news San Francisco Mayor London Breed: "I'm not wealthy, I need a job" | $383,000 Salary

[jakeisphat]

San Francisco's panned bomb, 6-year mayor, London Breed, who lost re-election in November (the first to lose re-election since 1995) gave an interview to Mission Local, an independent S.F. news publication. In that interview she once again debuted some... interested takes:

 

ML: Looking back over these last six and a half years, what are some of your biggest accomplishments?

 

LB: . . . So I just think that my legacy, of course, is going to be, you know, just probably one as a crisis mayor, as someone who's led us through challenge after challenge and, more importantly, now in a position where housing is at the top of the agenda, even so much so that during the presidential race, you had that as a topic of conversation.

. . .

I'm really proud that we have the city on a much better footing than we've ever had, and I'm leaving it in a better state, even though it's been a very challenging time and so much was working against us. Nevertheless, we've had to find creative ways to work around it. Despite all of that, and despite a very challenging Board of Supervisors, I still have been able to make significant progress that I'm very proud of.

 

. . .

 

ML: If you really could do one thing to make your last six years easier, in terms of what the mayor's office can do, is there a change that comes to mind?

 

LB: I think that the mayor should be able to hire and fire directly any department head. Period. I mean, I think I think that should happen. And I also think that the mayor's office should have a much more robust staff. We go back to Willie Brown days. I think he had, like, 200 people working for him. I have like 40, you know. Other mayors had way more people than I've had. So I've had a very, very small team of direct reports. 

 

. . .

 

ML: Finally, what's next for you?

 

LB: Everybody wants to know what's next. Well, sadly, as mayor of San Francisco, I can't engage in any conversations with anybody. But, you know, I'm not wealthy, so, you know, like, I'm gonna have to get a job eventually. And also, I've never known anything other than public service and working hard. Ever since I was 10 years old, I scraped, and so I am not the kind of person who can sit around and not do anything. And I am hopeful that something will come my way. I'm a very cause-driven person, and I'm hoping to be able to continue to do a lot of the things I care about. I care about community. I was in the Mission today. Carnaval's new space. I made that happen, and I'm so proud they are going to be protected. It is one of the most incredible things to look around this city and to think about how I've touched, whether it's housing, community, space, activation, buildings, all of that . . .

 

*For reference: London Breed is the highest paid mayor in the country, making more than the Governor of California, and the Vice President of the United States. Her salary started at $326,000 in 2018 and rose to $383,000 for her final year in office - the average salary in San Francisco is $104,000, and in California, is $68,000. Breed also gets $80,000 per year in benefits.*

 

ML: Might your next job involve Bloomberg?

 

LB: I want to be very clear. I don't know what I'm going to do. Okay. That's part of the problem. I don't know what I'm going to do, and I can't engage in any conversations to, like, if someone offered me a job tomorrow. I can't even have that discussion. Right. Right. People have already reached out. Mayor. What's next? Can I help you? I said I will call you after Jan. 8. For any, any opportunities. Who knows? I might end up being your boss. [laughs] But I'm very talented, and I work very hard, and I know a lot of things, so I'm sure there'll be some great opportunities out there for me. I just don't know what it is because I haven't really thought about it. I've been — you got to understand, I've done community, and government, and community work my whole life. This is all I've ever done. This is all I've ever known. And this is — I did this because it's what I care about. And so, now I have to think about, because when you start going out there into other arenas, people may want you to focus on one particular thing. And the question is, do I want to focus on one thing? I don't know. So I need time to separate and to figure that out. But it will not be long before I'm at least, you know, employed somewhere. You know, like, folks are like, 'You're going on vacation?' I said, 'Black people don't go on vacation until they got a job.' I don't know how this new generation, they're like, they get fired and they go on vacation. I'm like, no, that's not me. I'm old school.  

 

 

https://missionlocal.org/2024/12/exit-interview-london-breed-says-shell-be-remembered-as-san-franciscos-crisis-mayor/

 

Edited Wednesday at 07:13 PM by jakeisphat

[LadyDiana]

Why is she talking like, that? Like, is she, you know, 16 or, more like, 64, you know?

[l3disko]

She threw San Francisco into chaos, turned it into a lawless dumpsterfire, but hey, she made history as the ~first black female mayor~. 

 

Maybe SF can start recovering now that she was voted out.

[KingWitch]

Breed? How appropriately for San Francisco 

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:30 PM by KingWitch

[XAMJ]

17 minutes ago, l3disko said:

She threw San Francisco into chaos, turned it into a lawless dumpsterfire, but hey, she made history as the ~first black female mayor~. 

 

Maybe SF can start recovering now that she was voted out.

found the racist pig

[Attitude]

I wish I got 300k for being horrible at my job. 

 

[getBusy]

30 minutes ago, l3disko said:

She threw San Francisco into chaos

SF was already chaos well before she took office.

 

and to be clear, she did not do a good job. But she didn't start the mess either. 

Edited Wednesday at 06:52 PM by getBusy

[frankvert]

An absolute clown who destroyed one of America's most beautiful and prosperous cities 

[JonginBey]

1 hour ago, jakeisphat said:

Who knows? I might end up being your boss. [laughs]

It's giving

 

 

[Buffy]

Isn't $300K considered low income for Californians? 

[Relampago.]

Idk much about her but whenever people say SF is a disaster and dumpster fire, I'm always confused cause it's easily my favorite city I've visited in the world. Even parts like the Tenderloin aren't as bad as they sound imo. 

 

Obvs improvements can be made and it's probably different living there, but it's still a beautiful city with a lot of great parts, and a lot of its main problems (homelessness, non-violent crime, expenses and housing) aren't specific to that city by any means

 

EDIT: Wait I just read who won the election and he sounds awful too, not a Levi Strauss heir who wants to be tough on crime and fund the police more SF is a neoliberal hell politically and deserves so much better.

Edited Wednesday at 08:39 PM by Relampago.

[Delirious]

She ruined SF and hope she rots

[l3disko]

58 minutes ago, Relampago. said:

EDIT: Wait I just read who won the election and he sounds awful too, not a Levi Strauss heir who wants to be tough on crime and fund the police more SF is a neoliberal hell politically and deserves so much better.

the fact that people went from voting for someone who pledged to defund the police to someone who wants to be tough on crime just kinda shows how bad it is, no? Not to mention being the first mayor to lose re-election in over 2 decades - clearly the majority of residential voters think there's a major issue.

 

When you have 540 less officers and you're trying to call in the national guard to help control the crime, perhaps strengthening your own police force isn't such a terrible idea.

 

Even London Breed's views about it changed 3 years later

 

from wanting to cut $120 million from the SF police budget to this:

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 09:34 PM by l3disko

[Communion]

1 hour ago, Buffy said:

Isn't $300K considered low income for Californians? 

Every day we stray further and further from God's light on this website.

[Communion]

29 minutes ago, l3disko said:

the fact that people went from voting for someone who pledged to defund the police

I assume you have to use the word "pledge" here cause the first thing Breed did and continued to do throughout her term was... the opposite?

 

[Relampago.]

29 minutes ago, l3disko said:

the fact that people went from voting for someone who pledged to defund the police to someone who wants to be tough on crime just kinda shows how bad it is, no? Not to mention being the first mayor to lose re-election in over 2 decades - clearly the majority of residential voters think there's a major issue.

 

When you have 540 less officers and you're trying to call in the national guard to help control the crime, perhaps strengthening your own police force isn't such a terrible idea.

 

Even London Breed's views about it changed 3 years later

 

from wanting to cut $120 million from the SF police budget to this:

 

 

We can debate this back and forth but being tough on crime isn't the solution, it's actually the problem and what creates cities where access to public services and affordable costs of living can help much more than trying to jail already poor/disadvantaged people which breaks up families, destroys livelihoods and perpetuates inequality because the police force can *NEVER* be trusted to handle crime responsibly.

 

In theory, it makes sense to throw the petty thieves breaking into cars in jail, but then after serving time, they come out wanting to murder people because their time in prison caused them to become a completely different person.

 

The criminal justice system is TOO ****ed up nowadays for the "tough on crime" approach to work. If we could rehabilitate and present opportunity to people, it would be amazing to be tough on crime. Instead we harden them from petty thieves to violent assailants, and the cycle continues. 

 

I know most people don't care about that, because they want solutions NOW, but SF also isn't Juárez where everyone is dying en masse due to rampant violent crime. Working on criminal justice reform is a much better platform even if it takes more time than just wasting money on a police force who's just going to make things worse as they always have and always do. 

 

And none of this is a defense of Ms. Breed either. But this new guy sounds awful too, whether he believes what he's saying or because he just thought "well I'll hit her on her weak points and say things to get power!" Whatever situation it is, doesn't sound like SF is in for any long term solutions any time soon.

[Katamari]

3 hours ago, KingWitch said:

Breed? How appropriately for San Francisco 

 

yeah its a hot mess down there

 

ot: is daniel lurie any better tho

[bad guy]

You couldn't pay me to live in that socially awkward, tech-bro loser hellhole. Everywhere those leeches migrate turns into pure dystopia

 

Edited Wednesday at 10:19 PM by bad guy

[teresaguidice]

1 hour ago, Relampago. said:

Idk much about her but whenever people say SF is a disaster and dumpster fire, I'm always confused cause it's easily my favorite city I've visited in the world. Even parts like the Tenderloin aren't as bad as they sound imo. 

 

Obvs improvements can be made and it's probably different living there, but it's still a beautiful city with a lot of great parts, and a lot of its main problems (homelessness, non-violent crime, expenses and housing) aren't specific to that city by any means

 

EDIT: Wait I just read who won the election and he sounds awful too, not a Levi Strauss heir who wants to be tough on crime and fund the police more SF is a neoliberal hell politically and deserves so much better.

i think the level of homelessness, petty crime, drug use in the open, unaffordable housing, etc is not really much different than most major US cities and certainly no worse than LA or NYC, but the way SF was so completely gutted by silicon valley top to bottom (physically and culturally) makes the class disparity so glaring and the poverty so abject. it really does feel extreme there. 

Edited Wednesday at 10:28 PM by teresaguidice

[Sergi91]

Why is she making more money than the CA Governor and VP? 

[XAMJ]

How I got downvoted for a clear racist dog whistle is not surprising since a good portion of atrl is turning maga 

[SupremeGoddess]

can americans explain to an european what's the problem with san francisco? generally it's got a good reputation here in europe i guess. is it too much homosexuality?