Post-Election, San Francisco Mayor Lee Looks To Tackle His To-Do List
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— Now that all the ranked-choice ballots have been calculated and provisional votes counted in San Francisco's mayoral race, voters are now looking for Mayor Ed Lee to fulfill his campaign promises.
Job creation tops Mayor Lee's to-do list as he settles into a full term in office.
Much of his campaign was spent touting his success in using tax breaks to keep high-tech companies like Twitter in San Francisco and there are indications there may be more of that in the future.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
Lee referred to loan programs he had mentioned during his campaign as a way to create jobs.
"Every neighborhood's going to feel that this City Hall represents them," Lee said.
But the stark reality is that the city's records show an unemployment rate at over eight percent and what some consider an anti-business reputation.
One option to attract more businesses and start ups are to provide more ways to give tax breaks to companies like Twitter.
Mayor Lee said he's actively pursuing another option of creating a "mid-career" academy for veterans and older workers who lose their jobs and can't find new ones.
"We can train them to be part of a workforce that might get them into the technology jobs and the bio-tech industry, as well as the strong tourism and associated industries," Lee said indicating that those were the strong job sectors in the city.
Next Tuesday Mayor Lee returns to the Board of Supervisors where he'll submit to 'question time' on the local economy.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who was elected sheriff this week, plans to ask what level of funding the Mayor will propose next year to fulfill his pledge of job training and creation.
San Francisco's ability to develop jobs for low skilled and unemployed residents has slowed dramatically since federal stimulus dollars have dried up.
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