
Ed Lee, 65, SF mayor who had a close relationship with the tech world, has died - doppp
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/12/ed-lee-sf-mayor-who-had-a-close-relationship-with-the-tech-world-has-died-aged-65/
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butterfi
I'm seeing a lot of people who may not have agreed with Ed Lee politics, but
still have good things to say about the man. That gives me a little hope that
we don't have to accept the "politics as warfare"attitude that seems to
dominate American culture.

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dmode
Sad to see him die young. Mixed feelings about his tenure. He was instrumental
in making SF the tech powerhouse it has become. He also more friendly to
developers housing. Where he fell short was managing the homeless and property
crime issue. Hopefully someone can take those issues more seriously

~~~
hyperbovine
Is 65 considered young? Honest question. He was born during the Truman
administration...

~~~
marme
not young but most would consider it premature death. Average life expectancy
in US is over 75

~~~
dragonwriter
> Average life expectancy in US is over 75

Life expectancy _at birth_ for males in the US is 75+ (80+ for females) now.
In 1950, for males, life expectancy at birth was 65.6 years.

[https://www.infoplease.com/life-expectancy-birth-race-and-
se...](https://www.infoplease.com/life-expectancy-birth-race-and-
sex-1930-2010)

~~~
melling
Yeah, in 1950 you could die from polio. Half the male population smoked. No
seatbelts in cars, ... No treatments for cancer, heart disease...

There were a lot of factors.

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marinman
Didn't always agree with his policies or politics but sad to see this.
Condolences to his families.

As for London Breed, I've met her a few times at community gatherings. She
seems like she has a good head on her shoulders. We'll see, SF has lots of
problems.

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aantix
Remember Ed Lee's "2 Legit to Quit" campaign video? Epic.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbdd_Fasz0k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbdd_Fasz0k)

~~~
sxates
Reminds me of former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's surreal "driving around with
local rappers in a prius" video:
﻿﻿[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i1NxQ83oEQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i1NxQ83oEQ)

What's with mayors and weird campaign videos?

~~~
cycrutchfield
You remember it, so it clearly worked.

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mleonhard
From 2011 through the end of 2015, SF jobs grew 23% and housing grew only 3%!
Mayor Ed Lee worked hard to bring jobs to SF. I wish he had worked harder to
bring housing and transit for the people working those new jobs. The result of
the imbalance is more money for the wealthy (higher rent income & tiny houses
sold for $1M) and more suffering for everyone else (higher rents, crowding,
displacement, & unhealthy commutes).

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car
I had the honor of meeting Ed Lee recently. This is very sad. Ed was a truly
kind and humble man, my heart goes out to his family.

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paulsutter
I'm sure Ed Lee was a great guy, but San Francisco is the worst-managed city I
have ever seen (lived there for many years).

I don't expect improvement anytime soon, but everyone should get on board the
YIMBY movement and push hard for change.

~~~
nodesocket
As a recent downtown SF resident who just fled San Francisco after 6 years I
completely agree. Sad about his passing, but SF politics and policies are
completely backward. The city refuses to acknowledge problems and punish bad
behavior for fear of social justice backlash. Instead they villainize hard
working Americans and victimize criminals. Off to greener pastures; Nashville
TN for me.

~~~
kaycebasques
You are welcome to your views, and they may be certainly valid, but I need to
point out that you used some sensational language without providing any
references.

Edit: I generally agree that SF has many management problems, I just take
issue with how this comment was framed. Specifically: "social justice
backlash", "villainize hard working Americans", "victimize criminals". I just
think that it'd be more constructive if we discussed SF without imposing such
a narrow view on a complicated topic. By "references" I meant that it'd be
helpful if we had some stories or articles that substantiates these claims of
"social justice backlash", "villainizing Americans", "victimizing criminals".
Of course it's all relative and I have my own subjective perspective on
everything, but I do believe that it's possible for us to discuss this topic
without resorting to phrases that trigger knee-jerk emotional responses.

~~~
g09980
As someone also previously living in SF, I did not find his post sensational.

~~~
hkmurakami
regarding victimizing criminals, I found the recent trial of the Katherine
Steinle to be very surprising, yet perhaps emblematic of the city's climate.

[http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jury-
reaches-v...](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jury-reaches-
verdict-san-francisco-pier-shooting-51497691)

~~~
stretchwithme
If he'd followed the law, this would never have happened. He needs to be
somewhere where he can't harm somebody else.

~~~
asveikau
So somebody else would have found the stolen gun on the sidewalk.

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CalChris
London Breed is a native San Franciscan. However, she's also a Willie Brown
protégé. Willie Brown was/is the Donald Trump of San Francisco. Of course,
when Ed Lee was elected many said it was Brown's third term.

~~~
dragonwriter
> Willie Brown was/is the Donald Trump of San Francisco.

Wait, what? How is that analogy supposed to work?

Willie Brown : San Francisco :: Donald Trump : ???

Donald Trump is a born-wealthy real estate developer that eventually entered
electoral politics, first holding office at an age when people are more likely
to retire from electoral politics than begin a career.

Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., was born in segregated Texas, first worked as a shoe-
shine boy, became a lawyer, and shortly went into politics, serving 30+ years
in the Assembly, about half of it as Speaker. (And a while as kingmaker when
the Republicans held a slim majority.)

Trump is perceived as an anti-establishment political figure, Brown _was_ the
California political establishment, even when other people held higher offices
in the State (and even in the interruption in his time as Speaker.)

Other than both being men, I can't see much that they have in common that
would justify the analogy you suggest. They are more opposites than analogs.

~~~
tptacek
I lived in San Francisco during the Willie Brown era, and the rap on him was
that he was the closest thing to a Chicago-style politician you'd find
anywhere outside of Chicago. I got caught up in a towing scam run by people
connected to his administration; I'm inclined to believe that reputation was
earned.

~~~
dragonwriter
Sure, there's at least a sound basis for accusing Brown of being a big city
machine politician (in style, at least, SF isn't really a big city, despite
what it thinks of itself.)

But even that hardly supports an analogy to Trump: there are lots of things
you can say about Trump, but machine politician _isn 't_ one of them.

~~~
tptacek
I think it's a comparison in terms of a ratio to public gregariousness and
profile over personal ethics.

