Mark E. Farrell (born March 15, 1974) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 44th
Mayor of San Francisco
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...
from January 23 to July 11, 2018. Before his appointment as mayor, he served on the Board of Supervisors for nearly two terms, representing District 2 (the
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
Pacific Heights
Pacific Heights is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It has panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, the Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, and the Presidio.
The Pacific Heights Residents Association defines the neig ...
,
Seacliff
Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.
History
The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...
,
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
,
Presidio Heights
San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five m ...
,
Jordan Park
Jordan Park (''Park Jordana'', literally Jordan's Park) was established in 1889 as the first public playground in Kraków, Poland, and the first of its kind in Europe. It was equipped with exercise fixtures modeled after those of similar playgroun ...
,
Laurel Heights
Laurel Heights is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, San Francisco, California. It is located to the south of the Presidio of San Francisco and east of the Richmond District, San Francisco, California, Richmond District. It is bordered ...
,
Presidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...
, and part of
Russian Hill
Russian Hill is a Neighborhoods in San Francisco, California, neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is named after one of List of San Francisco, California Hills, San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills".
Location ...
).
Personal life and education
Farrell was born on March 15, 1974, the only child of Lena (née Ewoldt), a former flight attendant from Probstei,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
near
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
and John Farrell, a former
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
pilot, and attorney, and grew up near the
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
on Broderick Street. Farrell spent his summers at his cousin's family farm in Probstei.
Farrell attended both Stuart Hall for Boys and
Saint Ignatius College Preparatory
St. Ignatius College Preparatory, commonly referred to as SI, is a private, Catholic preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition, serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, in the Su ...
, and subsequently received a B.A. in 1996 from
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...
in Los Angeles, an M.A. from
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
in Ireland, and a J.D. in 2001 from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...
in Philadelphia.
His wife, Liz, was raised in Danville. She was formerly a morning TV news producer. the couple has two children, Madison and Jack.
Career
Prior to being elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, Farrell practiced law as a corporate and securities attorney at
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is an American international law firm that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the firm provides legal services to technology, life sciences ...
in Silicon Valley, then joined Thomas Weisel Partners as an investment banker. He subsequently co-founded Quest Hospitality Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on the hospitality and travel sector. Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, he served as a mid-level director of Quest Hospitality Ventures, now Thayer Ventures a
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
firm.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Farrell was first elected in November 2010 by the voters of District 2, and subsequently reelected in November 2014 for his second term. Farrell served as Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, a founding member of the 2016–17 Super Bowl Bid Committee, and on eight other local and state boards and committees.
After his election to the Board of Supervisors, Farrell ushered through a two-year city budget that reformed the way San Francisco paid for retiree health care benefits and passed small business tax credit legislation so the city's small businesses could hire more employees and create more local jobs. In addition, Farrell created a public-private partnership between the San Francisco non-profit Kiva.org and San Francisco's Office of Small Business. He also became the first elected official in California to endorse Kiva borrowers on the platform personally.
Farrell introduced an ordinance in 2015 that required gun store owners to video record all transactions and give weekly updates on ammunition sales to the police department.
High Bridge Arms
High Bridge Arms was a gun shop located in the city of San Francisco.
It was originally opened in the 1950s by Bob Chow, who had competed as a pistol shooter at the 1948 Olympics. It was located at 3185 Mission Street in the city's Bernal Heights ...
, the only firearm retailer in the city, closed after the ordinance was passed. Farrell told the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', "From my perspective, if the last gun store in San Francisco wants to close its doors because of my legislation, so be it."
To address homelessness in San Francisco, Farrell led the effort to double San Francisco's Homeless Outreach Team, authored and passed Laura's Law, a state law that allows for community-based compelled mental health treatment for the severely mentally ill, and has hosted hearings on services and solutions to reduce homelessness in San Francisco.
Farrell created the Schoolyards Project, which opens public schoolyards on the weekends and annually sponsors the Marina Family Festival in District 2.
Farrell led a coalition to create "Free Wi-Fi" in city parks, plazas, and open spaces. Farrell also authored and passed the city's landmark
open data
Open data is data that is openly accessible, exploitable, editable and shared by anyone for any purpose. Open data is licensed under an open license.
The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "open(-source)" movements ...
legislation that continued San Francisco's national leadership in the open data movement and will promote further local economic development and government efficiency.
San Francisco Ethics Commission 2014 decision
In June 2016, Farrell was ordered to repay $191,000 in unlawful campaign funding after the City ethics panel voted, 5-0, to uphold the original 2014 decision of the
California Fair Political Practices Commission
The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of California is a five-member independent nonpartisan commission that has primary responsibility for the impartial and effective administration of the Political Reform Act of 1974. The Commission's o ...
, although the campaign consultant Chris Lee and Common Sense Voters were found to be in violation of federal campaign finance laws, but a further complaint was filed with the City commission by Janet Reilly, who lost to Farrell by 256 votes. City law, stricter than state law, holds candidates personally responsible for staff as well as themselves, whether they knew about the illegal communication or not. In an unusual move, Farrell responded with a lawsuit against the City in May to prevent further collection efforts from the Treasurer's office, and settled with the City for $25,000 in Oct. 2016.
Farrell was appointed as mayor by the Board of Supervisors on January 23, 2018, succeeding acting mayor
London Breed
London Nicole Breed (born August 11, 1974) is an American politician who is the 45th and current mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Board ...
. In her capacity as President of the Board of Supervisors, Breed had been serving as acting mayor since the death of Mayor
Ed Lee
Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office.
Born in ...
on December 12, 2017. Farrell's appointment expired on July 11, 2018, following a citywide special election held on June 5, 2018. Farrell did not seek election. Breed won that election and served out the remainder of Lee's uncompleted term into January 8, 2020. She was elected on November 5, 2019 to a full term as mayor beginning January 8, 2020.