- San Francisco mayor Edwin Lee died last week, leaving behind a seven year legacy in city politics.
- Lee is considered largely responsible for bolstering the city's economy by ushering in the post-recession tech boom.
- Lee faced past controversy regarding San Francisco's increased gentrification and punishing housing market. With his passing, it's possible that city candidates might take a tougher stance on the tech industry.
The tech industry's cozy status as San Francisco's most favored group could be on its way out as a new group of politicians jockey for the vacant mayor's seat following the sudden death of Ed Lee last week.
Two of the top contenders for the job, Acting Mayor London Breed and former State Senator Mark Leno, are both expected to take a tougher line with the tech firms that have sprouted throughout the city thanks to generous tax breaks and other favorable policies.
Although none of the major contenders for the mayor's job have been outright antagonistic towards tech, they've shown a willingness to be less accommodating than Lee. And with the city's housing crisis throbbing, and ongoing debate about the effect of gentrification and "tech bros" on San Francisco's infrastructure, affordability and culture, the days of hands-off treatment for tech may be coming to an end.
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A special election to choose the new mayor will take place in June 2018. Until then the city's board of supervisors must agree on an interim Mayor to serve as a caretaker.
Breed, until recently the president of the city's board of supervisors, is viewed as one of the favorites for the June election, although she has yet to official declare her intention to run.
A 43-year old San Francisco native who grew up in public housing, Breed has turned critical eye on the city's tech industry in the past — a stance which put her at political odds with Mayor Lee. Last year, she co-sponsored a bill which proposed a strict 60-day-per-year limit on short-term rentals in a direct response to Airbnb's largely unregulated influence on the city's housing and hotel markets. Lee vetoed the bill, saying that it would only drive more homeowners to rent their properties illegally.
In 2016, Breed centered her supervisor re-election campaign on building and protecting affordable housing, a crucial issue in a city where the median cost of rent has soared to $4,450 a month. The city's punishing housing market is considered a direct result of the influx of high-wage earning tech workers, and Breed has described her resolve to fight towards tenants rights as a "personal matter." It's a stance that could cause tension with big tech, which until now has comfortably sprawled throughout the downtown districts, both commercially and residentially.
"Your success has also created tension"
That's not to say that Breed is inherently opposed to tech or unwilling to collaborate with the industry. Appearing at the 2015 "Crunchies" awards organized by tech blog TechCrunch, Breed said she had "great respect for the tech sector, for the dreamers and entrepreneurs who want to create something new, something innovative."
But, she added, "right or wrong, your success has also created tension."
"It's time for us to work together and make sure every San Franciscan shares in the prosperity," she said.
Mark Leno, who had already declared his intention to run for Mayor after Lee's term expired,