Daniel Lurie is correct to say that much of the country has "an outdated notion" of what San Francisco has been like the last year or two. But is it right to give him credit for a perceived turnaround in the city that was kind of underway before he took office?

We are now just about one year in to the Daniel Lurie administration in San Francisco, and it's not hard to say that he has chalked up a number of wins so far, and managed to avoid too many fumbles — save for that one supervisor appointment debacle. And maybe it's dumb to try to parse what he's been materially responsible for in SF's ongoing turnaround and change of mood, and what was already in motion before he took office. Whichever way you analyze it, he's going to enjoy the credit because he's a fresh face and it's happening on his watch.

That's certainly what ABC News is reporting too, with a national segment that aired during Sunday's episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

Co-anchor Jonathan Karl came to SF to interview Lurie — referred to here as a "tough on crime, pro-business moderate Democrat — and got to walk around North Beach with the mayor while a number of locals made a point to applaud him on the street and say things like "Best mayor ever!" as he passed by.

And it's not clear who he's pointing the finger at — London Breed? Aaron Peskin? — in blaming "career politicians" who were running the city, more focused on what was next for them than on doing the best for the people of the city.

"We lost our way as a city," Lurie says in the interview. "I think we got away from the basics of government. Now, today, if you come to San Francisco to commit a crime, we're going to catch you and we're going to prosecute you. If you come to San Francisco to do drugs, we're going to prosecute you."

Of course, it was in the last year of Breed's term that the city started arresting people for doing drugs, and it's Breed's appointee to the DA's office, Brooke Jenkins, who's since been reelected, who began the tough-on-crime rhetoric when she took office almost four years ago, and pledged to go harder on repeat offenders.

And it was under Breed that Civic Center began seeing a notable shift in terms of the street circus there, both with a curfew she pushed for that forced Tenderloin corner stores to close at midnight, and with the installation of a new skate park at UN Plaza.

But yes, Lurie began his tenure last January with a cleanup of street activity on Sixth Street and the declaration of a Fentanyl State of Emergency, and he tells ABC News that "We kept putting people with addiction into shelter, into housing, with no support," and "We're no longer just handing out drug supplies and letting people kill themselves on the street."

Lurie also clarifies the "pro-business" label saying, "I am pro-small business. I am pro bringing conventions back to San Francisco. I'm pro-big business being here in San Francisco and my demand of the business community is get involved in our city, get involved in our public schools and in our arts and culture."

And, while there is still a legal complaint pending to try to get Lurie to release exactly what was said in his conversation with President Trump in October that got Trump to call off the federal horde at the gates, Lurie tells ABC News, "I told [Trump] what I'm telling you, and I'm telling the world that San Francisco is on the rise, our numbers are going in the right direction in terms of our economy, crime is down."

Lurie adds, also likely referring to Trump's reversal, but also adressing the Fox News set at large, "I think, you know, I think people have an outdated notion of what was happening in San Francisco. I think we've proven that it was the right decision."

Welp, I guess that's it! The narrative about SF's grand decline has been reversed for a national news outlet, and henceforth, until the next bust cycle, all stories shall be about the city's great rise from recent ashes, and how Daniel Lurie made everything better.

Top image via ABC News