Coronavirus: Leadership During Crisis with San Francisco Mayor London Breed

San Francisco Mayor London Breed joins Washington Post Live on Monday, Feb. 22 (Video: The Washington Post)

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Mayors have been at the center of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, from the rollout of vaccines, to the reopening of schools, to the economic recovery. On Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 2:00pm ET, San Francisco Mayor London Breed joins Washington Post opinions writer Jonathan Capehart to discuss how her city is responding to COVID-19, and the recent attacks against Asian Americans in the Bay Area.

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Highlights

San Francisco Mayor London Breed says if the state puts them “in the red next week,” the city will be able to reopen things like indoor/outdoor museums, restaurants will be able to expand and services like facials can return. “Some good news on the horizon. I’m really excited about it.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed says she believes the rhetoric from the former administration helped fuel the recent attacks on Asian Americans in the Bay Area. “The discrimination and xenophobia against our Asian community since the beginning of this pandemic has been horrific.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has gone toe-to-toe with the school system to get it to reopen, explaining that the city has done everything it can to give schools the resources they need. “That’s what’s really frustrating is things keep changing, things are uncertain. Meanwhile, kids are still struggle, and we’re at the same place that we were a year ago.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed says the aid to states and localities in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is “incredibly important.” “This stimulus money is just the boost that we need, so my fingers are crossed that it gets passed.” (Video: Washington Post Live)

San Francisco Mayor London Breed

Mayor London Breed is a native San Franciscan, raised by her grandmother in Plaza East Public Housing in the Western Addition neighborhood. In June 2018, Mayor Breed was elected to be the first African American woman and second woman in San Francisco history to serve as Mayor. She was re-elected for her first full four-year term in November 2019.

She is leading San Francisco’s ongoing response to COVID-19, with a focus on equity and supporting the City’s economic recovery. Earlier this year, Mayor Breed announced her vision to fundamentally change the nature of policing in San Francisco and issued a set of policies to address structural inequities. Since becoming Mayor, she has focused on helping the City’s homeless population into care and shelter; adding more housing for residents of all income levels; helping those suffering from mental health and substance use disorder on San Francisco’s streets; ensuring that all San Franciscans have access to a thriving economy; making San Francisco a cleaner and safer city; and furthering San Francisco’s leadership in combating climate change.

Prior to public service, Mayor Breed served as Executive Director of the African American Art & Culture Complex in the Western Addition for over a decade. She also served as a San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Commissioner and in 2010 was appointed by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom to be a San Francisco Fire Commissioner, where she served until her election to the Board of Supervisors.

Mayor Breed served for six years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, including three years as President of the Board. During her time on the Board, Mayor Breed passed legislation to create more housing along transit corridors and prioritize residents for affordable housing opportunities in their communities. She helped to reform the City’s emergency response systems, secured funding for San Francisco’s homelessness support network, and enacted the strongest Styrofoam ban in the country. She also worked to implement the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program to rehabilitate and preserve thousands of long-neglected units of permanently affordable housing.

In 2013, Mayor Breed was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing District 5 for six years, including three years as President of the Board.