Well, my grandmother, she raised me in public housing.
Well, I was lucky to have people throughout my life who invested in me.
As someone who grew up in public housing, I've known these conditions.
Building and preserving housing, along with keeping people housed, are critical to making our city more affordable for all.
I want to make sure we are spending wisely and using our resources effectively to address the issues facing San Francisco, while reaching residents throughout our entire City.
Some consider bicycling an 'alternative' mode of transportation, but it should not be considered alternative. It should be an easy choice for getting around in our City, and we need to do more to make that a reality.
San Francisco deserves to be a great bicycling city where every day is Bike to Work Day.
Our work is not done until everyone is safe and celebrated not just in San Francisco, but also across the country.
We have so much work to do to meet the challenges of people living on our streets. But every day we are out there doing the work, finding solutions not only to help those living on our streets, but to prevent more people from ending up there in the future.
Too many people are suffering from severe behavioral health and substance use issues on our streets, which puts a strain on our hospitals and our criminal justice system instead of treating the root cause.
Our own bureaucracy should not and cannot get in the way of our efforts to get people sheltered.
We cannot just say there is a homelessness crisis in San Francisco and continue moving at our normal pace.
We need to reform our land use policies to build more housing in urban centers and near transit.
We need to improve our public transportation and invest in physical infrastructure changes so that people can safely choose alternatives to driving like walking, riding a bike or even, yes, electric scooters.
I have been a transportation leader and advocate my entire public career.
Technology is rapidly changing our transportation systems, and if we craft smart regulations, these changes can be for the better.
I will fight for affordable housing for teachers, police, fire fighters, and families in all our neighborhoods.
Our streets should be inviting and safe so anyone can feel comfortable choosing to ride a bike, walk, or take transit, and so it is clear which space is for which mode of travel.
As a child, I walked with my friends to Rosa Parks Elementary and then to Ben Franklin Middle School. I rode Muni to Galileo High School. And thanks to amazing teachers who believed in me and supported me along the way, I was able to matriculate to another public school: the University of California at Davis.
No family should feel they need to leave San Francisco to find a great public education.
No child should be deprived the opportunity to excel.
All of our students should feel safe and supported when they go to school.
Walking the streets of San Francisco can be a frightening, demoralizing, even an unhealthy experience for residents and tourists alike.
With commitment and the right investments, we can create a San Francisco where no one is forced, relegated, or allowed to sleep on the streets, and where no one endures addiction or mental illness on the streets without supportive and effective services.
There is nothing compassionate or safe about relegating people, particularly those suffering from mental health or addiction issues, to sleep on our streets.
I grew up in a San Francisco very different from what many have experienced: a place called Plaza East, notoriously one of the most dangerous public housing developments in the City.
There must be real consequences for those who commit crimes in our neighborhoods.
People coming out of jail need a path back into society: access to a job, a place to live, supportive services. We've seen what happens without it: they commit more crimes and return to jail, which is worse for everyone.
Housing insecurity isn't just an abstract point of policy for me. I've lived it.
I have the ability and the will to lead San Francisco in building more housing. Without it, people like me who grew up in San Francisco, and people who came here for the values we embrace will simply not be able to stay.
I'm a fact-based leader.
We share common values as San Franciscans: we help each other; we welcome newcomers; we innovate and learn; we focus on facts; we work together; and we find creative solutions.
In San Francisco, we have long faced serious challenges in managing the crisis of homelessness on our streets.
To our health care workers and essential employees: Thank you for everything you are doing.
Sadly, youth homelessness is an issue throughout the country.
Our young people need safe, permanent housing, so they can focus on their education or job, live healthy lives, and pursue their interests - without fear of where they'll sleep at night.
We can't solve the issues of homelessness without more housing.
Getting around San Francisco should be convenient, safe, affordable, and sustainable.
Homelessness and behavioral health challenges affect every neighborhood in San Francisco.
If there was a street synonymous with San Francisco, it's Market Street. It is the everyday backbone of the City, with hundreds of thousands of people traveling along it on foot, bike, bus, or streetcar. It's where we gather to celebrate our victories and protest injustices.
Since becoming Mayor, I have advocated for safer streets.
We need housing for people who are exiting homelessness, and need to make sure we're providing housing at multiple levels of care so people can get the services they need to permanently exit homelessness and make their home in San Francisco.
Homelessness isn't just an issue in San Francisco. It's an issue throughout California and up and down the West Coast. We need to support policies that address our twin troubles of housing affordability and homelessness at the state-level.
Early care and education helps children build the skills they need for success in kindergarten and can help close the achievement gap.
Children who attend high-quality early care and education programs before kindergarten perform better on assessments of reading and math skills and socio-emotional development. However, since early care and education programs are so expensive, low-income families face significant barriers.
Access to quality early care and education is an important part of our efforts to make San Francisco more equitable, and ensure that every child who grows up here can thrive.
Never let your circumstances determine your outcome in life.
No matter where you come from, no matter what you decide to do in life, you can do anything you want to do.
I ask people to not attribute what I've done - my success and how hard I've worked - to not reduce that or attribute that to someone else.