SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) — San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who became the city’s first Asian-American mayor when he was named to serve out the remainder of Gavin Newsom’s term in Jan. 2011, died suddenly early Tuesday morning, city officials said.
He was 65.
In accordance with the City Charter, Board of Supervisors President London Breed became Acting Mayor of San Francisco, effectively immediately.
In a short news release, officials said Lee passed away on Tuesday, December 12 at 1:11 a.m. at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Family, friends and colleagues were at his side.
“It is with profound sadness and terrible grief that we confirm that Mayor Edwin M. Lee passed away,” the statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Anita, his two daughters, Brianna and Tania, and his family.”
Lee was as mayor appointed by the Board of Supervisors on January 11, 2011 after Newsom resigned to become Lieutenant Governor. He won election on Nov. 8, 2011 and was re-elected in 2015.
Over the last year, Lee has been at loggerheads with President Donald Trump over immigration. San Francisco, under Lee, has been a leader among American cities in the Sanctuary City movement.
Lee served was a director of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission from 1991 to 1996 and served Newsom as the City Administrator from 2005 to 2011.