London breed, malia cohen, our former supervisor who first championed this issue, in favor of the full divestment from fossil fuels. I want to start by thanking the Broad Coalition of environmental advocates, Public Health advocates, clean fuel transportation activists, Democratic Party officials, grassroots advocates and retirement Board Members and as of last night, the commission on the environment who have turned out today to demand that San Francisco Employee Retirement system divest now from fossil fuels and were getting to labor, were saving the best for last. And i mean that sincerely and it is in my notes. I want to start by saying that sciu 101 has been the wind at our backs. I cannot thank you enough. To the folks from dapo, i cannot thank you enough. Well hear from all of them. I want to start not with our president , not with our retirement board member but with our former supervisor. We have a lot of great speakers but this started with supervisor john ovolose who first issued the resolution unanimously adopted by the board five years ago that has not yet be heeded but perhaps with malia cohens leadership will be heeded today. Good morning. Its great to be here. But also kind of strange to be here. Five years after we had first voted unanimously to call upon sfers to divest from fossil fuels. Since that time im a retiree of the sitting council of San Francisco, so i depend on sfers to respond. What we have done in five years of analysis, we know fossil fuel investments is a bad investment. Were seeing the great volatility of fossil fuels while our sfers overall fund has grown from 19 billion in 2013 to 23 billion in 2018, our fossil fuel portfolio has only stayed about the same, meaning this is a really poor investment while we see growth elsewhere. We know why its a bad investment. We are seeing increasingly, the harm thats caused low income communities of color, to cities and towns along the waterfront are suffering from Sea Level Rise, from climate, from dramatic climate events, from hurricanes and typhoons and in california we have our fires. These are all signs that our economy founded on oil and fossil fuel is one that harms life on earth. And its way past time that we start moving our economy to renewable power, Renewable Energy generation. We have called upon sfers for five years to do this, take our money out of fossil fuels and put in renewables and they have dragged their feet almost all the way, like they have the Donald Trump Administration on the board to deny the fact that the world is becoming harmed every day as we continue to invest in fossil fuels. I want to thank supervisor peskin, supervisor london breed and Supervisor Malia Cohen to continue with the work to make sfers do their part to divest and today well see if theyre going to move this the way they have had to these five years. Its time to divest, divest now, sfers your time is up, thank you. Thank you. This has been a tough 24hours in this building, but president breed said something which is profoundly important, that our relationships have to transcend and that number one, its all about public policy. And with that, under president breeds leadership, we, again, unanimously adopted last year the same resolution that a different board adopted when john was on the board of supervisors. It is my pleasure to introduce on the same policy page, the president of the San Francisco board of supervisors, london breed. Thank you. Hi everybody. Im happy to join many of our environmental leaders and our Community Members and members of the board of supervisors and everyone who is here today, who is committed to a cleaner planet for future generations. There are many people to thank, but i want to start by thanking Supervisor Malia Cohen, who is a member of the retirement board who has been leading the fight on this divestment at the retirement board along with victor macres who is also on the retirement board. Thank you both. I want to acknowledge Sophie Maxwell for her long time work to protect atrisk communities from polluting power plants and i want to thank labor. The members of sciu 101 and 350. Org for your advocacy and staying on top of the issue and members of the commission of the environment for ongoing advocacy on this measure. San francisco has always been a national and global trail blazer for environmental practices. We have reduced Greenhouse Gas emissions 28 below 1990 levels, cleaning our air while our population was growing and our economy was booming. We have launched our clean power program, clean power sf, the single most important thing we can do to combat Climate Change and i was proud to lead that initiative here on the board of supervisors. With the enrollment of clean power sf, were well on our way to achieving the 50 renewable target by 2020 and 100 by 2030. Goals that even outpace the Ambitious Goals set by the state of california. And were providing Reliable Energy at great prices. Through the work of so Many Community leaders, we closed the last two fossil fuel plants eight years ago in this city. And we are leading the nation in waste reduction and Resource Recovery thanks to the recycling and composting programs. We are recovering more than 80 of materials from landfill. We are preventing many harmful products from entering our city at off we were the first in the country to ban plastic bags and through legislation i proudly wrote we have the largest styrofoam plan and Drug Take Back Program that has kept more than 24,000 pounds of the bay and landfill. Thats what were doing here in San Francisco. San francisco has been at the forefront of so many Ground Breaking Environmental Issues and today, our retirement board has a chance to make history. We cannot continue investing in companies that pollute our ea h earth. Its time to divest. Its time to divest. Its time to divest. Its time to divest. And do so, quickly. Washington d. C. May ignore Climate Change. Our president may ignore Climate Change. But here in San Francisco, we are going to put this at the forefront. Were going to make sure that they know we have to make change and we have to make change now. Its not fair to our planet and future generations to come. Divest now, do the right thing, lets get this done. Thank you for being here today. applause thank you president london breed and thanks for shouting out Sophie Maxwell. We had two polluting plants, the Hunters Point plant that supervisor maxwell led the fight on closing and years later with the incredible work of the City Attorneys office, the murrant plant was closed. As supervisor breed said at the forefront of this, inside the belly of the beast, supervisor cohen has been a star in making sure that we divest. And that vote is happening shortly. She has to go in a closed session at 11 30. Supervisor cohen has been leading that fight and god willing, a little after 1 00 p. M. Well get that vote. Its still on the bubble but i know malia is going to make that happen. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. First, i want to recognize many people that have brought us to this point today. I dont see jed holtsman, hes been attending the sf retirement meetings for years. I want to recognize supervisor peskin for bringing this issue to us and lending his voice in the desire to put pressure on the staff to make this vote happen today. And i want to recognize supervisor ovolose, he took an unpopular position early on and i want to appreciate his leadership style, although different from mine. But nonetheless, here we are today. I think its a testament that you need both moderate and less support to make this happen. Its not a political issue, this is really the right thing to do when we think of the health and wellness of our entire world. I want to recognize the members of siu 101 who have spoken in two minute intervals. Many i had to cut off because your comments were too long but it was good to see you all. And the retirees making the most of their retirement time coming out to support. And i want to recognize the number of staff people to help me and educate me on the importance on this movement and how we can continue to move forward and uplift and recognize our indigenous folks who are here that led the way when they were fighting dapo. There are many people whose shoulders i stand on that we need to recognize. The seriousness of the issue were going to vote on today is not missed on me. We all know fossil fuels emissions are harming our children and health and doing irrepairable damage to our planet. As a city, we cannot build our pensions on the health and wellbeing of our children and future generations. But divestment is not just a moral imperative. This is not just a talking point, a political issue of the day. As a fiduciary member, we have a responsibility, as fiduciary member of the retirement board, i have to make sure every person can retire with dignity, with assurance that their pension is safe and no one is taking a gamble. The investments in fossil fuel endanger that promise. The board of supervisors has repeatedly demanded that staff implement divestment plan and frankly we have no plan. The engagement strategy that has probably had a hand in jed holtsmans hair falling out, i think you would agree that engagement strategy has been very hard to stomach. The staff has touted the strategy but honestly theres been no accountability. Theyve had no mandated timeline for any companys responsiveness. Im getting in the weeds but the retirement board has a process on how they pull back divestments and its a multi level multi tier response. Its too much pollution. They have not identified an acceptable ratio of returns to emissions. Due diligence hasnt been done. The process for evaluating environmental and social risk has been haphazard and inconsistent. As our city continues to pay out money for healthcare and invest in mitigating Sea Level Rise and trying to prevent flooding on our streets, we must put our money where our mouth is, we must stand up and shout out. Our pension budgets must not exassrbate the issues. We must limit for the safety of our residents and wellbeing of employees, working and retired. I call on my colleagues on the retirement board to join us, take our childrens future seriously and finally divest from fossil fuels. Ladies and gentlemen, i stand with you, im excited and im looking forward to casting my vote this afternoon. Thank you. applause thank you supervisor cohen. I want to make a few more shoutouts. First, as we just heard, this is not a conservative issue. This is not a liberal issue, this is not a moderate issue. This is not a progressive issue. This is a moral and financial imperative. To that end, supervisor cohen, supervisor breed and myself serve as members of the Democratic County Central Committee and it was our colleague keith boraka that issued it to divest. That passed unanimously. Thank you keith for that leadership. Thank you to bay. Org, fossil free sf, indian people organized for change, next gen america. Sf berniec. R. A. Ts. And last night with incredible testimony from victor who talked about the way the investment industry works, about score cards, out of the half a billion dollars that the San Francisco Employee Retirement system has invested in fossil fuels, over 20 of it has not yielded a positive return to the fund. Just what supervisor cohen was saying, for five years or more. Thats what we call a bad investment. That is a bad investment. This decision can be made as a fiduciary decision and moral imperative as we did around guns and ammunition and tobacco. It makes prudent sense for the retirement system to divest. I want to shout out the commissioners gathered here who took the very bold step and at the department of commission of the environment last evening voted for full divestment within 180 days. Which is a strong demand. Thank you commissioners. With that, i would like to bring up isabelle sezie who is a young leader, a grassroots leader and thank you isabelle for being here and thank you for your work. Good morning relatives. I come from the northern tribes. Im 23 yearsold and live on occupied territory. I want to first pay acknowledge to the people of the land we do stand on because indigenous voices, indigenous rights and sovereignty is important to remember and acknowledge. I am a member of idle no more sf bay. Sfd fund dapo coalition and defending mother earth treaty. I want to start by saying we welcome the pension board and seiu Public Sector members to join our ranks as water protectors. The vote to defund is critical. Its critical to protecting the water. The divestment vote and movement in San Francisco has been initiated and fostered by long standing grassroots, indigenous advocacy throughout Turtle Island and mobilizing groups that have fought long and hard for this moment today. We have seen and continue to see the violation of indigenous rights and the threats to our water. All of the sacred systems of life. The standoff at Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access pipeline is not over and its just the beginning. To show that the many other Standing Rocks around the world that we are not afraid to stand up to big oil and to divest. The assault on mother earth is real. The Climate Crisis is real. And all who are living in those yet to be born need clean air, clean water and clean soil. And we need to remember that. We all need clean air, clean water and clean soil to live a healthy and sufficient life here on mother earth. And i want to thank the San Francisco board for hearing us out and responding to the frontline call to divest from fossil fuel projects and the investments. And last, i want you all to know that my generation, the next seven generations and all our non human relatives, we thank you for this and we will be completely relived of any hardships and i send my best regards to the vote in favor for us to divest completely of fossil fuel projects and infrastructure, expansions and any investments because we all know we need to keep it in the ground. Keep the oil in the ground, keep fossil fuels in the ground and divest. Thank you. applause thank you for those profound words. Before i introduce the final speaker, i want to say that all aspects of our government minus the sfers board, at least until 1 00 this afternoon, are on the same page and i want to shout out our City Attorney who has initiated some of the most Ground Breaking litigation against some of the largest fossil fuel polluters in the United States of america. And the reason i bring that up, because as cities and states start this kind of litigation, these investments become more and more risky. These become stranded assets and i speak to you not only as a member of the board of supervisors but as a member of the California Coastal commission, where last year more emergency permits were applied for because of Sea Level Rise, king tides, beaches being buried under the sea, than any previous year. As we just heard, this is real. We would not be here without the strong support of labor advocates. Sciu 101 have led on the fight and they take it personally because many are vested pensions invested in the risky big oil assets. Thank you joseph bryant, thank you Martha Hawthorne. With that, my friend joseph bryant. Who is ready to divest in fossil fuels . We are were not in the chamber. I want to hear noise. Who is ready to divest in dirty fossil fuels . We are thats right. Im the regional Vice President of sciu 101. We represent in San Francisco over 15,000 city workers who are vested in the citys pension fund and were urging the board of retirement to divest in dirty fossil fuels now. I want to give a huge shout out to everyone who has played an Important Role in this, its been a village that has come together to help move this. Thank you former supervisor ovolose, supervisor peskin, supervisor cohen, president breed. And the commission on the environment for your resolution pass last evening. Thank you very much and i would be remissed without acknowledging our retirees here who have broken their backs to ensure this is a priority for sciu 101, particularly david page, Melissa Hawthorne and many others here who have led the fight. With this, we have reached the point of insanity. Its a bad investment. Were losing money on this investment and destroying our communities and we still have to spend our time, energy and effort here to fight for it. What is going on. This is absolutely insane. With all the challenges were facing right now from the federal level, from throughout this country, were having to spend our time in the most progressive city in the country to fight for a very basic concept, to do the right thing, divest in fossil fuels. Were here for that and were not just asking to say do it eventually. We want a timeline. We want something real. We need something real. So please join us today sciu 101, again adamant supporter, well be up there in the chamber causing whatever ruckus we need to to ensure it happens. Thank you very much. All right. Lets keep it real, lets make it real at 1 00 p. M. , at 1145 Market Street on the sixth floor is the meeting. I hope all of us will be there sitting in the audience ready to testimony. And with that, Martha Hawthorne leading us in a few chants. When i open up the paper every day im just amazed at how many different Environmental Issues keep popping up. When i think about the planet i want to leave for my children and other generation, i think of what contribution i can make on a personal level to the environment. Clean power sf is San Franciscos key way of fighting Climate Change by Renewable Energy and offering it to San Francisco customers. Im from the San Francisco Public Utilities commission. The program came about with state wide legislation in 2002 to enable people to take more control over supplies. I first heard of the program when the organization was advocating to launch clean power sf. What im most excited about, its going to bring 100 Renewable Energy to my home and reinvest into Renewable Energy infrastructure and jobs. I had gone to a lot of street fairs and heard from the staff at the San Francisco Public Utilities commission to sign up for clean power sf even before it launched. We learned about clean power sf because our Sustainability Team is always looking for clean operations. Linkedin is the Largest Online network. There are about 530 million members using our site. In this San Francisco office theres about 1400 employees working in roughly 400,000 square feet. After signing up for the program we heard about the San Francisco program and learned they had commercial rates and signed up for that. Im the coowner of the new wheel electric bike shop. We opened this store in 2012 and the new wheel sells and services electric bikes. 11 people work here in San Francisco and our store is about 2,000 square feet. Electric bikes are fantastic for transportation in the city, theyre clean and green and you get places faster than any other form of transportation. It amplifies the power, it doesnt replace it. It makes it easier to get places by bicycle and its so enjoyable and environmentally friendly way to go and more convenient in San Francisco. Clean power sf requires two products, green, 40 renewable and competitively priced with pg and e. For those who want to fight Climate Change more, 100 renewable at 0. 02 per kilawatt. I decided to go with the super greens, after finding it only to cost about 5 more a month to have super green, thats a nobrainer, i can do that. We were pleased that clean power sf offers the super green 100 for commercial entities like ours and residents for the city of San Francisco. We were pleased with the package of services for linkedin and now encouraging our employees who have a residence in San Francisco to sign on as well. Clean power sf buys its power from renewable plants that feed the energy directly into the grid. Theres a commitment to sustainability throughout the entire organization and this clean power opportunity reflects that. One of the wind farms we use is the shilo wind farm and that is large enough to be able to provide energy for up to 200,000 homes. Our mission is sustainability, even though our bikes are Minimal Energy use, it Still Matters where the energy comes from and part of our mission in sustainability is how we run everything run our business. Having the lights come on with clean energy is very important. The Sunset Reservoir has solar panels that take up about four city blocks covering the reservoir and the solar power generates energy for city resources and clean power sf for residents participating in the program. It was easy to sign up for the program, i went online to cleanpowersf. Org and i started getting pieces in the mail letting me know i was going to be switched over and it just happened. When i pay my bill, i still go to pg and e and i dont see any difference between now and a year ago. Sign up online, just have your account number ready and it takes about two min good afternoon, everyone. We are back from recess. Just to notify members of the public, we have completed our entire agenda for the San Francisco board of supervisors so we are here for one reason, and one reason only. To celebrate black History Month and to honor some incredible individuals who have made an incredible difference here in the city and county of San Francisco. [applause] and although each of us thinks that our honoree is the best in the building, we all know that everyone here today is special in their own right, because of what you have done in your communities, in your cities to make the lives of others better. Thats why were here to celebrate the African American members of our community and their contributions to our city. With that id like to turn it over to Supervisor Malia Cohen who will set the tone for the occasion and call upon each supervisor to give their hono honorees their award. Thank you all very much. [applause] all right, good afternoon. Happy black History Month how are you out there [applause] its an exciting times were living through. Were making history. Every breath that we take, every action we take were making history. So i want to just say good afternoon and welcome everyone to this years black History Month celebration. As you know, my name is malia cone, im a native daughter born in rearson San Francisco. Studied in the Public School and public library. Everything i am i owe to this county. I want to thank my parents and the entire community whose shoulders i stand on just to be here before you today. Thank you. [applause] as many of you know, i represent the southeastern neighborhoods of bay view Hunters Point, dog patch, and visitation valley. And im proud to be one of two African Americans serving this city at this time right here in the board chamber. I would like to also point out that i am the senior ranking member, only in time served. Shes actually older, for the record. [laughter] she said just by a little bit. Little does she know all right, folks, so today is an opportunity for us to recognize, honor and most importantly, to celebrate African Americans who are putting the work to up lift varying communities through their service. Because many of you know we are not mono litheic, we have different lenses we view this world in. Weve had many different experiences and our experience is summation of intersectional relationships across the globe. And i want to give wellearned homeage to individuals from the African American community. Far too often we recognize the work and the contributions of leaders who have passed, passed away instead of giving them the respect and the recognition they deserve while they are here with us today. And i want to take a moment and recognize that its particularly important for us to take time in this venue, to recognize black community and black Public Service. And this is past services and we are also here to celebrate recognizing the black future. And so i think we should call this black future month. [applause] we know one thing, we know that its hard work working in the Public Service field. Nothing new for African Americans. I mean you can just come to Public Comment on any given tuesday and experience what its like to be in Public Service. But one thing that is consistent is we show up. We show up. We show up for democracy and were loyal. When the party or sometimes even our own allies dont recognize that, it is incumbent upon us to show up for each other. Were living in very unique times. But despite the actions of those around us to undermine or quite frankly flat out not support our success, our brilliance, our strength, our resiliency, it is our resiliency that has carried us through these challenges times in the past and will continue to carry us into the future. Lastly, id like to invite you to president breed and mine black History Month celebrations. Its something we started five years ago and it continues. We close out the wonderful month of february with a big celebration right here in the rotunda. You are all my invited guests, february 28th from 5 30 to 9 30 right outside these doors in the rotunda. We have fabulous food. If you thought that reception was nice, you want to come to this event. We have fabulous food, weve got whiskey sampling tasting and wine. Were supporting the African American businesses that make San Francisco the wonderful city it is. Please come down and please join us. With that said, i want to take a moment and up lift the people that make me look good. The people that support me. And that is my staff, i want to recognize ali who has pulled together the reception that you are able to enjoy. I want to recognize brittney and also sophia kitler. With that said, i want to up lift and recognize president breeds staff who have been helpful pullin pulling this tog. Id like to recognize my own honoree first, its the privilege of being able to pro e side over todays celebration. Put your hands together, i want to introduce to you a wonderful woman, a pioneer who has been doing a lot of work unbeknownst to many of us. I want to recognize cione lincho, she also goes by the name of sunshine. Will miss sunshine come on down please. [applause] so im excited to present this woman to you because you are probably going to be hearing and learning a little bit more about her as we continue to move forward. Here is a little bit about her background. Shes a daughter of immigrant parents. She learned early on the importance of serving her community. As a graduate of stanford law school, she has dedicated her career to shaping the future of the Global Cannabis industry. She has served on the Oakland Cannabis Regulatory Commission as well as on the board of california growers association. For those of you that dont know its the states most prominent cultivate or orient. She has been owning a space thats been maledominated. This woman is held her head up and shes been a source of inspiration for myself and for my staff, particularly as we work very handily together to craft the program we created right here in the city and county of San Francisco when sa. Shes a cofounder of a fantastic Organization Called supernova women. A not for profit you can applaud. Super nova women its a Nonprofit Organization for women of color and the cannabis industry that provides Free Education and Training Programs throughout the nation regarding national, state and local policies as well as Business Opportunities in the Legal Cannabis industry. Shes committed to changing the perception of cannabis, its users and its use through education. Shes working to provide people of color equal opportunities and access to the new cannabis market. Beyond her glowing biography and her beautiful smile, i want to add that its been a pleasure to get to know sunshine. Throughout this process of building the Equity Program for the cannabis legislation, youve got your finger prints all over it and i want to say thank you. Sunshine is one of the experts in my office that consulted with us and shes just been an incredible help as we began to look to her as a thought leader and an vow cat. It is with great pleasure i provide this certificate of honor to sunshine. Congratulations and thank you for your work. We salute you. [applause] sorry sunshine. You have an opportunity to go to the podium and say a few remarks. Thank you. Thank you supervisor cohen. Its a great honor to be here today. I had no intention of finding myself positioned to get an award. I pretty much felt that it was imperative that as an attorney, i tried to make the cannabis industry and the regulations pertaining to cannabis as accessible as possible. We have 300 pages of regulations and lawyers that are senior to me have trouble navigating them so how can we expect people who are trying to transition who have been left out of other Economic Opportunities to be able to do so. Along with my co founders, we felt it was port arent that we start having free work shops. We have one coming up here in San Francisco, partnering with impact hub on february 24th from 10 00 to 12 30. It will be a summation of how do we get here . Because for people who havent been sitting around reading the rags for the last three years like i have, they maybe surprised at the current legal industry. Its important we provide people coming back and having conversations about that. Its february 24th, 10 00 to 12 30 and we look forward to seeing the same faces. Thank you. [applause] [applause] all right, ladies and gentlemen. Next up we are going to hear from the District Representative hailing all the way from the west side. Supervisor sandy fewer representing district 1. Thank you, very much. Today it is my honor to present accommodations to reverend iarn moore. Who service two congregations. Plymouth United Church of christ, the jazz and Justice Church of oakland and st. James on california street in San Francisco. At plymouth, she serves in the justice and witness ministries and at st. James she co convenes the faith in action Bay Area Team who i had a great pleasure to work with. Reverend iana credits her love of community and service and ak ta vism to her parents and grandparents who embody and role model their faith in action through community service. She is a proud daughter and her parents demonstrated integrity and resilience throughout their lives in deeply influenced who reverend iana more is today. Her mother, an immigrant from a caribbean island with little means, came to the u. S. As a legal immigrant that endured as tra civil anostracism. She married born and raised baptist and clerical husband from a poor single parent family in working class, pennsylvania. From a man to a decorated officer. A lawabiding strict father, he refused to order his troops to carry out a tracist order and face the threat of a courtmartial in doing so. Reverend iana attended the university of washington where she earned degrees in spanish and speech communication and the university of californias school of social welfare where she earned a masters of social welfare. She shocked her family and friends when she answered her call to the ordain ministry enrolled in the Pacific School of religion. Where her areas of concentration were biblical studies, art ministries, and children in youth, women studies and religion and African American theologies. She has a daughter who she describes as her truth teller guru and a large noisy family of siblings, cousins, nephews, nieces in the Pacific Northwest and all over the u. S. And london. Reverend iana is a force to be reckoned with in the Richmond District and her voice, i believe, is important in our neighborhood. As an activist, as a black woman, as clergy, her courage is speak out on issues effecting human and civil rights, deeply inspiring to me and to my residents. As is her organizing, her tenacity and her generosity of spirit in giving of herself to make the world a better place. Reverend, i am proud to call a friend and richmond resident. I am honored to recognize you today. Please come up. [applause] thank you, supervisor fewer for this honor. To be acknowledged by you, a force to be wreck on reckoned wn activist, means a great deal to me. Thank you. No woman is an island and so i thank those in this room who have made history. Those behind me and those in front of me. I particularly want to thank my board president london breed, who is a role model to me and to supervisor cohen also role model to me and have been for many years long before i became an activist. I want to thank so many people. Im here only because reverend john kirkly, the director of st. James, invited me, a stranger, to accompany the st. James congregation as they discerned whether to be a part of faith and action bay area. I want to acknowledge my team at st. James and especially my right hand and the salt of the earth coconvener, barbra web. Thank you. The members of my team are mostly senior citizens. Some with disabilities, all who love this city. I want to thank our allies. Housing Rights Committee of the commission and the west side and senior disability action and advocacy, for walking with me and my team, sometimes in the very cold on behalf of our most vulnerable. I want to thank my family, most of whom would not be here today, but who are with me in spirit and most of all i really thank my daughter gina. Gina you truly are my truth teller. You are my guru whose love and support give me the strength and the courage to lead. Thank you and thank you all for this great honor. [applause] congratulations. [applause] our next speaker will be supervisor peskin. Thank you madam president , colleagues. I have the honor to an individual who has worked for the city and county of San Francisco for longer than i have been alive. I want to recognize a lot of folks who have turned out for mr. Carl payne. His former colleague, commander david lazar. Commander lazar was the youngest person in the Academy Class when carl payne was the oldest individual in that class. And therein lies an incredible story about how San Francisco fell short. Mr. Payne got a job after six years in the marine core in the Cable Car Division of mooney. And he was incredible at catching pick pockets. As a result, the Police Department in Central Station encouraged him to be a policeman. And he went and right before he was sworn in, this is in the old days, you got sworn in right before you went into the academy, three hours before he was to be sworn in he received a telephone call saying he turned 36 and no longer eligible. That is what we call age discrimination. And mr. Pain sued the city and county of San Francisco and the superior court upheld the city and denied justice to mr. Pain. Step in the United States of america and the United States of america came down on the city and county of San Francisco for age discrimination. During this time, eight years passed, and mr. Payne at the age of 50, after working for 28 years, at muni where he exceeds byron cobb who has won the cable car championship bellringing competition eight times. Mr. Payne won it 10 times in those 28 years. He went from there at age of 50 and he became a cop. He was beloved at Central Station where he served most of his 24 years and he retired from the Police Department and today works for the general manager in the park patrol. He works for mr. Phil gin sburg and he says i no longer talk to people like i used to. Now i talk to trees. Two and a half years at the park and rec. Count that all every after working for the people of the city and county of San Francisco. I cannot think of a better honor in february African American History Month for your decades of service for being an embassador on our Rolling Stock as a Police Officer where your beloved by everybody in the neighborhood from russian hill to north beach to fishermans warf, carl you are an inspiration and legend and i know that veteran Affairs Commissioner bipple wants to say a quick thing if you are here, you can proceed carl. I know captain yep is here and i see your former colleagues from Central Station, former lieutenant nelson lum who by the way, at the cafe post, which is the most diverse post. I know you guys hangout there together. Thank you carl for all of your service. Commissioner bickell and i will turn it over to carl. Thank you, good afternoon supervisor. I am a commissioner for the veteran affairs for the city and county of San Francisco. First of all, carl, i want to thank you and congratulate you on your many years of dedication and service. One of my responsibilities as a commissioner is to acknowledge my vets. Supervisor mentioned carl spent 60 years in the marine core and from a vet to a vet, 1958 long time, so the marine core and of course air force but i want to acknowledge carl, come on up. [applause] i want to acknowledge carl by giving him a coin, this is a littled edition of the air force and last year we celebrated our 70th anniversary in the United States air force. With that i want to congratulate you from fellow vet to fellow vet, thank you for all you do. I love my vets. You look fantastic, marine. Thank you, sir. [applause] i want to thank the city and county sorry, its overwhelming. When i first started working for the city it was kind of rough. Things always didnt workout the way you hoped that they would. I got the opportunities. And by having the opportunities, i tried to go to the limit. When i worked for the city and on the cable cars, i had the opportunity to be a good will embassador and had a chance to go to australia, hong kong, amsterdam and 60 appearances on different tv shows, radio shows, job with senator feinstine when we were raising money for save the cable cars. Like i say, the opportunity is there. You got to reach out and take it. No one is going to give you anything. Youve got to reach out and take it. And the way were going now, we really need to reach out and take things. We have an opportunity before us to do something great. I love this city and county. I was only passing through here when i got discharged from the marine core and i decided to stay. It was the best decision i made in my life. Im still working, thank god. I thank the rec and park for the opportunity to talk to the trees. [laughter] and the rec and park is hiring, were hiring. [laughter] its never too late to come on out and talk to the trees. Like i said, thank mr. Peskin for the opportunity to stand up here and say something. I thank the board of supervisors for all that you do and all that you will continue to do. On behalf of the citizens of San Francisco, we have to look good. The rest of the world is looking at us, always. Were always going to look good no matter what. No matter who is up in the big house. But with that, i thank you and may god bless you. [applause]
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