San Francisco Mayor Lee died on Tuesday, to the surprise of many.
In a letter to his friend, San Francisco Giants legend Willie Mays, wrote the following, via The San Francisco Chronicle:
I can't believe that Ed Lee is gone. I am as shocked as I am saddened. Mayor Lee was just always there. I'd meet him on the street outside of the ballpark, or he'd be at home plate joining me in a ceremony like the one we had for Tony Bennett. When my wife passed, he immediately came up with the idea for the Mae Mays Softball Tournament for Foster Youth, honoring her work with the City and giving the City departments a way to have fun. He was there at the World Series parades leading us in cheers. He gave me a cable car for my 85th birthday and made sure that it was number 24. Just always there.
And, Ed Lee was a really, really good guy. Mayor Ed Lee was, too. He went about the business of running this city with a positive force. He always had a smile and an upbeat attitude. I never saw him downhearted. He really was a mayor who got things done.
I once told another mayor of San Francisco, Dianne Feinstein, that I didn't know how politicians survive in their world. They have to try to make everyone happy. I couldn't do it, I know that. If I had wanted to make everyone happy, I wouldn't have been a ballplayer, I'd have sold hot dogs!
Ed Lee wasn't your normal politician. He didn't have anything to sell. He just worked hard for the City and the people he loved. And, we are lucky to have had him.
To his family, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences. There is little I can say to offer you comfort, except that I will miss him, too.
So long my friend,
Willie Mays
Mayor Lee was 65 years old.
