San Francisco Mayor London Breed is facing questions for a dinner she recently attended at the famed French Laundry.
A spokesperson for Breed said the mayor attended a birthday party dinner on Nov. 7 with seven other people, adding the event took place in a partially enclosed room. At the time, San Francisco was in the state's yellow tier of reopening with lower COVID-19 transmission.
Napa County, where French Laundry is located, was in the orange tier -- both indoor and outdoor dining were allowed at the time.
Breed in several tweets on Thursday acknowledged the backlash she has received.
"I need to hold myself to a higher standard and I will do better," the mayor wrote in a tweet.
The dinner Breed attended came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a birthday party also at the French Laundry with a dozen friends, violating his own virus rules.
Mayor Breed's office released the following statement:
“The Mayor has strived to follow all COVID public health rules from the beginning of the pandemic. She does this not only because she is asking for residents to do their part, but also because she is trying to do her part to slow the spread of the disease. On November 7th, while taking a few days off after the election, she attended a small family birthday dinner for a friend at an open-air table at the French Laundry. There were eight people in total, including herself. The Mayor paid for her own dinner. At the time, San Francisco was in the yellow tier and Napa County was in the orange tier. Both allowed outdoor and indoor dining. During the recent period when San Francisco's numbers were lower than they are today, the Mayor visited a number of restaurants in San Francisco to support them safely during this pandemic, but she has always been cautious when she is dining out. Now, with cases rising, and Bay Area counties moving back into the purple tier, she is once again limiting her actions and is encouraging all San Franciscans to do the same.”
Just hours before news of the French Laundry dinner broke, Breed gave a very direct warning about the COVID surge. The mayor said San Francisco could implement tighter restrictions as soon as Wednesday.
News of Breed's French Laundry dinner also comes on the same day San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo admitted to breaking state health rules during Thanksgiving. Liccardo also issued an apology.
