Mayor Daniel Lurie was at the pinnacle of his first year in office when he announced in late October that San Francisco would not let local residents who rely on food stamps go hungry during the federal government shutdown.The city would temporarily finance residents’ food stamps through an $18 million public-private partnership, he pledged. It was a moment for the mayor to showcase his swift action to mitigate national chaos surrounding the second term of President Donald Trump.
The food-stamp funding deal came days after Lurie got another well-publicized victory, when Trump canceled plans to “surge” federal agents to San Francisco after speaking to Lurie by phone. Suddenly, the mayor’s strategy of avoiding direct conflict with the president appeared to be vindicated. The two moves taken together bolstered the sense that Lurie, a political neophyte, was on a clear winning streak.
“Congratulations, Mr. Mayor, on a very good couple of weeks,” Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman said to Lurie during an Oct. 29 news conference. “You’re kind of killing it.”…