London Breed

London Breed
Born	London Nicole Breed 11 8, 1974
Birthplace	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Title	45th Mayor of San Francisco
Known for	45th Mayor of San Francisco
Education	University of California, Davis (BA) University of San Francisco (MPA)

London Nicole Breed (born August 11, 1974) is an American politician who served as the 45th mayor of San Francisco from 2018 to 2025. Raised in public housing in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco, Breed rose through city government to become a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 5, and later the board's president. Following the sudden death of Mayor Ed Lee in December 2017, Breed briefly served as acting mayor before winning a special election in June 2018 to claim the office in her own right. Her election made her the first Black woman and the second woman overall — after Dianne Feinstein — to serve as mayor of San Francisco. She was also the second Black person to hold the office, following Willie Brown. As mayor, Breed led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, oversaw efforts to address San Francisco's homelessness crisis, and navigated the economic challenges posed by the decline of downtown office occupancy. She sought re-election in 2024 but lost to Daniel Lurie, who succeeded her in January 2025.

Early Life

London Nicole Breed was born on August 11, 1974, in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the Western Addition neighborhood, one of San Francisco's historically African American communities. Breed was raised in public housing in the Plaza East complex by her grandmother, and her upbringing was shaped by the challenges of poverty, violence, and substance abuse that affected her family and community.

Breed has spoken publicly about the difficulties of her childhood. Her family relied on government assistance, and she experienced firsthand the struggles facing low-income residents in San Francisco. Despite these challenges, Breed's grandmother emphasized the importance of education and community involvement. These formative experiences would later inform Breed's political priorities, particularly her focus on affordable housing, public safety, and programs for at-risk youth.

Breed's connection to the Western Addition has been a recurring theme throughout her political career. Her background in public housing gave her a personal stake in housing policy and neighborhood development issues that would define much of her work on the Board of Supervisors and later as mayor. The neighborhood, which had undergone significant demographic changes due to urban renewal projects in the mid-twentieth century, remained a touchstone for Breed's identity as a public figure rooted in the community she grew up in.

Her family background also intersected with the criminal justice system. Breed's cousin was involved in a violent incident that nearly killed Derrick Lew, who later became a top candidate for San Francisco police chief, a connection that drew public attention decades later.

Education

Breed attended the University of California, Davis, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She later pursued graduate studies at the University of San Francisco, where she earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA). Her graduate education in public administration provided a foundation for her subsequent career in government and nonprofit work in San Francisco. Breed's educational trajectory — from public housing to the University of California system and then to a graduate professional degree — became a central element of her public narrative as a politician who had overcome adversity.

Career

Early Career and Civic Involvement

After completing her education, Breed worked in government and community organizations in San Francisco. She became involved in neighborhood-level civic engagement in the Western Addition, building relationships and a reputation that would eventually support her entry into electoral politics. Her work in government and nonprofit sectors gave her familiarity with the city's bureaucratic structures and policy challenges.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Breed entered electoral politics in 2012, running for the District 5 seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. District 5 encompasses several neighborhoods in central San Francisco, including the Western Addition, the Haight-Ashbury, and parts of the Fillmore. Her candidacy was considered a surprise by some observers, but she won the election in November 2012, defeating several other candidates in the city's ranked-choice voting system. She took office in January 2013, succeeding Christina Olague.

As a supervisor, Breed focused on issues including affordable housing, public safety, and workers' rights. She was part of the board's action on legislation addressing the scheduling practices of hourly workers, supporting new protections for part-time and retail employees in the city. Breed also engaged with affordable housing debates, including controversies surrounding development and displacement in her district.

In 2015, Breed was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by her colleagues, a leadership role that placed her in the line of mayoral succession under the city charter. As board president, she presided over the legislative body and played a significant role in shaping the board's agenda and priorities.

Breed formally announced her campaign for re-election to the District 5 seat in early 2016. She won re-election in November 2016.

During her tenure on the board, Breed was among city officials whose names surfaced in connection with a federal investigation into political corruption involving Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, though Breed was not charged with any crime.

The Board of Supervisors under Breed's presidency also called for a federal investigation into the shooting of Mario Woods by San Francisco police in December 2015, an incident that drew national attention and raised questions about police use of force.

Acting Mayor

On December 12, 2017, Mayor Ed Lee died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 65. Under the San Francisco city charter, the president of the Board of Supervisors automatically becomes acting mayor when the office is vacated. As board president, Breed assumed the role of acting mayor immediately upon Lee's death.

Breed's tenure as acting mayor proved short-lived and politically contentious. On January 23, 2018, the Board of Supervisors voted to replace her as acting mayor with Supervisor Mark Farrell, who had not announced plans to run in the upcoming special election. The move, which drew significant political outrage, was seen by Breed's supporters as an attempt by rival supervisors to prevent her from gaining the advantage of incumbency in the upcoming mayoral race. Breed served as acting mayor from December 12, 2017, to January 23, 2018.

2018 Mayoral Election

Following her removal as acting mayor, Breed formally entered the race for the June 2018 special election to choose Ed Lee's successor. The race was conducted under San Francisco's ranked-choice voting system and featured a competitive field that included former state senator Mark Leno and supervisor Jane Kim, among others.

The election, held on June 5, 2018, was closely contested. Due to the complexities of ranked-choice tabulation, the final result was not immediately clear on election night. After multiple rounds of ranked-choice elimination, Breed emerged as the winner, narrowly defeating Mark Leno in a result that surprised some observers who had expected Leno to benefit from second-choice votes through an alliance with Kim.

Breed was sworn in as the 45th mayor of San Francisco on July 11, 2018. Her election was historic: she became the first Black woman to serve as mayor of San Francisco, the second Black person after Willie Brown, and the second woman after Dianne Feinstein.

Mayoralty (2018–2025)

Breed served as mayor from July 11, 2018, to January 8, 2025. Her tenure encompassed a period of significant challenges for San Francisco, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening homelessness crisis, rising concerns about public safety and open-air drug markets, and the economic disruption caused by the shift to remote work that emptied much of the city's downtown office space.

Breed was among the first major-city mayors in the United States to impose a shelter-in-place order during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, a decision that received both praise for its speed and criticism for its economic impact. Throughout the pandemic, she navigated the competing demands of public health precautions and the pressures on businesses and residents.

On homelessness, Breed pursued a strategy that combined new shelter construction, navigation centers, and supportive housing with more assertive enforcement of encampment removals. These policies drew both support from residents frustrated with the visible homelessness crisis and criticism from advocates who argued that enforcement without sufficient housing options was counterproductive.

The fentanyl crisis in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood and other areas became a defining issue of Breed's later years as mayor. She declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin in late 2021, deploying additional resources and law enforcement to the area. The crisis continued to challenge the city throughout the remainder of her tenure.

Breed also oversaw significant development and infrastructure projects, including efforts to revitalize the city's downtown in the wake of the pandemic-era shift to remote work, which left many office buildings largely vacant.

2024 Re-election Campaign and Defeat

Breed ran for re-election in November 2024 but was defeated by Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit executive and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, who ran as a political outsider. The loss reflected widespread voter dissatisfaction with the state of the city, particularly on issues of public safety, homelessness, and the health of the downtown economy. Lurie succeeded Breed as mayor on January 8, 2025.

Post-Mayoral Career

After leaving office, Breed largely withdrew from public life. In mid-2025, she took on consulting work and became affiliated with the Aspen Institute.

In November 2025, following the announcement that House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi would not seek re-election, Breed publicly considered running for Pelosi's congressional seat representing San Francisco. However, she announced on November 19, 2025, that she would not enter the race.

In a January 2026 interview, Breed expressed frustration that her successor, Daniel Lurie, was receiving credit for improvements to San Francisco that she said originated during her tenure as mayor.

Personal Life

Breed has remained a resident of San Francisco throughout her public career. She has spoken frequently about the influence of her grandmother, who raised her in the Western Addition, on her values and political perspective. Breed is not married and does not have children, facts that she has discussed in the context of the personal sacrifices associated with her career in public service.

Breed's personal connection to the criminal justice system through members of her family has been a recurring element of her public profile. She has spoken about the incarceration of family members and used these experiences to inform her approach to criminal justice and public safety policy.

After leaving the mayor's office in January 2025, Breed spent a period largely out of the public eye, with reporting indicating she was processing the loss of the 2024 election and considering her future options.

Recognition

Breed's election as mayor in 2018 was widely noted as a historic milestone. She was the first Black woman to be elected mayor of San Francisco, the second Black person after Willie Brown, and the second woman after Dianne Feinstein to hold the office. Her personal story — growing up in public housing in the Western Addition and rising to become the city's chief executive — received significant national media attention during and after the 2018 campaign.

During her tenure as mayor, Breed's early response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the issuance of a shelter-in-place order ahead of many other U.S. cities, received national coverage and was noted by public health observers as a model of proactive municipal response. Her leadership during the pandemic contributed to her national profile within the Democratic Party.

Breed was featured in numerous national and international media outlets during her time as mayor, with coverage focusing on San Francisco's challenges with homelessness, the fentanyl crisis, and the city's post-pandemic recovery.

Legacy

Breed's tenure as mayor of San Francisco coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the city's modern history. The COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of remote work and its impact on downtown San Francisco, the fentanyl crisis, and ongoing debates over homelessness and public safety all defined her time in office.

Her supporters have argued that many of the improvements observed in San Francisco after her departure — including reductions in certain categories of crime and progress on downtown revitalization — were the result of policies and investments initiated during her administration. Breed herself made this argument in a January 2026 interview, expressing frustration that her successor was receiving recognition for trends she said she had set in motion.

Her critics, meanwhile, pointed to the persistent visibility of homelessness, open-air drug use, and perceptions of declining public safety as evidence that her administration had not adequately addressed the city's most pressing problems — sentiments that contributed to her defeat in the 2024 election.

Regardless of the contested assessments of her policy record, Breed's historic significance as the first Black woman to lead San Francisco is a matter of established fact. Her path from public housing in the Western Addition to City Hall represented a notable chapter in the political history of San Francisco and the broader story of Black political leadership in American cities.