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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 13 december 2017

San Francisco:

City native becomes city’s 1st black woman mayor

left that she is a moderate commission. But she lost the
and beholden to Brown, backing of influential U.S.
Lee and other traditional Sen. Dianne Feinstein when
Democrats. She will remain she responded to questions
acting mayor and board from a local news outlet
president of the supervi- with profanities, saying she
sors unless a majority of the was not controlled by any-
11-member board votes to one. Her blunt-speaking
appoint another person, ways have led to other po-
city attorney Dennis Her- litical controversies, espe-
rera said. Herrera said San cially on Twitter where she
Francisco will now vote for engaged critics during her
a mayor in June 2018 rather first months serving as a su-
than November 2019 elec- pervisor. At one point, she
tion that was to take place blamed some bicyclists for
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President and acting mayor at the end of Lee’s term. causing road safety prob-
London Breed, center, speaks at a news conference at City Breed had been consid- lems.
Hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. Mayor Ed Lee, ered likely to run for mayor After deleting her Twit-
who oversaw a technology-driven economic boom in San after Lee’s second — and ter account for several
Francisco that brought with it sky-high housing prices despite last — term expired. months, Breed worked
his commitment to economic equality, died suddenly early Breed won election to the to soften her image and
Tuesday at age 65. board in 2012 after serv- by 2015 lined up enough
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By PAUL ELIAS ers who gathered to honor ing on the city’s redevel- board votes to win the job
opment agency and fire leading the board.q
Associated Press Lee in City Hall.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Breed, like Lee a Democrat,
San Francisco native Lon- graduated from a San Fran-
don Breed became the cisco public high school
city’s acting mayor Tues- and earned a bachelor’s
day following the sudden degree from the University
death of Mayor Ed Lee, and of California, Davis and a
is the first African-American master’s degree in public
woman to lead the city in administration from the Uni-
the midst of a seemingly versity of San Francisco.
endless technology driven She got her start in politics
economic boom. as an intern in the city’s
Breed, 43, is a lifelong San housing department during
Francisco resident who was the tenure of Mayor Willie
raised by her grandmother Brown that ended in 2004.
in the city’s predominantly Brown has not held public
black and lower-income office since then but con-
Western Addition neighbor- tinues to exert consider-
hood, part of the same dis- able influence on city poli-
trict she now represents as tics, and helped elect Lee.
a city supervisor. She said Nationally, Breed’s political
she and Lee bonded over positions on issues like fund-
their shared experience of ing housing projects for the
growing up in public hous- homeless and support for
ing. marijuana legalization are
“He was from the dawn of viewed as solidly liberal.
his career an advocate for But within the insular politics
the powerless,” Breed told of San Francisco, she has
reporters and a crowd of had to defend her creden-
several hundred city work- tials from attacks from the