working to make this city a better place, working for people, working for justice, working to get things done. i believe that i stand before you today not because i was the preferred choice of one side of the aisle or the other, not because i was a safe choice, but because i was the consensus choice, the trusted choice. i believe that if you're able to build trust, if your word is your bond, then it doesn't matter if you're down the hall or 17,000 miles away. people know where you're coming from. i was personally gratified by the show of support demonstrated by the board of supervisors moments ago. as well as that shown by your predecessor board last friday. and let me take a moment to thank former supervisors sophie maxwell, evan dufty, and michelangelo alioto-pier for your -- michaela alioto-pier for your support and trust of me. i am grateful and inspired by that show of support. but more importantly, i was inspired by what it portends. a new era of trust. a shared sense of purpose and commitment to this city that we all love. a sense of unity. i may be your interim mayor, but i intend to utilize this year and office to tackle our problems with resolve and seriousness of purpose. this is an unprecedented opportunity and perhaps it is just what san francisco needs at this time and in our moment of history. ness an opportunity to come together -- this is an opportunity to come together, to roll up our sleeves and go to work on the significant challenges we all face. for the benefit of all san franciscans. i hope to move us past the labels that have pigeonholed us at city hall or at least to not be bound by them. because if you're a so-called moderate, then i'm a moderate. i've spent the past two decades trying to make this city work, to work for all of us. for its entire history, people have flocked to san francisco with their hopes and with their dreams. they've invested in this city, not only with their money but with their sweat and with their blood. i understand that not only do people need to flourish here, but business needs to flourish here. i understand what is at stake. what is invested here in all senses of that word. it's our responsibility to see that this investment isn't squandered. but with all due respect to the talent of many leaders with whom i share this responsibility, i was a progressive before progressive was a political faction in this town. [applause] years ago, years ago, i fought the establishment to make this city function better, to make our communities more inclusive. i fought for justice. when i left bolt hall and joined the asian law caucus i sought to integrate the san francisco fire department. i fought to protect the rights of blacks and latinos and gays and lesbians and other marginalized groups. i fought for tenets. i fought for senior citizens. i fought for the powerless. i was part of the city's first whistleblower program. i made sure our domestic partners and minority and women-owned business ordinances were successful. i helped establish our recycling program. now the nation's most successful. i ensured equal access to government services for all our citizens, including our immigrants. documented and undocumented. [applause] in other words, i am my own person. [applause] decades ago, i was about as anti-establishment as one could be. today, like you, i am trying to make the establishment work for all san franciscans. and yes, i am quite aware of the significance of being san francisco's first asian-american mayor. as a chinese american, i'm well aware of my community's long and troubled and proud history in this city. the san francisco of old was directly involved in racism and neglect. the san francisco that i fought as an attorney began to change. and now today, our struggle is here and it's succeeding. [applause] i am humbled to stand before you today on the shoulders of giants among many flagbearers on the day we moved that history forward. and i'm committed to move all san francisco, all of us, forward. and that is why i've accepted this awesome responsibility. so i hope you will join me. i intend to reach out to you, my colleagues, to my fellow citizens across all political lines and all potential barriers. there are so many talented people in this building and in this city. i know we can move san francisco forward together. and in the coming days, i will reach out to every member of the board of supervisors and meet with you personally to discuss my ideas and my agenda. and yes, president chiu, i will sit down with you, shortly, to work out the details of our question-and-answer session. i will seek your advice and counsel as we immediately begin to confront the challenges that lay ahead. starting with tackling our budget deficit and finding a new police chief. to the members of the board, i see you as my esteemed colleagues. and i look forward to a relationship based on mutual respect and trust. to our fellow citizens, i'm not going to change. i'm going to open up that room 200 for everybody, daily, and make sure that you know what that is. i present myself to you as a mayor for everyone. a mayor for the neighborhoods, for downtown, for business, for labor, for the powerless, and the powerful. for left, right and everyone in between. for everyone. i will be a mayor who tackles things head on and moves the bar forward. i will be your mayor. thank you very much. [applause] >> mayors invite each and every one of you to join him and his family in the south light court for some libations and some enjoyment courtesy of mccall's. so please feel free to wander on over there with your cameras and get your photographs and do whatever you like. but thank you so much for coming. >> welcome to "culture wire." i'm here with james lee, and exhibiting artist, and we will have a chat today about the body of work you are presenting. after you left the military, what prompted you to go back to a place where the u.s. is engaged in military action? >> it is interesting. the population of afghanistan is around 29 million, and there's probably no more than 80,000 u.s. soldiers serving in afghanistan right now, but if you look at the stories that come out, you think the numbers are completely reversed. all the stories are about americans, and you see almost no images of stories about the afghan people themselves, so if you look at the dominant representational paradigm uc today, it is all about foreign soldiers. my idea was to try incurred counted to that a popularized narrative and focus on images and stories that really reflect that lived experience of conflict through the eyes of the afghan people. >> you are exhibiting with three >> you are exhibiting with three other photographers.