Shortly after calling for private donors to help fix San Francisco’s crises, new Mayor Daniel Lurie made a pit stop on CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” to get the good word out to a national audience. The message? San Francisco is open for business — and pretty please, CEOs, come home to the city by the bay.

In the interview, streamed live from CNBC’s San Francisco studio, Lurie revealed that he’d met with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon at City Hall and was on his way to meet with Jonathan Gray, COO of asset management giant Blackstone. (Many bigwigs are in town for the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, where Lurie delivered welcome remarks.) “Sorry, New York … I’m recruiting companies back,” Lurie told Cramer, adding that he plans to travel to the East Coast soon. 

Cramer asked whether he has the stamina that former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg apparently had during his tenure. “Yes, I do,” said Lurie. “I was at four events last night, including a [St. Ignatius vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral] basketball game at Chase Center. I went to two different JPMorgan after-hour parties. I went to the keynote that Jamie gave.” 

Parties are one thing; juggling San Francisco’s internecine political interests is another. Some supervisors were skeptical of aspects of Lurie’s first legislative push, which is intended to address fentanyl. This week, some union bosses openly vented about Lurie’s hiring slowdown, which they say could make their jobs harder. Stay tuned.

Got tips? Send us an email at powerplay@sfstandard.com or text/call (415) 408-7504.

SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION: Lurie campaigned on a "new era" for City Hall, but one crucial aspect isn’t changing: the budget. Lurie has publicly said his hiring pause is only additive to former Mayor London Breed’s directions to make cuts. Plus, Lurie’s budget office has told departments that Breed’s specific budget instructions will stand, Power Play has learned. That means coming up with ways to cut costs, yes, but also prioritizing spending on nonprofits that have measurable results. 

Keeping the mayor's budget staff intact was the best move Lurie's administration made walking in the door, according to most insiders we spoke with. But that means nonprofits are still staring down red ink — just as they were under Breed. No decisions have been made, and much could change. But if a nonprofit can show that it fed 1,000 people with grants for food insecurity, it’s probably in. If your group spent grant money on "outreach" or other, more ineffable goals, Power Play advises you to start praying. 

BREED ALUMS MOVE ON: Since their boss was booted from the job in November, former Breed staffers have been on the hunt for their next gigs. Thankfully, they got a lift from one well-connected colleague: Sean Elsbernd, the former mayor’s chief of staff, has been working the phones to help his colleagues land jobs, a source told Power Play. 

Where did Breed staffers scatter to? Many are remaining in government: Deputy chief of staff Andrea Bruss is at the city attorney’s office, compliance officer Hank Heckel is at the Parks Department, communications aide Mason Lee and policy advisor Katherine Chu are at the Police Department, board liaison Tom Paulino is at Supervisor Joel Engardio’s office, budget director Anna Duning is at the Public Utilities Commission, senior advisor Edward McCaffrey is at the city administrator’s office, Joseph Sweiss is at the assessor’s office, and Judson True is at Public Works. Other ex-Breed staffers are interviewing with the Lurie administration, one source told Power Play. 

That leaves us with the elephant in the room: What’s Breed’s next job? We’re still waiting to hear. 

RUMBLE IN THE SUNSET: An eight-story senior housing development at 1234 Great Highway in the Outer Sunset has turbocharged the fight to recall Engardio, whose name was thoroughly cursed at a Monday-night meeting to discuss the project.

The roughly 70 attendees were split on the project, with a contingent of Chinese-speaking seniors voicing support, and the remainder strongly opposed. When the project manager introduced those in attendance, hisses shot from the crowd when Engardio’s name was called. 

Not all were on board with the recall effort. “I think if you’re unhappy with him, vote him out in the next election,” said resident Paula Katz, who was furious over the Great Highway project blocking neighbors’ views. 

Others saw the road closure and housing project — 1234 Great Highway will be the tallest building in the neighborhood — as part of a pattern of city officials imposing their will on the neighborhood without local input. 

“People don’t feel like they have a voice that is heard, and while my buddy back here feels that it’s a one-issue thing, it’s not,” said Sunset homeowner Lisa Arjes, pointing to Engardio.

The supervisor is girding for a fight. This week, supporters launched a “Stand with Joel” campaign to oppose the recall, hiring Lian Chang to manage the campaign and Sharon Liu-Bettencourt to lead the ground game. A list of Engardio supporters provided by the campaign includes newly elected Board of Education member Parag Gupta. 

LAST CALL: Five members of the Board of Supervisors were out the door after this last election, but that didn't stop lobbyists from knockin' just before they left. Former supervisors Dean Preston and Ahsha Safai recorded just three lobbyist contacts between October and December; Hillary Ronen netted seven in the same period; and Catherine Stefani had eight. But the most-stacked schedule belonged to Aaron Peskin, who took a whopping 22 meetings or calls with lobbyists in his final months. 

What the hell did lobbyists want from these soon-to-be-former supervisors? Well, most of the contacts were about the usual: permitting, plus some meetings about the hotel strike. But one of Peskin's final lobbyist contacts was typical Peskin: twisting developers' wrists. 

He told Power Play that his roughly 12 meetings with a lobbyist representing developers at Candlestick Point resulted in a promise to fix leaks in the roofs of artist warehouses at the shipyard. Did it take months? Sure. But "I was the guy who freaked out Five Point Holdings to say, yeah, we'll extend your fucking terms … provided, however, that you guys dig in your pockets for $375,000 for artists and fix the leaks," he said. Classic.

GAVIN ON FIRE: The devastating fires in Los Angeles sent Gov. Gavin Newsom into damage-control mode as he gesticulates and rattles off talking points on television. Will the crisis upend his presidential ambitions? 

LURIE V. UNIONS? Union leaders held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss how to respond to Lurie’s partial hiring freeze, slowdown, or what-have-you. The leaders were split on the question of whether to fight or work with Lurie, but some had choice words for the newbie mayor: “I don’t get the impression they really thought this out,” said David Canham, executive director of Service Employees International Union 102.

VACANCY TAX BURIED: For years, San Francisco has had one overarching solution for vacant storefronts and apartments: Tax them to the high heavens. Now, after a loss in court, supervisors are walking back a 2022 tax on vacant homes.