San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee at the 2016 HCCNC Gala
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee passed away suddenly earlier this week. While shopping at Safeway on Monday, December 11th, Mayor Lee suffered a heart attack. He passed away in the early hours of December 12th after several attempts to save his life. His office has not released his official cause of death yet.
Mayor Lee's sudden passing came as a shock to many in San Francisco. He had been the city's mayor since 2011 and made history as the first Asian American to hold the office. But beyond his term as mayor, he had always been a presence in the Bay area. While he was a student at UC Berkeley, Mayor Ed Lee felt the best parties were thrown by the kids from Hawaii, so he’d spend a lot of time with them. It was great to see him first-hand continuing to spend time with the Hawaii crowd after his college years.
Mayor Ed Lee at the 2017 HCCNC Gala
At Paubox, we feel strong connections to both Hawaii and our home now in San Francisco. San Francisco is an auspicious city to grow a tech company and we believe in giving back to show our gratitude. In 2015, we said Mahalo to the Mission by handing out 100 free spam musubi and 100 pairs of socks. Then in 2016, we celebrated our acceptance into 500 startups by giving away 500 free spam musubi. Last Christmas, we gave away 500 Kalua Pig and Rice Bowls at the Mission 16 BART stop. This year, to celebrate our continued growth, we're giving away 1,000 free spam musubi near the Powell BART stop at 8AM on Friday, 15 December 2017.
Many people saw Mayor Lee was a man of the people. As mayor, he oversaw the city's transition into the current tech boom. To help with employment, his administration gave major companies tax breaks to stay in the city. He also tried to resolve the soaring rental and home ownership costs and a regional housing shortage. According to Mayor Lee's office, the city was on track to fulfill his 2014 pledge to create 30,000 new and rehabilitated homes by 2020. In memoriam of Mayor Lee and his efforts towards San Francisco housing, we've also donated $500 to Project Homeless Connect. Project Homeless Connect's mission is to connect San Franciscans experiencing homelessness with the care they need to move forward. The organization strengthens and utilizes collaborations with city agencies, businesses, and organizations to provide comprehensive holistic services, both at service events and through continued care, for those who are at risk of becoming homeless, are currently homeless or are transitioning from shelter to permanent housing. Caleb Plakun, a representative from Project Homeless Connect, will join us at our 1,000 spam musubi giveaway tomorrow for a ceremonial photo of the occasion. We will miss seeing Mayor Lee's face at the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California Annual Gala. We wish his family the best during this difficult time.