Mayor Breed's State of the City strikes optimistic tone despite COVID, economic challenges

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Mayor London Breed offered her assessment at Thursday's State of the City address amidst the coronavirus pandemic and economic fall-out.

The mayor said the city is hurting, but that she's also hopeful.

Breed tried to strike a balance, laying out the very real problems the city by the Bay is facing, and her hope for a strong recovery.

San Francisco finds itself in a precarious position with the economic squeeze brought on by COVID-19. The fact that her address had to be done online from the Moscone Center is a stark reminder of where the city stands.

"The state of our city is resilient, and it is resilient because of what all of us, every one of us have accomplished this last year," said Breed.

The mayor made her argument that swift action last year, declaring a state of emergency and shutting down San Francisco was a difficult choice, but one that saved lives.

"We have the lowest death rate of any major city in the United States," said Breed. "And though every life lost is a tragedy we have saved thousands of lives. And now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Striking an optimistic tone, Breed mentioned the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine in San Francisco, with plans to vaccinate as many as 10,000 people per day. She noted that the recent lifting of state COVID restrictions are encouraging signs.

"Today San Francisco can begin to recover," she said. "Today we can begin to reopen our doors, reopen our businesses and resume our lives; with some restrictions and many many precautions, of course, but we are reopening." 

The mayor also touted her administration's cuts to red tape for businesses as a critical step in re-energizing the city's economy.

She also pledged to improve infrastructure and mass transit and continue to address the city's homelessness crisis and build 5,000 new units of housing per year.

"Let's not remember 2020 only as the year we suffered," said Breed. "It was the year we learned what matter most. What binds us together. It was the year we sacrificed to save each others lives. The hard winter is almost behind us, and hope lies ahead."

While the mayor struck an optimistic tone, she is telling San Franciscans that there is still a lot of hard work ahead.