the presidency in 1972, and i had the privilege of working for her 3 years, and than -- then for julian dixonhe was the father i never had, and he mentored and shaped me. having the privilege to join mayor brown's administration, becoming director of neighborhood services, and the experience i have had working with african-american leaders in the united states. i want to take a moment to say that i will always list on my resume that i have voted for sophie to be president of the board of supervisors more than anybody else, ok? [applause] not to tell stories out of school, but when i first got sworn in and thought i knew a few things, we sat there, myself, sophie and gavin, we voted over and over, and we weren't going anywhere. mayor brown gave me no plan b, so i kept voting that way. mayor brown doesn't tell you plan b, you have to stick with plan a, which is what i was smart enough to do. but one challenge that exists for our city to think about as we celebrate accomplishments is that san francisco cannot be a great city without strong black leadership, and it has dwindled in the past years.