San Francisco mayor, other elected officials throw their support behind Kamala Harris

San Francisco elected officials and residents have quickly thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as she embarks on her campaign to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Why it matters: Civil rights, the safety of immigrants, women's rights, support for transgender kids and the ability to fund public transportation are all at stake, Ernesto Cuellar, vice president of the San Francisco Young Democrats, said at a rally Monday morning backing Harris.

• "The very fabric of San Francisco is on the ballot," he said.

Driving the news: Mayor London Breed, City Attorney David Chiu, members of San Francisco's Democratic Party, community activists and other local elected officials joined Cuellar — just one day after President Biden announced he would step aside and endorse Harris as the Democratic nominee.

What they're saying: "Right now she needs us more than ever," Breed told the crowd. "She needs us to come together. We as Democrats, we don't have time to waste. We don't have time to mess around and figure things out and to decide, well maybe this person, well maybe that person. Kamala Harris is the person."

California State Controller Malia Cohen , who previously served on the city's Board of Supervisors, noted that the rally's attendees on stage represented "every shade of blue."

• "You've got candidates, you've got democratic activists, you have elected officials and you have people who have fought with each other," Cohen said. "But one thing we have on this stage is the united understanding about what we need to do," which is get Harris elected.

What's next: The Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 19 in Chicago, and its rules committee plans to hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss implementing a framework to select a presidential nominee.

• Harris is probably in the best position to become the Democratic nominee in the view of party officials and strategists, but it's not guaranteed, Axios' Sareen Habeshian and Natalie Daher report .