mark leno has that razor thin lead right now. of course it's going to continue to count these votes and see where we end up. this could take a little while. this is all the result of ranked choice voting. if you aren't familiar, abc 7 news anchor kristen sze explains how that system works. >> reporter: let's go to the abc 7 cafe. i'll explain using sticky notes. we'll keep it simple. four candidates. let's say purple is my top choice. if i can't take purple, i'll take blue. if blue doesn't win, i'll go with orange. now let's add up everyone's votes, 20 sticky notes for 20 voters. my candidate, purple has the most first choice votes with seven. if it has over 50% as in 11 votes, it wins the election. if it doesn't have the majority, then things get interesting. the bottom vote better is now eliminated. that would be orange. orange voters, now we go to your second choice. two more for yellow. one more for purple. purple still doesn't have majority. so now a new round. the new bottom, blue gets eliminated. blue voters' second choice

>>> will we be saying mayor breed or mayor leno? there's a razor thin lead and fewer than 1,200 votes giving leno the current lead. thank you for joining us. take a look at the most up to date numbers on the screen right now. leno holding that very slight lead, essentially 50/50 right now. all because of an unusual voting system that only a handful of cities use. abc7 news reporter cornell live at city hall and everyone talking about ranked choice voting today. >> reporter: yeah. they are, natasha. hello. that is big stunner for the mayor's race. nobody would imagine it's so close. london breed considered by many to be the favorite here and mark leno slowly moving ahead here. thanks to rank choice voting. many san franciscans woke up hoping to have an idea who the next mayor will be. instead, they have to -- >> wait, wait. >> hey, everybody! >> reporter: late on election night, supervisor london breed was all smiles for the strong 10-point lead ahead of former state senator mark leno. she talked about the vision for the city. >> i'm

you had jane kim and mark leno join together.s is actually kind of late in the race, just last month. they said we're going to tell our constituents, the people we think are going to vote for us to vote for both of us. for example, mark leno is saying put me as top choice and put jane kim as your second choice so we can block london breed. >> that strategy seems to have worked for mark leno. it's very close as we see. that's going to get a lot of attention. it's only san francisco and oakland that use that system at this point. >> the chronicle accused leno and kim when they first announced they would be tag teaming of gaming the system in an unprecedented way. do you think that's fair criticism? >> you can look at the top two where some said newsom was pushing cox. i'm not sure gaming the system is the right way to put it. >> isn't all politics gaming the system? we're going to continue talking to you throughout the morning about a host of topics. we appreciate your expertise. >>> let's talk about what happened in san jose. sam

you and leno teamed up.ake sure that london breed did not become mayor. what do you say to that argument? >> well, it's not about an individual. it's about politics and values and principles. i endorsed mark leno as my number 2 vote because mark and i share a lot of similar priority and values. he and i have both cared deeply about our community college system, raising the minimum wage of our workers to $1an hour and ensuring development of affordable and low income housing. that's natural, because our similars are similar. we institute that had for candidates to be able to run and support candidates that they are aligned with and not be considered, quote-unquote, spoilers. >> this was in no way personal between you and london breed? >> you know, it's actually funny. i'm much closer to london than i am to mark. london and i worked together for six years. we are more similar socially. we have circles of friends that overlap. i actually don't know mark as well as i know london. however, mark and my politics ha

but when kim got eliminated, a huge part of her vote, 75%, went to leno, because leno was their second choice. that's how leno's vote count rose to 50.42% by yesterday morning. it's a one-point lead. this is a strategy leno and kim used to get each other's number two votes. >> so we're waiting on results and my sisters are still in town so hopefully we'll get a little down time and then again, exercising patience, which can take a lot of effort. >> it has been an amazing journey full of love, excitement and hope. and i'm optimistic. >> of the 240,000 total votes cast by san franciscans nearly a third about 85,000 were mailed in or dropped off. so they are still being counted. elections officials say it could take into next week before they are actually finished counting those ballots. live in san francisco, anne makevoc, kpix 5. they are giving updates at 4 p.m. each day even on weekends. >>> in national politics, the trump administration is stepping up its ongoing efforts to curb illegal immigration. >> jackie ward joins us now with the latest move from the white house. >> reporter: g

what leno and kim did ended up helping leno a lot. >> this isn't brand new.n san francisco for 15 years. what's new is this is such a tight race and such an open question about who going to end up being in the mayor's office. that's why i think there's so much reaction to it this morning. >> there's precedent for this. folks might remember in oakland there was a company to stop don par ratto from becoming mayor several years ago. >> anybody but don i think is the outcome. jean kwan using that effectively in 2010. i want to ask you more about irn persky. what are the ramifications now that he's out of a job this mo the lot ofocus on should you tis, you don't want the judiciary being politicized. in this case, the voters used their power in california. they don't have this for federal judges. in california you are allowed to recall a judge. this is going to send a strong message certainly on the issue of sexual assault. obviously there's a new judge in place of persky. >> just to remind everyone, judge persky sentenced brock turner to just six months in jail an

system and jane kim said she marked mark leno as her number two. well in the absentee ballots, 71% of jane kim's ballots had mark leno as her second place candidate. could make things interesting if it comes down to having that 51%. live in san francisco, andria borba, kpix 5. >> jane kim is expected to take the stage. polls show kim in third place as we have been mentioning between london breed and leno. her campaign says voter turnout and a lack of young voters in particular may have had an impact on this race. >> we're actually hearing from a lot of the voters they think the election is happening in november. when i think as a primary race, is why we are all out everywhere, reminding folks to vote, handing out voter guides, not just my information. again we want voters to be informed. >> and it is looking like bay area driver wills be shelling out -- drivers will be shelling out more. measure three is passing right now in seven out of nine counties. it just needs a simple majority of the total vote to take effect. >>> more election results after

mark leno has not contacted london breed at this point. we expect that conference to get underway at 1:00 this afternoon. we are expecting this to be a concession speech and at 4 pm we will be getting our latest numbers on the mayor's race. the department of election set to release those numbers at 4 pm. we have seen the numbers trending towards london breed and that may be why mark leno is expected to concede . >> if this is the case and mark leno concedes there is the possibility that he would address it today. he could announce that he is going to run again because we are talking about a year and a half because you have the 2019 general election. do you think mark leno would run again ? >> reporter: i doubt it. i have heard that mark leno had said this would be his last campaign if he doesn't win he's not planning on running again. that could change and we could see somebody running to challenge london breed. san francisco voters are going to be here again and just 17 months because this special election was just until the last of a ter

now mark leno leads the race.fter nine rounds of ranked- choice, mark leno has 54point 4% of the vote. london breed has 49.5% of the vote. jane king -- jane kim has been eliminated. the numbers could change. we caught up with mark leno and london breed as the results were coming in last night. >> i have always taken, the time i have been in public city -- public service, i want to take public trust seriously. i try not to take myself seriously. i have a good time doing the work. public trust is indeed a sacred trust in a very serious one. that is how i want to lead and always have should i be fortunate and have one more office in front of me continue to do so. >> at this time, the campaign is over and the votes up and county. it is time for us to come together. no matter who becomes mayor of san francisco, we have a lot of work to get done. i will still be here doing the work in my leadership capacity. i am planning to continue to work and working with whomever, whether it is me or anyone else. >> that is nice to

leno is ahead by less than one percentage point. the ranked choice system turn things around us candidates were eliminated from contention. second-place votes were then redistributed. you will remember during the campaign leno join forces with fellow candidate jane kim, encouraging supporters to list the other as a second-place choice. leno ended up earning 77% of jane kim second-place votes. early this morning we talked with kim about how this strategy paid off for mark leno. >> i am going to be able to leave office on january 7 with some sense of relief that my work will continue through the mark leno mayoral administration. i really look forward to be able to continue my work to serve our city and our country in a different capacity. >> i voted number two for jane kim. she made mention she did the same for me. using the dynamics of ranked choice voting and being transparent and accountable. >> no matter who becomes the mayor of san francisco we have a lot of work to get done. i am still going to be here doing the work. i am plann

. >>> mark leno conceded today congratulating london breed . both candidates spoke today in san francisco. christian, you are dear -- there for that. london breed is the next mayor of san francisco.>> mark leno conceded and he and london breed are calling on the city to move forward under new leadership.>> i called supervisor, london breed , to congratulate her on her victory and to wish her every success both personally and professionally. her new job as mayor of san francisco.>> mark leno announced that after four months of campaigning that he is throwing his support behind london breed . following the concession, london breed to to the steps to bring the city together.>> i want to thank him for his kind words and sentiment. this is an amazing city. we had a number of amazing candidates who ran for mayor.>> london breed laid out her vision.>> we see people sleeping on the streets and we know they need help. we know there is so much work to do and we have to make the hard decisions to get the job done.>> since we started the report, the latest

of the right choice voting, mark leno has 54% of the vote. london breed has 49.5%. jane kim, who was in third place, is now eliminated in that right choice system. there are still ballots to be counted, so the numbers could change again. john cox caught up with mark leno late last night in the castro district. we asked him about the ranked- choice voting system in his strategy with his teaming up with jane kim. >> you and all voters have the opportunity to vote for up to three candidates. i am a voter, too. i voted number 24 -- number two in favor of jane kim. she voted in favor of me for number two. it is being transparent and accountable about how i voted. that is what it was and that is how it is. >> they teamed up during the campaign asking their supporters to vote for each other as second choice, hoping to gain an advantage in the voting system. >>> london breed gathered with her supporters. all night she was leading the race but she knew that could change after the ranked-choice system started. when ktvu talked to london breed late last

just 2 hours after her opponent former state senator mark leno conceded.sot mark leno/s.f. mayoral candidatei called supervisor london breed this morning to congratulate her and to wish her every success while leno took an early lead in the ranked choice vote, breed quickly pulled ahead and her margin has been widening as more votes are counted each day. sotwe havent seen a day that hasnt gone in her direction, we are down to fewer votes than had a week ago and just doing the math we do not see it is likley to change.breed was named acting mayor in december following the sudden death of mayor ed lee. however the board of supervisors refused to make her interum mayor and instead selected supervisor mark farrell who was not running in the june election. with just a few thousand votes seperating her from leno, her victory is far from a mandate but breed vowed to be mayor for all san franciscanssoti am prepared to make sure i do everything i can to bring everyone together to bring the board of supervisors togeer to bring everyone together to solve our most challenging problems.

but when kim got eliminated, a huge part of her vote, 75%, went to leno, because leno was their second choice. that's how leno's vote count rose to 50.42% by yesterday morning. it's a one-point lead. this is a strategy leno and kim used to get each other's number two votes. >> i wouldn't be surprised if we saw some zigzagging and seesawing. >> i said all along to people. even though it showed me leading in the polls, that this is going to be a close race as ranked choice voting you never know what's going to happen. >> of the 240,000 total votes cast by san franciscans nearly a third about 85,000 were mailed in or dropped off. so they are still being counted. elections officials say it could take into next week before they are actually finished counting those ballots. live in san francisco, anne makevoc, kpix 5. >>> the stage is set in the governor's race. democrat gavin newsom and republican john cox will face off in november. in the primary, newsom won almost every coastal county, the bay area and a few to the east but cox took a huge part of the center of the state and the south exc

and i just wanted to come out after senator leno's announcement. but tomorrow, i will have more to say. i will be able to provide you with a location and a place we will be making longer comments. but for today, i didn't expect such a huge crowd. i just wanted to basically also thank the voters of san francisco for their support and confidence in me. i want to thank all the volunteers. so many of them are here today. [ cheers and applause ] you know, i want to acknowledge and thank just everyone who really came together to accomplish this incredible goal of making sure that san francisco is led by someone who cares about bringing people together and making the hard decisions and solving many of these challenging problems. i am so hopeful about the future of our city. and i am looking forward to searching as your mayor. i am truly humbled and i am truly honored. thank you all so much for being here today. [ cheers and applause ] i would just say ms. brown has probably had a hand in this. looking down from the heavens. you know, she really was a toug

state for mark leno is second with 25.92%. and supervisor jane kim is in third with 22.84% of the vote. however, when you take ranked choice into consideration, the numbers get closer because voters can rank their top three candidates. so state senator mark leno leads with less than 2,000 votes and 50.42% of the vote. board president breed has 49.58%. we were at london breed's election watch party last night where it was a celebration. early indicators showed her with a lead over leno. if she would win, breed would be the first black woman elected as mayor of san francisco. >> we all have a voice. and i don't care what neighborhood we come from. we c do anything want to do. >> yeah! >> that's what this campaign shows! >> reporter: leno does have a narrow lead over breed. there are still more mail-in ballots that are expected to men it cogok and rth several t if leno won, he would be the first openly gay mayor in san francisco. we caught up with him and asked him about his campaigning. >> we have been in every neighborhood arou

on thursday, leno was ahead by 255 votes. by friday his lead had sunk to 544 and by saturday the lead evaporated. at 4 pm, breed had overtaken gaining a 498 low advantage. the san francisco department of elections reveals the breeds lead is wider than the one that leno held over the past two days and they are on round nine of the count. >> we will see more numbers as far as results and sunday we will have large numbers as well. >> reporter: 23,000 votes were tallied and the counting continues. approximately 42,000 ballots still need to be processed. with such a narrow margin both campaigns have said it is important that every vote counts. they did have high voter turnout and we are told the representatives from both campaigns have been here at the department of elections to observe the counting process. they are making sure every vote is counted towards the appropriate candidate. >> you have to feel for those candidates who are sitting on pins and needles wondering what will happen. >> we have several more days to wait. lee m

leno dating back 20 years. culminating in the state senate. those mail-in ballots could continue to come in as late until friday. so we'll keep you up to date with the changes in those tallies as they come in over the next couple of days. we're live in san francisco, thom jensen, "today in the bay." >> 6:05 in the governor's race, gavin newsom coming out on top with more than 30% of the vote. he'll face republican john cox in november. cox claimed i kamd in second place with more than 25% of the vote. cox who was backed by president trump didn't waste any time last night going after newsom and the democrats. >> wasn't donald trump who made california the highest taxed state in the country, it was gaffe vib newsom and the democrats. >> in the meantime, newsom told his supporters in san francisco that he's fighting for equality. >> a state where we don't criminalize diversity. we celebrate diversity. a state where we don't obstruct justice, we demand justice for everybody. where we don't regulate a woman's body more than we regulate assault weap

the race for mayor in san francisco is over after mark leno called her to concede this morning. the concession comes after more than a week of counting ballots. ktvu's kafton is in the city t, where ma lo and london breed talked today. london breed will now be san francisco's next mayor. >>> reporter: mark leno conceded and then london breed was here thanking mark leno saying she was ready to lead the city. >> i'm london breed. i am president of the san francisco board of supervisors. and soon to be mayor of the city and county of san francisco. orter: london breed d an imprompwdf supporters on the steps of city hall ready to reunite the city after a shor for mayor. >> this is an amazing city. and we had a number of amazing candidates who ran for mayor. >> reporter: breed's comments came after the rkan leno that he >> i called supervisor london breed this morning to congratulate her on her victorand to wish her every success both personally and professionallyin her new job as mayor of san francisco. >> reporter: with the last contender for mayor stepping aside, breed began to ou

will it be london breed or mark leno? as of this minute leno has a razor thin lead.is ithe sys wou second and third place votes matter if no candidate gets 50% of fist place votes. london leapfrogged leno in the overnight hours. they went through nearly 5,000 ballots. there are still 85,000 ballots left to be count. today both candidates addressed this system that appear tuesday be helping leno and hurting breed. >> well, you know, this is the system that we're working with, and so i think that's a discussion we can have at a later time. but this is the one we're dealing with as it relates to this race soow we'retu with it. >> this is not a new or unique system of voting. heads of state of other countries are elected through the runoff voting. >> the latest numbers tonight put leno at 50.4% and london breed at 49.6%. for the first time in more than 80 years a california judge has been recalled. voters santa clara county overwhelmingly decided to remove erin persky. today critics continue to raise a red flag saying it send

but, when kim got eliminated, a chunk of her voters, about three out of four, went to leno, because leno was the second choice. that's how the vote count went to 54.2% overnight, a 1 point lead. it's a result of leno's strategy to team up with kim to eamb the one-two strategy work? >> clearly. >> reporter: some of breed supporters think that is unfair. what it is she think -- does she this? >> that's the system we're working with, and that's a discussion we can have later. but this is what we're dealing with as it relates to this race, so for now, we're stuck with it. >> reporter: they expect to have the bulk of the uncounted ballots counted by the middle of next week. >> you can find complete up to the minute election results any time on kpix.com. >>> a smashed sedan, departmented murder charges -- tempted murder charge, how -- attempted murder charges. >>> tonight, the oakland. police say the suspect sped up a hill near golf police say a reckless driver tried to murder a police officer in east oakland. the suspect sped up a hill near the oazoo, and la the air. then, as you can see from

state for mark leno is second with 25.92%. and supervisor jane kim is in third with 22.84% of the vote. however, when you take ranked choice into consideration, the numbers get closer because voters can rank their top three candidates. so state senator mark leno leads with less than 2,000 votes and .4vote. board president breed has 49.58%. it's close. we were at london breed's election watch party last night where it was a celebration. early indicators showed her with a lead over leno. if she would win, breed would be the first black woman elected as mayor of san francisco. >> this campaign is a winning campaign because we have brought so many people together. >> yeah! >> we have brought people together from all walks of life, from all parts of san francisco. >> yeah! >> mark, mark, mark, mark. >> reporter: leno does have a narrow lead over breed. there are still more mail-in ballots that are expected to come in so it could go back and forth several times today. if leno won, he would be the first openly gay mayor in san franci

on friday, leno was in the lead by 1-hundred-44 votes. the department of elections is still counting about 42- thousand ballots. you can track the latest developments on our website... kron4.com ( marty )a new poll shows the majority of bay area voters, disagree with the government's immigration crackdown. of the one-thousand people surveyed by the bay area council, 55-percent disagree, 28-percent are in favor of the crackdown and 17-percent are undecided. the study comes at a time where the trump administration is being slammed for losing track of 15-hundred children, and separating immigrants from their families. < :05 cheering>( marty ) state w waking up at home this morning. the nba champions arrived in oakland

we asked leno if he plans on running. and he said that decision is for a later day. >>> we did send out a push alert moments after leno conceded the race today. you can get these to device. >>> burn baum was chef's death is being attributed to a quote prolonged illness. he was 61-years old. >>> lee seen here last year putting his hand and footprints in cement is the creator of spiderman, incredible hulk and d others. >>> with the first real heat and some high winds, concerns already at high levels. three significant fires in the bay area. abc news laura anthony is live in walnut creek with the story. >> reporter: i am in central contra costa county. residents have until this sunday to clean up scenes like this across the county. already there is a real danger. whether by goat, tractor, or sweat of the brow, it is that time of year. time to remove all of those dry grasses and anything that might prove dangerous in the event of a fire. >> june 17 is the compliance deadline. >> reporter: fuels are already ripe in some places

. >>> the race for mayor between london breed and mark leno. the margin is closer than ever tonight. 144 votes separate the candidates with tens of thousands of votes still to be counted. mark leno leads with 50.04% of the vote . london breed has 49.96% of the vote. the ballot counting will continue right on through the weekend. >> ballots flew at a furious pace through the counting machines at the department of elections. more than 19,000 ballots were counted and added to the tally friday, but there are nearly 65,000 more are still being processed. director of elections says the race for the mayor is too close to predict a winner. >> we are not trying to organize by precinct. we are just trying to get the ballots through, so there is no particular order. >> friday was the deadline to receive a vote by mail ballots. nearly 500 arrived. late friday london breed it still had the most first-place votes, but mark leno picked up more votes from jane kim. about 77 percent of her supporters lifted mark leno as their second choice pushing him ahead of

leno dating back 20 years. breed and leno could face off as soon as next year when the normally scheduled general election takes place. we're live in san francisco, thom jensen, quts today in the bay. >> gavin newsom coming out on top last night with more than 30% of the vote. he'll face republican john cox in november who came in second place with more than 25% of the votes. cox, who is backed by president trump did not waste time last night going after newsom and the democrats. >> a state where we don't criminalize diversity but celebrate diversity. a state where we don't obstruct justice, we demand justice for everybody. where we don't regulate a woman's body more than we regulate assault weapons on our streets. and where we invest in children jeff sessions, invest in children where we don't tear them from the loving arms of their mothers and their fathers. >> and of course cox as you see there -- antonio villa raigosa finished third and cox talked to people about what he's standing up for. >> wasn't donald

mark leno calling breed this morning and conceding this afternoon. on breed now leads mark ows leno by more than 2100 votes with some ballots still remaining to be counted. and it still needs to be officially certified by the department of elections. we get more now on london breed becoming the new mayor of san francisco from kt'schris >> i'm london breed. i am president of the san francisco board of supervisors. ansoon to be mayor of the city and county of san francisco. >> whoo! >> reporter: london breed greeted an impromptu crowd of supporters on the steps of city hall ready to reunite the city after a short campaign for mayor. >> this is an amazing city. and we had a number of amazing candidates who ran for mayor. >> reporter: breed's comments came after the announcement from mark leno that he was conceding the race. >> i called supervisor london breed this morning to congratulate her on her victory and to wish hes both pe professionally in her new job as mayor of san francisco. >> reporter: with the last contender for mayor stepping aside, breed

leno has had a long tenure in polics.co supervisor, and california state assemblyman, and now continuing his public service by running for mayor. he has tried to run a platform of mental health. he wants to create a justice center tackling the homeless situation. housing needs, all subjects he is focused on. he is also very vocal and passionate spokesperson for the community. [ indiscernible ] and his plans for tonight. >> there's going to be a victory party here, and across the street. we will have a great celebration, people have worked hard for the last six months, really getting our message out, making sure voters vote and making sure that everyone knows that this is the best candidate to bring san francisco together. he has the experience to make the change that we want to see. >> it's a festive mood here in the castro. it's also chilly, but that doesn't seem to faze anyone. they are hoping for a big win. they are very optimistic that mark leno could be the first game area of san francisco. we will be here throughout

a lot of question marks"leno and breed would both make history if chosen ...leno as the city's firstpenly gay mayor ...and breed as the city's first african american woman mayor.mark leno, candidate for san francisco mayor"win or lose, i just this this experience of the past 4-5 months has been one i would not trade in for anything. i feel very forunates to be in san francisco and be a part of civic life."london breed, candidate for san francisco mayor"it's been an absolutely amazing journey full of love, full of excitement, full of hope and i'm optimistic." we're told it could be next week before all the votes are counted and we find out who is the city's next mayor.live in the newsroom michelle kingston kron 4 news (ken) the california governor's race is now set. former san francisco mayor, and current liutenant governor gavin newsom will square off against republican businessman john cox in november.(pam) both winners in last night's primary today - newsom thanked supporters at the ferry building in san francisco. kron 4's haaziq madyun was there. nats/newsom"let's walk in" nats/c

the latest count shows mark leno leading london breed . less than 1%. right now he is at a 50.4% and she is at 49.6%. mark leno owes the lead the systh takes boaters second and third choices into account. on of thelife force at city hall with what both caidates are saying tonight. >> they say they will be patient, but they are planning to watch the results very carefully. updates are scheduled to be released at 4 pm every day through next week. >> ballotswizard throug ning machines at the department of elections. more than 87,000 ballots still uncounted as more of vote by mail ballots arrived wednesday. >> today we received a 13,000 ballots. we checked the postmark. >> the director of elections announced that london breed still has the most first choice votes, but mark leno has the lead with the runoff factored in. mark leno picked up a large number of second choice votes with more 75% of gene supporters of choosing him . london breed supporters said she is keeping a close eye on the numbers. >> the rented choice of voting. you never at is going to happ

both leno and breed still waiting to find out who will take the top spot.mark leno, candidate for sanrancisco mayor"i wouldn't be surprised if we saw some zig zagging or sea sawing."mark leno catching up with reporters today ... talking about the votes still left to be counted. the race remains too close to call with ballots still being accepted through friday.san francisco uses a ranked choice voting system that allows voters to select their top three favorites.the person with the most first place votes -- london breed in this case -- isn't necessarily the winner. there are still tens of thousands of votes left to count before anyone becomes mayor.ánatsálondon breed also speaking to the media this afternoon -- she says she is staying optimistic.london breed, candidate for san francisco mayor"this is going to be a close race. it's rank choice voting. you never know what's going to happen so we can't take anything for granted and clearly this race is very tight. it changed from one instance in the earlier part of the night into another stance and so we are goin to be watching the numbe

and leno comes with a lot of experience. he served as a supervisor in san francisco then moved on to be an assemblymen and then state senator. who can forget the other person running for mayor jane kim, also a prgive like leno. and with similar ideas. if she wins she will be the first asian-american woman to be become mayor of san francisco. and last month both leno and kim formed an alliance asking people in san francisco to vote one and two for them, taking advantage, of course of the ranked choice voting system that we have in hoping to knock out who seems to be the top contender london breed who if african-american -- -- seems ver lively right now. i'm live in san francisco, lyanne melendez. abc 7 news. now let's head to the south bay with my colleague lisa amin who is covering the marries in san jose. >> reporter: hi, lyanne. we are outside of the restaurant in downtown san jose. you can see the signs up for sam liccardo where he plans the victory party tonight. there are four people in this race, for mayor of san jose.

mark leno is ahead of supervisor london breed by a razor-thin margin right now. but as kpix 5's joe vazquez reports, with thousands of ballots still to count, anything could happen. >> reporter: the mayor's race is tell you too close to call. down here in the basement of city hall, they are still counting tens of thousands of outstanding ballots. the 240,000 total votes cast by san franciscans, nearly a third, about 85,000, were mailed in or dropped off. so they are still being counted. officials say voter turnout was unusually high for a midterm election. >> we experienced yesterday in san francisco a presidential election turnout, about 50%. >> reporter: former state senator mark leno has a slight lead but that will change as votes get counted. >> patience shall be rewarded. i wouldn't be surprised if we saw some zigzagging. >> reporter: london breed is preparing for the roller coaster ride. >> well, i have said all along to people, even though it showed me leading in the polls, that this is going to be a close race as ranked choice voting, you never know what'

back but leno's campaign has been following the trends and says that is highly unlikely. so it appears as if london breed will eventually be sworn in. it will be on july 10th. shwill remainder of ed lee's term, the late mayor ed lee. that is until january 2020. and who knows? we might be going through this again. live in san francisco, anne makevoc, kpix 5. >>> today california lawmakers are expected to vote on a new state budget plan. >> jackie ward is here to explain. >>> reporter: it could be potentially really good news. while the legislature still has to approve this today, it's giving the mayors of the biggest cities in california hope. if the legislature votes in favor of this state budget, the big 11 mayors will each get a piece of $150 million to focus strictly on homelessness. they can apply for $250 million worth of competitive grants. half of alameda county's homeless population is in oakland. oakland may get $9 million. >> we expect this money probably to not be available until the ind of the calendar -- until the end of the calendar year. and then the grant

mark leno? [applause]. >> whether we're talking about the shipyard or treasure island, we have to make sure always that safety and health takes top priority. that has not unfortunately been the case to date. and all you have to do is look at the health disparities right here in the bayview. a child born today is likely to live 14 fewer years than a child born in russian hill. this is the severity, this is the outcome, this is the ramification of moving forward without certainty that the land is clean and that hit has been mitigated. and unfortunately, the navy has let us down, but also those with whom they've contracted has let us down. and moving forward, we have to make the top priority safety and health. we have cancer clusters that we don't understand. we have exorbitant rates of asthma that we don't understand in certain parties of the city. that is environmental injustice. >> thank you. thank you. amy farah weiss. i went to cleollege at deanza community college. it was an interdisciplinary

mark leno trailing with 49.51 percent of the vote. there should be a complete count by friday. as early as july 10. london breed could be sworn in as mayor by july 11. that is the date that they have been aiming for all along. for his part, leno said that he is not ruling out a possible run for elective oxus sound -- office somewhere down the line. san franciscans are going to be heading that pulls in just 17 months. >>> in the next half hour, we will have more coverage of this history making event. we are in the san francisco mayor -- neighborhood where london breed grew up. >>> we are also learning more about the san francisco plumber who was killed in a freak accident on the job yesterday. 34-year-old lilianna preciado was part of a crew replacing a leaking pipe on 20th st. nearby, a cart was being hoisted up onto a road truck -- tow truck. two of the workers managed to get out of the way. cristiano was critically injured. she died. coworkers talk about the tough times they had tried to collect her watch and phone. >> we elected her belongings. every time you touch it, the b

. >> leno had 50.4% and london breed 49.5%. it's expected to take days if not weeks before we know for sure. >> let's go to lyanne melendez live from city hall with the latest. >> reporter: from now until the race is decided we will have these updates every day for you at 4:p.m. it's now 4:04. the results we're still waiting for them. that's okay. but still both mark leno and london breed are fiercely talking about the results so far. the vote by mail and provisional ballots will be counted this weekend and beyond. so the situation according to alex clemmens of lithouse public air force is fluid with 60,000 ballots to be counted >> it could be resolveder earlier if trends know separation one from the other. but both are settling in for chewed fingernails and lots of lawyers. >> what appears to be clear is that the alliance formed between leno and kim seems to favor leno because of the ranked choice voting system with kim out of the race 75% of her voters or 25,000 votes have gone to leno as a second place candidate. with only 7

leno winning by less than one percentage point. the rings choice system really turn things around for leno as candidates who were limited from contention, their second- place votes are redistributed and you will remember that during the campaign, leno joined forces with fellow candidate, encouraging supporters to list the other candidate as their second-place choice. the board of elections this morning saying that they will be tabulating ballots for days and running them through that rings choice system. >> i would imagine that this weekend would be the soonest that we would probably have a sufficient number of cards reported, for people to make projections about potential winners of any contest. >> cannot yesterday was huge in san francisco's vote, the board of elections estimating a 50% voter turnout, to put that in perspective, that is a higher voter turnout than the 2016 presidential election, usually the high watermark. we are expecting an update from the board of elections at around four this afternoon. as to who has the lead

leno, 50.09% of the vote, london breed now reporting 49.91% of the vote. the difference there, just 255 votes. the director of elections telling us that ballots are still rolling in to city hall, and being processed. >> as of now, we have 93,000 that need to be processed, and we've been processing since this morning, and will go until about 10:00 tonight. >> reporter: explain 24,593,000 figure that 93,000 that you. last night, it was -- explain that 93,000 figure. last night, it was 90,000. today, they received more than 5000 ballots from the post office. they will collect ballots through friday. they say some organizations may project a winner in this race over the weekend. we can tell you that representative from mark leno's campaign and representatives from london breed's campaign were inside city hall here earlier today, monitoring the election process, monitoring the votes as they rolled in, but that headline right now, the new head line, the new lead, mark leno still leading in this race, but that race has now narrowed to 255 votes. leading by a very

the announcement came this afternoon shortly afte mark leno conceded. she says she is eager to get to work tackling the city's major problems including homelessness and housing. >> we see people sleeping on the streets, we know they need help. we are not building enough housing. we know there is so much work and have to make the hard decisions to make the job. >> reporter: her opponent mark leno held a slim lead after election night. >> she pulled ahead and has slowly widethe gap. >> i called supervisor breed to congratulate her. on her victory. and to wish her every success. both personally and professionally. in her due -- new job as mayor of san francisco. >> leno is a 20 year veteran of politics. the latest vote count released shows breeleads leno by 2100 votes. 7000 ballots remain to be counted and the results need to be officially certified by the department of elections. her historic win is an emotional one for some of the cities african-american residents her as a ging up blocks from city hall overcoming poverty and reaching the mayor's office.

is leading. >> mark leno now has 50.4% of the vote. london is 49.5%, jean king was now eliminated in the ranked choice system. there are some provisional ballots, so the numbers could certainly change. we caught up with mark leno last night and asked him about the ranked choice voting system and his strategy of teaming up with jane. >> as i explained to you earlier, you and all voters had the opportunity to vote for one and/or two and/or three candidates. i am a voter, too. what i did was announce that i voted number 2 for jane. she voted that she made mention she voted for me. it's using the dynamic of ranked choice voting and being transparent and accountable about how i voted. that's what it was and that's how it is. >> leno and the supervisor teamed up during the campaign asking their supporters to vote for each other as second choice hoping to gain an advantage. >> very interesting. also last night, london breed gathered with her supporters. she was leaving the race all night, but she knew that could change once the ranked choice

tonight, mark leno conceded, and london breed claimed victory. breed is ahead by more than 2100 votes. that's almost 1% of the total vote count. the beginning of a new era in san francisco politics. >> reporter: after 8 days of anticipation, 18 hour days of ballot counting, the nail biter appears to be over. london breed took to city hall to declare she is -- >> soon to be mayor of the city and county of san francisco. >> reporter: earlier today, mark leno who has trailed breed by more than a thousand votes since last week, conceded. >> she is a remarkable young woman, she will do a fine job. we wish her a best, because her success is san francisco's success. >> reporter: in the basement of city hall, the race goes on, people are still counting the final votes. >> there are vote out there still to come for this contest. >> reporter: the director of the department of elections says it's still mathematically possible for leno to come back, but leno's campaign has been following the trends and says that's highly unlikely. as far as his future, he di

senator leno is excited to work with all of san francisco regardless of the outcome. breeze king pain spokesman said they ad but not taking anything for granted. this >> we have held strong and only gained votes every day since the election but there are still 17,000 votes left to count so we know that this election is too close to call. >> we are hoping to get through the processing on friday. >>reporter: by state law, the department of elections have to count one percent of the precinct balance by hand. they plan to choose that precinct on thursday morning. >>> the waiting goes on. we still don't know who will be the mayor of san francisco. that's the top job. time is 4:15 am. here's more on our commute. >>> good morning. here we are your traffic is doing well. i know some peopleway away and perhaps coming to oakland today for the parade. let's go to the gilroy area. if you're not up this early you are probably not aware that people drive from gilroy to san jose and all the way to morgan hill. this whole area looks good so far. we are off to a nice start getting up

breed regained her lead over leno on saturday and widened her lead on sunday ...98 to 1580 votes ahead of the former state senator.tara moriarty, spokeswoman for london breed "london breed is in a great frame of mind. she's in great spirits and she's just waiting and watching like the rest of us. she's very excited obviously to see the outcome." mark leno is out of town but when we spoke to him after election night he told it's been an honor to run for mayor. mark leno, san francisco mayoral candidate"win or lose i just think this experience over the past four five months is one i would not trade in for anything."the department of elections has until july 5 to certify results and it could take that long to find out who's the next mayor of san francisco -- however we could find out as soon as the end of the week.john arntz, the director of the department of elections in san francisco "we are not running around here, we are not stressed out, we are not sweating this is our process every election this is what we do and we stick to have every vote count no matter what

while you were sleeping mark leno is now ahead of london breed. if you look at the graphic right here, it's so close that they are virtually tied. >> "today in the bay's" thom jenson, they are closen this race, thom. >> reporter: very close, it is too early to call this race because this was a special election so a little bit different after the sudden death of mayor ed lee in december after he had a heart attack. this is a ranked choice system. are distributed with the first place votes and second place vote going to the candidates and then the third place finisher would then leave the race. that was jane kim and those firsla votes for her would be redistributed. at this point london breed has the most fir place votes. it'setermid though that leno would possibly win because most of the mail-in ballots, tens of thousands coming in late usually go to the progressive candidate. the latest results with just over 1,000 votes difference are razor thin. nbc b area did talk to breed late last night when she had a small lead and she said, she was cautious

to the mark leno campaign. deborah is live in the castro. >> reporter: mark leno has come out here tonight to rally his supporters on the stage behind us. he told them not to worry about these early numbers and the gap between him and london breed. he told them this was expected and as long as the gap does not widen further, he is not concerned but he does expected as this to be a long night and the effect of ranked choice has yet to be felt. after some 20 years in public office rs a supervisor, state legislator said the mayor's post is the last position heill se he declared early for the race, that was accelerated when the mayor died. and his front runne slipped to london breed. tonight he talked about being a pioneer in the gay community on the shoulders of the late . >> the whole thing is heady. i recognize it comes with the responsibility, i have always taken the time i have been in public service as recognizing it as a public and that means i take it seriously, try not to take myself seriously and i have a

breed is ahead with 50.83%, leno comes in at 49 point 82%. behind-the-scenes, they are putting in long hours to get the votes counted. >> we stayed until 10 pm last night. mac early mornings and late nights at the elections office as workers continue to count votes while residents await the results of the mayor's race. the accuracy of the outcome falls on the shoulders of john arndt, the director of elections. >> we stayed until 10 pm, coming in at 6 am on friday and saturday. >> reporter: in what has become a nailbiter, london breed pulled out in front of mark leno to take the lead on saturday. when the elections office released their count on sunday afternoon, the lead widened more. she now has 103,388 votes. two marks 101,808 votes. that puts the city print -- sitting president i by 1580 votes. >> today we came in at 8 am and we will leave at 8 pm. a bit of a respite. tomorrow is the same. the numbers included more than 16,400 votes that were tallied since saturday. >> coming from 2600 ballots that voters delivered to the city hall electio