San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie on Thursday announced three key hires to his City Hall office, appointments that suggest the political novice will likely orient his priorities around business interests and form even closer ties with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Staci Slaughter, a former executive at the San Francisco Giants, will be the mayor’s chief of staff, a position that traditionally wields immense power over the city’s day-to-day operations.
In addition to her nearly 30-year career with the Giants, Slaughter has advised and worked on the boards of investment firms Sixth Street Partners and JMP Group. She has also been involved with the women’s soccer club Bay FC, USA Gymnastics, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
Slaughter also has City Hall experience: In the 1990s, she worked as an adviser, chief spokesperson, and speechwriter under Mayor Frank Jordan, according to her LinkedIn profile.
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During her time with the Giants, Slaughter helped with the development of Oracle Park, according to a press release. She also assisted with the team’s philanthropic endeavors.
“It sounds to me that he is putting the business-friendly strategy first,” said Keally McBride, a University of San Francisco politics professor. “I think Lurie is kind of positioning himself to be a Michael Bloomberg type.”
McBride said this strategy is likely a reflection of the anxiety over San Francisco’s economic future, noting the recent news that Wells Fargo will exit its downtown headquarters.
Jim Ross, a political consultant who worked with Slaughter during the Jordan mayoral administration, said she signals “a bit of a return more to the Newsom style of governing: a little bit more policy-focused, a little bit more technocrat.”
“It is a push for real change,” Ross said.
Under Slaughter will be Matthew Goudeau, who was named deputy chief of staff. Goudeau played a key role in Lurie’s campaign, serving as a senior adviser in what was originally considered a long-shot bid for the mayor’s office by a candidate with zero political experience.
Goudeau has ties to City Hall, having served stints in the Mayor’s Office of Protocol dating back to the Willie Brown administration, according to his LinkedIn profile. The office organizes civic celebrations and raises funds for notable events such as last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
During his time with the Office of Protocol, Goudeau worked with Lurie’s wife, Becca Prowda, who served as a confidential secretary under Newsom when he was mayor. Prowda currently works as Newsom’s chief of protocol in the governor’s office.
McBride said she expects there to be “a lot of strategizing” between the state and the mayor’s office, considering the incoming Trump administration.
Goudeau played a key role in rallying support for Lurie’s mayoral campaign among wealthy residents of the city, according to a source familiar with the matter. While Lurie funded his campaign with millions of his own dollars, he also received substantial support from deep-pocketed donors.
The source told The Standard that Goudeau was disappointed when Mayor London Breed did not appoint him as chief of protocol following the 2021 death of socialite Charlotte Shultz, instead giving the role to Maryam Muduroglu. Goudeau declined comment when reached by phone Thursday.
Lurie’s third pick is Han Zou as director of public affairs.
Zou is considered a deft political organizer who was Lurie’s campaign manager and is generally credited as corralling the city’s Asian American vote around the mayor-elect. Zou previously worked on campaigns for Congresswoman Lateefah Simon and Assemblymember Matt Haney.
Before announcing the new hires, Lurie said Wednesday that he plans to install four “policy chiefs” responsible for agencies in specific subject areas: public safety; housing and economic development; public health and well-being; and infrastructure, climate, and mobility.