jobs come that you can't even dream of.
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  So I really fundamentally am optimistic now.
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  I think that there's going to be short term things that we have
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  to be ready for and we have to look at all all options to make
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  sure that we take care of working people, that we take
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  care of working families and those that may be impacted by
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  these job losses. For us selfishly in San
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  Francisco, we're seeing more of these companies take office
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  space and hiring people. So I do think as a nation, we
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  need to really stay on top of this and look ahead for San
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  Francisco. It's, it's a, it's a, it's a
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  boon for us, but we absolutely as, as, as city government need
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  to be aware of the potential job losses.
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  Do you feel like, do you feel like you're competing sometimes
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  with like the Menlo parks, the Palo Altos in terms of where HQ
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  and office space should be? They're all in San Francisco
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  now. If you had come here when you
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  said 5-6 years ago, you'd say all those companies that you
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  were talking about would be they'd have some spaces here and
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  down there, they all realize they have to be in San
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  Francisco. I mean, we got open AI, we got
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  Anthropic, we got scale AI. And I want those companies here.
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  I want them participating. And what I say to them is to all
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  the CE OS, I say we want you here.
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  We want you paying your, your taxes and I, I want your revenue
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  here and I want you all being part of the community.
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  Have your employees get onto the boards of our arts and culture
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  institutions on the boards of, of, of, of, of nonprofits like
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  invest in San Francisco. Don't just keep your employees,
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  you know, working 996 like get them involved in, in our city
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  and that that's the best way to participate.
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  But I don't think there's any competition right now in the
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  sense that everyone in terms of the AI companies and tech
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  companies, they need to be in San Francisco.
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  So you mentioned taxes. One of the biggest, you know,
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  reasons for the exodus of many tech companies over the past 5-6
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  years was the business environment.
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  Do you think it's improved since the since then?
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  Absolutely. I mean, you, we definitely have
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  here in California a tax structure that is higher than
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  than most other places. But, but I think you also get
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  more now, the problem was, is that people and their employees
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  weren't feeling safe coming down to work.
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  They weren't seeing clean streets.
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  They were, they were worried about that.
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  So my job is to make sure we have safe and clean streets,
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  make sure that everybody is getting a bang for their buck
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  from, for their taxpayer dollars and, and for us to deliver well,
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  like we need to deliver great public schools and great public
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  transit. So we're working hard on that.
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  And, and I think California and San Francisco is the greatest
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  state and the greatest city in the world.
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  We have our issues. We have to get better, but but
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  every, every state has its challenge.
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  Final question, what's something that keeps you up at night?
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  I I want, I want us to be back at the top.
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  I want us to be the greatest city in the world.
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  And, and I also for me, it's always about keeping everyone
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  safe, making sure that those that are coming to work each and
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  every day, those that are, you know, working janitorial jobs in
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  these big buildings right behind us, feel safe leaving their
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  building at 2:00 AM and we're delivering on that.
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  But I'm always, always thinking about how do I keep people safe?
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  How do I keep those that are on our streets?
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  How do we get them the help that they need?
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  And then how do we invite the world back to San Francisco?
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  And I'm glad you're here. I know you are LA based and and
• 18:36
  I love my friends in LA, but San Francisco's the greatest city in
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  the world. Yeah, it's it's amazing, very
• 18:43
  inspiring. And I think the the numbers
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  speak for themselves. So I want to thank you so much
• 18:46
  for your for your time today and wish you all the best.
• 18:48
  Appreciate it. Thank you so much.
• 18:50
  Thanks for. Listening to this episode of
• 18:51
  What's Up to Where I bring you inside the mines driving tech,
• 18:55
  money and power. Follow along on YouTube,
• 18:57
  Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
• 19:00
  You can also follow my personal account on Instagram at Upton.
• 19:03
  Would love to. Connect with you.