Brown Vows to Cut S.F. Living Costs, Homelessness

Acknowledging mistakes during his first term and promising to attack homelessness and skyrocketing living costs during his second, Mayor Willie Brown was sworn in Saturday.

California Chief Justice Ronald George administered the oath on the steps of City Hall as Brown raised his right hand and rested his left on a Bible held by his two young granddaughters.

“This election was a very, very tough election,” said Brown, who was forced into a runoff with write-in candidate and Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano. Brown won 60% of the vote in the Dec. 14 runoff.

Ammiano attracted new people to the political process, the mayor said, “and I hope that their disappointment will not cause them to leave the fray.”

The 65-year-old Brown listed fixing the municipal transportation system among his priorities, which also include establishing affordable housing, ensuring livable wages and cleaning up the streets.

He promised that a stadium will be built for the 49ers football team, and he encouraged the city to find a buyer for the San Francisco Examiner, the afternoon daily newspaper that faces closure if owner Hearst Corp. does not find a buyer.

The ceremony was a modest affair compared to the $1-million party four years ago that kicked off Brown’s first term. Saturday’s inauguration was expected to cost no more than $25,000.