“You can’t please everyone. Not everyone is going to like you, not everyone is going to do what you want them to do.” On Wednesday, San Francisco sworn in its first black female mayor and second female mayor in the city’s history.
London Breed, 43, will serve out the remainder of Mayor Ed Lee’s mayoral term, who died unexpectedly in December. His death prompted a special election last month to replace him. Breed won more first-place votes than any other candidate running in the June primary. The election was the first time San Francisco voters used a ranked-choice format to elect a mayor.
The election makes her the second woman to become mayor of San Francisco, behind U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the 45th mayor of the city. As a Democrat, Breed represents 6% percent of the city’s black population, a number that reportedly continues to decrease.
The San Francisco native says she is committed to addressing the city’s most pressing problems, which include mental health, homelessness and overly, expensive housing prices. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a $117K income for a family of four is now considered low income.
Breed grew up in public housing and pledges to build more affordable housing for families, specifically African-Americans. She most recently served as the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and vowed to continue working with them in her new role.
“And what I noticed about this board, and what made me so proud to be a part of it is, we stand our ground, we do what we think is best and we try to fight for the people we represent,” she said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Other topics on her agenda include improving bike system, rebuilding the city’s seawall, supporting small businesses and reforming the criminal justice system.
I believe in the promise of San Francisco because I’ve lived it. My story may seem like the exception but we can make it the norm. I’m hopeful, I’m optimistic, I’m excited, and I’m looking forward to what we will achieve together.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 11, 2018
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Another top priority for Breed is protecting her city from Washington.
“We’ll tell the President that in SF we don’t put children in cages; we put them in classrooms,” she said, referring to Trump’s immigration policy that has resulted in the separation of thousands of children from their families.
As a SFUSD graduate, I’m committed to building more teacher housing, prioritizing neighborhood schools, and creating opportunities for paid internships and job training. We’ll tell the President that in SF we don’t put children in cages; we put them in classrooms!
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) July 11, 2018
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Breed has been receiving congratulations from some of her top supporters such as Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
For years, @LondonBreed has inspired people in our community with a clear purpose — to create a brighter future for our generation and the next generation. Now she gets to continue that work as mayor of San Francisco. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/k0V5N9yJHc
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 11, 2018
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Wishing the very best to San Francisco’s @LondonBreed as she historically becomes the first Black woman to serve as Mayor of our great city. We look forward to watching as she advances the values that are held so closely by our SF community: equality, inclusivity & justice. pic.twitter.com/PpZZsFxajn
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) July 11, 2018
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Breed graduated from the University of California with a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s in public administration from the University of San Francisco.
Again her term is simply a replacement for the late Mayor Lee. If she wants a full four-year term, Breed must run again in November 2019.
To learn more about London click here
Source: The Michael Baisden Show ( a shared partnership)
