. >> please be seated. good afternoon. i'm rabbi beth singer from congregation emanu-el here in san francisco. it is with such sadness and shock that we are here to acknowledge the untimely death of such a wonderful human being, our beloved mayor, edwin lee. brianna, tanya, and anita, you can never know how much he will be missed.

my hope is that today's service will be a comfort to you. today, i invoke the phophet, micah, who inquired, what is it that god requires of a human being? only this, says micah. to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly. mayor lee exemplified this vision. here is one story which is just one of the countless examples of mayor lee's mercy, just its, h humility. a group of teens asked me to setup a meeting with mayor lee

to talk to guns and gun violence. the mayor accepted the i have itation and listened carefully to the teen's statements. he shared with us a surprising number of measures he had already taken. i commented to the mayor that i hadn't seen any of this on his website, and that maybe he should publicize his successes a little bit more. mayor lee noted that he was not looking for more attention from the nra, but also, he would rather focus on making a safer city than on promoting himself. two rabbis wrote a beautiful piece of contemporary jewi contemporary jewish liturgy, and i share it with you, but especially you, breanna and

tanya and anita. it's a pray i don't remember, we will know when to remember him. to the rising of the sun, and in its going down, we will remember him. to the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we will remember him. to the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring, we will remember him. when we continue san francisco's work of justice, mercy, and care for everyone, we will remember him. so long as we live, our ed lee, too, shall live, for he is now a part of us, for we remember

him. >>the hon. london breed: good afternoon, everyone. my name is london breed and i am the acting mayor for the city and county of san francisco. thank you, rabbi singer, for that prayer, and thank you everyone for being here for this celebration of life of our mayor, edwin mah lee. thank you, anita, breanna and tanya for sharing your father with our city, for allowing them -- him to work with us, and that, we know, has taken time away from your family. and we want you to know how many lives your dad and your husband have touched all over the city and all over this country. our condolences are also with

the entire lee family at this time. in these difficult days since we lost mayor lee, i find myself often reflecting on what he meant to all of us. what he meant to the chinese american community, to those who worked alongside him and to the city he served. four years ago, i joined mayor lee with anita on a sister city trip to shanghai, china. now, the mayor certainly has his accolades here, but in china, he was an icon. to everyone we met and

everywhere we met, mayor lee was like beyonce with the mustache. yes, ed was also ed. he carried his own luggage. he held the door for his wife, anita, and for others. he brought him little doggie bags home from the restaurants after he ate. when he passed away, the mayor's budget director, melissa whitehouse wrote a beautiful tribute to him, one of many from his staff and colleagues. mayor lee treated us with respect. he changed his mind based on information, made tough decisions that would payoff long after he was gone. he compromised, he was honest, he cared deeply. working for him was all parks and recs, no howuse of cards.

now, we all know, even before mayor lee's passing, san francisco has been fighting for its values amidst some stormy national winds. when cynicism mounts, and facts no longer matters, when people serve their egos above their people, when immigrants are made to be a threat and hope wanes, mayor lee was a guardian amongst those dangerous winds. our mayor had kindness, he had class, he served others before himself, he listened, he cared, and he fought for our city, all of its people, with the quiet dignity of a man who knows

exactly what he stands for. people have been talking a lot about legacy. you know, to me, mayor lee's greatest legacy isn't the economic turnaround or the warriors' return to san francisco, or his enormous investment in transportation and housing. friends, it's much simpler. ed lee showed our children that public service can still be noble. for all those he mentored, those he lifted up, those he fought and helped as a civil rights attorney, for the thousands of public housing

residents whose lives he transformed, for the generations of asian americans he inspired, and for the san franciscans he served for all of his life, thank you, ed lee, for all you have sacrificed to take care of so many. we love you, we miss you, and we will honor you by continuing the hard work that you started here in our great city. thank you. [ applause ] >> to ed's family, i want to

express my condolences upon the passing of your father and husband, of our mayor. i can say our mayor, because i'm a son of san francisco where i am. i temporarily went over to oakland for a while, but then quickly got back over to sacramento. any way, what i want to say is that ed lee is a very unusual political leader. i've met a lot of political leaders for the last 50 years, and ed was a person who had an infectious smile, had a feeling that he expressed whenever you wanted to work with him. and whenever i got a call from ed lee, it was always pleasant. i didn't have to shrink back, what is he going to ask for now. even when he asked for things for san francisco, he did it with a charm and a humility

that it was always welcome. he was not an artless person. very effective, very straight. and in the world of noise and all the excessive communication that our digital world presently embodies, just mere humanity is an incredible exception to what we encounter. ed lee was a real person. he was a person that communicated integrity, the love of life. i never saw him down. every time you saw him, he was happy, he was expressing very upbeat attitude. and in the world that we see today in politics, upbeat attitude is hard to come by, particularly when it's genuine, when it's real, and that's what i lsaw in mayor ed lee.

life has its surprises, and many of them are not always pleasant, but ed lee will be remembered. he gave politics a good name. he gave san francisco a good name, because he was a very good man. thank you. >>the hon. dianne feinstein: i make these remarks on behalf of two of my colleagues that are here today, one of them, the former district attorney of the state of california, kamala harris. as was just said, ed was soft-spoken. he was reserved, and he was

humble, but he was also incredibly effective in government management, with a proud history as a civil rights attorney. in 1974, ed graduated from boudoin college in maine. that same year, he had the great fortune of meeting a new mandarin tutor while studying in hong kong. that tutor, anita, and that student, ed, fell in love. six years later, in 1980, ed and anita were married. in the ensuing years, they were blessed with two beautiful daughters, tanya and breanna. together, the four of them provided a strong family bond that provided ed tremendous support during his public

sector career. during his study at bolt hall, ed became interested in public rights. he first became interested in representing tenants in chinatown in a housing rent strike. throughout the 1980's, he continued his civil rights work as an attorney in the asian law caucus. ladies and gentlemen, i am not aware of any civil servant, any elected official who has served in as many leadership and management positions in this city. ed lee's 27 years of public service to san francisco are truly compelling, and they are also unique. in 1989, he directed the office implementing the newly created

whistleblower ordinance. then, just two years later, he became director of the human rights commission. he served there for five years, until '96, when he became city purchaser, a position through which he was able to support local businesses and most importantly, local minority businesses. in 2000, mayor willie brown appointed him as director of the department of public works, where he oversaw the redesign of the you nated nations plaza, harding park clubhouse, and the tear down of the central tr freeway. in 2005, the mayor appointed him as the highest ranking nonelected official in san francisco.

there, he oversaw 27 city departments, including the city's new 311 call center and the city's technology department. now, these weren't small jobs. public works has a budget of hundreds of millions, and the city has a budget of billions. with that record of service and accomplishment, he was thrust further into the spotlight in 2011, when gavin newsom moved to sacramento and ed became mayor. now, san francisco is the kind of city where a mar i don't rememb remember -- mayor has to be hands on. it's not just receiving council officials and hosting parties. it's understanding what's going on, balancing budget, responding to constituents, solving problems, and knowing this city in every street and district. ed lee was that kind of mayor, and he did an exemplary job.

when he took over, the city was in recession. not only did we bounce back, our unemployment rate, which had been nearly 10% when he took over, is down to 2.7% today. housing has always been a big issue, but under his leadership, the city added more housing units than under any other mayor. 17,000 new or rehabilitated units have been completed, with a goal of 30,000 by 2022. of course, the remaining problem is their affordablity. he was a leader in the fight against homelessness, developing and implementing something called a navigation center, which i had the pleasure of visiting, and which

has proven to be effective in handling chronic homelessness. lifetime proponent of the environment, leading san francisco to reduce greenhouse gases by 27%. and of course, he always remained a steadfast champion for human and civil rights. i'd also like to note that his election and his six years of service as mayor were paramount for the asian community. ed's election brought a tremendous pride to this community, and rightly so. san francisco's history in prior centuries is marked by prejudice against the chinese community. in prior centuries, from mistreatment by the police to restrictive deeds in real estate, san francisco was not a friendly place for the issue i don't know -- asian and chinese

culture. however, times change, the community fights for its rights, and things improve. in 2011, when ed became mayor, this community showed the city that indeed, a chinese american can reach the pinnacle of public service in this city. i remember an anecdote. when i was mayor, i had a friend. his name was bob mccarthy. many of you knew him. he had five children, four boys and a girl. he said he walked into a living room and he saw a semi circle of chairs. he said what are you doing, and they said, we're playing mayor. and he said well what? why is your sister in the big chair? well, you know, dad, only girls can be mayor.

just as that story can aptly apply to mayor willie brown, it most certainly applies to mayor lee. one of the great legacies of ed's life is that a new generation of asian americans now know that an asian american can run and be successful in the highest office in this city. to breanna and tania, you can be so proud of your father. you can hold your head up high, knowing he was always intent on helping people around him and making the world a better place. your dad was one fine man. and to anita, i know how hard things are right now. i've learned this myself. all i can say is that family and friends and the knowledge of his for the three of you

will never be diminished. just think of this: head of the human rights commission, purchaser of the city, head of the department of public works, chief administrative officer, and mayor of the city and county of san francisco. yes, ed lee was an outstanding man. thank you. [ applause ] [ glide ensemble playing ]

>> from everybody in our family, thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers, for the flowers that you sent, for the donations that you've made in his name, and for the beautiful memorial outside city hall and in front of our home. we are so deeply touched and moved by this outpouring of love and support. by now, you've heard a lot about who our dad was as a mayor, as a colleague, as a friend, and as a person who cared deeply about san francisco. what you probably have not

heard is who he was as a father. for our family, our dad was not only our inspiration, but our constant source of human, laughter, and lightness. most of the time, he told jokes he could barely get through because he was laughing so hard at them himself. sometimes it was through texts he would sent him throughout the day. it was through ridiculous trinkets that he would keep around the house that would delight him, like an animatronic gopher from the movie caddyshack, and you would press a button, and it would

sing "i am alright" by kenny loggins. when i was very young, my dad started to take me doorknocking, to campaign rallies, to protests, and to neighborhood watch meetings. he showed me what it was to work alongside others to get something done. nothing was too small or too big for him, from stuffing envelopes to speaking on stage, my dad was happy to do it all, often until late hours in the night. and he would always make sure we picked up some doughnuts for those meetings. when i was in high school, he took me out with him every weekend to go and paint over graffiti or pick up trash in the streets. at age 15, waking up at 8:00 a.m. on a saturday to go paint over graffiti was pretty much the last thing that i wanted to

do, but he didn't give in to my complaints. he told me to get up, go put on and/ an orange vest, take up a paint brush, and go beautify san francisco streets, and burritos might be involved later. later, we went to daycare in the excelsior that had been in danger of losing its building due to rising rent, but they had just secured the ability to buy their own building thanks to a group of people that included my dad. my dad often texted my sister and me every time he was able to accomplish something he was proud of, but this was one of

those rare moments that i was able to witness the gratitude and sheer outpouring of love. there were no cameras and reporters to take notes, but people saw him and hugged them with tears in his eyes, and he hugged them back. it was absolute love for the city that kept him going. he was he done so much for us and for this city over the years, but we know that he would have still wanted to do so much more. and so we've setup a charitable fund in his memory at the san francisco foundation: the edwin m.lee community fund. we hope to use it to fund causes that were important to him and to us: addressing homelessness, fighting discrimination, protecting immigrants, protecting the environment, and increasing affordable for san franciscans.

thank you so much again for your love and support. we will carry his memory with us for the rest of our lives, and we hope that his spirit of self-lessness, human and dedication will carry on through all of us here. thank you. [ applause ] >> the hon. g. newsom: well, this wasn't supposed to happen, and it's not gotten a lot easier, i know for a lot of us. i think more than anything else today, for me, is a tribute to

decencn decency to ed lee, to a person who have had loved but under appreciated. who charisma was kindness, someone who served an extraordinary life in public service but never sought the public spotlight. someone that was uncool in some ways, but had friends like willie mays and joe montana, about the coolest people on earth. his was a legacy of humility.

that's a word we don't hear a lot in public life. you know, i was thinking when senator feinstein was talking about the resume, and i was thinking about public rights, and public works and county administrator. and i thought i wonder how many of that he chose, versus all of those positions choosing him. it's like the mayor's office. that office was presented along the way of his path. in some ways, he never sought it, it chose him. a man of remarkable character, a decent and honorable person, someone whose legacy is hard to

follow. we live in a time of growing narcissism, of rank polarization, under moralization. and then, there was ed lee. decent, honorable, humble human being who always wanted to do the right thing. who never wanted to take other folks down. i think if there's any legacy to ed, it's a reminder that life is short, and our wisdom is way too limited to win victories at other people's expenses. ed's legacy was about triumphing together. our successes in america will never be triumphs tomorrow.

it's interesting that ed lee was born on may 5th, 1952, almost 70 years to the day that the chinese exclusion act was signed, may 6th, 1882. what an extraordinary journey this city has been on. it's absolutely right -- what pride in this city when we were standing literally right here, what pride we all felt, what pride the asian community, chinese community must have felt at that moment, after all that history and all that hossl hostility, and all that violence, the first chinese american mayor. the guy dennis kearny, the

working man's party, the guy that ended every speech by saying, whatever else we do, the chinese party must go. all that a distant memory at that moment. it's a tale of resistance and resilliance, and it was a part of the great story of san francisco. ed lee was my friend. ed lee cared deeply about everybody in this room. ed lee will be missed, and i hope for the sake of all of us that his legacy lives inside of us, and that we stop to just consider that life is not a game, you know? it's not about being cold or

calculated. it's about something so much more and nobling, and i hope we can take the edge off just a little bit, not only the city and state, but maybe the nation. try to consider folks that are trying to do the right thing, who wake up every day just trying to add a little value. not try to cloimpugn their integrity or try to take them down. try to lift them up. that's ed's legacy. anita, i'm so sorry. i miss him. i know this is heartbreaking. your kids and entire family, thank you guys for being here, from the bottom of my heart. for the staff, whose heart is broken, to steve cava, and jason, his best friend in the

world, mohammed. to the staff that is trying to reconcile this, we got your back. you're not on your own. you're part of his family, and you're part of this city's family. and to the people of this city, we thank you for your support, we thank you for having ed lee's back. and as we move forward, thank you for having in your heart and mind ed lee's legacy. [ applause ] >> the hon. n. pelosi: good afternoon, everyone. on behalf of the congress of the united states, i'm very sad to join senator feinstein and

others who are here in joining the official family of our community, to bring sympathy and condolences to anita, to breanna, to tania, and to the entire family. when we learned during the night of ed -- mayor lee's passing, it was so shocking for all of us. we met that morning in our usually democratic caucus meeting. barbara lee came to us today, and shared with us the sad loss. but then, many members of the house of representatives joined in a congressional working standard, so that everyone

working would know the esteem in which he was held. kamala harris is here, and we also were joined in singing the praises of ed lee by our asian caucus league, and daisy lee is here, not only representing the asian community, but the caucus. so the legacy he made and the difference he made will be there for everyone to see. so we gather here, heart broken. heart broken -- and think -- i didn't know this until now, but it's fitting that we gather in this building, beneath the rotunda inscription that says, san francisco, oh, glorious city of our hearts that has been tried and not found wanting. go now with like spirit to make the future thine. that was what ed was about.

he was hard working, he was hopeful. he dreamed of securing san francisco's position as a dynamic innovation model for the nation. many mayors of here: the mayor of oakland, the mayor of san jose. an enduring legacy that many san franciscans will enjoy. so many reporters have said to us, when was the last time you saw this? and for many of us in this room, the last time we were with him for a long period of time was the interfaith breakfast right before thanksgiving, and it was one of those times when ed spoke from the heart so beautifully, as he always did, but he was connecting. he connected that morning on the subject of homelessness and promised to take 1,000 people off the streets this winter, and the crowd was so with him.

there were people he had worked with over the years. many of you are here. certainly, bishop andrus was here. and then, to see him up here, and he always had that smile. he smiled when he talked about it, gave you confidence, gave you hope that it would happen. he smiled and connected when he unfurled the lgbt flag. we talked about education, which was so important to him. he smiled, and that means lifetime learning. we went to youth build with these kids with the members of unions who were there to train young people in professions cast by the private sector so there would be jobs. he smiled with the chamber was

debuted here as he saw the importance of the arts of bringing people together. he took pride in his own heritage and bringing his heritage and the arts together here, but also taking it to china, seeing how that would be bonding. the pride he took in his asian american heritage, his chinese american heritage enabled him to see the pride that others took in theirs, and so that increased his appreciation for what his challenge was in this -- well, in this city, but as a model to country to bring people together. every subject that he was involved in, he smiled; he connected. whether it was cutting ribbons as house building events, when at -- when it was time to take the official photos, people

would say, where's ed? where's the mayor? he was listening, he was connecting with the people that were affected by it all. such dignity, such humility for this great man. it's really a terrible, terrible loss for us, but we have to appreciate the time that we did have with him. i'll share one story that he appreciated because, you know, when you're appointed and you're doing the job, and senator feinstein spelled it out so clearly, it's one thing. but when you get in the arena to run it, it's another story. governor, you know that. when you're a candidate, it's another story. so i was -- i told him a story which we -- he laughed. i'll tell you. this was this african presbyterian bishop in africa,

and he posted this statement on the wall of the hospital there. some nuns sent me this story, which those of you have ever run for office or had an official position can identify with. and on it, it said, one day, when i happily -- when i leave this life, and i happily go to meet my maker, he will say to me, show me your wounds. and if i have no wounds, he will say, was nothing worth fighting for? well, our dear ed, he can show his wounds, 'cause so much was worth fighting for. and he can show them with a smile and with great pride, and as the ecclestiacles said, and

people who worship great men, the congregation will continue to sing his praise. anita, tania, breanna, the entire family, thank you for sharing ed with all of us, thank you for sharing him with the world. in his honor, or congressional delegate his flown the flag in his name, just hours after his passing. dignitiaries gathered to sing his praises, but he'd be most interested in what the people he worked for -- he knew that a measure of his success or any public figure's success was not

the honors received, but the difference that he made in the lives of regular people in our community. i hope it is a comfort to you that so many people share your grief, mourn your loss, and are praying for you at this sad time. everybody in this room loves san francisco, everybody in this room loves ed lee. thank you.

[ "san francisco" being sung ]

>> good afternoon, and that wasn't me that was singing, according to the program. wonderful, lovely, anita lee, first lady of san francisco, asked me to do two things for this event. one, she said, i'd like for you to be a speaker because you're funny. well, somehow, i did not feel like in this great beautiful hall that he called the people's palace -- of course, the girls did a wonderful job. you know, often, he opened a meeting or when he was making a speech, he said i'm going to be short because i'm short. and we often didn't know what he was going to say, but it was always delightful, because we all know he had a delightful

sense of human. like breanna said, he told jokes. and i went around to all the staff, and i said, can you remember these jokes; and like breanna said, nobody could remember the jokes because he laughed harder than anybody else, and finally, people were laughing because he had a wonderful laugh with those twinkly wonderful eyes -- just like that picture, and wonderful smile, and the laughter rang out when he was there. when he became -- also, you know in meeting, sort of heavy duty meetings, he would lean over and give a quip or an aside, and it made it a little easier to go through the things that a mayor has to go through.

we learned that he was wonderful at protocol, although he broke some of the rules. he was wonderful -- you know, in san francisco, dignitiaries come here, delegates come here because they love san francisco. we have many consulate generals here, and they come here because they love san francisco. mayor ed lee said i want to be engaged. and you know why he did? because he respected the diversity of this city. maybe because he was chinese american, but i think it was really that plus the heart. he loved the city, and he wanted it to be shining. we went on lots of trips because we have 18 sister cities, and there was a thread that went through all these

trips: people really liked ed lee. he made friends, and friends in the -- going abroad and meeting people, you can get things done if you make friends. and i know somebody very well who's in this room who was our secret weapon when we had problems -- or potential problems with different areas around the world. and this person had that -- has that same ability of making friends and making things happen at home and abroad. i refer to him as my secretary, but the rest of the world knows him as the former secret of state, george schultz. >> you speak about friendship, charlotte,