South Bay Leaders Mourn Death of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee

Bay Area political leaders are mourning the death of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who  suffered an apparent heart attack early Tuesday, according to news reports. He was 65. In a statement to reporters this morning, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo lamented the loss of a “dear friend and colleague.”

“Ed was a good and incredibly gracious man, at a time when goodness, graciousness and civility are not sufficiently appreciated in public life,” Liccardo said. “My heart goes out to Ed’s wife, Anita, and his daughters, Tania and Brianna.”

San Jose Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco echoed those sentiments.

“I only had the opportunity to meet him a few brief times,” she wrote on Facebook. “He was an advocate for families, housing, immigrants and civil rights. San Francisco, California, and the nation have lost a significant progressive leader.”

Silicon Valley Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) posted a few photos of him and Lee at various functions. “Rest my dear friend,” Low wrote. “Thank you for being you.”

Former San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who now works as an executive for Santa Clara County, offered his thoughts and prayers on Twitter.

“He was such a wonderful individual who dedicated so much of himself to public service,” South Bay Assemblyman Kansen Chu (D-San Jose) remarked on Facebook this morning. “My thoughts and prayers are to Mayor Lee’s family during this difficult time.”

Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, who led the Board of Supervisors in a moment of silence this morning, described Lee as a champion of human rights.

“Mayor Ed Lee, you will be missed not only in San Francisco, but throughout the Bay Area, the state and the nation,” Cortese wrote on Facebook. “Especially in defending the rights of those who depended on you. God bless you.”

In a press release sent hours later, Cortese added: “All board members and many administrators have had the pleasure of working with Mayor Lee, most recently on our shared lawsuits against the federal executive orders that threatened the rights of immigrants in our communities. We also shared the goal to provide shelter and housing for the growing numbers of homeless individuals and families in both our communities, among other human rights and civil rights issues.”

“He was a trailblazer as the first Asian American mayor of SF and a good man who I know will be missed in S.F. and beyond,” Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), the first Indian American elected to the California Legislature, wrote on Facebook today.

At noon today, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, AC Transit, Caltrain, BART and Muni trains and buses will stop for 30 seconds in honor of Lee.

Lee, a civil rights attorney, became the first Asian American to helm the city of San Francisco when the Board of Supervisors named him acting mayor in 2011. The veteran civil servant, who initially expressed hesitation about remaining in the post for too long, went on to win the following election.

S.F. Supervisor London Breed succeeds Lee, making her the first black female mayor. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she will continue to serve as mayor until a special election in June.

Jennifer Wadsworth is the former news editor for San Jose Inside and Metro Silicon Valley. Follow her on Twitter at @jennwadsworth.

36 Comments

  1. I don’t miss this “Sanctuary City supporter-illegal alien lover” one single-bit! I am glad he is gone into the ages.

    I hope more of those “Sanctuary City Leaders” will also meet their demise, with timely dispatch, and throw themselves upon his funeral pyre (if he is to have one).

    David S. Wall

    • David,that sounds pretty harsh & racist to me. When did all this hostility toward illegal aliens start,lover boy ? Did you come home from work early & catch your wife & the gardener going at it like rabid burros ? Did you find tortilla chip crumbs in your bed when you turned down the sheets ? Was your refrigerator suddenly full of Modelo Especial & Corona Extra ? Did she start drinking tequila shots & listening to mariachi music,instead of fixing your dinner ? Does she insist that you don a sombrero before coming to bed ? Did she have her car lowered & put lights in the wheel wells ? Do your children sing “Dingle Balls” instead of “Jingle Bells” when your parents come by at Christmas ? How about Felix Navidad,Felix Navidad ? Is it true that your middle name is ‘Senor-eater’ ? Please do tell,the suspense is killing me mi amigo !!!

      • Look at it from the positive side Earwax, a new space has opened for a family of undocumented criminals.

        • Empty Gums would fight undocumented criminals tooth & nail,but he doesn’t have any teeth left & he’s afraid that he’d ruin his nail polish. Another shot & another miss EG. Karma’s a funny thing Gums,but you’re not ! Your writing is atrocious & your delivery is bad & getting worse. Thirty one hours to come up with a clever retort & all you’ve got is one idiotic sentence. When you think you’ve come up with something meaningful to say,you’ll be wrong so keep it to yourself. The joke is not only on you,it is you. Quit embarrassing yourself. You’re a waste of oxygen & taking up valuable space on this planet. Why don’t you just cash it all in now & make more space for everybody. Andale ! Andale ! Arriba ! Arriba ! Adios amigo,adios !!!

    • David Wall, a good fitting reply. I give you five stars. Hope it made your day. How abt sanctuary city in the deserts of Death Valley? The sanctuary seekers will have a lot of place to run around. Why use an expensive place like Bay area? Herb Waxman/Earwax can fund for this and can also run the Sanctuary show in Death Valley. No tax payers money.

  2. SF seems almost impossible to effectively administer, yet Lee did a better job than many as measured by typical metrics. SF’s tech job growth has far outpaced SJ’s. Even the adjacent Superbowl benefitted SF far more than the SJ economy.

  3. > Upon Lee’s death, San Francisco Supervisor London Breed became San Francisco’s first black female mayor.

    Stereotypical left-wing progressive identity politics.

    If they truly believed in diversity, they would have appointed Roy Moore’s twin brother to be mayor.

    • Typical right wing identity politics. Place your guy there based on his identity, but deny that you are engaging in identity politics yourself.

      Putting Roy Moore’s twin brother (Jerry Moore or someone fictional?) in there would not be “diverse” or something new. San Francisco has had white male mayors before. San Francisco has had a Republican mayor before. Your guy would not be the first white male Republican mayor of SF. He would just be someone you want.

      I know, I know, you will say race or gender identity should not be significant. I think it should. Roy Moore’s ancestors owned slaves. Your ancestors probably did too. In light of that, you should celebrate this development. But putting aside that kind of identity, what are your fictional candidate’s qualifications?

      • > I think it should. Roy Moore’s ancestors owned slaves. Your ancestors probably did too.

        Downer:

        Everybody’s ancestors owned slaves.

        If you’re alive today, it’s virtual proof that you are a member of the lucky tribe club.

        My supposition is that your tribe was especially ruthless and owned more slaves than other tribes..

        • That may be your supposition, but you know nothing about me. Luckily.

          That said, if your ancestors did own slaves who were black, that gives you a reason to celebrate the first black female mayor of San Francisco. Whether you agree or disagree with her politics.

          Whether or not my ancestors owned slaves, I am celebrating this milestone. Doesn’t sound like you are.

          • > you will say race or gender identity should not be significant. I think it should.

            Downer:

            What’s the difference between identity politics and tribalism?

            What’s the difference between tribalism and racism?

            A ==> B==> C

        • That’s not a supposition Booble,that’s a suppository ! You’ve sure got plenty of them, so empty the box & jam them tightly in every one of your orifices. Be sure to let us all know when you’re completely airtight,all right,uptight & clean out of sight ! LMAO !!!

  4. By the way, speaking of SF appointing Roy Moore, it turns out even Alabama won’t elect a child molester. Go figure.

  5. @ Booble, who says “What’s the difference:”

    Tribalism is your term, not mine. But the difference between racism and considering race and gender identity significant is context and history. For starters, African Americans were slaves, the same is not true for others. It never has been a simple case of machine logic.

    That said, despite our disagreement, this has been a relatively civil discussion without much name-calling. I thank you for that.

    • > Tribalism is your term, not mine.

      “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”

      So, Downer, your choice is that “tribalism” has no meaning.

      Got it.

      Maybe you should post a list of all the words in your dictionary so we will know how to communicate with you.

      > despite our disagreement, this has been a relatively civil discussion without much name-calling. I thank you for that.

      I only resort to name-calling when I’m losing an argument, or when people are insufferably obtuse. It’s not as bad as it seems. Obtuse people usually don’t realize they’re being called names.

      • 》 “Your choice is that tribalism has no meaning. Got it”

        Doesn’t appear that you got it. I said tribalism was your term. Meaning it is your label for me or my argument. Meaning I don’t buy your label. Meaning I don’t think it applies. So I don’t want to define your term (since you asked me, “what is the difference between tribalism and racism”) for you. You probably will be defining it yourself ad nauseam anyway. You are enamored of the term, just as you are enamored of the fine distinctions between sarcasm and irony. You rely on it in about 90% of your posts.

        》 “I only resort to name-calling when I’m losing”

        You said it, not me.

        • > You said it, not me.

          I was being sarcastic.

          No, wait. I was being ironic.

          For people who can appreciated subtlety ( and there are people who CAN’T) I was “role-playing” a progressive.

          Not surprising that a progressive wouldn’t “get it”. One of the signal traits of progressives is a complete lack of self-awareness.

          Can you believe it! There are actually people who enjoy making sport of progressives’ lack of self-awareness.

          I’ll make a note to myself to refrain from subtlety when posting comments that you might be exposed to.

          • Boy that’s subtle. As well as complex. Thanks for explaining it. There might be some academic journals that would publish your explanation.

          • Booble – Stick to the role you’re most familiar with playing,that of an ignorant right-wing blowhard ! Sarcasm & irony aren’t your forte & the only thing progressive about you is the further onset of your dementia. I’d speculate that you’re the one who doesn’t get it,but in fact you’re on the receiving end of it more often every day. Just make a note to yourself to refrain from posting any more of your asinine comments,or is that suggestion too subtle for you ? Dolt !

    • “For starters, African Americans were slaves, the same is not true for others.”

      Respectfully, this assertion could not be further from the truth. Slavery wasn’t always a ‘thing’ in the colonies. Initially, the Africans who were brought over were sold as indentured servants. Upon the completion of their term of indenturing, they were freed and given a plot of land to own and develop as they saw fit. These Africans were captured by other African tribes and, significantly, by Islamic slavers coming down through the Mid-East and Northern Africa. Some of those who were captured were kept by the tribes or slavers (the keeping of sex slaves being specifically permitted in the Koran, it is worth noting) and others were sold – primarily to Dutch and Portuguese who, in turn, transported many of them to the New World (and NOT just the North American Continent).

      Ironically, it was actually an African former slave named Anthony Johnson who was the first LEGAL slave owner in the American Colonies. Prior to that he had been captured in Angola and sold as an indentured servant, eventually was freed, developed his own properties, employed indentured servants and eventually won a court case which permitted him to ‘own’ another person indefinitely, regardless of indentured status. Johnson’s bio on Wikipedia f(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Johnson_(colonist) ) is an interesting snapshot of the history of slavery in the colonies. The upshot: anyone of any ‘race’ could own a slave of any ‘race’. Yes, many more Africans were slaves, but this was due to the slaving industry out of Africa and the principle of partus sequitur ventrum, initiated after the case referenced above and which held that slavery passed from mother to child.

        • Yes, they were. And they could own American Indian Slaves. And American Indians could own Blacks and Whites, and Whites could own Blacks and American Indians. And so forth. But the real upshot here is that if there is to be any finger pointing done in terms of identifying the historical culprits in the slave trade hundreds of years ago, the fingers should properly be pointed at African blacks and at Muslims first. And if there is to be any finger pointing done at the culprit in the legalization of slaver in the colonies, it’s properly directed at a black man – Anthony Johnson.

          And, since we are on the subject, why do we not here more moral outrage from the left over the issues of slavery that is ongoing in Africa and the Muslim world? Why is there not more public outcry from the left over the trafficking of female (and often juvenile) sex slaves in the Muslim world? Why is it that ‘African Americans claim victimhood of a practice abolished over a hundred years ago and yet are silent over the same practice extant in Africa and in many parts of the Muslim world. Why do leftist politicians such as Hilary Clinton – who tries to position herself as a model of feminist virtue – pander to the Islamic community and never say a word to the Muslim world about the atrocities Muslims – to the near-exclusion of virtually every other ethnic, social or religious group – routinely practice against infidels, women, homosexuals and, yes, other versions of Muslims?

          • Are you sure you are not conflating indentured servitude with slavery? While horrible, indentured servitude was not passed down through generations.

            I do acknowledge you have an extensive knowledge of the history.

  6. Wow, all this vitriol around the article about the death of a person. The saying “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” fits perfectly

  7. > Boy that’s subtle. As well as complex.

    Reality IS subtle and complex.

    > Thanks for explaining it.

    Just doing my part to push back the frontiers of ignorance.

    • Are you still being sarcastic? Or ironic? Or sincere this time? Are you still “role-playing a progressive” for the first half of your sentence (“I only resort to name-calling when I’m losing an argument”), but being sincere for the second half (“or when people are insufferably obtuse”). [I mean presumably you really think some people are insufferably obtuse — that’s not role-playing progressives, is it?] Or are you just making stuff up as you go along? Keep pushing back those frontiers of ignorance, bud. Everyone needs a rock to push uphill.

      • > [I mean presumably you really think some people are insufferably obtuse — that’s not role-playing progressives, is it?]

        ABSOLUTELY!!!

        Progressives DO think everyone — or, really, “the masses” — are insufferably obtuse.

        When I say it, it’s “role-playing”.
        When progressives say it, it’s progressives being progressive.

        • So you were also role-playing a progressive when you wrote — “Obtuse people don’t realize when they’re being called names.” That’s something progressives think; that’s not something you think, right? Or do you agree with the progressives on that one? And if you agree with the progressives, you don’t need to role-play them, do you? You can just be yourself.

          • Don’t feed these right-wing bigots as it only encourages their abhorrent behavior & they might even become domesticated here once again. It’s just a pity that we can’t shoot the last of them with a tranquilizer gun & transport them back to their natural habitat. I’m sure that they’d feel much more at home with their own kind in the wilds of Montana or in Mississippi circa 1950 where they still breed. There are so few of them left here that they’ve become an endangered species & we don’t need to study them to determine exactly what it was that led to their demise. We could fit them with tracking collars to determine where they eat,sleep & congregate,thus enabling us to deter them from coming into direct conflict with their more progressive neighbors. If you see one take a picture of them,because they’re a dying breed here & will soon be just an unpleasant memory. Remember it’s illegal for trophy hunters to shoot them,but a horse’s ass mounted on the wall in your den is certainly a sufficient substitute for the real thing. Which begs the question just what do they do with the bloated carcasses of all the failed Republican office seekers who’ve had the audacity to identify themselves & ventured outdoors ? Ironically there must be a GOP elephant’s graveyard here somewhere,because otherwise we’d have to plan our daily excursions to walk around their rotting corpses. Hopefully the last surviving member of the GOP Peanut Gallery will turn out the light before they die,fittingly angry,confused & all alone. Let’s hope that day is soon !!!

  8. One aspect Officer Anonymous omitted was the origin of the word ‘slave’ to mean slavic people. As OA identified, Muslims enslaved many – not just Africans. During the conquest of Europe Muslims enslaved [white] slavic people. My recollection is that Muslims had prohibitions about enslaving other practitioners of Abrahamic religions. Pre-Christian slavs and Africans were OK. And if “America” includes Central and South, then yes. Also note that some indigenous tribes in what’s now Alaska owned slaves and believe Polynesian rulers did too in the Hawaiian islands before Captain Cook’s arrival. Some classify black pimps & white prostitutes as white slavery though sex trafficking is the more PC term.

    • Interesting. Still does not take away from the enormity of African American slavery in our country’s past for me. But these are very thought-provoking points, and I thank you for them.

      • Thank you, Taxpayer for expanding on my previous comments. I would also add that many American Indian tribes also practiced slavery, sex slavery, inter-tribal warfare and indulged in practices which modern Western civilizations would view as atrocities and human rights violations. On another note, one of the things that disturbs me about those who fall on the more liberal side of the political spectrum is the near-silence on the subjects of slavery, sex slave trafficking, and the subjugation of women in the Islamic world.

        I find the silence of third wave feminists on the subjects of female genital mutilation – which is practiced primarily in Africa and the Islamic world – instructive.

        I find it ironic that while BLM and the SJW camps decry ‘white patriarchy’, they are silent on the very real genocides ongoing in Africa, committed by Africans (primarily Islamic) against other African. They have nothing to say about groups like Boko Haram, ignore the hundreds of male children kidnapped and killed together with the hundreds of female children kidnapped and sold as sex slaves.

        I find it hypocritical that while these groups bitch and moan about how Black Americans continue to suffer the ongoing effects of a practice (slavery) that has been outlawed for nearly 150 years, they cozy up to organizations like CAIR, and other Islamist groups which advocate for Shariah law, a system of beliefs which encourages the taking of slaves and sex slaves, the conquest of infidels, killing those who won’t convert, killing those less-than-holy Muslims who hold slightly different doctrinal views, kiliing or enslaving Christians and other non-islamic groups, killing homosexuals (beheading, throwing off tall buildings, burning, etc).

        SJW’s manufacture a notion called ‘campus rape culture’ but ignore the very real rape culture engendered and espoused in Islamic texts, ignoring that real rape victims throughout the Islamic world are denied justice because they cannot produce the testimony of four men (!) in their defense. Hilary Clinton says women who have been sexually assaulted have a right to be believed, but then takes money hand over fist from people who reject that principle.

        SJW’s advocate for women’s equality, but ignore that Muslims treat women like chattel and that the fact of women having half the value of men and a quarter the credibility.

        SJW’s scream and moan about gay rights and bemoan when a Christian baker refuses to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. But they are silent about the very real and frequent atrocities committed against gays throughout the Muslim world. And Hilary Clinton takes money hand over fist from people who reject the notion that gays have a right to exist and go about their lives so long as they harm no one.

        I love how liberals position themselves as champions of basic human rights and give a pass to the practitioners of a system of beliefs which is intransigent in its rejection of the human rights of those for whom liberals purport to advocate.

        I’m sure that Ed Lee’s death is a tragedy to his family, and I would never deny that reality. But the truth of the matter is that, in the public sphere, he was nothing more than an opportunistic hypocrite: just like Clinton and Feinstein and Pelosi and Schumer and all the rest, peddling identity politics and hypocrisy like candy on Halloween. They fought tooth and nail against the implementation of immigration policies intended to prevent the importatoin of the kinds of people who approve of – or, worse, practice – the kinds of atrocities described above. (Yes, girls are routinely victimized by FGM in the US, Yes, communities in America have been terrorized by Muslims marching in the streets chanting that they were going to rape American women. And then, there was the Orlando night club shooting.) And, Ed Lee is certainly as culpable as Barack Obama and others in the deaths of people like Kate Steinle. I, personally will not miss Ed Lee’s contribution of hypocrisy and entitlement in the public sphere. I think Americans – yes, even Californians – deserved better.

        • If I understand your argument, it’s something like this — People (Liberals) who are condemning Bad Thing #1 are silent about Bad Thing #2. I respect your pointing out that Bad Thing #2 is bad. I also respect your pointing out that people should not be silent about it. But if you’re arguing we therefore should stop condemning Bad Thing #1, I respectfully disagree.

          Because African-American slavery in our nation’s history is still bad. And it’s still okay — in fact, morally necessary — to condemn it. As well as to celebrate efforts to get past it.

          Also, if your argument is that slavery in America was race-neutral, I also would disagree — respectfully. It’s potentially a big discussion — and probably beyond the scope of comments on a blog site. But I don’t think that hereditary slavery in our country’s history was race-neutral.

          • Calm, I’d agree with you, first and foremost, that the intersectionality of race and slavery is a big discussion, one far bigger than is probably practical for this site. I’d say that there’s probably a parallel to be drawn between how the legalization of hereditary slavery – that slave status conferred through the mother – primarily affected Blacks and how laws which require the deportation of illegal immigrants primarily affects Hispanics. Geography play(ed/s) a huge role in both issues.

            As to the former point, I think my position on slavery is pretty clear: that it’s evil and an atrocity and should be condemned and actively fought against at every turn. That being said, I would say that the socioeconomic issues facing Black Americans today have far more to do with governmental policies and changes to the broader structure of Black American family life. Ben Shapiro (love him or hate him) makes an interesting point in this regard: the three single biggest predictors of advancement to or presence in the middle class are: 1. graduating high school, 2. getting a job, and 3. not becoming a single parent (mother especially) out of wedlock. The last time I checked the statistics, Blacks have the highest per capita rates of unemployment, dropping out of high school and single motherhood, often from multiple fathers. I think it’s worth discussing how governmental welfare programs actually *encourage* unemployment and single parenthood.

            I would also submit to you that, inasmuch as we all (I hope) would rightfully condemn slavery of any kind, should we also not examine the degree to which Black Americans have become beholden to government? Does that now become a form of enslavement? Of mind, of principle, of ambition? Is it not also worth examining how this form of dependency – on governmental programs and, ultimately on the success and income of others, because that is the source of all tax revenue – robs the dependents of initiative, ambition, success and real autonomy? And, since Liberals are primarily the ones pandering to ,minorities, basically saying, vote for us because we’ll guarantee these welfare programs stay in place, do not these programs become of means of subordinating minorities? Does that not become a form of soft slavery and racism?

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