Scandal Unveiled: Mayor’s Alleged Favoritism Sparks Outrage Amid Power Outage

San Francisco’s mayor is facing allegations of favoritism after reportedly intervening during a citywide blackout to ensure that power was restored to the opera house where his daughter was performing. Sources claim that Mayor Daniel Lurie, a scion of the Levi Strauss family, used his influence to prioritize power restoration to the War Memorial Opera House on December 21st.

On that day, his daughter, Taya Lurie, was playing the lead role of Clara in a matinee performance of “The Nutcracker,” the beloved ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic compositions. Despite large swaths of the city being without electricity, the show was able to continue, thanks to the focused efforts on restoring power to the performance venue.

These claims surfaced during a recent hearing where Sumeet Singh, a supervisor for Pacific Gas and Electric Co (PG&E), testified about Mayor Lurie’s alleged directive. Singh suggested that the mayor’s instructions were specifically aimed at ensuring the opera house regained power so that Taya could shine on stage.

While large parts of the city were plunged into darkness the show managed to go on after being supplied with power. 

At a hearing this week, Pacific Gas and Electric Co (PG&E) Supervisor Sumeet Singh claimed Mayor Lurie directed teams to prioritize power to the opera house so Taya could have her moment in the spotlight. 

A transcript of the hearing in which Singh made the comments was uncovered by The San Francisco Chronicle. 

He said: ‘We were requested by the mayor to provide temporary generation to that specific location and we responded to that and by that time we had about 90% of our customers restored.’

In a bizarre turn of events however, the utilities firm then released a statement saying that Singh got it wrong, with Lurie’s office also shot down the accusation. 

Mayor Lurie is seen here his wife Becca Prowda, their son Sawyer and daughter Taya, who starred in The Nutcracker in December 

Taya portrayed Clara, the star of the ballet, during its December run inside the War Memorial Opera House, she is seen here at a showing on December 14

Pacific Gas and Electric said: ‘The mayor did not ask or direct PG&E to restore power to the opera house.’

Spokesperson David McCulloch added that the company was ‘constantly in touch’ with the city and leadership while restoring power to all parts of the city. 

McCulloch added that Singh ‘misunderstood this information’ when he answered the question during Thursday’s hearing.

The mayor’s office added: ‘For days through the blackout, Mayor Lurie personally pushed PG&E to restore power across San Francisco as quickly as possible.

‘The mayor never directed any PG&E employee to provide power at any specific venue – and the San Francisco Ballet didn’t even have PG&E support until after the weekend.’

But text message obtained by The San Francisco Standard showed that Mayor Lurie was indeed actively receiving updates from a representative of the energy company about the opera house being plunged into darkness. 

Jake Zigelman, VP of the region, said: ‘Opera house update. ur team is onsite and has been in touch with the opera folks. We’ve been told they have enough natural light and emergency backup power to move ahead with 2pm performance. 

‘We have a vendor mobilized to support temporary generation for the 7pm show. Not 100% on timing but working feverishly to make that happen.’

Mayor Lurie and his family reside in a $17 million nine-bedroom home in the Pacific Heights area of the city

Lurie is seen here with California Governor Gavin Newsom last month, Lurie’s wife Becca Prowda works for the governor

PG&E trucks are seen here outside of the opera house in the city on December 21, the day of the performance

In a post to X by PG&E when the power was out on December 21, they said: ‘SF Outage Update. 

‘The 2PM #Nutcracker performance at the #SFOpera House is ON using its backup generator. PG&E is helping secure temporary generation for the 7 PM show.’

The mayor’s office confirmed that Taya was in the performance, with the Daily Mail uncovering footage of her performing as Clara at the show during its seasonal run. 

Lurie and his wife Becca Prowda, who works for the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, reside in a $17 million nine-bedroom home in the Pacific Heights area of the city. 

The blackout that hit the city over the festive period saw 130,000 residents left without power starting December 20.