The Heart and Soul of the City: An Interview and Podcast with San Francisco Mayor London Breed
With Election Day just around the corner, and a hotbed of social and political issues surrounding women everywhere, San Francisco mayor London Breed sits down with The She-Compass Show for a chat about the empowerment of women in politics.
WATCH: Mayor Breed sits down with She-Compass to talk about how her upbringing gave her the strength and determination to lead a city that boasts the 5th largest economy in the world.
Following in the footsteps of then-Mayor and now Senator Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Breed is the first African-American and only the second woman to hold the title of Mayor of San Francisco and was recently named to Ebony Magazine’s posh list of Power 100.
Breed joins an exclusive club of African-American women to serve as chief executive of a major metropolitan city. Holding court in the stately International Room at San Francisco City Hall, Mayor Breed shared the life lessons that helped bring her to San Francisco's highest office and what it takes to be one of America’s most-watched female leaders. She also provides insight on how she maintains the strength and determination to lead a city at the hub of the global technology boom and a metropolis that boasts the 5th largest economy in the world.
Like many of her counterparts, Mayor Breed is likely watching the state of election midterms closely as women’s voices are taking center stage. Whether it’s the potential history-making elections to Congress of Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez and Ayanna Presley, or the potential occupation of the Georgia governor's seat by Stacy Abrams, women are now more than ever present in big political seats.
But it’s also a time where women seem to be more divided than ever. A year after #MeToo stories splashed across Twitter and women across the country began marching for equality, some are suggesting that feminism in the wake of politics has taken two steps back.
LISTEN: Following embattled judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the US Supreme Court, She-Compass discusses what's next for women. Listen to our podcast "How To Maintain a Strong Sisterhood in a World Divided By Politics." Also available on #iTunes and #Stitcher.
Following the recent testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, women across political party lines, race, and economic strata have come forward to unapologetically express their positions. While many have declared a clear distaste for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s handling of Ford’s sexual harassment claims against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a vast majority of Republican women—69% according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll—supported Kavanaugh’s appointment to the United State’s highest court.
Women like Pam Stevens, who echos hundreds of women touting the “Confirm Kavanaugh” hashtag and wearing “Women for Kavanaugh” t-shirts. Stevens is a former Kavanaugh colleague in the George W. Bush administration and underscores the beliefs of many women in her party. “I don’t know one Republican woman doesn’t support him,” she says.
And in a world where #MeToo helped give voice to intersectional feminism, women of all colors are calling out white women’s loyalty to the GOP and expressing disdain for its resulting division between white women and women of color.
It will be up to women like Mayor Breed and other elected female officials to bring together communities and continue to make strides that empower women. Only time will tell if women are able to reconnect and galvanize each other as they did in the early days of #MeToo and #TimesUp. But what is clear right now is that some women remain committed to being an unstoppable force. A white female voter on Twitter who identifies as “The Lone Vegan” remains steadfast in her belief that women “on the dark side” can still be pulled into support the feminist movement. “I'm white and I totally see the point. There's a section of the Trump supporting, white female population who can be reached and brought over from the dark side. We cannot let up on them.”
Midterm elections are on Tuesday, November 6.