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.

>> good morning, everybody. thank you. welcome again to city hall and thank you very much for joining us in this very, very important occasion. i want to immediately thank all the people up here. today is a very special day. it is one of those moments where we get to see visibly a united official family but, more than that, a united city come together and embrace a very important decision that i'm about to make. >> thank you. [applause] >> there are so many people up

here and been part of this whole decision making and advice and community, but i want to of course acknowledge officials here. we have presiding judge feinstein joining us. we have the president of our board and members of our board of supervisors. i know david chiu is here, jane kim, carmen. ross mirkarimi. malia cohen, of course. our city attorney. we have representatives from mrs. harris's office and city public safety officials. jose ses -- cesnaros our d.a.

george gascon. jeff, the public defender, many conversationse conversationsen:the sheriff, juvenile probation chief. office of citizens complaints. joyce hicks. edit harringto harrington. edit harringto harrington interim chief, thank you for your wonderful service being interim chief. a number of members of our police command staff. certainly the police commission. mr. mazuko i want to thank you for a very thorough job in presenting to me the best candidates the commission could produce. it has been an amazing time to

work with you and the commission, so, thank you, joe, and others on the commission. thank you very much. [applause] >> our police officer officer association president. gary, it is time to get quiet and go to work. thank you. our police public employee groups. i want to acknowledge greg's son neglect is here along with a very good friend wendy. thank you for joining us as well today. [applause] >> as i said earlier, good close advisors continue to work with me. former mayor willie brown thank you for always being there to talk with me about it. rose, dear friend, thank you for being there with me as well. former supervisor beveragen duff

-- bevan duffy. i thank the school board and fire department.an duffy. i thank the school board and fire department. i also had a chat with john hayes' wife. she is out looking at colleges with the boys. thank you very much for being here, chief. did i miss anybody? i think i have gotten everyone. thank you very much for being here. [applause] >> we set out at the beginning of this year with the goals that i announced and you know all of them. i have been saying them now for seven and about to do 10 of the town hall meetings on the budget. but when i was coming back from hong kong and realizing one thing i had to do immediately is

finding a chief was one of those top priorities and today we get that job done. it had been suggested that perhaps i leave temporary alone and allow maybe the elected mayor to do this. but all of you have known that, while i'm an interim mayor, i do not make interim decisions. this is a decision for san francisco. [applaus [applause] >> a public safety issue is always my priority. again, i want to express my deep thanks to acting chief for his wonderful service in carrying out all the things he has done to stabilize the place while he knew i was looking for the best chief. i want to again acknowledge the thorough job, the thorough vetting by the police commission, its work because it allowed me to look at all of the best candidates and choose from

there and today i have chosen the best candidate. [applaus [applause] >> 30 years working for this ci city. all kinds of assignments, defend assignments. more than i had in my 22 years. varied in every respect but difficult tasks. whether it was captain of the mission station, doing narcotics, patrol officer. being head and commander of defend aspects. then being called it duty also with our public utilities commission and creating and establishing from a homeland security effort the safety of our water system, not only for ourselves but all of the customers and the system itself. that is where i got to know greg the most is when he was literally out of his uniform and

into a colleague setting. that is where you get to know somebody truly when you are working for the city and they are working for the city shoulder to shoulder. somebody who has not only demonstrated through the years of command and leadership but exhibited that leadership in every single assignment. i want to show you or express to you why he is the best chief. he's had that experience, not only the assignments and varied assignments, but also each time that he has gotten a different assignment he has been called back to head up more difficult assignments. and i know that as i expressed from day one when i became mayor and he had already been assigned to the bayview police station and i was there for one of my first merchant walks with malia cohen and we talked about how the baby was doing and we

understood how difficult that assignment has been and why he of all people was called to that assignment. he has done wonders in that community not eventualonly bein police officer but an expressed example of a leader in community policing. because you don't get the comments that you get when you are not doing a good job with the boys and girls club, with delancey street and bayview ymca, without going beyond the coal of caught, being the captain but being a people's captain. that was undertaken. this will be reform from the inside out. it is something we have talked about for quite some time. there is a dedication here to not only reform but the continued improvement of our police department, inviting in

of the different employee groups that met with, each of the different employee groups that had a chance to talk with me about what they wanted to see out of a new chief. they not only got that ear, they got the commitment from all of us in this appointment. [applause] >> we have talked about accountability, and you will see how accountability has been exhibited in chief suhr's appointment. not only did he embrace comstat but he was a living example of how modern technology using statistics would improve his work force and people he has commanded. he will be a community policing officer and chief for this department. so, i say without hesitation the best chief here is being appointed today. this is a great day for san

francisco. it is also a great day for san franciscans. thank you very much for accepting this appointment. [applause] >> without any hesitation and it is something that happened to me in january, got hit the ground running. there are a lot of things we have to tdo, so, please, captai suhr, let's take the oath of office here. please repeat after me. say your name after "i." >> i. >> i greg suhr. >> do solemnly affirm. >> do solemnly affirm. >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> the constitution of the united states. >> and the constitution of the state of california.

>> the constitution of the state of california. >> against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that i will bear true faith and aallegiance generals -- to the constitution of the united states and constitution of the state of california. that i take this obligation freely. >> that i take this obligation freely. >> without any mental reservation. >> without any mental reservation. >> or purpose of evasion. >> and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i'm about to enter. and during such time as i hold the office of chief of police for the city and county of san francisco. >> for the city and county of san francisco. >> congratulations. [applause]

>> i present to you the chief of police of the city and county of san francisco, chief gregory suhr. [applause] >> wow! i can't begin to thank mayor lee enough for -- i'm speechless. i owe him everything. this is the biggest honor -- it is unbelievable. thank you. [applause] >> i wrote down that i gratefully accept this appointment but i already did that. so, i would also like to thank the members of the police

commission. i think several of them are here. an unbelievable group of people that put more time, effort and thoughtfulness into their approach to this process and for recommending me as someone with the qualities necessary to lead this great department. choked up. i look forward to working with those assembled and the city family and most importantly the communities that i have always loved working with over my 30 years. i'm a fourth generation bourn and raised san franciscan so i'm a local hire. and i love this city. i grew up on a block where cops lived. i trick or treated at their houses. my best friend's father started the canine unit. i played police

cops. when people ask me about community policing i tell them that i know other way to be. i was raised on it. i spent the last 30 years of my life working side by side with the community and incredible men and women of this police department are the pwbest department in the country to keep this city safe and i'm committed to do so as chief of police. being a police officer is a calling and something to be valued. i have the utmost respect for the officers who put their lives on the lean to -- line to keep the people safe and i'm proud to call myself one of them. i want to thank those who have played a significant role in my life and helped lead me to this moment. both inside and outside the department. they molded me into the kind of officer, public servant and person i'm proud to be today.

durke -- during my 30 carries i have served in almost every capacity and done what was asked of me. i started on the midnight shift under con murphy in 1981. the next 30 years i worked throughout the city in every neighborhood most recently installed bayview station and i have to give a shout out to the bayview. i have served this city to the best of my ability and i will continue that commitment. i promise to work every day to instill the sense of pride i feel to every officer and new recruit and i will always lead by example. i will not ask anyone to enter any duty i have not done or wouldn't do myself. i do not enter into this position lightly. in fact i'm humbled by it. it is a great honor and i will

work every day to make the city safe and residents proud of their police department. i can't believe i wrote this and i still can't get through this. it is critical to our success that we have and maintain the public's trust. the character of the officers of the sfpd must be above reproach. training will be a big part of this. someone once said we will not train to get it right. we will train until away can't get it wrong. that will happen. over the course of my career i built tremendous relationships with my fellow officers but more importantly with the wonderful people that are the heart and soul of this city. people who work every day alongside police officers and take ownership of their community. our partners in keeping the city safe. effective policing can only be done with the community that. is the backbone of community policing, working together. anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows i'm readily accessible and pride myself on

my responsiveness. those in the department are being tested but we will rise to the challenge. i will use my experience to inspire the best in every officer and will leave no stone unturned to implement new ideas and technology especially comstat to move into the 21st century. i want to thank my family, my mom, my brother and sister, the other four couldn't make it. my sons matt and nick and my girlfriend wendy. she is not a close friend. she is my girlfriend. your love and support is what drives me to do the best that i can. in closing i would like to take a moment of silence to honor the memory of the brave officers who have given their leaves in the line of duty. their families are always in my

thoughts and prayers every day and their sacrifice will never be forgotten. mr. mayor, once again i thank you for the opportunity and i just can't believe it. >> all right, chief. we begin this new era this afternoon and we have all the assignments in front of us. the budget, obviously and public safety but i'm going to give the first fun assignment to chief suhr and that he will investigate the whereabouts of my birth certificate.

the city family is behind us. i want to introduce again a good friend but one that is heading up the board of supervisors with us and that is president of the board david chiu on behalf of the board of supervisors. >> good morning. today is a glorious day and before i say a few words about the chief i first want to thank directly some folks here who we need to directly thank and that is the men and women who have one of the toughest jobs in the city, the men and women in blue our san francisco police department. thank you. i am honored to represent the board of supervisors today in congratulating and incredible pick for our new police chief. many of us on the board have

known greg for years and we have known him as officer suhr. we have known him as captain suhr. we have known him as commander suhr. and it is wonderful today, greg, to call you chief suhr. in the past couple of months as i have been talking to department heads as well as my colleagues at the board and other elected officials, we have all spoken about why chief suhr would be sufficient a great chief for our department. he is someone who knows our streets. he has walked the walk, walked the beats, who has helped the captain some of the most difficult police stations to manage public safety in the city. and he is someone who we you will feel confident will be able to bring the san francisco police department through the reforms that the previous

chiefs, in whose shoes he is filling have had to bring forth. i know i look forward to working with him on the budget. we also know that the chief is someone who is going to ensure that the san francisco police department continues to be one of the very best police departments in the entire country. congratulations, we look forward to working with you. >> the police chief, as all of you know, is not just about policing. it is being part of a whole justice system. here to acknowledge her support and presence is our presiding judge, katherine feinstein. thank you for being here, judge feinstein. >> i would like to echo all of

the comments that have come before about what a fine police officer greg suhr is. i know that he's going to be the kind of chief that will re stst, will improve, will bring forward good cases, and really improve the integrity of the san francisco police department. but that is not really what i want to say. i, too, am a home grown girl and i have known greg suhr since i was a baby d.a. in the mid 1980's. i watched him and probably he has watched me as each of our careers have moved ahead with

steps forward and steps back and steps forward and steps back. and to see somebody who knows our city so very well, who can lead us in directions that we maybe haven't been led in a very long time, i think, is going to be very special. i think that there were times, greg, that people didn't think that this day would come. and i'm just so incredibly proud to be part of it. so i welcome you on behalf of your justice partners, on behalf of the staff and judges of the san francisco superior court. we really look forward to working with you in the years to come.

>> and the man who caused this opportunity to start happening, our district attorney and former police chief george gas con. >> we met about a year or year and a half ago when greg was getting an award, a well deserved awardcon. >> we met about a year or year and a half ago when greg was getting an award, a well deserved award, and we have a joke because we share a mom. he was upset mrs. suhr and i were having a better time talking than greg and i were. but all the prior speakers said things that i echo but i think i bring another dimension to the table. having come from the outside and having not only worked in two other police departments but also helped work with many other action around the country to reform themselves, when i came

to san francisco i did not have any allegiances. i had no prior knowledge of people. i had the opportunity to take an unbiased, clean slate look if you will at the different players that were available. and myself, having also commanded one of the most difficult stations in the lapd in the watts area i recognized the quality of individuals that we need to have in those stations and how important that is. one of the things i did is looked at greg's background when he was a captain in mission and the work that he did in mission. and one thing that impressed me was how he related and worked with young people. because the reality is for us to be effective in doing what we do we have to bring young people into the pool and we have to be able to work with young people effectively. i knew that for instance the ymca in the bayview area there

were incredible programs and people that were doing incredible things and they needed the support from the police department. so, when the opportunity came up to fill that slot, it was -- the choice for me became very clear very quickly and at the time greg was working at the public utilities commission and i felt he would better serve the city in bayview. and greg and i had a very straight out conversation and i have to tell you that greg not only exceeded all of my expectations, did an incredible job in bayview. he immersed himself in the community while at the same time embracing come -- comsta tfrt an incredible level of humility and elegance, bringing crime down and working effectively with the community. i can't think of a better choice for this position today than

greg suhr. i'm honored to be here and i look forward to working with you to make san francisco the safest large city in america. >> finally but most importantly, the police commission, as i said earlier, did a thorough job. it was a difficult job because it was is the out to be the highest standards possible and to have a community process, a process that reflected an openness, a transparency, yet kept the pledge to the community to find the best and highe standards for selecting a chief and presenting to me that opportunity to do so. so i want to present to you and also thank the police commission through the leadership of that group. >> thank you very much.