SF Mayor London Breed reflects on her time in office, what's next for her
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed has only a few more weeks in office. During her tenure, she led the city during some difficult times, a pandemic, a drug crisis and a persistent homeless problem. We sat down with Mayor Breed to reflect on her six years in office.
Lyanne Melendez: "It seems everyone wants to know, what's next for London Breed? So, let's start there."
Mayor London Breed: "Who knows, I may write a book, I may start my own business, I just don't know what I want to do. But I want to take a moment to just take some time for myself so I could figure it out."
London Breed admits her humble upbringing shaped her identity, yet, she never allowed others to perceive her as anything less than a rising star.
In 2013, she was sworn in as the supervisor of her district, which includes the Western Addition, the only neighborhood she's really known.
It was only a matter of time before she became president of that board and in that role, the unexpected landed abruptly.
Lyanne Melendez: December 11, 2017, then-mayor Ed Lee suffered a massive heart attack. Do you remember that phone call?
Mayor London Breed: "I also remember right after I got that call because it was really unbelievable. I remember texting my pastor and saying pray for me, pray for the city, I felt we needed prayers because I didn't know what that entailed."
As President of the Board, by law she became the interim mayor.
It was short-lived as the board voted for someone else, Mark Farrell.
Mayor London Breed: "I call it the "Red Wedding" happened when I was removed. If you know "Game of Thrones," you know what I am talking about."
One Supervisor, Hillary Ronen said, "she could not vote for Breed because she allegedly was supported by white, rich men and billionaires."
Instead, Ronen and most of the board voted for Farrell, a white male, venture capitalist.
Lyanne Melendez: "What was that all about? Is that what you call a knife fight in a phone booth to describe San Francisco politics?"
Mayor London Breed: "Well, maybe and I think it was a very unfortunate situation, and it was really offensive on top of that, and I appreciated the fact that since then, Supervisor Ronen and I have actually developed a really great relationship and been able to work together."
Five months after that incident, San Francisco voters sided with Breed as she won the special election to finish Mayor Lee's term. And then in 2019, she was elected again, this time to a full term.
Mayor London Breed: "In 2019, full speed ahead, I had plans, I was really excited about what I wanted to accomplish. I said it while I was sworn-in , and then the pandemic hit."
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Under her leadership San Francisco was among the first cities in the country to issue a mandatory stay-at-home order. Many applauded her quick decision, but others often criticized her for waiting too long to reopen the city.
She told us she has no regrets.
Mayor London Breed: "I had no problem taking, making hard decisions, and making hard decisions with the understanding that people are going to be upset about it. And I could be wrong, but I'd rather be wrong than to have a bunch of people lose their lives on my watch."
While the city was distracted by the pandemic, a relatively new drug on the streets called fentanyl made its way through the streets of the Tenderloin. There were other side-effects of the pandemic, such as, fencing operations, break-ins and an increase in homelessness as people from outside of San Francisco made their way here.
Lyanne Melendez: "It seems that during that time, the city went to hell in a hand basket. What would you have done differently today?"
Mayor London Breed: "We didn't have a playbook, we had to create it, as we went. I mean, COVID, fentanyl, and it was the perfect storm."
Breed was then forced to take a tough-on crime approach in a city that usually celebrates "compassionate policing."
Then there were her ties with people in her administration accused of corruption and ethical violations. Mayor Breed was able to distance herself from any wrong-doing.
But despite a tumultuous few years, Mayor Breed reminds everyone that during her administration she introduced more shelter beds than any previous mayor.
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The tents have all but disappeared and crime is the lowest it's been since the 1960s.
And when it comes to housing....
Mayor London Breed: "Part of helping exit homelessness is getting them out of shelter into something permanent. We've helped over 20,000 people exist homelessness because that's what it all boils down to, all roads lead to housing."
Lyanne Melendez: Despite those successes, why do you think you lost the election?
Mayor London Breed: "Well, this city is better, but it's too little too late, I heard a lot of that...why did it take so long. But I also think there was a lot of money. I didn't have money for those kinds of commercials over and over again. There was a lot of money against me. The thing I appreciate the most is that the voters gave me the opportunity in the first place and I will always be grateful for that."
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She was never endorsed by either Presidential nominee Kamala Harris or Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Lyanne Melendez: "That picture of you taking the oath as a supervisor in 2013, if you could, what would Mayor Breed today tell London Breed back then."
Mayor London Breed: "I would have told myself back then, take a minute, just take a minute to really recognize the significance of the work that you do, and how it has impacted people and don't be so quick to move on to the next thing."
