San Francisco mayor pledges more housing, sanctuary for all

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The mayor of San Francisco swiped at the White House in her first state of the city address, saying that the city would protect transgender and immigrant rights.

London Breed, who took office six months ago, also announced a ballot measure for the November election that if approved, would speed up the building of affordable and teacher housing.

Housing costs are enormous in San Francisco, where rent for a one-bedroom easily tops $3,000 a month. Teachers, servers and others say it’s impossible to make ends meet in the city of 850,000.

The Democratic mayor also said she would create a new position of mental health reform director to coordinate the city’s approach to mental illness.

Many of those living on city streets have mental health and addiction problems.