On a chilly Tuesday in Chinatown, London Breed was fighting through jet lag to take a walk.
“I'm still a little worn out. It's been rough,” said the San Francisco mayor, just two days back from a weeklong, five-city speedrun through China. “It's going to take a couple of days for me to get adjusted.”
Shaking off the fatigue, Breed was determined to get in her steps: After all, there was good news to share with the Chinese American community.
“The pandas are coming!” Breed told a merchant on Stockton Street. “Who doesn't love a panda?”
Wearing a purple suit and casual shoes, Breed spent the next two hours walking a five-block stretch, talking, shaking hands, taking photos and repeating the process at multiple stops. At Cafe New Honolulu restaurant, she waved to diners and remarked how good the food smelled; inside a travel agency, she boasted of her efforts to get more direct flights between San Francisco and China.
It was a victory lap of sorts after a diplomatic mission that secured not just those pandas but plaudits from the Chinese government. But at home, things are much less rosy. While Breed was warmly received all over the People's Republic, Chinese American voters who backed her mayoral bid six years ago are showing signs that they would prefer someone else this time around. She is facing a grueling reelection battle and bleak poll numbers—especially within the influential Asian American community, which makes up roughly 37% of the city’s population.
"I am campaigning for mayor and would like your support," Breed told Raymond Hong, a well-known photographer with a studio in Chinatown. Hong responded, "We will," and praised her performance as mayor without offering specifics. Then he complained that it's too hard to find parking in Chinatown.
After the walk, Breed sat down with The Standard at the VIP Coffee and Cake Shop. Sipping traditional, Hong Kong-style milk tea, Breed pushed back on the narrative about her declining Asian American support.
“I don't think it's fair to imply that the Asian community, or even the Chinese community specifically, is a monolithic community,” Breed said. “There are a lot of different pockets of people.”
Her opponents, who include Supervisor Aaron Peskin, former Mayor Mark Farrell and nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie, are campaigning aggressively to peel off her politically moderate Asian base.
On the campaign trail, Breed frequently touts her roots in San Francisco and her longtime relationships in the Asian community. She said her Chinese American friends from high school are rallying behind her because they don’t feel the media coverage is a reflection of what's actually happening, or who she actually is.
“My Chinese name did not get created because I ran for office,” she said of the Chinese name that will appear on ballots and Chinese-language campaign literature, 布里德 (bow-lay-dak). “My friend Albert created it in high school for me. He's the one who did it and can attest to it.”
On Wednesday, Breed’s campaign released a long list of Asian American supporters—an apparent counterpunch to Lurie and Farrell, who have issued lengthy press releases of their own noting their prominent Asian American backers.
“Support will go many, many ways” in November’s election, Breed said.
However, there’s one segment of voters Breed is well positioned to lock up: animal lovers. A week ago, Breed announced in Beijing that a pair of pandas would come to the San Francisco Zoo—the result of her persistent lobbying of the Chinese government. Some Breed supporters think the fuzzy, beloved creatures could help improve Breed’s standing in the Chinese American community.
Russell Lowe disagrees. A longtime staffer for late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was instrumental in the effort to bring pandas to California in the 1990s, Lowe argued that pandas are more of a tourist attraction rather than a policy achievement.
"I am not sure pandas will improve the city's image," Lowe said. "Pandas are not going to be a decision-making issue for Asian Americans.”
As the egg tarts were served, Breed described the panda campaign as part of her job as mayor—rebuilding the city’s image through fun attractions like free concerts, night markets and cuddly zoo animals.
“Panda represents joy,” Breed said. “We need something to celebrate. It can't just be about what we are complaining about or what we're angry about.”
At 2:30 p.m., Breed said she had to rush back to work because all of this campaigning had gotten in the way of her real job.
“I'm not just the person running for mayor. I am the mayor,” Breed said. “I still got a job, you know? Unlike most other people running.”