By London Breed : medium – excerpt
I write this in the spirit of transparency, because in the wake of a scandal at City Hall, I think San Franciscans are entitled to hear directly from their Mayor. And also, quite frankly, to dispel some unfortunate rumors that have already begun to circulate.
Mohammed Nuru and I have been close personal friends for more than 20 years. We dated for a brief time, two decades ago, long before I ever ran for office. Nevertheless, he, and his now-adult daughters, have remained close friends for all those years.
And so it was with a profound sense of shock, sadness, disappointment and anger that I learned of the federal charges against Mohammed announced two weeks ago…
And in the spirit of my directive to city employees to be as transparent as possible, I want to note that in my annual “Statement of Economic Interests,” due this coming April 1, I will voluntarily disclose a “gift” of approximately $5,600 from Mohammed Nuru…
I have no doubt that some will seek to exploit what I have shared here, to harm me politically. I, and others, may be weighed down from guilt by association as a result of this episode.
But I can’t worry about that now. What’s important is that we all hold ourselves accountable to the people of San Francisco, and do our jobs to the best of our abilities, honestly and faithfully, as our oath requires.
We must continue to support the hard-working employees at our Public Works Department, who are out there every day cleaning our streets and striving to improve our City. Finally, we must take this opportunity to make necessary reforms to strengthen accountability in our departments and restore the public trust… (more)