Does it feel unusually chilly in the city? That frosty air may be blowing from Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie’s administration, which is about to freeze out an influential operative in charge of one the wealthiest political groups in San Francisco.
The man on the outs is Jay Cheng, executive director of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, who has long courted controversy.
Insiders close to the mayor-elect confirmed to The Standard that the administration will not work with Cheng or any group with which he collaborates, citing a string of ethics allegations that run counter to Lurie’s campaign promise to clean up City Hall corruption.
“This is a little surprising. It’s a little out of left field for me,” Cheng said when The Standard told him of Lurie’s position. “I think that it was a tough election; emotions run very high during an election. But Neighbors was proud to endorse Daniel Lurie, because voters backed change, and we agreed. We want to be partners in policies that move the city forward.
“We’re here to be supportive and follow Mayor Lurie’s leadership,” Cheng added.
To supporters, Cheng is an accomplished and whip-smart strategist who got his start representing the San Francisco Association of Realtors against anti-housing measures like new taxes and a development moratorium in the 2010s. He later played a key role in the recall of three school board members and this year’s election of moderate Democrats to the party board, among other successful campaigns.
To detractors, Cheng is an unscrupulous actor who was rewarded for his ruthlessness with leadership of the billionaire-funded Neighbors for a Better San Francisco.
Neighbors hit the scene in 2020. Backed in part by megadonor Bill Oberndorf, the group financed the recall of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and spent a cool $3.5 million in the 2024 election cycle for its endorsed causes. For mayor, Neighbors dually endorsed Mark Farrell and Lurie and ranked Mayor London Breed third.
So yes, Lurie is sticking a “Get off my lawn” sign in his yard to ward off Neighbors, even though the group endorsed him. But there’s ample reason to speculate it backed him in name only.
Breed has accused Cheng of improperly colluding with Farrell’s campaign, and leaked communications seemed to back this up. Farrell’s campaign netted the largest fine in Ethics Commission history, using strategies some insiders attribute to Cheng — though he has forcefully denied it. And, as Power Play reported, Neighbors donors complained to Oberndorf and Cheng after the group contributed to another one that funded attack ads against Lurie.
Meanwhile, the Ethics Commission fined Neighbors $53,000 for failing to report payments to a public relations firm during the district attorney recall, and Cheng was almost ousted from leadership this year after a 2010 sexual assault allegation resurfaced.
“We had a fine earlier this year. We made a mistake, we admitted the fault, and we paid the fine. We held ourselves accountable to that standard that the Ethics Commission found us on,” Cheng said.
Still, embracing Cheng and Neighbors might be tough for Lurie, considering that his campaign literature claimed his administration would “turn the page” from “scandal after scandal” tarnishing City Hall.
Cheng’s boosters hope Lurie will change his tune. Mary Jung, a community relations director at the SF Association of Realtors and a former local Democratic Party chair who worked on the Boudin recall, is set to retire. Jung considers Cheng to be the next generation in San Francisco Democratic politics.
“Jay Cheng is someone that I have personally mentored for years and trust to continue to carry on my legacy,” she said. “He cares deeply about our city, works tirelessly on behalf of his community and our residents, is an adept strategist and leader, and we need all hands on deck to continue to fix our city. He is the only person I know who works harder than I do.
“Jay and Neighbors will continue to be important players in helping Mayor-elect Lurie fulfill his promises and vision to change San Francisco for the better,” she added. “In the end, isn’t this what we all want?”
A Neighbors spokesperson said in a statement that the group fully supports Lurie’s vision for San Francisco.
“The work ahead is far too important to let division interfere with the collaboration needed for the greater good of the city. Speculation about influence and personal dynamics only distracts from our broader mission: delivering meaningful solutions for the people of San Francisco.”
And, the spokesperson said, Cheng played “a central role” in Neighbors’ success and has “the full confidence of our organization.”
“We fully support his continued leadership as we move forward,” the statement said.
Just this week, Cheng spoke at the City Club to movers and shakers in the real estate industry and touted the need for supervisors to be elected in citywide, rather than district-wide, elections. The move, seen as one that would benefit monied interests, is opposed by most progressive Democrats, though Cheng later told The Standard his group has no immediate plans to bring forward a proposal.
Jane Kim, director of the California Working Families Party and a progressive who sat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said Lurie is a rare type of politician: an insider with City Hall ties who isn’t experienced enough to owe anyone favors. According to Kim, that means he’s not weighed down by relationships to groups like Neighbors and, unlike other politicians, may be able to accomplish policy goals without their help.
On the flipside, Kim said, groups like Neighbors need Lurie’s support.
“If they can’t sit at the table because of one person’s problematic history or past, they have to make a choice,” Kim said.