Who would have thought it? London Breed, District 5's representative for the Board of Supervisors, is now the president of the Board.
That's right, the woman we dubbed "The Amanda Bynes Of S.F. Supervisors" after her regrettable social media spat with a political critic is now the leader of San Francisco's governing body.
It all went down Thursday, when Breed beat out also-nominated David Campos for the position, in what was eventually a unanimous vote. (Poor Campos! First he loses an Assembly race to previous Board pres David Chiu, and now this.)
The first African-American Board president since 1991, in an acceptance speech posted to Facebook, Breed said, "Thank you to my colleagues for electing me President of the Board of Supervisors. Thank you to the people of District 5 for giving me the privilege to serve. I am humbled, inspired, and ready to get to work for San Francisco."
Calm, pleasant words all, and a far cry from her past social media remarks, which include a Twitter argument seemingly blaming cyclists for unsafe streets; calling her critics "#suchahater" on, again, Twitter; and (while not on social media, still funny) reportedly calling some guy an asshole during a dodgeball game.
For those of you seeking a wonkery fix, here are takes on Breed's ascension from notable local political tea-leaf readers:
- Joe Eskanazi [SF Weekly] "Breed has obviously desired this outcome for quite some time. And, say what you will about London Breed, one adjective that comes to mind is 'driven.'"
- Joshua Sabatini [SF Examiner] "Breed was a strong frontrunner when the board voted for interim president in November. But it was said that she could not get at least six votes to make it happen, as Supervisor Mark Farrell, another moderate, also sought the post."
- Tim Redmond [48 Hills] "So if you want to see what the era of Board President London Breed is going to look like, check out who she puts on the Land use and Economic Development Committee and who is on the Budget Committee."
- Marisa Lagos [SF Chronicle] "Her election cements the rise of the board’s moderate wing and hands the mayor a more reliably friendly legislative body."
For our part, we just hope Breed's newfound power gives her the confidence to start tweeting again.
