I'm seeing a lot of people who may not have agreed with Ed Lee politics, but still have good things to say about the man. That gives me a little hope that we don't have to accept the "politics as warfare"attitude that seems to dominate American culture.
Sad to see him die young. Mixed feelings about his tenure. He was instrumental in making SF the tech powerhouse it has become. He also more friendly to developers housing. Where he fell short was managing the homeless and property crime issue. Hopefully someone can take those issues more seriously
Didn't always agree with his policies or politics but sad to see this. Condolences to his families.
As for London Breed, I've met her a few times at community gatherings. She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders. We'll see, SF has lots of problems.
From 2011 through the end of 2015, SF jobs grew 23% and housing grew only 3%! Mayor Ed Lee worked hard to bring jobs to SF. I wish he had worked harder to bring housing and transit for the people working those new jobs. The result of the imbalance is more money for the wealthy (higher rent income & tiny houses sold for $1M) and more suffering for everyone else (higher rents, crowding, displacement, & unhealthy commutes).
As a recent downtown SF resident who just fled San Francisco after 6 years I completely agree. Sad about his passing, but SF politics and policies are completely backward. The city refuses to acknowledge problems and punish bad behavior for fear of social justice backlash. Instead they villainize hard working Americans and victimize criminals. Off to greener pastures; Nashville TN for me.
I would not pin the troubles the city is facing on Ed Lee. The Board of Supervisors has an outsized influence on policy, especially housing, and for the most part continues to obstruct development single handedly.
Ed Lee took over Newsom's spot with a pledge that he would not run for Mayor in the special election (since taking over as interim Mayor would give him a big incumbent bump since many voters are apathetic about local elections and tend to just pick the name they recognize).
Come election time, Lee throws his hat into the ring, to the jeers of people who cried foul.
Ed Lee started out as an affordable housing advocate. I'm not sure what happened to him along the way. Did he get more conservative as he got older? Did the city's runaway growth outdo him?
As for getting on board the YIMBY movement, Fast Co writes that the new mayor "grew up with her grandmother in the city’s housing projects and public housing has been an important part and particular focus of her political career. "
...or alternatively, demand that the city stop handing moneyed interests the keys to the city. It's embarrassing to see a gigantic empty mall in the middle of Market street when so many people are homeless. You can thank Ed Lee for that -- it would be “such an attraction for retail,” he said [1]. What could have been an apartment building or live/work space became a mall that nobody wants [2].
While the housing crisis is real in SF, the "YIMBY" movement is a fairly thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction to the problem. In general in SF, developers have been getting exactly what they want since Wille Brown -- they just don't build things that help people who don't have money. SF could use some balance on the other side of the ledger.
This has been downvoted as it seems like a racist/troll comment, but Lee did in fact have connections to a Chinese gang, as does his new successor, London Breed. This might not be well known to people outside of SF, or even people within it.
> The investigation into Shrimp Boy's Chinatown gang empire has already resulted in California state Sen. Leland Yee pleading guilty to racketeering after he was implicated alongside Chow in a weapons trafficking scheme. Chow's defense team now claims that a Yee associate, businessman Derf Butler, also funnelled "untraceable debit cards for clothing and trips" to San Francisco City Supervisor London Breed.
London Breed is a native San Franciscan. However, she's also a Willie Brown protégé. Willie Brown was/is the Donald Trump of San Francisco. Of course, when Ed Lee was elected many said it was Brown's third term.
> Willie Brown was/is the Donald Trump of San Francisco.
Wait, what? How is that analogy supposed to work?
Willie Brown : San Francisco :: Donald Trump : ???
Donald Trump is a born-wealthy real estate developer that eventually entered electoral politics, first holding office at an age when people are more likely to retire from electoral politics than begin a career.
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., was born in segregated Texas, first worked as a shoe-shine boy, became a lawyer, and shortly went into politics, serving 30+ years in the Assembly, about half of it as Speaker. (And a while as kingmaker when the Republicans held a slim majority.)
Trump is perceived as an anti-establishment political figure, Brown was the California political establishment, even when other people held higher offices in the State (and even in the interruption in his time as Speaker.)
Other than both being men, I can't see much that they have in common that would justify the analogy you suggest. They are more opposites than analogs.
WOAH there... Brown might be a lot of things, but he's no Donald Trump. Friends and foe alike describe Brown as "the smartest guy in the room." Brown is an intellectual powerhouse compared to Trump and way more politically savvy then Trumps ever been.
[+] [-] butterfi|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dmode|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rootbear|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hyperbovine|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marinman|8 years ago|reply
As for London Breed, I've met her a few times at community gatherings. She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders. We'll see, SF has lots of problems.
[+] [-] aantix|8 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbdd_Fasz0k
[+] [-] sxates|8 years ago|reply
What's with mayors and weird campaign videos?
[+] [-] mleonhard|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] car|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] paulsutter|8 years ago|reply
I don't expect improvement anytime soon, but everyone should get on board the YIMBY movement and push hard for change.
[+] [-] nodesocket|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] transitorykris|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmanfrin|8 years ago|reply
Come election time, Lee throws his hat into the ring, to the jeers of people who cried foul.
[+] [-] jdavis703|8 years ago|reply
As for getting on board the YIMBY movement, Fast Co writes that the new mayor "grew up with her grandmother in the city’s housing projects and public housing has been an important part and particular focus of her political career. "
A quick skim of voting records also appears that she supports development: https://sfgov.legistar.com/PersonDetail.aspx?ID=92842&GUID=4....
[+] [-] MBlume|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] masterleep|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] timr|8 years ago|reply
While the housing crisis is real in SF, the "YIMBY" movement is a fairly thoughtless, knee-jerk reaction to the problem. In general in SF, developers have been getting exactly what they want since Wille Brown -- they just don't build things that help people who don't have money. SF could use some balance on the other side of the ledger.
[1] http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/11/12/150-million-reta...
[2] http://hoodline.com/2017/02/market-street-s-6x6-mall-opens-p...
[+] [-] realworldstuff|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Mizza|8 years ago|reply
Here is an article about it.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/08/04/san_franci...
> The investigation into Shrimp Boy's Chinatown gang empire has already resulted in California state Sen. Leland Yee pleading guilty to racketeering after he was implicated alongside Chow in a weapons trafficking scheme. Chow's defense team now claims that a Yee associate, businessman Derf Butler, also funnelled "untraceable debit cards for clothing and trips" to San Francisco City Supervisor London Breed.
Real life is stranger than fiction sometimes.
[+] [-] CalChris|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dragonwriter|8 years ago|reply
Wait, what? How is that analogy supposed to work?
Willie Brown : San Francisco :: Donald Trump : ???
Donald Trump is a born-wealthy real estate developer that eventually entered electoral politics, first holding office at an age when people are more likely to retire from electoral politics than begin a career.
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., was born in segregated Texas, first worked as a shoe-shine boy, became a lawyer, and shortly went into politics, serving 30+ years in the Assembly, about half of it as Speaker. (And a while as kingmaker when the Republicans held a slim majority.)
Trump is perceived as an anti-establishment political figure, Brown was the California political establishment, even when other people held higher offices in the State (and even in the interruption in his time as Speaker.)
Other than both being men, I can't see much that they have in common that would justify the analogy you suggest. They are more opposites than analogs.
[+] [-] butterfi|8 years ago|reply