Image copyright Getty Images Image caption London Breed joins a small club of about 19 other black female US mayors
San Francisco is to have its first-ever female black mayor - at a time when African-Americans are becoming increasingly scarce in the US city.
London Breed, a long-time community activist who grew up in public housing, was declared the winner after her rival admitted defeat a week after city voters cast their ballots.
Winning with just over 50% of votes, the 43-year-old said she felt humbled.
Ms Breed is the only female mayor to serve in the top 15 largest US cities.
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San Francisco is grappling with rampant homelessness, rubbish-littered streets that have been likened to developing-world slums, and a property-price boom that is driving working families out of the city.
She was formerly president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city government's legislative body.
Ms Breed briefly served as acting mayor following the death of Mayor Ed Lee in December, before running for the post.
The election was on 5 June, but a result has been delayed because the outcome was so tight that city election officials had to count thousands of provisional ballots.
Rival candidate Mark Leno, who would have been the city's first gay mayor, conceded the knife-edge race on Wednesday.
Ms Breed is not the first female mayor of San Francisco - that was Dianne Feinstein in 1978; she is now a California senator.
She joins a small club of about 19 other black female US mayors.
But she leads a city where 5% of residents are African American, and mostly living in public housing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A lifelong San Francisco resident, Ms Breed started her career in the city government as an intern before climbing its rungs.
In a 2016 interview with the San Francisco Examiner she recalled her childhood of urban deprivation in the city she now runs.
She told the newspaper: "Five of us living on $900 per month. 'Recycling' meant drinking out of old mayonnaise jars. Violence was never far away.
"And once a week, we took Grandma's pushcart to the community room to collect government-issued groceries."
Ms Breed's sister died in 2006 of a drug overdose and her brother is in prison, according to SF Weekly.
After lengthy vote count, moderate community activist beats Mark Leno, who would have been first openly gay mayor
London Breed, a longtime community activist who grew up in public housing, has won San Francisco’s mayoral election, becoming the city’s first black female mayor.
“No matter where you come from, no matter what you decide to do in life, you can do anything you want to do,” Breed said Wednesday on the steps of City Hall. “Never let your circumstances determine your outcome in life.”
Her victory comes after the second-place finisher, Mark Leno, a former state senator who hoped to become the city’s first openly gay mayor, conceded defeat on Wednesday, about a week after the city’s voters went to the polls.
“She is a remarkable young woman and she is going to do a very fine job,” Leno said Tuesday. “Her success is San Francisco’s success.”
Jane Kim, the third-place finisher, said: “I’m proud to live in the largest city in America with a woman as mayor.”
Breed will be the only woman among the mayors of the United States’ largest 15 cities.
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Vote counting in San Francisco is a protracted process, thanks to the large number of people who vote by mail and the city’s ranked choice voting system, which allows voters to select their top three candidates. Though Breed won the most first-place votes, Leno held a narrow lead on election night.
However, with most of the ballots processed and an advantage of 2,177 votes, Breed’s current lead is believed to be insurmountable.
The race for mayor began after the unexpected death of the former mayor Ed Lee in December. As president of the city’s board of supervisors, Breed was appointed acting mayor, but she was quickly removed from the role by her fellow city supervisors, in a move that sparked significant outrage from her supporters.
Though San Francisco is a one-party town (the Republican candidate, Richie Greenberg, earned just 2.83% of first-choice votes), the divisions between “moderate” and “progressive” Democrats can be bitter, with stark disagreements over how best to address the city’s housing and homelessness crises.
Breed, a moderate, received significant support from the city’s business and tech elite, while Leno and Kim tried to form a united progressive front, asking their own supporters to choose each other as their second choices.
Breed will serve out the remainder of Lee’s term, and an election for a full four-year term will be held in November 2019.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
San Francisco (CNN) For the first time, an African-American woman has been elected mayor of the city of San Francisco.
London Breed reached the milestone on Wednesday, when her opponent conceded a tight mayoral race. Breed will serve until 2020, finishing the term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, who died in December at age 65.
At a short news conference, Breed, 43, praised Lee and thanked her supporters, as well as the other candidates, including Mark Leno, a former state senator who conceded the race hours earlier. She struck an optimistic tone about the city's future.
"I am so hopeful about the future of our city, and I am looking forward to serving as your mayor. I am truly humbled and I am truly honored," she said.
She also acknowledged the competitive race: "Whether you voted for me or not, as mayor, I will be your mayor too."
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SAN FRANSISCO – Kota San Francisco, Amerika Serikat, untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah akan dipimpin seorang perempuan kulit hitam –justru pada saat penduduk Afrika-Amerika semakin menurun jumlahnya di kota yang terus berbenah itu.
Perjalanan perempuan bernama London Breed itu untuk menjadi wali kota sangat luar biasa, mengingat ia dibesarkan dalam kemiskinan oleh neneknya di sebuah pemukiman sosial. Unggul dengan perolehan suara sedikit di atas 50 persen, perempuan berusia 43 tahun ini mengatakan dia merasa sangat terhormat.
Dengan kemanangan ini, Breed menjadi satu-satunya perempuan yang jadi wali kota di antara 15 kota terbesar di AS.
San Francisco sekarang sedang bergulat dengan banyaknya tunawisma dan jalan-jalan penuh sampah yang menyerupai permukiman kumuh di negara berkembang, dan ledakan harga properti yang membuat banyak keluarga pekerja tersingkir ke luar kota.
Sebelumnya London Breed menjabat sebagai ketua Dewan Pengawas San Francisco, badan legislatif pemerintah kota.
Breed juga pernah menjabat sebagai pejabat pelaksana wali kota untuk beberapa waktu, setelah kematian Wali Kota Ed Lee pada bulan Desember, sebelum akhirnya menjadi walikota definitif.
Pemilihan dilakukan pada 5 Juni, tetapi pengumuman hasil pemilihan tertunda karena hasilnya sangat ketat sehingga pejabat komite pemilihan kota harus menghitung lagi ribuan surat suara sementara yang digunakan saat pemilu.
Pesaingnya, Mark Leno, yang jika menang akan menjadi walikota gay pertama di kota itu, mengakui persaingan ketat antara keduanya.
Breed bukan lah wali kota perempuan pertama San Francisco. Sebelumnya sudah ada Dianne Feinstein yang menjadi wali kota perempuan pertama pada tahun 1978. Dia sekarang menjadi senator California.
Kini Breed bergabung dengan sebuah klub kecil branggotakan 19 walikota perempuan kulit hitam di Amerika Serikat.
Dia akan memimpin San Fransisco, sebuah kota yang hanya 5 persen penduduknya orang Amerika Afrika, dan kebanyakan tinggal di pemukiman sosial, tulis San Francisco Chronicle.
Tinggal di San Francisco selama hidupnya, Breed mengambil gelar di University of California, Davis, sebelum mendapatkan gelar master dalam pemerintahan umum di University of San Francisco pada 2012.
Dia memulai kariernya di pemerintahan kota sebagai pekerja magang sebelum mendaki anak tangga menuju kursi wali kota.
Dalam sebuah wawancara pada 2016 dengan San Francisco Examiner dia mengingat masa kecilnya di kota yang sekarang dia pimpin.
Dia mengatakan kepada surat kabar itu, bahwa keluarganya hidup dalam kemiskinan, yang bahkan menggunakan stoples mayones bekas untuk gelas minum. "Kekerasan tidak pernah jauh" dari mereka, katanya.
"Dan seminggu sekali, kami membawa gerobak dorong nenek ke balai masyarakat untuk mengambil bahan makanan yang dibagikan pemerintah."
Menurut SF Weekly, kakak perempuan Breed meninggal pada 2006 karena overdosis narkoba dan seorang kakak lelakinya dipenjara –dua hal yang menunjukkan kemiskinan keluarga mereka. (han)
