For years, San Francisco has been the poster child for what goes wrong when progressives run a city.
Homeless encampments on every corner, property crime through the roof, businesses fleeing downtown, and a city budget spiraling out of control.
If you wanted to show Nevada voters what not to do, you pointed to San Francisco.
But something remarkable is happening. Under its new mayor, Daniel Lurie, San Francisco is quietly turning things around.
The Polls Tell the Story
A brand-new San Francisco Chronicle poll shows 57% of residents now say the city’s quality of life is favorable.
Just a year ago, that number was 39%. That’s a huge shift in only 12 months.
Even more striking, Lurie himself has a 73% approval rating. For context, that’s higher than almost any other big city mayor in America today.
And interestingly, his lowest numbers come from progressives. That should tell you something.
Cutting the Red Tape
So how did he do it?
He started by cutting dumb rules that frustrated everyday people.
One example: residents used to be fined for parking in their own driveways. Lurie got rid of it. He brought in private sector talent for city jobs instead of more political hacks.
He also sped up the process for office-to-housing conversions, breathing life back into a downtown that had looked like a ghost town since COVID.
Restaurants, too, got relief. By eliminating fees for sidewalk seating, he gave small businesses a boost and brought vibrancy back to the streets.
Tackling Homelessness and Drugs
The city is also taking a harder line on homelessness.
Instead of throwing endless taxpayer money at non-profits that made the problem worse, Lurie cut funding to those groups. That’s helped reduce street encampments.
Drug deaths are down as well. The latest police data shows crime citywide has dropped by 27 to 30%, with car break-ins now at a 22-year low.
Compare that to what we see in places like New York, where crime and chaos are still the norm under progressive leadership. The difference couldn’t be more clear.
Balanced Budgets Without Tax Hikes
Here’s another shocker. Lurie balanced the city’s budget without raising taxes.
He actually cut 1,000 government jobs instead of hiring more bureaucrats.
That’s a lesson Nevada’s local governments ought to take seriously. In Clark County, for example, leaders are constantly claiming there’s not enough money for basic services like law enforcement. Yet the county still manages to waste millions on pet projects and inflated payrolls. ‘
San Francisco just proved you can balance the books without squeezing taxpayers even more.
Nuts and Bolts, Not Trump Resistance Theater
Perhaps the most refreshing part of Lurie’s leadership is what he hasn’t done.
Unlike his predecessors, he’s not wasting time declaring San Francisco a “resistance city” against Donald Trump. He’s not running to CNN every week to get in his five minutes of national fame.
He’s staying focused on nuts-and-bolts governance. Fix the streets. Cut the waste. Protect the taxpayers.
That’s exactly what voters in Nevada often say they want from leaders in Carson City and at the local level. Less political theater, more common sense problem-solving.
Critics’ Complaints
Progressive activists argue that cutting non-profit funding is “cruel” and that the city should be spending more, not less, on social programs.
Some accuse Lurie of ignoring systemic causes of poverty. But the numbers don’t lie.
Crime is down. Homelessness is down. The budget is balanced. And residents say their quality of life is up.
A Roadmap for Other Cities
The lesson here is simple. Big cities don’t have to be lost causes.
San Francisco was circling the drain, and in just over a year, it’s showing signs of life.
If a place as far-left as San Francisco can get back on track by returning to basics, then cities like Las Vegas and Reno should take note.
Nevada has its own challenges with homelessness, crime, and bloated government.
Leaders here should be watching closely and borrowing the good ideas, while steering clear of the failed progressive experiments that nearly destroyed San Francisco in the first place.
For once, conservatives can point to San Francisco not as a warning but as an example of how common sense beats ideology every time.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
