San Francisco — Mayor London Breed may have lost re-election, but after more than six years at the helm of one of America’s most iconic cities, she says she will step down next month as a champion.

“No matter what the results say, I’m still a winner,” Breed said in an interview this week. “The fact that I was able to come out of one of the most problematic situations in San Francisco to become mayor and come here and serve as mayor is an absolute privilege.”

Indeed, it’s been a meteoric rise to the top for the 50-year-old Breed.

Breed, who was raised in poverty by her grandmother in the Western Addition, one of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods at the time, became executive director of the African American Arts and Culture Complex in 2012. Elected a member of the Supervisory Committee. She made history in June 2018 when she was elected as the first black female mayor of San Francisco in a special election following the unexpected death of Mayor Ed Lee.

The next few years would be defined by the crisis of a deadly pandemic. The explosive availability of fentanyl and the resulting spike in overdose deaths. The twin epidemics of homelessness and untreated mental illness. 2020 racial justice protests. And in the wake of coronavirus-era closures, retail thefts have skyrocketed and the downtown economy has collapsed.

“We’ve had to deal with one crisis after another,” Breed said.

Her record in the face of these challenges was a deciding factor in the closely contested mayoral race between Breed and four other top Democrats. Breed lost to Daniel Lurie, 47, a nonprofit executive and heir to the Levi Strauss family fortune who had never held public office.

Mr. Lurie tapped into voters’ disillusionment with the brazen retail thefts, homeless encampments and open-air drug use that have made San Francisco a favorite punching bag for right-wing commentators and President-elect Donald Trump, among others. Mr. Lurie has pitched himself as a political outsider whom voters can trust to usher in a new era of accountability and good governance.

Mr. Breed has never been a die-hard progressive, but in recent years he has taken a righteous stance, pushing homeless people more aggressively off the streets and giving police more powers and resources to fight crime. supported the policy of giving. She said she feels she is leaving office just when “everything is starting to fall into place.”

According to the report, violent crime rates are down last year, with homicides down 34%, robberies 22%, robberies 12% and auto thefts 21%. san francisco police department.

Over the summer, Breed launched a campaign to clear homeless encampments, and she said her efforts are paying off. Number of tents reduced by 60% all over the city. deadly Overdoses have decreased Deaths rose for the sixth straight month after hitting a high of 810 last year.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a prominent Democratic donor and avid supporter of Mr. Breed, said the mayor deserves credit for effectively guiding San Francisco through an unusually difficult time. “I think she handled some serious issues very well, but I also think there were new issues, issues that she hadn’t experienced before,” Buell said.

Buell praised the decisiveness of Breed, who was one of the first major city mayors to declare a state of emergency at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision that saved thousands of lives. It was praised as a save.

“No one knew what to do, everyone was scared, and everyone was trying to do the right thing, but be bold and cautious,” Buell said. “I know she tried her best.”

But when it came time to vote this year, the decisions made early in the pandemic became a distant memory for many voters. There was a grim sense that San Francisco had lost control of street life and some of its charm.

Lurie’s reputation as a “non-politician” almost certainly contributed to his election victory. Although Lurie is considered a political outsider, he comes from one of San Francisco’s most influential families. He was born the son of a rabbi. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother married Peter Haas, heir to the founder of the Levi’s brand. Mr. Haas has since passed away, leaving Mr. Lurie and his mother among the principal heirs.

Mr. Lurie has spent nearly $9 million on his campaign, and his mother, Miriam Haas, has donated another $1 million to an independent expenditure committee supporting his mayoral bid. The commission received millions more in funding from tech giants and wealthy investors who saw in Lurie an opportunity to steer the city in a new direction after what they perceived as years of misdirection.

Breed said the large amount of spending was a detriment to his campaign.

“It’s definitely been very difficult running the city, which is a priority, and running a campaign against the financial resources coming to me from a variety of sources,” she said.

The growing influence of the tech industry has been a defining theme in a series of San Francisco elections over the past two years. Breed is still weighing whether the changes will ultimately improve local politics. “I wish a lot of money would go into things that are important in San Francisco,” she said. “You can’t just invest in one person. … It has to be an investment in the city, no matter who’s in charge.”

Breed’s critics say her losses went beyond campaign funds.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin, who ran against the mayor as an old-school progressive, said she could be uncompromising and blunt in policy discussions.

“It was kind of her path, or her highway. And politics is about negotiating compromises, and she did that brilliantly during the pandemic,” Peskin said. “But that’s not what everyone went through before or after coronavirus, and it came back to haunt her.”

Additionally, Breed’s shift away from the more liberal policies she championed while serving on the Board of Supervisors and early in her tenure as mayor has cost her support from the progressive voters who helped elect her. he said.

“Somewhere along the way, she became estranged from liberal San Francisco,” Peskin said. “And they abandoned her.”

James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco and author of Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama, agreed that Breed leaves behind a “mixed legacy.” .

Taylor said Breed governed the city during a difficult tenure, but some of the problems were of her own making. Her tenure was marred by a series of scandals that rocked the public. City Hall and non-profit organizationundermines confidence in government oversight.

In a recent survey, san francisco standard The head of the city’s Human Rights Commission was found to have funneled more than $1 million worth of contracts to a nonprofit organization led by a man with whom he shared his home address and car. The man shared an intimate personal relationship with her that she did not disclose. This episode focuses on one of Breed’s signature programs, Dream Keepers, which she founded with the stated purpose of directing more funds to the economic and cultural development of Black communities. It raised larger questions about how city funds have been managed for the initiative.

Taylor said that in the wake of the scandal, many Black San Francisco residents felt that the momentum for change in the city that they thought her leadership would bring had been lost.

“In other words, the demise of London Breed was self-inflicted,” he says. “When this plane crashed, everything around it was destroyed.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and one of Breed’s allies, disputed that conclusion, arguing that Breed has achieved remarkable success despite historic challenges.

“The city has been through a lot in the last five years,” he said. “The voters ultimately decided they wanted to go in a different direction. But she’s done a lot of good things.”

Wiener credited her with “Breed was a strong advocate for legislation that made it easier to build housing and was a trusted ally for the LGBTQ+ community.”

“She has a really deep understanding of our community,” Wiener said.

Breed confirmed that Lurie would inherit the list of hardships. Some of the more pressing issues are expected to include: City budget deficit of $876 million. Office vacancy rate continues stubbornly high About 5 years have passed since the pandemic. The municipal school system is On the brink of state takeover.

Her advice to Lurie? “When you have to make decisions in life-or-death situations that may be unpopular in this city, it’s important not to worry about which constituency you’re going to offend.”

Breed said that spirit is critical as California prepares for President Trump’s re-election.

“San Francisco has been a consistent target and will be used as an example,” she said. “San Francisco is going to be affected whether we want it to be or not.”

Her election loss coincided with Trump’s victory over her friend and mentor, Vice President Kamala Harris. Breed said their defeat should prompt introspection within the Democratic Party.

“I hope Democrats find ways to help more people, especially people like me, be more successful,” she said.

Breed said he was so focused on making sure his time as mayor went smoothly that he didn’t have much time to think about life after he became mayor. She said she has spent nearly her entire life working, starting as a preteen with babysitting jobs and buying groceries for neighbors. She’s eager to find her next job and also a little anxious.

“There are no rich moms with money,” she said with a laugh. “I have to earn my own money.”