In A First, An African-American Woman Will Be San Francisco's Mayor

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right. It's been nine days since an election in San Francisco, and now finally that city has a new mayor. And some history is being made there, as Scott Shafer from member station KQED reports.

SCOTT SHAFER, BYLINE: Wednesday afternoon, San Francisco's new mayor walked through the doors of City Hall to greet a crowd gathered outside.

LONDON BREED: I'm London Breed. I am president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and soon-to-be mayor of the city and county of San Francisco.

(APPLAUSE)

SHAFER: The 43-year-old London Breed was born in San Francisco and raised in a public housing project by her late grandmother.

BREED: She really was a tough woman. She took care of the community. Being here in her honor means so much.

SHAFER: After more than a week of counting votes, Breed opened up a small but insurmountable lead, becoming the city's first African-American woman elected mayor. It nearly left high school teacher Virginia Marshall (ph) overwhelmed.

VIRGNIA MARSHALL: Our young people, particularly those who live in public housing, know that no matter where you come from, if you are determined to do good, to be successful, you can be.

SHAFER: Breed defeated runner-up Mark Leno, a former state senator who would have been the city's first openly gay mayor. After a contentious campaign, Breed said it's time to move on and build bridges.

BREED: And I am prepared to make sure that I do everything I can to work together for the purposes of solving our most challenging problems.

SHAFER: Topping that list, homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. The new mayor will likely take office in mid-July. For NPR News, I'm Scott Shafer in San Francisco. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.