Coinciding with Biden's State of the Union address this evening, San Francisco Mayor London Breed gave her annual State of the City address to supporters and business leaders today, touting all the positive change she's seeing in SF.

It was Breed's annual opportunity to play cheerleader for the city and her administration on Thursday, with the State of the City address, delivered to a crowd at the Pier 27 Cruise Terminal.

Invoking the recent Lunar New Year celebrations, Breed said, "This is the year of the dragon, and we will soar again."

Citing plummeting crime rates, rising drug arrests, and an 83% arrest rate in homicide cases — 25% higher than the national average — Breed argued that 2023 was a great year for the city in terms of the crime crackdown.

And she harkened back two decades to the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Ferry Building as a gourmet marketplace and restaurant destination, rising from the ashes of a downtrodden waterfront, saying that the lesson is "never, ever bet against San Francisco."

Breed noted her plan to bring more students to the downtown core through a new partnership with the University of California and a group of historically Black colleges and universities. In the speech, Breed suggested there would be 30,000 new residents in downtown SF in the next six years, by 2030.

Regarding housing, and San Francisco's longstanding NIMBY reputation, Breed said, "We are changing our reputation as a city of 'no' to a city of 'yes.' Yes to reducing fees, yes to eliminating barriers, and yes to any idea that overcomes obstruction and builds the new homes we so desperately need."


She also touted the rise of the AI industry and the success of California's industries in general — saying that California companies raised five times as much last year as companies in Texas and Florida combined.

Amid the pep talk, Breed also acknowledged the city's recent struggles, which, as always, are called "challenges."

"We have faced incredible challenges in the past five years — two unparalleled health crises, one in the form of COVID, the other in the form of fentanyl," Breed said. "I know some people inside and outside of San Francisco feel these challenges have overwhelmed us… I don’t dispute these have been a tough five years, but rather than destroying our city, these storms have revealed our strength."

Some might argue with that last statement, but such is the nature of this annual speech — which this year comes at an especially tough moment for the mayor, in a reelection year.

Tuesday's election showed some positive momentum for her and a couple of tough-on-drugs-and-crime ballot measures that she backed. But her poll numbers, albeit nine months out from the election, show her likely losing to challengers that include former supervisor and interim mayor Mark Farrell, billionaire philanthropist Daniel Lurie, and/or — still not officially but very probably — Board of Supervisors President and longtime progressive politico Aaron Peskin.

Peskin, we were told last week via "sources" to multiple media outlets, planned to announce his candidacy this week — and that may mean tomorrow, directly after Breed's State of the City.

Previously: Breed-Backed SF Ballot Measures on Cops, Drug Screening Appear to be Cruising to Big Wins