The year ended with the sad and sudden passing of Mayor Ed Lee, who served the residents of San Francisco since the mid-1980s. The first Asian-American Mayor of San Francisco, Lee was born to Chinese immigrants and grew-up with five siblings in Seattle's public housing system. He left the Pacific Northwest for UC Berkeley, where he studied law before moving into a position focused on housing issues in the Bay Area. 

He later worked for five City and County of San Francisco departments before being appointed the City's Human Right's Commissioner in 1991 and City Administrator in 2005. He became San Francisco interim Mayor after Gavin Newsom left the position to become Lieutenant Governor of California in 2011, and was elected by the residents of San Francisco to the position in 2012 on the well-known platform of "Run, Ed, Run!". He was re-elected Mayor in 2015. He was 65 years old.

Holiday Tree Lighting

The holidays brought cheer (and snow) to Civic Center Plaza December 5th at the annual Civic Center Plaza Tree Lighting ceremony in front of City Hall. The event was emceed and hosted by  Honey Mahogany, and included performances by vocalist and X-Factor finalist  Jason Brock;  The Tap Dancing Christmas Trees; musicians from the San Francisco Symphony; and members of  Boxcar Theatre's Speakeasy, including Artistic Director Nick A. Olivero, who lead a Christmas sing-along.

Christmas VIPs such as The Great Dickens Christmas Fair's Coventry Carolers, Charles Dickens, Mr. Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Present, Sam Weller, the Grinch, and the man-of-the-hour -- Santa himself -- were also there . 

The  San Francisco Police Department  and  Another Planet Entertainment , lead an amazing new-toy giveaway for kids 12 and younger. Over 300 toys, free popcorn and candy canes were distributed.

Annie's Hot Dogs and Noe Valley's Homestead Cookies provided kid and family-friendly snacks and Best Beverage Catering offered adult attendees an array of festive holiday cocktails.

The event was organized by the Civic Center Community Benefit District, Another Planet Entertainment, Civic Center Commons, Nick Olivero and various City agency partners. Generous sponsors include: Another Planet Entertainment, Eric Rodenbeck, San Francisco Police Department's Northern Station, San Francisco Public Works and the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. See the SFGovTV VIDEO.

If you are interested to participate in the 2018 event please contact the Civic Center CBD.

	Santa welcomes excited children, and adults, to the Tree Lighting.