supervisor elsbernd? there are 11 ayes. the motion is approved a [applause] . >> colleagues, i am going to move that we recessed the meeting and we conduct the swearing in ceremony of the new mayor in the rotunda of city hall. [applause] >> so ended one of the greatest challenges the board of supervisors has ever faced, resulting in the first interim mayor in san francisco in 32 years. >> we had a real sense of belief when the full board made the final appointment to successor mayor. we thought there were some and gaps in our knowledge about how to appoint a successor mayor. by the time it was actually done, it seemed almost easy, but

it was not, to be honest. we had planned for different types of variables to occur, and none of that actually happened. no conflict of interest laws came into play, no inquiry issues. >> i thought they did a good job, actually, trying to figure out something that had very little precedent in our city's history, something that was very important. >> angela and her staff did an extremely professional job. she was on the hot seat, under a tremendous amount of pressure. i did not see a lot of the back room arm-twisting, hair pulling, chest pounding that was going on, the pressure she was under, but when she walked out into the board chamber, when she walked into the hallway and the reporters were chasing after her, she was precise and professional. >> in the end, there were some questions about the charter of san francisco. >> our charter spells out a

formal process, but lee is pretty silent on that application process. >> this has happened in 32 years, but i think we need some better certainty on how we deal with this decision of succession. >> the charter has worked several times during times of vacancies like this. it certainly worked during aftermath of mayor mosconi and harvey milk. >> so we may be seeing more of these successor issues coming up, certainly something we do not want to legislate. i hope that we can trust people to be grown up about it, but if that is not the case, we can spell that out. >> going through the first time with little knowledge and information was difficult. now that we have got our record of how to do this, i think the next clerk and the city will be much informed with having our process and having our archives to look too. >> and that is how san francisco

government worked out the kinks, twists and turns, bombs in the road, to select its new interim mayor, ed lee. san francisco's first asian- american mayor. >> this has been an unprecedented and historic transition of power here in san francisco. i am so happy the board of supervisors came together to select an outstanding choice along many outstanding candidates to lead us over the next several years. >> over the past several months when this issue has come up, it had been agonizing. the board has been put into a difficult situation. there are a lot of differences of opinion on how to run the city, how to mass make a decision, who should be in place, 11 people to agree on that is a challenging thing. i think we have done the best we can do in the process, considering the difference of opinions. >> the people of san francisco can now choose their mayor, the direction they want to go. that is why this decision was so

appropriate. >> the other big shock is that the moderates seem to have won this round. people thought, progressives have themselves on the board. there is no reason that they will not get together and take a noted leader who is a progressive to be interim mayor, and then stayed there for another term. the great thing about being in term mayor is to get to run as an incumbent. the fact that the progressives could not get together to get somebody into office as interim mayor in their own self-interest was very surprising for a lot of us. >> what happened in the last month in city hall was an incredible show of democracy that was part policy, part politics, and it all came together, and more than anything -- not just from a reporter's perspective, often was this? but there was a public interest as well on what was going on in san francisco government. we take it for granted a law that there is a city government

here. this was something that brought people together. you heard people talking about it at the cafes, park playground, people who do not always pay attention. in that $0.10, it was the best thing we could have done for city government, even though it was a little bit messy. it was a lot of fun and an eye opener. it got people interested again.

[music] ♪[applause]

thank you. >> thank you for applauding. never know. [laughter]. so, these next few pieces are jewish art songs the jewish art song is not something that most people know about even if you are into classical music. raise your hand if you know shoemoner shoebert? these songs are actually in yiddish but they are art songs. they are beautiful. and they are not done. right. soy, i hope you enjoy the next

few pieces. i will describe them. the first was written by [inaudible] a song that has almost nonsentence words but it's your time to be with god and your moment alone with whatever you need. i hope you appreciate this one. [music] ♪[applause]

>> thank you. so the next piece, it's beautiful. this is yiddish a beautiful song that was given to me by george rosenside who is an amazing person. and this next piece was the same composer composed in paris and called the yiddish and a

great -- it's so beautiful. yiddish the wealth of my treasure much the kreet urs -- from it's yiddish. so many true, simple and core people wandering through countries and over the world where truth -- [music] ♪

[applause] this next piece is actually, this piece and the next piece going into it actually have a really nice story about it. the next piece is very, very well known by people who know yiddish folk songs. now, in this piece, this was said so it was classically it's not the same tune as most people know it. know the piece. so, it's very beautiful. it's a holocaust song. reach out your white hand to me. running over my words are tierce that want to rest in your hand the poetry is gorgeous.

and in this piece, i was at a camp where we all learned yiddish. there was an old man and he sang not this piece but the regular version. this woman was working and said, who are you with this piece? nobody knew if he was a holocaust survivor. everyone was lored by this man who could get up and sing this song when he was a survivor, everybody was breaking out in tears and was amazing and the next piece i had to get up and sing. what an act to follow. i will go with the piece i was going to sing anyway. this is a gypsy song. [laughter]. free to love and -- [laughter].

i'm thinking this guy is going to walk out of the room and never like me ever again. he doesn't know me but he is going to hate me and remember me as the girl when totally ruinned the moment. [laughter]. i go and you will hear in a minute after this song and he's crying. he's like crying so much that i almost was going to stop but i didn't stop. at the end me got up and everyone was silent and he said, when i was in the concentration camp the only reason i survived is because a gypsy girl came and she would sneak me food in her apron everyday. and i was in love with her. that was the only way i got through. and he said that i looked just like her. [laughter].

worked out; right ? [laughter] think i look like this. [laughter]. and he was so inadd mirrorad with this woman when he heard me sing he was sobbing and he was hugging me. and just amazing and so i really wanted to tell you that story to put the 2 songs together for you to give you a sense of what this was like for me. [music] ♪[music]

[applause] >> so now you know -- [laughter]. so this next piece actually another one of the beautiful gems that i found in new york in a yiddish archives it's been lost for so many years. i was lucky to perform it in new york for october for a big jewish audience and people fell in love with it. it's a true story and something

that still exists now. this means god watches over -- this piece a girlfriend her boyfriend goes to war and she says, i was lucking to be in love for a little while. i had love and everything i could ever want and now he's off at war and i'm alone. and i don't know what will happen after this. will he kill another mother's child. will i have to live with that? god watch over my belove ed and all the mother's sons. [music]