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Where's Ed? San Francisco Mayor Lee Keeping Low Public Profile

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has been keeping a rather low public profile lately, especially when you compare him to the mayors of San Jose and Oakland.

Lee hasn't been seen much publicly since his fiery swearing-in in January, where he and Police Chief Greg Suhr were vehemently heckled during the inauguration ceremonies.

When he does appear in public, it is often at small, controlled settings like at a recent event promoting homeless outreach.

That event was a far cry from his reception at last month's Martin Luther King Jr. Day event where Lee was also heckled by protesters.

Since then, more and more people have been wondering "Where's Ed?"

"If you are going to be the mayor you have got to be in the streets," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Not Ed Lee. A check of the mayor's daily schedule for march shows he was either out of town or conducting meetings at City Hall 28 days out of March. In February, 23 out of 29 days were spent at City Hall meetings.

"You have to understand Mayor Lee's background," said former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos. "He is a bureaucrat, he's not a politician in the traditional sense."

That is what his press person told us as well, when we went to check up on him - and was told he was too busy to talk.

"I don't think the mayor has ever been one to look for headlines, and look to see his face on television," said spokeswoman Christine Falvey. "What he is about is bringing a lot of people together, solving problems, moving the city forward."

In the wake of the Mario Woods shooting, and the homeless camp on Division Street, Lee's once stratospheric popularity ratings have plummeted in a recent SF Chamber of Commerce poll.

"Anytime you become the symbol of something that is not good, it won't be good for you," said Brown.

"There is a lot of mistrust in the community," said Falvey. "We are trying to build that back."

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