London Breed becomes San Francisco's first black female mayor
Equality
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- As a US female black mayor, Ms Breed is not only making history in San Francisco — she is also unusual nationally.
- Currently, the mayors of America’s 14 largest cities are men. All but three are white men.
- New York City has never had a female mayor. Neither has Los Angeles or Philadelphia.
Society
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- Only 5% of San Francisco’s residents are African-American
- Urban renewal projects and a rapid rise in the cost of living has driven out much of the black middle-class
- Ms Breed is a native San Franciscan, raised by her grandmother on one of the city’s deprived housing projects.
- She said her election sends a message “to the next generation of young people growing up in this city, that no matter where you come from you can do anything you want to do.”
Infrastructure
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- Ms Breed’s supporters say she has the skillset and personality to build the coalitions necessary to take on San Francisco’s most daunting issues
- She has vowed to tackle the homeless crisis and rid the streets of tent camps within a year of taking office
- Other priorities include tackling the rise in drug use and refuse on the streets, as well as the housing shortage, which is driving up rents and sales prices.
Government
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- Ms Breed started her career in the city government as an intern before climbing its rungs
- She briefly served as acting mayor following the death of Mayor Ed Lee in December, before running for the post.
- Rival candidate Mark Leno, who would have been the city's first gay mayor, conceded the knife-edge race on Wednesday.
- Democratic strategist Nathan Ballard told local media the vast majority of voters are “disgusted by the dour white man in the White House who grew up rich and can’t seem to work with anybody. We elected somebody who is the opposite of Donald Trump in almost every way”.
San Francisco is to have its first-ever female black mayor - at a time when African-Americans are becoming increasingly scarce in the US city.
London Breed, a long-time community activist who grew up in public housing, was declared the winner after her rival admitted defeat a week after city voters cast their ballots.
Winning with just over 50% of votes, the 43-year-old said she felt humbled.
Ms Breed is the only female mayor to serve in the top 15 largest US cities.
San Francisco is grappling with rampant homelessness, rubbish-littered streets that have been likened to developing-world slums, and a property-price boom that is driving working families out of the city.