people cried, people hugged each other, people were in shock. he was an accidental mayor who people say grew into his death, and grew into it well. >> mayor ed win m. lee passed away early this morning. >> now mayor made the official announcement late this morning bust those here already knew. this after he held meetings with the staff. their tributes had a common thread. common words to describe what most called a kind, gentle man. >> i'm joined to the kind of leader that's nice. and ed lee was nice. >> he was a mayor who led with compassion. he was an incredibly kind person. >> ed lee always had an open door for any of us. we can call him at any time. >> mayor lee came from humble beginnings. he grew up in public housing.

his father a veteran. mother, a seamstress. he never forgot his roots. >> stood up for immigrants. never forgot who he was or where he came from. >> he was quiet. laid back. low key. knew what he needed to do to get the job done. >> his priorities, mourners said were housing, homelessness, jobs and minimum wage. lee had many political battles in his three decades of public service. >> points may have disagreed with him on policy but everyone agrees that our mayor was a good man with a good heart. >> at the end of one's life -- >> you want to hear nothing more than this. people said he was a good, decent, honorable man. this was a good, decent, and honorable guy. >> the flags are at half-staff and they will be for 30 days. mayor lee, a devoted public servant of a city he truly

loved. visit lee. nbc he 7 news. >> what will you remember most about him? >> reporter: well, mayor lee and i go way back to the days when he was with the asian law caucus, i think that was the late 1970s. he was an activist. you might even call him a firebrand. he cared a lot about the issues that he campaigned for. one of the things he did that he was well known for as a lawyer for the asian law caucus. he organized the city's first strike in a public housing development. that was at the developments, he wanted better conditions for the tenants there. and i think that was after the rape and death of a female tenant. that was like, he decided, the asian law caucus decided to move. so they organized this boycott.

but you know, mayor lee, i was truly sort of surprised that that he actually joined city government. i guess he believed that he could change things just as well from the inside as he could as an activist from the outside. >> h >> vic, thank you. >> motorcycle officers led a procession to the medical examiner's office. according to officials, an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death. and this afternoon, the police chief he william scott escorted the coffin to the hearse as the sheriff's department honor guard stood by. from there, the hearse made its way slowly out of the city. law enforcement officers had stood at attention along the route. the mayor's body was taken to the mortuary he in daly city and

there it was greeted by an even larger honor guard of police officers. >> in honor of mayor lee, flags across the city, including this one, were lowered to half-staff. this was shortly after sunrise this morning. all flags will fly at half-staff across the city for the next 30 days. transit agencies across the bay area including muni, b.a.r.t. and cal train, briefly stopped service today in memory of the late mayor. >> former mayor willy brown was a critical part. he hired lee in 1996 to be the director of san francisco's purchasing office. years later, brown was instrumental in lee's decision to become mayor. brown says lee's death is a big

loss to the city they both loved. >> ed lee was different from any of the rest of us holding public office. he literally had nothing except great respect from everybody. and it was not respect earned by a politician. it was the respect earned by a public servant. >> at san francisco city hall, lots of hugs and tears. lee's colleagues stunned by his death. another san francisco mayor you see there. the lieutenant governor gavin newsom emotional as he shares memories. >> talk about families, he spent 30 years here. these department heads. these are his closest friends. and they lost someone they hold dear. it is hard. >> governor jerry brown tweeted this today on behalf of all californians, anne and i extend our deepest condolences to mayor le's family, his many friends

and the entire city of san francisco. ed was a true champion for working people and epitomized the california spirit. he'll truly be missed. >> board of supervisors now acting mayor, making her the first female african-american chief executive. >> she'll be the acting mayor and the president of the board of supervisors. she has all the powers and responsibilities and duties of acting mayor by virtue of her position as board president. >> so what's next is city charters says she will remain at the helm until one of two things happen. no matter what, an election will take place june 5th of next year. she will finish out the term which ends in 2020. before that, the board of supervisors can meet. the person would need six of the 11 supervisors' votes and finding that degree of concensus

is not easy. in part because you can't vote for yourself. it eventually led to the selection of ed lee, someone who was acceptable to many because he had been an unassuming civil servant with few political enemies. here's what we know about london breed. she is a native san franciscan. a graduate of galileo high school and u.c. davis. she also earned a masters degree from the university of san francisco. she once served as executive director of the african-american and culture complex. then she was elected to the board of supervisors in 2012. breed was elected president of the board in 2015. one of mayor lee's greatest legacies will be his impact owed indication. they shared a common goal to improve student learning options in our schools and creating the

next generation of silicon valley employees. >> nothing is more important than our public education. >> mark beenoff was first asked to invest in education by mayor ed lee. in 2013, he donated ipads and money to all 12 middle schools. remembering how both lee and benioff invested. >> when he backed it, he said that's it. let's focus on it. tell me what you want to do. >> so the mayor's middle grades initiative was cede. >> when we looked at all the schools, we saw the big drop-off. it was in the middle schools. that's where the truancy starts. >> sales force has had the initiative every year. >> today the initiative has

received more than $26 million in funning from sales force over the past five years. middle schools in san francisco like actos now offer a solid stem education. it stands for science, technology, engineering and math. thanks to these 3d printers, students here have become more tech savvy and engaged. >> i think the partnership between ed lee and mark benioff, it created a mod that he will other corporation there's follow. >> lee always believed the money was never a donation. but an investment in our children. abc7 news. for a closer look at ed lee's legacy, we have a photo gallery set up there. le many pictures of ed lee throughout the years. and our coverage continues. coming up, the legacy he has left behind. plus, breaking news in san

jose. a shooting near a popular mall. and a man dog convicted, sierra lamar.

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of first-degree murder for the death but decided not to give him the death penalty. sierra lamarr vanished in 2012. her body has not been found. now to brews out of san jose where a man was shot and injured. >> it happened on the surface road that encircles mall. >> reporter: we're very close to the mall where jcpenney's is. and police are here investigating after a man was shot in the head while driving. he was inside that car. you see a relative just came and is about to drive away in it. that is his car. police are just wrapping up the investigation. they have their crime tape up here. let's to go some video taken from sky 7. where you can see the officers on the ground. they were evidence and doing their investigation. and you can see just how close

it was to the mall parking lot. officers say just before 1:00, a shot was fired from a car at tully and capital express way. the gunshot hit a man who was driving. he had his window open. he realized what happened. police say he got out of his car and switched with one of the sxaengs had the passenger drive. then car came to a rest near the bus depot at the east ridge mall. the victim was taken to the hospital. we are told that he has nonlife threatening injuries. at this point, there are no suspects this custody. right now, no car description. very early on in the investigation. we were told by the police out here investigating that right now, it doesn't appear that the victim even saw the shooter. reporting live from san jose. abc7 news. back to our coverage of the passing of mayor ed lee.

people are expressing their sadness about the passing of lee. >> i miss ed lee as a leader, a true regionalist. most of all, as a friend. i wish people could see just what a beacon of decency this man has always been. >> mayor schaaf said lee reached out to her and offered his support and counsel when she first became mayor. he did the same with mayor >> he had a remarkable ability for complex. he was the leader of a large city but also a wonderful gift for demonstrating kindness even in the most difficult of times. >> he says lee was a true leader who was always the first to get local leaders to work together to make the bay area better.

>> and we're joined now by a friend of ed lee's profit if he issor at san francisco state university. the oldtimers will remember. >> nice to come back. >> you told me about when you were run go for mayor of oakland. you were walking along and you heard somebody behind you. it was ed lee. >> he i can't. it was 2010. i had come to the city, and i was a exiting a tunnel on get out of montgomery station, i heard this voice saying, aren't you joe tooman? i think he recognized me. he and his two lieutenants, one on each side, they advanced their cards. black we used to have business cards. he said kindly to me, i was a neophyte running for office. if would you like some advice about city administration, come see me. and i took him up on that.

and at different times, i went to visit with him and got a little tutorial on his perspectives on this. and it was sometime later we had a lunch date scheduled. i was coming to see him one more time. he had become the mayor. i saw him and i said your life has changed quite a bit since the first time we met. and he said you have no idea. but we remained friends after that. >> and city administration was always important to him and sure the city was on track and doing the right things. you had a great story. i guess we could call it the incognito effect. >> the point about city administration is important to understand. ed's back ground was really in administration and not being a politician. he was not a politician, although he knew how to be an

administrato administrator. they're like engineers, math people, administration people bust they deal in the back ground and they are really the people who run the city. they are the chief operating officer, like in a corporation, as opposed to the may or who is the chief executive officer. and ed had to go from one world to the other. so there was a point in this story, my wife and i and our kids were here in the city doing some holiday shopping one evening. and it turned out to be right after they had started digging up around union square. that street that was going on house the new subway. so we ducked into a shoe store that doesn't exist anymore. while i was walking around upstairs, in the midst of the shoes, i heard this sound. i looked around, i looked behind some shoes and there was a man. he had his hat pulled over his head. his collar was pulled up. i said mr. mayor, ed. and he goes shhh. what are you doing here?

are you buying shoes? he said no. why are we whispering? he said because i don't want anyone to know i'm here. what are you doing here? we walked to the window and he pointed down and he said i'm keeping an eye on this. >> the subway project. to make sure wasn't too disruptive to the businesses. >> exactly. this is what you have to understand about ed. even when he was mayor, he was still an administrator. the city administrator in him said i need to be here to see it. and i think this was always the struggle that he faced, as he became someone who could win elections. not just a local force but a nationally renounced mayor of a big city. he was still in his heart, i think, the city administrator who became a mayor. he was a guy who was not a politician. he was political but he wasn't a politician. if you met him today, he was still with us, unfortunately what would you say is, how does

a nice guy like you end one a job like this? >> he was truly a nice guy. we could talk about a lot of accomplishments and his legacy. ultimately, all of houston interwaktd him but we will remember him as good human being. >> i know others were quick to bash sanctuary cities which i think is unfair. i think his legacy was, the profile of the city. you see when you're coming across the bridge. this city different. not all of it is great. there has been some gentryification but this is a bigger, more powerful city than it was before. and that happened on ed's watch. >> thank you. take care. >> he found himself shaking hands and discovered that he liked it. right now we'll switch gears.

certainly another beautiful day. albeit cold. >> this pattern continues. this time of year, mid december. clear skies. sunny skies. a little haze. looking at the western sky from emeryville. 61 in san francisco, 58 in oakland. mid 60s in mountain view, san jose. a little higher perspective. the temperatures are in the low 60s. 59 in novato. and here's the view looking out over san francisco and the bay. it will be cold in the inland valleys. poor air quality for the next two days. there is a chance of rain late next week. and i'll show that you chance in a moment. first overnight. clear and cold in the north bay valleys. the low temperatures in the upper 20s to low 30s. chilly, lows in the 30s right around the bay.

mid 60s around the bay. mid to upper 60s inland. i probably don't need to tell you, december has been dry so far. not a drop of rain measured. but next week, around the 21st. it looks line is our next chance of rainfall. so let's look at the forecast animation. notice we'll see some rain to our north and snow as well. and then by thursday, we'll see it pushing into the bay area. if the pattern holds up, that will continue into friday west may get two days of rain. you can see how dry it it it 73% of average in santa rosa. everywhere in the bay area, we are far below average. the seven-day forecast, little change to talk about here. the skies will remain mostly

sunny and hazy into the weekend. the high temperatures remain well above average. >> a frightening fire tears through an oakland neighborhood this morning. the

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a close call as the fire grew into a 40-foot wall of flame and started heading up hill. >> residents talked about it as firefighters tried to put out that fire. >> reporter: flames erupt around 11:00 last night on this steep construction site in the oakland hills where two homes were nearing completion. he grabbed his wife and 1-year-old daughter. >> that was probably a 40-foot wall of flames.

it was raining embers down. apparently one of the embers caught our neighbor's car on the way down. we had to get out quickly. >> reporter: they came home to look at their home today. scorch spots everywhere. smoke and flames still visible. firefighters described the air as filled with flying embers as they first arrived. they evacuated 50 homes as the flames advanced up a dry hillside. fueled by 18-mile-an-hour winds and extremely low humidity. >> we were able to save a lot of homes here in oakland hills. >> it could have been a lot worse. >> i had a horrible feeling in my gut. i knew with the 1991 fire. it was terrifying. >> in the end, two families were displaced and five homes were badly damaged. structural engineering are evaluating snake road to determine that it is safe to drive on.

>> reporter: the whole family says they were appropriately paranoid. that they had a go bag packed as they saw the fires. they said they got out of the house in 90 seconds. they say that's what saved their lives. in oakland. abc7 news. >> the cause of this fire is still under investigation. it is believed to have started at the homes that are currently under construction there. 3,000 oakland workers are back on the job. the mediator has broken the stalemate between the unions and the city. this means city services have resumed so public services such as libraries and city centers can be used. it is not clear how long it will take to clear up any backlog. remembering san francisco mayor ed lee. >> he was different from the rest

san francisco continues to mourn the sudden death of mayor ed lee. sky 7 flew above the medical examiner's office in the bay view district when a hearse carrying mayor lee's body left for a funeral home of official memorial plans have not been announced yet.

hours earlier, department heads he gathered at city hall to honor mayor lee. london breed is now the acting mayor. >> i must now assume the responsibility, and i ask for your patience, and i ask for your support. and i ask for your prayers. >> mayor lee died at zuckerberg general hospital at 1:11 this morning. he was rushed there after collapsing at a supermarket late last night. here's the time line. edwin lee, born may 5, 1952, in seattle, washington. he was appointed mayor of san francisco in january 2011 when the former mayor gavin newsome left to. then in 2015, he was san francisco's first asian-american mayor. in fact, the first asian-american of any major u.s.

city. and he will be reynold as someone from humble beginnings who stood up the for little guys while balancing, bringing in the big guys. the big companies to san francisco. >> the days from the city administration. and first, you've been here since 5:00 a.m. so we appreciate you being here this afternoon. your thoughts on ed lee and his legacy. >> it is really surreal today to be here. to be talking about his sudden death at the age of 65. to get that phone call that he had died. and happy to be here today to at least pay tribute to him. he was really proud of his rise to power in san francisco and the role that he played in the community. those mourning him today mentioned over and over, whether you agreed with his policies or not, this was a man who was dedicated to this city. ed lee's career in san francisco

city government began long before he was appointed mayor. back in 1996, mayor willy brown promoted him to director of the purchasing department on the condition that he pick up stakes across the bay in oakland and move to the city. >> he was literally the cornerstone, he did public works for me, he did purchasing for me, he literally, for a brief period of time, he was a stalwart in every aspect of my relationship with the far east. >> that move would set in motion a future public servant ed lee never expected. he became public works direct or. then city administrator. that's the job he was doing in 2011 when the board of supervisors appointed him mayor after gavin newsom was appointed

governor. >> he was operational. he had served as community organizer with great pride. he served as the chief administrative officer of our city. >> he never lost touch with his immigrant roots. last year he help open a hospital that catered to the chinese speaking community in san francisco. >> it has back cabrera institution, joining one hospitals like kaiser and cpmc and sf general and ucsf. it has come a long way. >> shortly after taking off, he setly eyes on the gritty market street. landing twitter to what bail known as the twitter loin. he was criticized for offering tax breaks but as a result, the neighborhood has been revitalized. before his career in san francisco politics, ed lee was a housing rights activist. raised in public housing himself. he tackled the rebuilding of the

city's aging public housing infrastructure and created a department of homelessness to get people off the streets. >> 11,000 of those moved into supportive housing that we have built. and several other thousand we have managed to be able to reunite with their families. >> a dedicated giants fan, lee saw the civic value in sports. he took over the city just as the 49ers were making an exit. but he lured the warriors to san francisco from oakland had. and brokered a deal for a new mission bay arena. >> he was ad might, not only personally but those who knew him by how he served our city. by other mayors who recognized his excellence. he will be sorely missed. >> and i talked with congresswoman pelosi today. she said she's heart broken. she said ed lee cared so much. he worked so hard and he got job

done. and willy brown said he earned respect, not necessarily with his politics but with his public service. >> you covered ed lee professionally for many years but also developed a relationship and you have a touching story that goes to show what kind of person he was. >> when i was having rip replacement surgery, i did not think he was even aware that i did. i would see him two or three times from city hall. i guess he knew i was missing in action. that's a shot of me on facebook. so a couple days after i get out of the hospital, there are flowers from a local shop, they're from the mayor saying we miss you at city hall and we wish you well. so it goes to show the relationship between press and politicians does not have to be contentious. we can see the humanity in each other. and i respected him.

he respected me. and we've bonded over our love of the city. he was really a very gracious man. >> touching. >> he had that in mind. what a decent thing to do. thank you for sharing. >> the mayor was shopping at safeway last night around 10:30 in the evening when he collapsed. he was often spotted in that store. >> he was a pretty historic first, to be the first asian-american may or. >> it was shocking. he was so energetic. and running around. it is a shock. a total shock. >> we're told the mayor was actually talking on the way to the hospital. about two and a half hours later he was pronounced dead at 1:11 this morning. we're told his loved ones and some colleagues were at his

side. his father was a cook. his mother was a seamstress. he never forgot the immigrant community that shaped him. we'll have more from chinatown with that story coming up at 5:00. still ahead, the tweet from president trump that has set off a fury. the effort underway to keep the flames from spreading to even more homes. >> another beautiful and colorful sunset is coming

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investigators are looking into the possibility that southern california edison power lines may be behind the fire in ventura county. the fire has been burning for over a week and now firefighters are gaining some ground. >> reporter: the unrelenting thomas fire entering its ninth day. flames continuing to spread on hillsides in carpinteria and growing closer to the neighboring town of montecito. >> i've never seen anything like this before. >> reporter: tens of thousands still ordered from their homes. maureen and her family are still ready to evacuate. showing the enormous plume of smoke lingering over ventura and santa barbara counties. the ash coming down like snow. >> it is creeping up, creeping up. today is the scariest day so

far. >> reporter: in a mandatory evacuation zone, some of those who choose to stay getting together every night to keep a lookout. >> my wife says, when they go, i go. >> reporter: the fire still threatening structures in more than 1,000 animals at this shelter. >> everywhere we can fit animals, we've double it. hopefully everybody gets home safe. >> reporter: firefighters doing everything to attack flames that panel is well over 230,000 acres. from the sky, hitting it with an aerial assault. fixed wing aircraft dropping fire retardant. on the ground, firefighters now starting back fires. hoping to corner forward progress of the flames. >> reporter: overnight, the fire grew only about 1,700 acres. if you think about the way it's been progressing over the last week, that's actually good news. the red flag warnings continue until wednesday. abc news.

clear skies across the bay area. haze overnight. clear skies, cold in the inland valleys. we'll drop down to around freezing in some spots. mabel even below. santa rosa with 28 degrees. closer to the bay, a little milder with the low air in the 40s. tomorrow will be much like today. highs ranging from mid 60s at the coast to mid 60s at the bay to mid to upper 60s inland. here's the accuweather forecast. we have he seven more sunny days. seven more dry days and seven more mild days coming our way. the air quality remains relative ly low. we're hoping for some cleaner air on friday. beautiful. we really do need some rain. thank you. the nation is watching watcg alabama right now.

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it's election day in alabama and the nation is watching with polls varying widely. it is anybody's guess who will prevail in the race. >> lana? >> reporter: hi there. we're starting to see some preliminary exit poll results. and what it shows us is a state deeply divided. particularly when it comes to the allegations of sexual misconduct against republican roy moore. 49% of people who showed up at the polls today say they believe overall that those accusations are true. 45% say they disbelieve the accusations. as this whole election has turned into a referendum for issues that are much larger. the latest polls have put doug jones sometimes behind and sometimes ahead of the republican nominee, roy moore. an outcome months ago when it seemed inconceivable in solidly red alabama. >> i'm very excited. i think it is a good choice for

our new senator and i'm excited that there is such a great democratic candidate. >> reporter: just 33 days earlier, the first allegations of sexual misconduct against moore. >> reporter: he was accused of sexually assaulting two are teenagers, one as young as 14. moore arrived on horseback today. >> we have a tremendous turnout, the state, the nation is watching. >> reporter: while doug jones showed off his ballot and sounded confident. >> i don't think that roy moore will win this election. >> reporter: with you the pro-choice democrat faces an uphill battle with many voters. >> i voted for traditional judges, second amendment and against abortion. >> reporter: last night, both candidates brought out their supporters in a final fight for votes. jones was joined by charles barkley. >> at some point, we've got to stop looking like idiots to the nation. >> reporter: and moore's wife

who attempted to battle back accusations that her husband is anti-semitic. >> fake news would tell you that we don't care for jews. i tell you this because i've seen it all. i want to set the record straight while they're here. one of our attorneys is a jew. >> reporter: that comment now raising more questions about the evangelical judge. what we're also seeing in the poll results is an enthusiasm gap. doug jones, eight out of ten of his voters are enthusiastic about him compared to about half of the republicans for roy moore. of those roy moore voters, 13% say they don't like him but they're still voting in his favor. that goes along with what we've seen overall in republican politics here. 51% of voters say they want to see the republican party maintain the control of the senate. reporting live, abc7 news. back to you. >> values and party factor in. any sense of how the president

has factored into the results? do the exit polls suggest anything about that? >> reporter: it is interesting when you start looking at that. overall nationwide, president trump's popularity rating is about 37%. here in alabama, much higher, 48%. though only 40% of the voters said they actually were casting their ballot for president trump. most saying they were making up their minds because of other issues. the candidates themselves, or another thing we've heard, is that it is very popular here as one of those major issues, was the question of abortion. so all of these results, so close. it looks like we'll be in for a very long night here. back to you. >> all right. live in if alabama. thank you. democrats are rallying behind kirsten gillibrand. the president in a tweet after

she called for an investigation into the allegations against him. the saying that she begged him for campaign contributions suggesting she would, quote, do anything for them. democrats call that a sexist smear. congresswoman jackie speier called it grotesque. >> it took my breath away. it represents the conduct of a person who is ill equipped to be the president of the united states. >> gillibrand responded on twitter saying the president cannot silence her. the white house says there was no sexual innuendo in the president's tweet and anybody who thinks there was has their minds in the gutter. apparently, russian president vladimir putin is very interested in mr. trump's twitter feed. a kremlin spokesperson said everything trump tweets on his official twitter account is perceived in moscow as his official statements. some changes are being made to the controversial tax bill

moving through congress right now. congressional aides say negotiators have agreed to scale back the mortgage interest deduction which would allow home owners to deduct interest on the first 750,000 of a new mortgage. now the house bill would limit the deduction to the first half a million dollars of a new more gablg. while the senate bill would keep the current limit of a million. so two congressional aides saying negotiators have agreed to split the difference. the provision would not affect current mortgages. christmas came early at an arizona diner thanks to one very generous customer. a man came in. he ordered bacon and eggs. it added to about $17. instead of the usual 20% tip, he left behind a $2,000 tip. >> you say $200? awesome. no. it was $2,000. i don't think i've ever seen that one. you hear about it on the news. never think it will happen to you. >> and you're hearing about it on the news once again.

this time it did happen to her. a note on the receipt asked that it be split among entire diner staff. the act of kindness seems to be contagious because another employee received a $200 tip. that's the way to get you in the christmas spirit. >> now you know, everybody will be applying for a job at that restaurant. still to come at 4:00, it may not seem like music to your ears. but playing the harmonica is proving to be a life saving passion for some central california residents. before he was a city leader, new at 5:00, mayor ed lee's place in the world and how he was the man who never forgot his roots. also ahead, rescue and rehab. a sea otter finds his way. >> consumer reports relea

coming up, the middle. followed by fresh off the boat. at 9:00, catch black-ish. at 10:00, kevin probably saves the world. lung disease and copd is the third leading cause of death in the united states.

a hospital is helping those who are suffering in a unique way. more on the benefits of harmonica therapy. ♪ >> learning how to play an instrument can be a tricky task. for these folks, it is a little tougher. no, it's not because of their age but because they suffer from chronic lung diseases. >> you can play it as long as you want. get all that air out. sit up straight. >> harmonica therapy is offered by the better breather group in visalia. the class is taught by respiratory therapist yvette. >> with the harmonica, they can do the techniques through harmonica without actually thinking about the breathing. >> for some it doesn't go very smoothly. william suffers from copd and

lost his voice. about a year ago, doctors encouraged him to play the harmonica. >> they gave me one. we looked at each other. i thought, i don't think this will work but let me try it. >> he couldn't play the instrument with his mouth so he tried something different. >> so i put it up to my stomstom i can't control the notes. >> harmonica therapy not only helps people with their breathe go but it gives them a boost in confidence. >> now i have the harmonica. you can catch me out mike night and blues music. >> this is only the second time class has been offered but more are being planned for the future. >> go home practice, and come back and we'll do it again and do better. we'll be bluesier next time. abc7 news. >> they seemed really happy

playing the harmonica. thanks for joining us for abc7 news at 4:00. abc7 news at 5:00 starts now. >> my heart is deeply saddened today. we lost a very great man. >> hugs and tears at city hall after the sudden death of ed lee. >> before he was a city leader, why everyone says ed lee was a man who never forgot his roots. >> and even though he broke many barriers, he practically fell into his top job by happenstance. our mayor, mayor edwin m. lee, passed away this morning at zuckerberg san francisco general. he was in critical condition and we attempted life saving measures for several hours. >> he was a trail blazer. >> you want to hear nothing more than that. ed was good, decent and honorable man.

this was a good, decent is that honorable guy. >> the sudden and unexpected death of san francisco mayor ed lee. good evening. >> a sad day for san francisco. law enforcement saluted the body of ed lee this afternoon as they left the office in san francisco and again as it arrived in daly city at the mortuary. >> we begin our team coverage from city hall. >> reporter: the memorial here on the steps of city hall continues to grow and the flags are at half-staff as well. they will be the next 30 days. inside, imagine people cried and hugged each other. people were shocked and saddened. >> everyone who had the pleasure of working with mayor lee will miss him tremendously. >> s