be seen in this environment. it's been show in museum, in gallery, but never in a public setting. and it's kind of ideal for both myself and the works to have this real dialogue with the public not only in san francisco but people coming from all over the world. >> since the dawn of electricity, that light is something that people feel connected to and inspired by. personally, there is space to keep that alive, just finding balance. the key is to find some balance.

[applause] >> let me on behalf of the new

newly designated mayor of the city and county of san francisco welcome each and everyone of you to the charlotte steps for the purpose of this very important and significant ceremony. it was just about five minutes ago that david chiu ceased to be the mayor. the acting mayor of san francisco for about 27 hours was david chiu, the president of the san francisco board of supervisors. [applause] >> we thank you for your service. [laughter]

>> next to david chiu is the senior member of the board of supervisors, not so much in terms of age, but in terms of terms of service and the man who nominated the gentleman who is about to be sworn in as the mayor of this city, sean elsbernd. [applause] >> and then not necessarily in alphabetical order but as close as i can get in alphabetical order, supervisor john avalos, supervisor david campos. supervisor carmen chu, supervisor malia kohn, supervisor ross mirkarimi, supervisor mark farrell, supervisor jane kim, and supervisor scott wiener.

on this occasion, mr. lee, a number of your friends thought it appropriate to reach out to cover the span of mayors over the last 50 years in this great city, a small fraternity which you are about to join. and leading that is the most recent member of that club is, of course, the lieutenant governor of the state of california who in just a minute will bring some remarks. it was the man who served as a supervisor here in the city and county of san francisco and whom the voters rewarded just richly with making him the lieutenant governor of the state of california and he was received yesterday by his colleagues in sacramento at one

minute after 1:00 when his tenure in city hall, he was evicted. and in the process, he gave a sterling accounting of himself of the time that he has been mayor. and now to say goodbye to each and everyone of you and welcome to the new mayor, the man who was the lieutenant governor of the state of california, gavin newsom. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. thank you all. sit down everybody, those that have seats. let me welcome in and thank each and every one of you for taking the time to be here. i didn't think i would come back down from sacramento so quickly, but it's good to be here. and it's a wonderful occasion. and i guess the people that need to be thanked the most are the people of the state of california because had it not been for them, i wouldn't be lieutenant governor and as a consequence, there wouldn't

have been a vacancy for the mayor of the city and county of san francisco. on behalf of the people of san francisco and this state, i'm honored that the people have taken it upon themselves to allow for this opportunity and to celebrate this remarkable milestone in the history, not only of our city, but this state and i would argue our nation. it's a remarkable thing what is about to happen and what just happened upstairs and what we're is the e-celebrating at this moment. it wasn't that many months ago we stood on the steps of the city hall recounting the very shameful past of our city in the context of our relationships with the chinese community and the chinese exclusion act and some of the history that really has tarnished what makes san francisco today such a special and extraordinary place. here we are just a few months after that reflection celebrating the first chinese american mayor in our great

city. it's a remarkable thing and a very proud thing. [applause] >> it is appropriate and i spoke a little bit about this yesterday up in the capital, but it's appropriate these moments remind everyone this city is the birth-place of the united nations. this is the city that has always been other people oriented. this is a city of remarkable diversity and it's a city that is truly prideful of that diversity. on our best, we celebrate that and unite around those things that bind us together. that is the spirit of our times and it's the spirit of what makes san francisco indeed a special place in the hearts and minds of people, not only across the state and around the country for that matter, around the world. mayor lee, here is my advice. you got a year. so figure out what it is you want to accomplish and work

back from there. you were put in this position by the people to my right, but the people of san francisco are the people that are counting on you. and that's -- [applause] >> do what you think is right. and remember, just because folks make their way to city hall as important and impressive as that is, there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people that do not have that privilege that also require your attention and also require your leadership. always remember that. the people outside this building are the people that we also need to represent. remember that just because you disagree with folks on the other side doesn't mean something is going wrong. in fact, that's part of the deliberative process, that

healthy controversy is the hallmark of healthy change. you're going to have a difficult time with the budget. you're going to have a difficult time processing a new police chief. you're going to have a challenging time dealing with the realities that are taking shape in sacramento and how this man fest here in our county, but always remember to stand on principal, to do what you think is right. people like me as i am reminded notably come and go. you are given a moment in time. the thing that matters most are the things you do. they transcend that moment in time. and final words, there is no having made it as mayor of san francisco. success as mayor is not a place. it's not a definition. it's a direction. and i encourage you to keep this city moving in the right direction and i look forward to your leadership, your stewardship, and i look forward to you continuing the extraordinary work you have

done as our city administrator, a person of integrity, competencey, a person who is people oriented, someone that seeks advice and counsel, has a good, strong sense of purpose, and will be an outstanding leader in our city. i could not be more proud and thank you to the board of supervisors, more pleased with their choice for our next mayor of the city and coins of san francisco. thank you all very much. [applause] >> as i indicated, the mayors for the last 40, 50, or 60 years in san francisco are represented here. the mayor who comes from the furtherest distance and the shelly family and kevin shelly is somewhere here representing the shelly clan.

after shelly, there was joseph l. alioto and mrs. alioto is here. [applause] after joseph alioto, there was george moskoni. and chris is here representing george. and after those years, it was diane feinstein and her husband richard blum is here. they actually got married in the chambers upstairs. now, in just a minute, the president of the board of supervisors is going to say the words that will allow you the public to know what the vote was in his chambers earlier in the afternoon, but mr. lee, there have been several people from across the bay, from

sacramento and other places who are here to extend their warm welcome. standing next to you, mayor newsom's chief of protocol, my chief of protocol, diane's chief of protocol, everyone's chief of protocol who ever had a chief of protocol, charlotte shultz. and i hope she sticks around as your chief of protocol. one of your state senators and we have two of those, only one is present at the moment. the other one is up working on the budget, but senator leyland yee is here to welcome you. and a man who went to bed on saturday night, a cop with a badge and woke up on sunday morning a new d.a., george gas cone -- gascon.

the city attorney, twice elected in san francisco and usually without opposition, dennis herrara. , a member of the board of education and from your administration, mr. newsom, hydra mendoza. the assessor for city and county of san francisco. the treasurer of the city and county of san francisco, jose cisneros. the public defender and the man that first whispered to george, you should be the d.a. one of the judges with whom we have worked for years, lillian sing. and of course, the woman who

was your lifeline from here to hong kong when you were trying to escape this awesome responsibility, rose pak. the fire chief of the city and county of san francisco, joe an hayes-white. and a man who has worked as an architect in three or four administrations, a man they got from the board of supervisors years ago. he became deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff under mr. newsom. and as always, you're in good hands with public safety but only if there is a police chief and there is one here. the controller, a man who could cook the books or make it very

difficult for you, ben rosenfeld. and from oakland, california, an asian person that beat you for may of a city by five minutes -- mayor of a city by five minutes by my account, this is san francisco, jean quan, the mayor of oakland, california. and the city attorney and one of my lawyers, john russo. oakland, from the board of education, emily morass. and i could go on and on. mr. mayor to be of the people who are here celebrating with you on this very historical occasion and it was all made

possible by this fine collection of people to my right whom i have introduced by name. and now let me ask the president of the san francisco board of supervisors, a man who chaired the historic meeting where the vote count was done without the assistance of our folk who normally count votes which is kind of the way i prefer to have votes counted in elections, you get better results. the president of the board of supervisors, david chiu. [applause] >> good afternoon. so mayor brown wanted me to tell you the score of what the game was upstairs. two numbers, 11-0. [applause] >> this is a historic moment

for san francisco. and i want to first start by thanking my colleagues at the board of supervisors. we may not -- please clap for them. [applause] we may not always agree, but on this great man, edwin lee, we came together and thank you for that. [applause] >> i also want to thank the many candidates that we considered. one of the things that we are blessed here in san francisco is because we had many individuals who we knew could step up to take this role. thank you for all of you who we spoke to about this. this is also a historic day for the asian-american community, for a community that has been here in san francisco for over 160 years. i am a product of that

community. i know that ed and all of us who are of asian-american descent feel the legacy. and i want to thank all of you who have been part of this historic moment to make this happen and say that had is obviously not just obviously about a chinese american community or an asian american community, this is about the american dream, the idea that anyone from any background of any color, from any part of the globe can come here and some day be at the very top of what our community is about. [applause] >> in closing i also want to say this is a historical moment

because we have seen the orderly transition of leadership. what we have done at the board at city hall is what separates a democratic society from less democratic ones, free communities from less free ones. we have overseen a truly orderly and wonderful transition of leadership from our lieutenant governor, gavin newsom to our now interim mayor, edwin lee. without further adieu, i will turn it back to our emcee and say from the board of supervisors to our new mayor, ed, we look forward to doing many wonderful things together. and with the entire city of san francisco, thank you all for being a part of this wonderful community. [applause] >> i wish you had gone back to sacramento sooner than later because he just reminded me

that i forgot you, eric, eric mar. newsom had to remind me. thank you. the board of supervisors adopted a set of rules to determine how you fill a vacancy when it occurs during the time of a sitting mayor. those rules require that the presiding judge of the superior court in this county administer the oath of office. we're fortunate to have the presence of the presiding judge and she is katherine feinstein. where are you? will you please join us to do the duty of swearing ed lee in. [applause] >> mr. lee.

>> if you would be kind enough to just raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, edwin m. lee. >> i, edwin m. lee. >> do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california. against all enemies foreign and domestic. that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california, that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose

of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i am about to enter. and during such time as i hold the office of mayor for the city and county of san francisco. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you very much. board of supervisors, thank you very much for this fantastic opportunity. i also want to make sure that i thank the mayors that i have worked for that are standing with me. mayor brown, wonderful years working with you. i learned a lot and i want to really thank you for the tutelage you have given me, for the guidance, the leadership you have given the city, really appreciate that.

to lieutenant governor gavin newsom, your bold, your ideas have inspired me to go beyond just the bureaucratic jobs i have. and your lessons about not being fearful and taking risks have all been absorbed. thank you very much for your years. [applause] >> charlotte, you're going to be with us, aren't you? thank you very, very much for all of your years of service and we hope you will continue and help us out. to the board of supervisors, each and everyone of you, i am ready to carry out the duties of this office and to do it in a way in which you will be proud and to specifically,

supervisor david chiu and sean elsbernd who really had a lot to do with the pivotal discussions we had about this office. thank you very much for that strong and continued encouragement. i very much appreciate that. and to our communities, all of you who have come today to witness this, i want to thank you. it's really for your behalf that we are doing this. and i want to say to all of you, i make that pledge that i will do my very, very best to represent all of the communities that you live in that we cherish that make this city a great city. and to my good friend, rose pak, thank you, we have done it.

i thank you for this enormous honor and this enormous responsibility to serve as your may. it's a responsibility that i take with a great deal of humility, enthusiasm and determination. i must say it's been a whirlwind for me. i left town just over a couple weeks ago as your city administrator, a career civil servant looking forward to a new year of promise and challenge in the job they love. and now just a few weeks later, i stand before you as your mayor. [cheers and applause] >> that's quite a journey, but in many ways, this wasn't a whirlwind. it was a journey decades in the making. i spent the past 21 years in

and around these hallowed walls beneath this glorious dome working to make this city a better place, working for people, working for justice, working to get things done. i believe that i stand before you today not because i was the preferred choice of one side of the aisle or the other, not because i was a safe choice, but because i was the consensus choice, the trusted choice. i believe that if you're able to build trust, if your word is your bond, then it doesn't matter if you're down the hall or 17,000 miles away. people know where you're coming from. i was personally gratified by the show of support by the

board of supervisors moments ago as well as that shown by your predecessor board last friday. let me take a moment to thank form supervisors sophie maxwell, bevan dufty and michela alioto-pier for your support and trust in me. [applause] >> i am grateful and inspired by that show of support. but more importantly, i was inspired by what it portends, a new era of trust, a shared sense of purpose and commitment to this city that we all love, a sense of unity. i may be your interim mayor, but i intend to utilize this year in office to tackle our problems with resolve and a seriousness of purpose. this is an unprecedented

opportunity, and perhaps it is just what san francisco needs at this time and in our moment of history. this is an opportunity to come together, to move the city forward, to roll up our sleeves and go to work on the significant challenges we all face for the benefit of all san franciscans. i hope to move us past the labels that have pigeon hold us at city hall or at least to not be bound by them. because if you're a so-called moderate, then i'm a moderate. i spent the past two decades trying to make this city work, to work for all of us. for its entire history, people have flocked to san francisco with their hopes and with their dreams. they have invested in the city, not only with their money, but with their sweat and with their blood. i understand that not only d