At a recent forum featuring city leaders — one that leaned decidedly center-right by San Francisco standards — the consensus was striking. Elected officials and civic figures weren't talking about revolutionary new programs or billion-dollar moonshots. They were talking about efficiency, accountability, and actually measuring whether things work. And they were heaping praise on Mayor Daniel Lurie for steering the ship in that direction.

For a city that spent the better part of a decade throwing money at problems and hoping compassion alone would solve them, this is a sea change. The vibe in the room wasn't ideological — it was exhausted. Exhausted by bureaucratic bloat, exhausted by programs that consume budgets without producing results, and exhausted by streets that still look like the city forgot they existed.

The homelessness crisis remains Exhibit A. As one Bay Area resident put it bluntly: "What happened to the BILLIONS spent on solving the homeless issue? Where'd all that money go?" It's a fair question — and one that the old guard in City Hall never seemed interested in answering. Another local noted the absurdity of the double standard: "When the streets become literal dumping yards with rampant drug and bio waste that would warrant huge fines and enforcement for any other tax-paying citizen, it gets absurd."

That frustration is exactly why Lurie's brand of governance is resonating. He's not pitching utopia. He's pitching competence — the radical notion that city government should do fewer things and do them well, that taxpayer dollars should come with receipts, and that public spaces belong to the public.

Is Lurie perfect? Of course not. And "pragmatism" can easily become a buzzword that masks inaction just as effectively as "equity" once masked waste. The test isn't whether city leaders say the right things at forums — it's whether the budget reflects discipline, whether encampments actually get addressed with real alternatives, and whether anyone gets fired when programs fail.

But for now, let's acknowledge the shift. San Francisco's political class is finally speaking the language that residents have been screaming for years: show us the results, or show us the door. If Lurie can keep that energy going past the honeymoon phase, this city might actually start earning back some trust.