Mayor's Technology Summit:
Homeland Security, Safety and Economic Development
Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Mayor
San Francisco, California
Elected
as the first African American mayor of San Francisco in 1995, Willie L.
Brown has shown continued vitality and economic energy in uniting San Francisco's
ethnically diverse neighborhoods as well as the burgeoning business community.
As mayor, he has continued his career-long commitment to civil rights and higher education, notably by designating the address of refurbished City Hall as Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, after the recently deceased San Francisco NAACP Chapter president and community activist. During the renaming ceremony and in front of a crowd of 7,000 people gathered at the 13th annual Martin Luther King Holiday rally, Mayor Brown restated his dedication for the betterment of education, continued fight for civil rights and vowed to continue representing all of the minority groups that make up San Francisco.
He has championed and signed legislation requiring all companies doing business with the city to grant equal benefits to their workers' domestic partners. His administration continues to work toward guaranteeing universal health care for its 130,000 residents currently without medical coverage.
Throughout his tenure in public office, Mayor Brown has been a tireless advocate for affirmative action. Prior to being elected mayor, he served a total of 31 years on the California State Assembly. In 1980, he was elected speaker of the assembly, a position of power second to only that of the governor and a position he held for an unprecedented 15 years.
As a state assemblyman, dozens of his bills became law including, bills that requested the United States Congress to grant citizenship to Filipino veterans of WWII and the most comprehensive education reform and financing bill.
Mayor Brown has a BA from San Francisco State University and a JD from the Hastings College of the Law. He was admitted to the State Bar of California and built a thriving law practice. He has received numerous honorary degrees from Morehouse College, San Joaquin College of Law, California College of Podiatric Medicine, Atlanta University, Wilberforce University and Crown College, University of California, Santa Cruz.