Mayor London Breed: ‘Yes, we will build more housing”

During her inauguration speech on Wednesday, London Breed, the city’s first black female mayor, promised to help build more housing in stock-starved San Francisco. Her statements also took aim at San Francisco’s ubiquitous yet diminishing NIMBY ilk.

In part, per the Chronicle, the new mayor said:

“The politics of ‘no’ has plagued our city for far too long—‘not on my block, not in my backyard.’ We have made mistakes in the past by not moving housing production forward all over this city. I plan to change the politics of ‘no’ to the politics of ‘yes,’” the new mayor said. “Yes, we will build more housing.”

Her sentiments echoed the same promise she made during her victory speech in June. Breed intends to help create a whopping 5,000 units of housing a year, taking the reins from the same plan her predecessor, the late Ed Lee, made during his term in office.

Other issues Breed plans to focus on are the problems of homeless people, tent camps, and beefing up the police force, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Among residents’ concerns, according EMC Research’s April survey, is homelessness, with pollsters saying it’s the No. 1 problem in the city. The other two big issues were the skyrocketing cost of living and the dearth of affordable housing coming in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

• London Breed urges more housing in mayoral victory speech [Curbed SF]
• Big crowd at SF Civic Center sees London Breed sworn in as new mayor [SF Chronicle]
• London Breed stepping in as mayor of an unsettled city [Matier and Ross]