The Daniel Lurie administration hasn’t been in Room 200 — the mayor’s office at City Hall — for a full week, but paranoia has already started to swirl, we hear. On the very first day in the new digs, deputy chief of staff Matthew Goudeau allegedly asked for the locks to be changed on the office doors, an insider tells us.

We’re sure London Breed’s staffers are fuming that they can’t sneak in and respond to constituent queries in the dead of night. Asked for comment, Lurie spokesperson Charles Lutvak said, “This is a security matter.”

In other news, Lurie is starting small in his bid to get butts back in offices downtown — Power Play hears he has asked his staff to come in five days a week, bankers’ hours, to set an example for City Hall employees. It’s a move that might invite grumbling, as not all parents have the resources of a centi-millionaire when it comes to child care. And it’s a departure from Lurie’s anti-poverty group Tipping Point Community, which, as of last year, at least, still worked under a three-day a week hybrid schedule. His spokespeople did not respond for comment.

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CLEARING THE FIELD: The already crowded gubernatorial field might get wiped out entirely if Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run in 2026. Outgoing Rep. Katie Porter, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, and a slew of others have declared their interest. 

Attorney General Rob Bonta is also considering a run. Power Play caught up with him at Lurie’s inauguration banquet at Far East Cafe in Chinatown. The AG was refreshingly frank on how Harris’ entry to the race might affect his own path forward. (Can all politicians be like this, please?) 

“I’ve been a big supporter of Kamala for a long time,” Bonta told Power Play. “I think she’d be a great governor. And if she runs, it would definitely impact my decision.” Bonta did note that his career calculus changed in more than one way when Harris lost the presidency. “I love this job. Right now is the time to focus on being the best AG I can be, especially with threats of the Trump administration,” he said.  

EVEN MORE TOGETHER: The chatter of local political insiders this November wasn’t necessarily Lurie’s upset win, nor the loud, orange guy in the Oval Office — whom San Francisco is doing its best to ignore, for now. What really had tongues wagging was the losses sustained by powerhouse organizations Neighbors for a Better San Francisco and TogetherSF, led by, respectively, Jay Cheng and Kanishka Karunaratne Cheng, who placed big bets on mayoral candidate Mark Farrell. Would the Chengs keep their jobs? Would the organizations shutter? Or would they somehow rise from the ashes of political defeat?

Now we know the answer, and it’s a loud, resounding “kinda!” to all. 

Neighbors and TogetherSF are merging, the groups announced Friday. The orgs touted buzzwords like “strategic merger” and “joining forces” in their press release. Still, this smacks of a demotion for a pair of power brokers who are decidedly on the outs with Lurie. 

Jay Cheng will lead the newly formed entity, and Karunaratne Cheng will “play a pivotal role” in transitioning the organizations, according to the release. They’re not saying much else. The organizations are backed by billionaires Bill Obendorf and Michael Moritz; the latter is The Standard’s chairman. In written statements, Obendorf said "this partnership reflects the power of collaboration,” and Moritz said the streamlining “will help promote a better San Francisco for everyone.” 

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: On Friday, four members of the Board of Education were sworn in during a well-attended ceremony at City Hall. This marks a genuine shift on the board, which has three new members — Jaime Huling, Parag Gupta, and Supryia Ray  — and a moderate leaning. Current president Matt Alexander, a progressive, eked out a reelection victory for the fourth seat, winning by just 248 votes.

The seven-member board will elect a new president Tuesday. Members were tight-lipped on who they’ll support, but they appear to be working on a unanimous vote on leadership. It’s likely between Alexander, who has sparked parents’ ire over his positions on school closures during Covid and other issues, and Phil Kim, a former charter school advocate who was appointed by Breed in August. 

Two potential swing votes may decide the outcome: Gupta and Huling, both of whom received support from the progressive teachers union. Whoever is elected will inherit an unholy mess at the school district, ranging from a budget deficit to school closures. 

RONEN GETS ROASTED: The “Roast of Hillary Ronen” was a no-holds-barred, potty-mouthed affair Thursday night. Hosted by her former aide Sheila Chung Hagen, Ronen was skewered by Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Shamann Walton, Board President Rafael Mandelman, former Supervisors Dean Preston and Bevan Dufty, and her husband, Francisco Ugarte, who works at the public defender’s office. 

The jokes mostly centered around Ronen’s supposed Latina bona fides (she isn’t Latina), her political correctness, and that time she bought 20 copies of Matthew Desmond’s “Poverty, by America” and assigned it as reading at City Hall. (She hadn’t read the book.) Her colleagues weren’t spared, either: Mandelman was mocked for his treasonous drift to the moderate camp, Preston for his rants about socialism, and Assemblymember Matt Haney for his ethically dubious love of professional sports games. 

But one of the biggest laugh lines came at the expense of Lurie, when Ronen looked in Preston’s direction.

“It's so sad that Dean is leaving the board,” said Ronen. “He's gonna be unemployed. But don't worry, Dean. Being unemployed with an inheritance is apparently all it takes to become mayor of San Francisco.”

SHELTER CHAOS: Critical incidents within the city’s shelter system have more than doubled over the past two years, according to data from the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. The crises may pose a predicament for Lurie, whose top campaign promise was to build 1,500 shelter beds during his first six months in office. 

HIRING FREEZE: In his first press release as mayor, Lurie announced a citywide hiring freeze — uh, kinda? The action, first proposed by Breed last year, exempts public safety and health workers and positions that have been “historically difficult to staff.” Lurie’s office did not provide details on the criteria for the freeze. 

PHARMAGEDDON: Walgreens will close a dozen locations around the city at the end of February. The closures include known theft hot spots and the Market Street store where a security guard fatally shot alleged shoplifter Banko Brown in 2023.