31,769 Votes

By not taking a stand against Trump's inflammatory actions, Mayor Lurie risks alienating a key part of the coalition that elected him.

Over the past few days, I’ve talked to news reporters, Democratic operatives, and activists. They have all expressed surprise or dismay about how soft, conciliatory, or unfocused Mayor Lurie has been about the actions of Donald Trump.

This is an issue when you look at the coalition that elected Lurie. A key part of his vote total was the 31,769 votes that transferred to him from Aaron Peskin, the progressive candidate for mayor. While he won by 33,251 votes, a significant factor in his victory was his ability to attract progressive votes.

Alienating this group of voters puts him on the same path as Mayor Breed, who also drew significant progressive votes in her first election but was unable to hold onto these voters.

A mayor must be the mayor for the whole city, which means they can’t stand aside when one group is under attack. If they do this, it will be reflected in future elections.