When Mayor Daniel Lurie started recruiting tech and finance leaders to lead a new group tasked with revitalizing San Francisco’s economy, critics questioned whether ultra-wealthy executives could relate to everyday residents.
Well, they’re off to quite a start. For its first-ever public initiative, the Partnership for SF on Tuesday released a poll (opens in new tab), asking 500 residents what they think about the future, the business climate, and the city’s professional sports teams.
San Franciscans expressed “strong support” for the Warriors, Giants, and Valkyries. But missing from the poll was any mention of the 49ers, who are playing in the NFC division round playoffs this weekend and whose stadium will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.
Even though the Niners have “San Francisco” in their name and “SF” in their logo, their ties to the city have grown tenuous since they moved to Santa Clara in 2014.
It appears that — despite the mayor routinely calling on residents to support “our” Niners — the Partnership for SF has taken a stance on the topic.
Source: Partnership for SF
Asked about the omission, a spokesperson said the survey was meant to test the favorability of things people can do in San Francisco proper, meaning Niners games at Levi’s Stadium, despite their popularity, didn’t count.
Even though poll respondents view the city’s sports teams favorably, they ranked sporting events last in terms of importance on the list of San Francisco amenities.
Fourteen other use cases topped sports, including restaurants, retail, parks, museums, and live music. Libraries, of all things, were ranked as twice as important as attending games.
Members of the Partnership for San Francisco — which is led by Katherine August-deWilde, former president of First Republic Bank — include Sam Altman of OpenAI, Laurene Powell Jobs of the Emerson Collective, and Brian Chesky of Airbnb. Michael Moritz, chairman of The Standard, is also a member.
The poll resembles a survey conducted annually by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, although it paints a much more rosy picture. In 2025, shortly after Lurie took office, the chamber’s poll found that 43% of residents believed the city was “headed in the right direction.”
By contrast, Partnership’s poll found that 69% believe things are headed in the right direction.
Self-servingly, Partnership said its research shows that San Franciscans view a “competitive business environment” as “essential” to the city’s future. Additionally, the poll found that 82% believe large employers are important to the city’s economy.
On the other end, more than 90% view housing affordability as a negative issue and one of the biggest barriers to the city’s growth.