please join me in welcoming the honorable edwin m. lee. [applause] mayor lee: thank you. of the board of trustees, faculty and staff of the university of san francisco, family and friends -- good morning class of 2012. [cheering] thank you for that very kind introduction. also, thank you -- alex, you are valedictorian. something tells me we might see alex later. and perhaps he will be running for office some day. we could lose it -- we could use your leadership in government today. a man of a wonderful sense of humor never fails to reflect. i'm going to try to avoid controversy today. many of you may not realize, i, too, and quite a comedian. just ask my daughters and my wife. they'll laugh at every single one of my jokes. really. and then there is that entertaining reality tv show i am a part of, that brings to help the -- healthy dose of comedy, sometimes trauma -- drama on a regular basis. it is called city hall. being mayor is a job i love. they have given me the opportunity. it is a privilege to wake up each morning and work for you, the people of san francisco, and

ladies and gentlemen -- all right, join me in welcoming mayor edwin m. lee. your own crowded back there. the m. in your middle name stand s for ma. >> thank you all for coming. i'm glad to be here on the eighth time we've celebrated this, and want to give a thank- you for helping us put this on. thank you! and of course, i join here as part of an official city family. thank you for being here. he is joined by supervisors carmen chu, jane kim, and eric mar. our elected officials, jeff adachi, the public defender, the recorder assessor, hydra mendoza, and emily murase. we're also thankful for the chief of police, thank you. i would like to also acknowledges someone that has been a very special friend of mine, someone that has given me a lot of support and advice over the years. and also someone who has not missed one of these asian pacific heritage month associations, mayor willie brown. >> this evening, we are celebrating our communities from all over the world. i am so lucky to be the mayor of an international city. we talked a lot about diversity, but we als

ladies and gentlemen -- all right, join me in welcoming mayor edwin m. lee. your own crowded back there. the m. in your middle name stand s for ma. >> thank you all for coming. i'm glad to be here on the eighth time we've celebrated this, and want to give a thank- you for helping us put this on. thank you! and of course, i join here as part of an official city family. thank you for being here. he is joined by supervisors carmen chu, jane kim, and eric mar. our elected officials, jeff adachi, the public defender, the recorder assessor, hydra mendoza, and emily murase. we're also thankful for the chief of police, thank you. chief of police, thank you. i would like to also

i am proud to present to you, the honorable edwin m. lee. [applause] >> greetings.ings to the members of the board of trustees, faculty and staff of san francisco state university, family and friends. good afternoon, class of 2012. [cheering] i am certain the in a san francisco state of mind today. nearly 800 graduates from 109 countries, right here, at the university of our great city of san francisco. and thank you again for that very kind introduction. u.s. and a wonderful partner for our city, -- you have been a wonderful partner for our city, actively shaping our education policy for the 21st century new economy. you are a true capt. of change. week as leaders need to live by the values of social justice. these reforms in higher education have impacted generations of students across the world. congratulations on your well- deserved retirement and a big welcome for dr. leslie wong, the incoming president, who will have to fill big shoes. i want to say to the alumnus today, as you go around the west of the world with your values reject -- around the rest of the w

edwin m. lee was sworn in on january 8, 2012 as the 43rd mayor of the city and county of san francisco. ed lee is the first asian- american mayor in san francisco history. [applause] mayor lee was elected on november 8, 2011 by the people of san francisco while he was serving as interim mayor. appointed unanimously as successor mayor by the board of supervisors on january 11, 2011. while serving as interim mayor, mayor lee championed balancing the budget to keep san francisco safe, solvent, and successful. reforming city pensions, economic developments, a job creation, and public safety as his top priorities. mayor lee has worked hard to keep the economy and economic recovery on track, create jobs for residents, and everything that supports a thriving economic climate like parks, transit, housing, quality of life in the neighborhoods, and public safety. mayor lee's focused on job creation, taking responsibility for building san francisco's future. for helping each other and that government more ef

third mayor, and the first asian-american mayor of the city and county of san francisco, mayor edwin m. lee. [applause] >> thank yo, lisaou, lisa, for t introduction. welcome to san francisco, how do you like the weather? first of all, i want to thank her and marty from the san francisco foundation and sam hernandez that is not with us today. they are doing a good job with our educators to make sure that the school district is never isolated. i knolerned that -- learned that a long time ago. the best cities are the ones that place education at the very center of what we are trying to do as mayors. i want to welcome the mayors of lincoln, nebraska and hartford, connecticut. thank you for being here. i want to welcome the various school board members and administrators that are here today on this important topic of community schools, thank you for coming to san francisco. thank you for taking this opportunity to learn from each other how we can do better. i was talking with my education adviser, hydra mendoza. it doesn't go a week that we don't talk to each other about the value of education.