Transcripts For SFGTV League Of Women Voters Candidate Statements Forums 20240712

Are much, much cleaner. Ive worked to make civic center a better station, and i think you can visit that station and feel safe much more than previously. Im proud to have stood up for a youth fair. With leticia simon, i pushed to get it through. We have elevators in our system, and we needed to have attendance on there, and the Homeless Outreach team, so ive been a very nuts and bolts b. A. R. T. Director, with a vision how to bring our facility back, and id be grateful to have your support for four more years on the b. A. R. T. Board. Thank you so much. Hi. I am alia, and i am running for San Francisco city college. I never knew that i would one day grow up and oversee the Free City College program at the department of children, youth, and their families, increasing access to Educational Opportunities for our Community Every day. In this role, i also monitoring the entire budget for the program. My passion for education started at a young age. I grew up in a lowincome household and have experienced firsthand the transformative nature of education both as a student and teacher. But over time, i realized how Education Systems failed our most vulnerable students. As a former legislative aide, i worked on legislation to ban the box on private college applications, making San Francisco the first city in the nation to do so. During this time of a Global Pandemic and a social movement to dismantle systemic racism, city College Needs a new voice and a proven leader in education. My lifes mission has been to ensure institutions are accountable to the people they are built to serve. I am running to make sure city college remains the peoples college. If elected, i will fight to invest in a permanent Emergency Grant Program for students, establish a jobs guarantee program, with clear career path days, and grow free city. I will advocate for increased transparency and further education resources. I would be honored to have your support. Please vote alia chifsky. You and are four your time. Hello. We have a choice of two paths. The road ccsf is traveling is one of financial challenges, instability, and a decrease of 18 in enrollment. I see a second healthier path. With strong experienced guidance, ccsf can gain financial stability, and reengage as an important and diverse institution. Ccsf is in danger of closing, creating a crisis in San Francisco. Ccsf must be saved, but electing the same type of candidates, politicians beholden to stakeholders will result in the same outcomes. I have declined all offers of consideration for endorisment by stakeholders so that i can focus on slufl doing what is right to save ccsf, i will not be beholden to interest groups. Im the only candidate who has raised over 40 million for educational and other causes and will bring creative funding ideas and other opportunities to ccsf. Im the only candidate who has served on a finance committee of a fiscally fit company. I believe that ccsf is a gem that must be preserved. I will be your independent and experienced voice on the board. Thank you, and please vote for me. Im juanita martinez, a family poor in money but rich in family history. My family came from northern mexico. My father was especially proud of his indigenous roots, comanche and navajo. We moved to california when my father was forced to retire. That opened up Higher Education for me because Community College was free in california. I studied at delta college, earned an associates agree. I transferred to s. F. State, and i was often the only student of color in any of my classes. My grassroots activism started in the ethnic strike. We didnt win all of our demands, but ethnic studies is now included and growing in area schools. In 2019, i was invited to speak at the city college ethnic studies teachin during black history month. I told the students that as a former student and Community College teacher and administrator, i was passing the baton onto them in the struggle for social justice. As i finished speaking, i should and could go one more lap on the City College Board of trustees. Im running with the support of students, faculty, and trustees that are just as concerned as i am. Too many classes have been cancelled, outcomes for black and brown students need to be improved. My campaign is not me, its about sharing what i learn frd my work experience, being a student, teacher, and vice chancellor at city college. Its about keeping city college a Community College, a college of and for the community. Hi. Im dr. Vic trolgary. Im a former Senior University administrator with 15 years of experience in Higher Education. I i am grated to the United States when i was 12 years old. My parents never even finished high school. I struggled through the e. S. L. System, and we were quite poor. I know just what our students are experiencing because this was my old life. I worked hard to transfer to a fouryear school. I worked hard by earning pell grants, and scholarships, and taking out some student loans. I went onto get a ph. D. In political science. I taught at a university level, and i game the chief of staff at the university of california riverside, and since then, ive helped manage universities, ive guided campus master plans. Ive helped hire some of the diverse faculty members across the state of california and directed budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This is everything that city college desperately needs to be doing right now. Im still a professor of political science, because i will always return to teaching, but i have directed a workforce of companies here in San Francisco. Im currently serving as cochair of the California Democratic party, but i have worked on 600 resolutions to drive some of the best policies in the state. I have endorsements across the Democratic Party in San Francisco. Check out my comprehensive plans at victorforsf. Com. My name is jeremy peter, and im running to represent you on the ccsf board. Many people ask why im running in this years election. I have a great job at an efficiency project manager. I love spending time with my partner, eric, and i love living here in the bayview. Education has afforded me opportunities, and i believe that education is a human right. Advancing tuition Free Education allows our most vulnerable students a chance to make a difference in their lives. The Climate Crisis was my call to action. In march, San Francisco voters approved 845 million bond for ccsf infrastructure improvements. Using this deal, my greparty w put the green plan into action. Environmental, financial, and educational sustainability are intertwined. With students as our guide is principle, we will appoint a Community Oriented chancellor who is committed to implementing a Strategic Plan that is interested in sustained eligibility and the sustainability. Now more than ever we must be laser focused on providing transparency on board matters and education for students that have been displaced by covid19. I will am asking for your support to protect Free Education, upgrade our learning spaces, and camp i dont know the opportunities ccsf offers. As an ally of if a stoplight associations and student organizations, i will fight for you. Im tim chronicle, and im proud to serve as the vice chair of the board of trustees. I know how important it is to have access to quality well funded public education. Community College Classes helped me get back on track when i got sick and had to drop out of high school, allowing me to graduate and enroll at San Francisco state university. This experience inspired me to run for the board of trustees in 2016, when i was elected to a fouryear term. During my last four years serving as your representative on the City College Board, ive worked with students, teachers, and staff to secure important victories for city college. I i ensured that our accreditation was reinstated for the next decade. I worked with if a ultimate to create the cannabis studies program. I helped create the workforce and education fund, and i fought for new resources and policies to support undocumented and lgbtq students. Over the next four years, city college will need to combat severe funding cuts at the state and local level, put in place new support services to help our communities succeed during this challenging covid19 environment, and create workforce programs in areas Like Health Care and technology to meet the needs of our changing economy. I have experience solving challenges like this and hope to continue to bring that experience and leadership to city college. Im alan wong, and im running for College Board to ensure it serves working and immigrant families like my own. Im supported by a. F. T. Local 2121 and seiu 1021. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and my entire family went to city college. When my dad came to this country as an immigrant, he was laid off from his factually job, so i went to city college to improve his english. He learned about the city College Culinary program, and he supported my family as the sole provider for two decades. The training my dad received enabled my dad to afford housing in the sunset and get health care. My mom took e. S. L. Classes that improved herself confidence and talking to family members. As a senior going to s. F. High, i took ccsf classes when i was a junior, helping me to graduate from u. C. San diego when i was just 19 years old. I expanded city college into the sunset by working with city college, sfusd and local nonprofits, and i spent a year writing the city College Workforce and Recovery Fund education legislation to ensure that we provide opportunities for our working families during covid19. Today, my dad has been played off, like many other Service Sector workers. City college is a place of hope and opportunity, where my dad was able to start a new career. Im running so city college can once again be that place where miraculous things can happen for working families like my own. My unanimoname is han so, a running for the board of trustees because it was education that changed my life. I immigranted to the u. S. When i was six years old. My mom was the first person in her family to go to college, where she studied Public Health, and my dad and i and my two grandparents were able to come to this country. The five of us lived in a onebedroom apartment for the first five years. Like a lot of immigrant families here in San Francisco, my grandparents took care of my while my mom worked to pay the rent and my mom focused on her studied. I still remember my mom teaching me the words hello and bathroom before putting me on the bus and sending me on the way to the first day of school. My first job was at asian law caucus where i worked to bring Education Services to asian and a. P. I. Families as well as undocumented immigrants. As executive director of the Democratic Party, i staffed the agenda. City college is hugely important to our community and towel all immigrant and working class families, and as trustee, i want to bring my experience and my background to ensure that post pandemic, the communities that have been most affected by the shutdown can use city college to learn new skills in a new economy. Im proud to be endorsed by the democratic property, and a majority of the City College Board of trustees, and ii woul love to have your support, as well. Thank you. [ ] hi. Im joel. I worry about San Franciscos future because San Francisco has worried about the families for too long. The budget has doubled in a decade and nothing is twice as good. Now were facing massive deficits. City hall has to stop treating residents like a never ending a. T. M. We need to audit every program and only pay for what works. We noticed crimes like burglary and homicide are up, so we still need police to protect the public, and we cant forget about the victims of crime. Ive lived in San Francisco for 22 years. Ive lived in district seven for a decade. I worked for many years as a journalist. I worked hard at city hall to give residents a choice. I was raised by my single mom and grandmother. They didnt have much education, but they taught me how to get things done with the resources i have. Im running for supervisor to be an advocate for parents, Small Businesses, and homeowners. City hall should be treating them like customers, without without them, we dont have a city. An entrepreneur should be able to open a business without road blocks. People should feel safe living here. That means focusing on the basics and getting the basics right clean streets, less crime, and better services. My name is Joel Engardio. Please, vote Joel Engardio on your ballot. Hello. My name is Steven Martin pinto, and i hope to be your next district 7 supervisor. My family has lived here since 1848. I have been involved in local politics ever since i moved back after leaving the military in 2014. Ive served as president of the sunnyside neighborhood association, secretary of the west of twin peaks central council, and commissioner of veterans affairs. Im different from anyone else running in the entire city. Honesty, straight talk, availability, and common sense. When was the last time you hear anyone mention those as themes of their campaign. When i decided to run, i decided to always tell the truth and never hold back. As supervisor, i plan to take a bold stance on the issues. First of all, i will have a see ror tolerance policy for crime, garbage, and drug dealing on our streets, and that position is nonnegotiatable. Second, i will audit all the nonprofits that do business with the city to discover fraud and abuse. Our homeless need real help. I will not defund the police. Instead, i will seek to increase funding while pushing for the construction of a multiacre, fully modern joint policefire training facility. I will aggressively expand muni metro by pushing for the construction of more subways and supported light rail. Finally, i will do whatever it takes to protect Small Business by reducing fees and permits. I humbly ask for your first, second, our third choice votes. Lets bring common sense back to San Francisco polictics. My name is ben matranga. As a new father and a first time homeowner, i know the stakes in this election are high, and i know our city is calling out for leaders that can use common sense, standup for our values, and actually deliver on our promises. As your supervisor, i will focus on helping Small Businesses and local residents recover from covid19. I will work to address homelessness with compassion and accountability. Let me tell you about my background. I was born and raised in district 7. Im a fifth generation san franciscan, and i met my wife in high school at st. Ignatius. Professionally, ive worked with entrepreneurs building hospitals and transportation infrastructure around the world. Ive served on the board of five companies, and ive led multimillion dollar investments alongside the u. S. Government, the world bank, and for tune 500 Companies Fortune 500 companies. Previously, i worked for mayor ed lee and serves as San Francisco served as San Franciscos first ever pedestrian director. We were able to cut red tape, and we delivered more than 13 miles of improvements, on time and under budget. I led our neighborhood Emergency Response to covid19, and weve distributed over 5,000 masks. Ive been endorsed by dianne feinstein, and former district 7 supervisor tony hall. I respectfully ask for your number one vote this election. Thank you. Hi. My name is myrna melgar, and im a candidate for the board of supervisors district 7. I am a mother of three girls and have lived in Ingleside Terrace with my family for the past 2e7 yearten years. I was a legislative aide to two members of the board of supervisors jose medina and eric mar and also worked for mayor good afternoon newsom. I was gavin newsom. I was also the president of the Planning Commission until january of this year. The policy decisions we made today to adapt to changes on housing, employment, land use, transportation services, and the investments we make to our infrastructure can pave the way to our continuing future as a world class city of opportunity. I i mmigrated to San Francisco from el salavador. My Life Experience has given me a unique ability to negotiate through conflict and make progress on the things that i believe in and to understand that income inequality is not a sustainable system, and we need to tackle our homelessness and afford janel Affordable Housing crisis. I will support my d7 community and rebuild a San Francisco of opportunity and compassion, a city where no one gets left behind. Thank you. After serving as a city official for 20 years under five mayor, i was leaving my position of the San Francisco department on the status of women the very week that mayor breed issued the shelter in place order. I had a choice to make. Should i gather up the beautiful bouquets or declare my candidacy in d7 to help my city, my neighbors . Raised in San Francisco, ive lived in district 7 with my spouse for over 15 years and raised our two adult daughters here. Im the only candidate in this race who won elections before. As a City Department head, i was held accountable for every public dollar i spent. With a focus on ending violence against women, i managed my Department Budget through the 2008 downturn and doubled our budget with 10 million in outside funning, by partnering with Law Enforcement and neighborhood advocates, we eliminated Domestic Violence homicide to zero. This race is about what it means to be san franciscans. We all want the safe things to live in a safe neighborhood and to live in a city that treats everyone humanely. I will fight to strengthen our over 40 distinct neighborhoods in district 7. I will fight to expand Public Safety with more Community Policing and foot patrols, and i will fight to sustain our local businesses with new ways of doing business. Im emily murase for district 7 supervisor, and i ask for your number one vote on election day. Hi. Im vallie brown, and im running for supervisor in district 5. I have fought tirelessly to better my community and solve the challenges we face. Improving quality of life in district 5 is personal. After losing my parents before age 14, i was raised by the community, so fighting for Affordable Housing, environmental protection, and homelessness has been my principle goal as an activist, as a legislative aide for ten years, and as a supervisor. Ive served two previous district five supervisors, and ive served the city and our neighborhoods in previous times of crisis. As your former supervisor, ive passed over 30 pieces of legislation, to build new housing, protect a womans right to choose, and create a more equitable and just San Francisco. Our neighborhoods face huge challenges. On homelessness, we need a real plan to get people off the streets and into housing and supportive services. We cant just handout tents and call our work done. We cant let this moment for change pass, with black lives matter remaining just a slogan. Well move more funding from our Police Department to the black community, funding nonprofits in the fillmore and western addition, creatiempowe jobs and creating more opportunities. This time calls for a supervisor who listens to neighbors and finds Common Ground to solve our challenges. I believe im that leader. You can learn more about my vision for district five and join my campaign. Thank you. Greetings, beloved citizens of San Francisco. My name is daniel lander, and im proud to announce my candidacy for driekt five seat. I was born here in San Francisco in 1968. My mother and father both moved here to San Francisco in the late 1940s and 1950s. Growing up in the 1970s, in lowincome housing and being displaced by the San Francisco redevelopment agency, i personally experienced the pain of living in a city that destroyed my community in the name of saving it from blight and unliveable conditions. Fortunately, ive been able to give back to my community and city i so dearly love and have been working as a volunteer activist now for 27 years. Im currently the founder and director of the San Francisco cats academy, and i have also cofounded many grassroots nonprofit organizations fighting for Police Reform, housing, and environmental rights. Im running for supervisor d 5 because im tired of not getting results from our leaders at city hall. My priorities, if elected, is to reform our Police Department, create real Affordable Housing, mandate a d5 covid19 Small Businesses task force, and tackle the homeless Mental Health issues head on. I respectfully ask for your vote this november, and for more information you can go to my website, daniellandry. Com. Hi. Im supervisor dean preston, and its been my honor to being your District Supervisor for the last 23 years. Ive lived in district 5 for the last 24 hours. I won a special election last year, and just weeks after i took office, the pandemic hit. Businesses were closed, and thousands of people were forced out onto the streets. I personally raised over 100,000 to put district five homeless women and families into a hotel at no cost to taxpayers. I authored legislation to do this across the city for 8,000 homeless people, and when our city wasnt moving fast enough to house homeless individuals, we organized the next homeless village in San Francisco. My office led efforts to stop evictions during the pandemic. I wrote and passed a law prohibiting evictions of tenants who could not pay rent due to covid19. I worked with the m. T. A. And neighbors to create slow streets in district five where pedestrians and cyclists could travel safely. On critical Racial Justice issues, ive been advocating for Police Reform and been marching with the black lives Matter Movement for years. This has been a time when neighbors, Small Business owners, and residents have come together. Im honored to have their support, along with the sierra club, california nurses, San Francisco teachers, the labor council, Democratic Party, and so many more. Id be honored to have your support, as well. Thank you. Hi. My name is supervisor aaron peskin, and its been an honor to represent the people of the Northeast Corner of San Francisco, known as district 3, the oldest and most iconic collection of our neighborhoods for 13 of the last 20 years. This has not been a political career for me or about running for higher office. That is totally true, and i take my role as a Public Servant and a policy maker for the entire region and city extremely seriously. And i do it because of the Diverse Communities that we live in, that we work for, and that love this part of San Francisco. And ultimately, i decided to run for one final term because were at a remarkable cross roads in our city and our country at large, and this is a moment where we all have to come together. And i actually have the tested governance experience to help us weather the storm and hopefully come out stronger, and i have a track record for fighting for everything from Public Housing to Public Transit to a publicly owned clean power system. I dont recall a time in this city where weve been so unified, whether its getting covid testing in chinatown, revitalizing north beaches business corridors or securing the first Youth Navigation Center in north polk. Ive been working he have beef because of you, because of all of us. When we see the damage caused by this federal administration, its a reminder that were all in this together. We can do better, and we have to. From the pandemic, wildfires, unemployment, Police Officers, and the looming shortfall in our budget. These are the battles that i am 100 prepared to take on, and these are the reasons that i am running. Thank you. Hi. My name is danny sauter, and im running because i love San Francisco. We have to be honest and face the reality that our city is at risk. I believe when you love something, you fight for it. We cant continue to vote for the same leadership and expect it to bring the same results. Since 2015, homelessness is up 40 in our district. Our Police Department has not taken the steps needed to be reformed, and our streets continue to be dirtily, unsanitary, and an dirty, unsanitary, and an embarrassment on the national stage. But we have a chance, where we charge forward, and fix broken bureaucracy and corrupt City Departments. As the president of north beach neighbors, i brought our Community Together to hold officials accountable. Thats what ill do as your next district three supervisors. Address your concerns and driver Real Progress for our neighborhoods. Were covid19 threatening our communities ill add covid19 testing sites, and ill create more open space, especially foreseen i dont remembers, sro residents, and families. I know that going back to normal wasnt good enough. It wasnt working for most of us. I want our neighborhoods to be liveable, safe, vibrant neighborhoods. We are proud to be backed by dozens of Community Leaders including the chinese American Democratic club, San Francisco renters alliance, and the San Francisco democratic club. Thank you, and i look forward to your support. My solutions have always put outcomes for our city and its residents first. This outcome driven philosophy will govern my work as your supervisor. As a San Francisco Small Business owner, i started a company to provide thousands of lowincome individuals access to the Justice System and worked with some of our incredible local legal aide nonprofits. Today, i help provide seniors transportation, meals, and groceries, enable them to stay safe and maintain their independence. The programs that ive helped start have delivered hundreds of thousands of free meals to seniors impacted by covid. My proven track record that shows as your supervisor, i can get our city back on track. These are my reports to you to help our district thrive post covid. Ill push to update our city sewning laws to create housing everyone can aafford. Ill build housing, auditing city funds, addressing conservatorship laws and supporting our local service providers. Ill support Small Business by streamlining permitting a, reducing fees, and getting rid of red tape. I believe we must overcome the rigid policies that have delayed meaningful progress in our district for decades. Now is the time we can either choose to make a change with new leadership or continue down the path that weve taken the last 20 years. Learn more at votesimonsen. Com, and id be honored to have your vote this november. [ ] my name is colleen chan, and im running for district 1 supervisor. Thats including the richmond neighborhood and golden gate park. I was a a first generation immigrant. I was horn in honeg kong and born in hong kong and i came here when i was 13 years old. San francisco has been a great home for me and my family. Today, my partner, a firefighter, we are able to afford our home in the richmond, raising our child, a second greater, avenue lafayette elementary. Ive spent the last five years in my life working in City Government the, starting out at a legislative aide on the San Francisco board of supervisors. Also advocating for more than 500 million grants and funding to improve our park system at rec and park. Last, but not least, but also at the city college of San Francisco, champion Free City College that is a Higher Education program froee for al san franciscans. Im proud of the things that i have accomplished, but also, at the same time i have seen the income divide significantly increase in San Francisco, especially during this pandemic, it has disproportionately hurt something the working people in our communities. Its the reason why im running, that i want to bring my skills and experience to the table to help close that income divide gap and making sure that all working people can stay housed, stay healthy and safe in our beloved city. Thank you. Hi. Im sherman dasilva. We have problems that we face daily when we walk out or door to shop, work, and enjoy the precious neighborhood we call home. On homelessness, it means no camping or sleeping on streets. Instead, we will use cityowned garages to provide a safe, clean, and private space where we can offer Mental Health and he diction offices. On crime and safety, well increase beat officers to deter theft and vandalism, but we will not defund, reduce or reappropriate the number of sworn officers. On pedestrian safety, we will install traffic lights on all major corridors. For accessibility, well have a Neighborhood Department to serve you. For infrastructure, were going to set aside money every year to replace sidewalks, roads, and public buildings. On police accountability, well increase transparency and randomly review officer actions. We want to be independent. It means we will not accept money from unions, corporations, or special interests. Ive seen the decline of our neighborhood happening over time. Refocusing these priorities will make our neighborhood cleaner, safer, and a more enjoyable place to work and live. Im sherman da silva, and im looking forward to being your next richmond District Supervisor. Im a Small Business owner, with my wife, we operate a Small Business on gary boulevard, and we have been serving the community over a decade. Im running because im deeply troubled by the current state of our district. We now have more homenessen campmented, closed businesses, and increased crime. The Richmond District has been neglected by city hall for too long. Its time for new city leadership at city hall. Its time for a supervisor who will put the richmond first. Im the only candidate with extensive civil rights experience needed to effectively represent the Richmond District. First, the richmond and San Francisco more broadly must build more Affordable Housing. Second, i will fight to expand healthy San Francisco so that uninsured middle class residents will receive health care coverage. Additionally, i am the only major candidate in this race to oppose any tax increases swoosh the covid19 during the covid19 pandemic. We should not kick people when were down. Lets first look at our current spending and fight government waste before we increase teaks. We net better environmentally friendly options to help getting citizens to and from the richmond. Thats why im for bringing b. A. R. T. To the richmond. Lastly, our current homeless policies have been ineffective. I support caring for our homeless without turning our neighborhoods and our parks into homeless encampments. I believe my policies will help all residents and help put the richmond first. Hi. My name is marlhausen, and im running for supervisor because for too long, politicians have allowed the problems in our neighborhood to worsen without taking action. We cant afford four more years of this. The devastating effect of the covid19 pandemic has increased the need for new leadership at the board of supervisors. To make a Significant Impact on homelessness, we have to recognize the different needs of our unhoused population. There is no single simple solution. We must prevent evictions by stabilizing tenants. We have to meet the immediate needs of our unhoused population by acquiring more safe sleeping places, shelters, and safe spaces. I have over 30 Years Experience in government, business, and community advocacy. Two years ago, my sister and i opened our Family Business on balboa street, and now, like so many other Small Businesses, on you future is uncertain our future is uncertain. Many owners are stalled or defeated but our bureaucracy before they even had a chance to begin. I will support policies and legislation that make it easier to run a neighborhood business in San Francisco. Finally, we need to make our streets more friendly or residents and families. Ill owe prioritizes more street cleanings in our business corridors. We must bring our neighborhood together to ensure that none of us is left behind in our recovery. Hi. My name is veronica cinzano. For far too long, our government has been out of touch with the problems of so many san franciscans and struggling families. Im a 30year Richmond District. Im your neighbor to make sure you have a voice at city hall. You need someone who understands your struggles who represents, and not the same old politics. Im a working mom, and a Small Business owner. Im working for all of San Francisco, not just the privileged few. Im running to offer concrete solutions. We have a 2 billion shortfall. Make no mistake, we cannot tax our way out of this pandemic. My priorities, economic recovery for all. With historic unemployment and a pandemic with no end in sight, budget cuts cannot be made on the bams working family he ands backs of the working families and middle class. Resilience, identify additional sources of revenue to fund City Projects and reevaluate Government Spending carefully. Calibrate budget cuts without hurting those who are already feeling the brund of income inequality before the pandemic. As a community taxpayer advocate, if youre tired of politics as usual, then im your candidate. Vote for veronica. Im not backed by any political machine or special interests. Whether youre a moderate, progressive, republican or independent, join us, and please stay healthy during these tough times. Thank you. Hi. My name is matt alexander, and im a teacher, and a community organizer. Our Public Schools are stretched to the breaking point. To address this crisis, we need School Board Members who value the voices of the people who do the work in schools and classrooms. I started teaching at Balboa High School in 1996 and spent 20 years as a teacher and principle since then in the San Francisco Public Schools. In this moment, we often need Board Members who understand how to create change in a complex system. I helped lead a Grassroots Community organizing effort that resulted in the founding of a new public school, june Jordan School for equity, one of the most Innovative High Schools in this city. Four years ago, i supported immigrant students to rewrite sfusds policy for immigrant students. I spent ten years as a principal of june jordan high school, where we spent a strong track record of positive outcomes of black and latinx students and students with special needs. Ive led campaigns to get people released from i. C. E. Detention and help families facing eviction. If we work together, this crisis actually gives us the opportunity to strengthen our Public Schools and make them the center piece of a San Francisco that truly reflects the progressive values this city stands for. I would be honored if you would join me in that effort. Hello. Im honored to speak to you to tell you a little bit about myself and the future of San Francisco schools and to ask for your endorsement for the San Francisco school board. My name is andrew allston. I am a public schoolteacher in east oakland. I love being a teacher and fighting every day to make sure my students progress toward their goals. My perspective as a teacher is important because it allows me to understand how to balance the needs of students, teachers, and family. This is something that i believe the school board needs more of. Historically, our School District has struggled to be the best version of itself. We continue to see achievement gaps between rich and poor, and between our white students and students of color. The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these gaps and made solutions more crucial. Tax laws are important, but they wont address the issues that our struggling families are facing in realtime right now. Our most vulnerable families need things like equitable access to the internet, meals, and our teachers need Innovative Solutions and training making schools work. This is a Pivotal Moment that offers a unique opportunity to not just put bandaids on issues that have plagued our district for decades. Thing like de Facto School Segregation and the lack of public bussing. We can make the necessary decisions that change our students lives for the better. This will be my focus when im elected to the school board. Id be honored to have your endorsement, and id like to have your note in november. I plan on being your partner as we fight to make our schools the best in fact nation. Hello. My name is michelle parker, and i i im running for a seat on the San Francisco school board. I want our students to feel value, to have a high quality education and leave our schools with confidence. Our School District is in a massive crisis. We face a budget shortfall and we are trying to educate students in the middle of a pandemic, and our systems at every level havent been set up to support families. The reality is that even before the pandemic, our schools havent worked for the record lots much our students. We need to elect leaders who can lead through this crisis and address these issues. I will lead with urgency and compassion, with integrity and commitment. I have revenue ideas that are innovative and will ensure that we are spending our money on items that have the most impact on students. I will work with the city to address the foundational causes of the opportunity gap for many of our students. Housing and food insecurity, unemployment, and Public Health, so we can close that gap faster while also expanding the practices that are closing the gap in some schools by double digits each year. I was president of the San Francisco p. T. A. , serving and supporting more than 60 schools. I guided us through an organizational merger and a complicated process with the city as we became tenants of the geneva power house in the sunset district. I have oversight experience. I was coshare of the School District aways Parcel Tax Oversight Committee for two years, ensuring 32 million was spent to improve teaching in our district. Please vote for me on november 3, and check out my website at michelleparker. Org. Authoring same good evening. Welcome to the Candidate Forum for the 2020 district 7 San Francisco board of supervisors election. Im alison go, the president of the league of women voters of San Francisco. Tonight, before we begin, id like to take a moment to remember the late Justice Ruth Bader ginsburg. She was a powerful advocate for womens rights and civil rights, arguing for equality regardless of age, race, Sexual Orientation or gender, and she was a fierce defender of voter rights, offering the dissenting opinion in shelby v. Voter. Justice ginsburgs wisdom, ded indication, and determination to equal rights embodied the league of women voters empowered us to create a more perfect democracy. We would not be where we are today without ruth bader ginsburg. The league of women voters is a bipartisan political nonprofit that encourages voter participation. This years election presents new and unprecedented challenges for voters, and we are committed to providing resources that voters need in order to access this fundamental right of democracy of voting. Please visit our website at lwvsv. Org vote where you will find all of the voting resources that we offer. The league of women voters is a nonprofit organization, and if youd like to support our events such as this one, please visit our website at lvwsf. Org. Id like to thank our Relations Department to promote Voter Education through their support of league initiatives, including tonights Candidate Forum. I am now pleased to introduce dee moore, our moderator for tonight. Shes retired from the startup industry, where she held numerous positions in sales and marketing for 15 years. She left the industry to raise her children, and she has worked in the community for several volunteer organizations, including sf casa over nine years, supporting foster care for children. Good evening and welcome to the San Francisco league of women voters board of supervisors Candidate Forum. First, id like to remind you of the ground rules. Responses to questions should be on issues and policy related. Candidated are expected to be respectful of other candidates anded to not make personal attack on other individuals. Thats the ground rules. Here are the procedures for the forum. The candidates will have the opportunity to make oneminute opening and closing statements. Opening statements will be in alphabetical order by first name. Closing statements will be in reversal if a bet cal order by first name. Each candidate will be an opportunity to make rebuttal and may be addressed in the candidates Closing Remarks lasting one minute. A count downtimer will be displayed with visual indication of the remaining time for a response, so please watch it carefully, and if you go over, ill politely remind you. Every aspect of the forum will be equally fair to all candidated. Thank you to our attendees tonight. You are in listenonly mode. The q a and chat features are not activated. We collected your questions earlier, so they will be available tonight. This will be available on youtube, our website, and sfgovtv cable channel. You have many decisions to make on november 3. Tonights opportunity will give you an opportunity to learn before you vote, so now, lets begin. Well start off with oneminute Opening Statements in alphabetical order. Thank you, candidates, for participating in this forum. Please introduce yourself, tell us which neighborhood you live in, and why you are running for district 7 supervisor. Well start alphabetically with ben. Hello. Good evening, and thank you very much to the league for hosting us tonight. Hello. My name is ben matranga, and im running for district 7 supervisor. I want to fight for working families and ensure that our city emerges from this Health Crisis stronger than before. As a new father and firsttime homeowner, i know the stakes are high in this election. I know the city is calling out for genuine leadership, for common sense, and frankly, for people that will deliver on their promises. Let me tell you a little bit about my background. I was born and raised in district 7. I live in west portal seven blocks from where i grew up. I met my wife in high school at st. Ignatius, and were raising our young daughter in that district. Professionally, ive spent 15 years building largescale thank you, ben. Thank you. And now, well move to emily. Youre muted, emily. All right. Good evening, everyone. Im emily murase, and i want to be your supervisor. 2020 marks the millennial of womens right to vote, and yet, after the departure of supervisor yee from the board of supervisors, we will have two women on the board of supervisors. Im the only candidate whos been elected to office, serving two terms on the school board, including as president. My spouse and i have lived in the lake shore neighborhood of district 7 for over 15 years, where we raised our two now adult daughters. My priorities are bolstering Public Health, enabling voters, and accelerating Public Health. Well go to joel. Hi, everyone. Im Joel Engardio. I live in the district 7 neighborhood. Families care about the basics housing, schools, quality of life. The budget has doubled the last decade, and nothing is twice as good, and now, were facing massive deficits. We need to audit every program and only pay for what works. I grew up in the gm town of sag saginaw, michigan. Ive lived in San Francisco for 22 years, lived in district 7 for a decade. As a journalist, i held city hall accountable and gave people a voice. Ill do the same as your supervisor. Its time to get it right. Clean streets, smaller deficits, and better services, and id be glad to be your candidate. Thanks, joel. Ken . My name is ken [inaudible] we lived off of every muni met metro line, and for the last 14 years, ive lived just a couple of blocks up in district 7 on ocean avenue. Ive been successful here. Both my wife and i were able to build careers. One is at u. C. Davis and another ones at roll, and buena vista horace mann. I feel with my experience, i understand district 7 well. Families are important. Doct from cradle to grave, everyone should be able to live in district 7. Thanks, kenneth. Next will be myrna. Hi, everyone. My name is myrna melgar. Two years ago, i live in district 7 with my husband and family. Ive worked in the community for 15 years in housing and Economic Development and workers rights. Im running because our city is experiencing changes. Changes to our global environment, inequality and income inequality. Im running because i want to use my skills and experience to plan for those changes. The policy changes that we make today will have a profound effect how we get out of this pandemic, and whether we continue to be that city of opportunity and that shining example that we have always been to the world. I would appreciate your support, and i am the candidate with the most experience. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next will be stephen. Youre muted. Steven martin pinto. I live in district 7. I just want to ask one question. Are you better off than you were five years ago . Ladies and gentlemen, im running on a campaign of straight talk. When i began my campaign, it was just me, myself, and i, and one promise. Tell it like it is and dont hold back. Ive been one of the most successful nondemocratic candidates in the last decade. The reason why is because i tell it like it is, i speak the truth, and i have a lot of credibility. Im a firefighter, a fifth generation san franciscan, a veteran of iraq and afghanistan and the war, and ive seen a lot of the effects of homelessness. Vote for me in november. Thank you, steven. Last one will be polasca. Hi. My name is polasca. I loved growing up in a union household. My mother worked the post office, the graveyard shift, her entire career, so they really instilled a deep value for Public Service and hard work. I came here to San Francisco, u. S. F. School of law, where i met my wife. We currently live in parkmerced, and my kids go to school or they did before covid right across. Im proud to have the endorsement of the nurses and people in the sierra club. I ask that you allow me to be your champion at city hall and standup for working class families. Thank you, velasca, and thank you all, candidates. Well now move onto the questions for tonights forum. Question one. What type of forum will you support to increase housing availability in district 7. Do you agree with the approaches that promote more housing density . Just yes, which approaches. If no, what other approaches do you favor . And we will begin with joel, and joel, you have one win. Hi. So theres three areas of district 7 where more housing is coming. Par merced, balboa reservoir, and stonestown mall, and those are all appropriate areas for housing. I do not support anything that would restrict singlefamily zoning. We have 40 communities, and theyre all gems. West portal has a five story art deco thats been there 90 years. We can match the height of that without harming any single neighborhoods. We have a plan for seniors to age in place so they dont have to leave the home they love. We have a plan to keep singlefamilies in San Francisco, and the housing along train corridors can support those needs. Thank you, joel. Thanks. Next, well have kenneth. Hi. Joel said a lot, and i agree with what he said. The transit corridors and the housing around should grow. I dont agree with scott wieners bill. I think we need to be smart about it. I think we just gave away the deal of the century. Less than 600,000 an acre for balboa terrace, so im ready to put a stop for future development. I want to see hwhats going to come out of that and how thats going to affect district 7. Thats a district 7 deal. I want to be smart when we have housing, but i want to remind people this is district 7. We are built on singlefamily homes in small neighborhoods, and i do not want to lose that character, so it has to be an equal balance. Thank you. Thank you, kenneth. Next is stephen. Okay. So kind of what a lot of people have been saying. Im im for increasing density along transit corridors. I feel like theres plenty of space to add a story to onestory buildings along west portal. It wouldnt change minimal impacts to the neighborhood. It wouldnt change much to the neighborhood if we do it right, but theres also one thing that i think we also need to reduce the [inaudible] weve found out that telecommuting is possible. Recent survey said that two thirds of all tech workers would leave San Francisco if they could. Theres a latent demand to get out of San Francisco. If they had a chance to get out of San Francisco and still work here, they would do so. That would make it easier for those who want to live here to be able to afford houses. Thank you, stephen. Now well move to question number two. How would you address providing more Affordable Housing in district 7 . Do you support programs that encourage the building of more accessory dwelling units, commonly known as granny flats or inlaw units . And well start with myrna. Thank you for the question. Yes, i absolutely support building more accessory dwelling units. I will point out that just because we think its a good idea and put together the legislation rights the state has doesnt mean it will actually happen. We have to do more that. We have to support homeowners to adapt their housing spaces and age in space. To do that, the city can help by making the process easier, friendlier, more expeditious, and more affordable. Its not just about development, its also about money because access to wealth is not equal in our society. If youre on a fixed income or youre a women, you tend to have woman, you tend to have less abhe is sccess to the mari support all of those things. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next will be emily. Can you please repeat the question . Yes. How would you address providing more Affordable Housing in district 7 . Do you support programs that encourage the building of more accessory dwelling units, commonly known as granny flats or inlaw units . Yes. I do want to start out by saying d7 is primarily singlefamily homes, and that keeps families here, not retreating to the suburbs, so its a very important part of our contribution to the city. We have over 40 neighborhoods that are very distinct from each other. Lakewood is different from Forest Knolls which is different from westwood park. And within that, there is a state law that allows for two accessory dwelling units within a single property. I do think there is an opportunity to be creative. Not only a. D. U. S, but coHousing Units and other ways to live together. Primarily, im looking at the new development for housing density. Balboa reservoir appropriates 1500 units, of which 50 will be affordable. Parkmerced and stonestown also promote ideas for more housing density. Thank you, emily. Next will be polanco. Im in favor of supporting housing. My concern is in terms of providing the Housing Units we need. I think there are sites here in district 7 where we can begin from day one after the election to really dedicate Affordable Housing to the working class families like educators. Back in 2018, the leadership of uesf, our educators and teachers actually identified a space that is owned by the School District at somerton and lawton. This is the per expect area where we dont have to treat these like theyre mutually exclusive, meeting the character of district 7 while still providing housing that will make a real impact and still provide the time thank you, polanca. Well move onto question three. Will the planned guidance of the guidance center, also called the juvenile justice center, provide an increased housing in district 7. If so, what type of housing would you favor . And well start with ben. So the closing of y. G. Yc. , think its the perfect example of the sugar high we see at city hall. Ive walked the facility several times. Over half of the board of supervisors voted to close it, but theyve never been there. Folks voted to close the facility but didnt know all the great programming, all the rehabilitation that was happening there. If you talk to the folks in capital planning, they say you cant use that site, so i think its fiscally responsible to do that. It would cost too much. The taxpayers are still paying off the rebuilding of the participation of y. G. C. From a decade ago. We need to figure out how to keep young kids in San Francisco that need that rehabilitation. Thank you, ben. Next will be joel . Yeah, i dont think we should have closed it in the first place. Juvenile haul, you know, you know, is a place that has good programs thats, like, helping kids get back on their feet and be more productive members of society, and we shouldnt give up on that. I dont want to put housing there. I dont think we should have closed it in the first place because obviously, you risk shipping kids out of county. Thats not going to be helpful for them, and theres good programs there already. I think we need to be mindful of the use of the land allaround that area, laguna honda. We want to make sure that were not using up land that the hospital might need. Thank you, joel. Next will be kenneth. Hi, thank you very much. I think ben hit it on the nose. That is a sugar high. The idea that juvenile crime is down forever and we are in some magic wonderland. The reality is that were heading into a recession thats already showing its teeth. California is now flattening at 11 unemployment. We know that during times of recession and high unemployment that crime does go up, particularly with youth. We likely have pressed it with the lows in Violent Crime that existed. So the magic that were going to be able to deal with our juvenile problems without Juvenile Hall is a sugar high. When we have a problem that manifests, we should look at fixing and solving that problem, not necessarily shutting it down. Thank you very much. Thank you, kenneth. Well move onto question number 4. What are the primary issues regarding homelessness in district 7. What programs or services would you bring to the community to address these issues, and well start with stephen. In my experience as a first responder, every day i go to work, im right there in the trenches, dealing with homelessness. I worked at some of San Franciscos busiest fire stations, where i ran up to 20 or 30 calls a day, most of which were homeless calls, and in my experience, the homeless crisis in San Francisco is very much closely tied to a drug and Mental Health crisis. We had nearly 300 fentanyl deaths in 2018, nearly 400 last year, and the number is on pace to be even higher this year. So one of the biggest things we can do to solve the homeless problem not only in district 7 but citywide is really crack down on these drug dealers who are imprisoning people in a cycle of poverty, misery, and drug addiction. Thats one of the biggest things we can do to start. The other thing is lobby for those increased conservatorship laws, and im willing to go to sacramento to do that. Thank you, stephen. Next will be myrna. Thank you, dee. Your question was about district 7, and i just want to point out that district 7 is very different than district 6 or district 5 in terms of our homeless epidemic. The majority of folks who are experiencing drug problems are not drug addicts, theyre working people, living in homeless encampments and vans. The other day, my friend who owns a coffee shop called me and said there was a young woman on the street with no place to go. Hes, like, myrna, what do i do . We dont have the Wraparound Services that exist in other districts, and we need them. We need to have shower sites where people can dispose of our waste so that it doesnt go into our sewer drains and people can be treated with dignity. Thats what we need. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next will be emily. Yes, i believe strongly that its a human rights violation to let people sleep on the streets. Were one of the wealthiest cities in the world. We cannot tolerate this situation anymore. Unfortunately, homelessness is not just a d7 issue. Its a citywide issue. Ive been on the record opposing a Navigation Center in d7 because its too costly. The embarcadero Navigation Center is 12. 5 Community Funds for 200 beds. Families and women are not well served by tents or cots. I advocate for the flexible subsidy pool that aims to provide 200 apartments with a door and a key and an address. And i want to make sure that women dont get lost in this. Domestic violence is the number one cause of homelessness on the streets. We need to fund Domestic Violence services. Thank you, emily. Well move onto question five. What programs do you support that address homeless and Mental Health problems in San Francisco . Well start with polasco. Mental health access, if its fully funded, i think we can make a visible impact on our streets. This goes hand in hand with the reform that we want at the criminal justice level. If Police Officers can be focused on just reporting to crime, we can actually have social workers and folks that are really trained and know the nuances of deescalation and Mental Health intervention, and that really stems from Mental Health sf, and i think it is a much needed program citywide. I think here in district 7, i think we can all echo the same underlying issues that, you know, the unhoused issue is very different from the other districts, but that is one program and policy that im fully in support of. Thank you, velasquez. Next will be ben. Thank you. I had a young kid that worked for me four years ago that died of a Drug Overdose. Was born and raised in San Francisco and died of a Drug Overdose on our streets in San Francisco just two months ago. We have an epidemic on our streets. We need to make sure we have treatment on demand and the services that actually deliver for folks like that. This is an issue that hits folks of all backgrounds, of all neighborhoods, of all parts of the city, and i think the city has been slow to respond. You see it in the numbers, you see it in the raise in fentanyl deaths. Mental health sf is a good program, but in a way, its a repaneli repackaging of the services that already existed. It really is just the first step forward, but we need new services, and thats what ill do as supervisor. Thank you, ben. The next is joel. We will be solve our homeless crisis until we deal with our Mental Health crisis. In San Francisco, theres something called the Mental Health court. This is if someone attacks someone while having a Mental Health attack on the street, they dont get jail time. And this is a good thing because we dont want jail to be the de facto services. I think we should be supporting conservatorship laws. This doesnt mean going back to the awful days of nurse ratchet and the mental asylum. I know thats a reference to netflix and a show in the 70s, but its a new idea that will give people the treatment they need. Thank you, joel. Well move to question 6. The increase in crime, including burglaries and breakins have become a concern to the residents of district 7. What actions would you propose to the police and the City Administration to handle the increase in property crimes . Well start with kenneth. Hi. Thank you very much. Our current district 7 supervisor and president of the board held a meeting for our neighborhood. He lives here in westwood park, and i was surprised at the feedback. It was specific to crime, exactly what youre asking about, and it was predominantly property crime, and the conversation moved onto home invasion. What i could tell in that meeting was people were scared. They were scared about the change thats occurring now. You ask what we should be doing. First of all, we need to be much tougher on car breakins and home invasions. I agree that we need to help these people, but as soon as we have those Property Damage that actually scare people from wanting to go out to their car as night, from locking their door at night, triple locking, triple checking, we need to make sure we have a beat cop on the street and my time is up. Thank you, kenneth. And next is stephen. One of the things i think we can do right now as a community to help make our neighborhoods more safe is form Neighborhood Watch programs, and theyve actually shown great success. There is a particular block in Diamond Heights where the Neighborhood Watch program is wired very tight, and its actually an anomaly of no crime in the middle of a neighborhood which has signature criificanto thats one thing we can do. The other thing we can do is join programs like sf safe, which teaches residents how to be safer and look out for each other. Im always a big proponent of hiring more cops. Im one of the few candidates that have gone on record saying defunding the police is the wrong way to go. We need more training, more police, and the crime thats happening times up. Thank you, stephen. Next, well hear from myrna. Thank you. There have been other communities who have come up with really innovative communitybased approaches to keep better eyes on the streets. Folk who are embedded in the Community Know their neighbors, who know the patterns, know the businesses. One that im fond of in chinatown is the peace collaborative. Its young folks and retired folks who have been trained to do that. When things are kind of off, they have a person to call, and then, theres a person thats already been Building Trust in that community. I am a big proponent of programs like that. They are actually quite Cost Effective and less violent than, you know, having folks with arms on the street, but it also builds trust and a knowledge of the community and theyre remarkably effective. Thank you, myrna. Now well move to question number 7. How would you approach potential proposals to reallocate funds from policing excuse me to Mental Health and social services while still prioritizing Public Safety . And well start with emily. So ive been on record opposed to defending police, disbanding police. We have had an uptick in property crime, home invasion. There was a suspected arson of one of our local businesses, dragon printing. There was a robbery at miracle cleaning on ocean. We cant expect an Immediate Response if were going to cut the Police Budget. Now within the Police Budget, i do believe im very data driven and evidence based, and u. C. Berkeley did a study of foot patrols in sfpd. In 2017, when chief scott reassigned more officers to foot patrols, there was a 20 decline in assaults. Thats evidencebased interventions. We need more foot patrols, Community Policing, crime spotting, and antibias training in the Police Department. Thank you, emily. And next is polasca. Yeah, i agree with emily. I think when were being smarter about our Police Budget, we dont need Police Officers responding to noncriminal Mental Health crises. There is a world where we can be smarter about our Police Budget while reallocating that saved money to folks and social workers at the department of Public Health that can actually do that outreach for those folks going through a Mental Health crisis. Its unfortunate that weve gotten into slogans into defunding the police, abolishing the police, but i think if were truly committed to police accountability, well see our Police Budget getting smaller, and we can use that money for much needed services here in San Francisco. Thank you, velasca. Next is ben. We can certainly all agree, if you would have watched this same debate when i was growing up 20plus years ago, it was the same concepts that came out. We want more beat officers. Over the years, the same promises get made, and nothing changes. Right now, four out of ten positions at one precinct is vacant. Theres some very basic times around response times and now that correlates to staffing in the Police Department. I think chief scott when talking about the budget this year was accurate. We want a Police Department thats more diverse, speaks multiple languages. We have young kids coming through the department thats coming through with advanced degrees in criminalology, and we only do that by funding by the Police Department. Thank you, ben. Now we move to the next question. What specific changes would you support in defunding the police, and what changes would you like to see . Well start with ben. I agree with joe biden and governor newsom. Calls for mentally ill people can better be handled by social workers. Im Vice President s of a Victims Rights Group called stop police sf. I see that home burglaries are up 60 this year. Homicides and firearm shootings are both up 30 , so we still need police to do the detective work. We need police to protect the public, and we cant forget about the victims of crime. I do not believe in defunding or disbanding the Police Department. The New York Times recently featured our Police Department as a model of reform, so we should continue that process, and takes more funding, not less, but we should recruit more officers from Diverse Communities and those who only serve at the highest standards. Thank you, joel. Next will be kenneth. So lots of smart people, and i think if you vote for any of us, youre going to get a good supervisor. So velasco said it well. Defunding the police is a bad term. Its a horrible term. It sounds like you want to get rid of them, but in reality, its a reallocation. Im with our current chief. He has some really good ideas about how to use funding for Mental Health and Domestic Violence in particular, and i think those are two areas absolutely that we could have specialists that dont need to be police. That being said, i am a metricdriven individual. I come from the business side, and i believe firmly if we are going to allocate funds into just about anything, you track what occurs, and then, you make decisions about how successful it is, and if it doesnt meet the metrics you put in place and the goals you put in place, you take that money back, and you put it to better use. Thank you. Thank you, kenneth. And next will be stephen. I want to be very, very cautious about replacing Police Officers by Mental Health workers to deal with people with Mental Health crisis because human nature is very, very unpredictable. When youre high on drugs, even more so, and i have personal experience with this. Ive been on multiple calls where people have overdosed, and theyre sedated or passed out. You give them narcan, and even the smallest personal temporarily displaced can have super human strength. It happened to me, but this is the thing. People can act very violently very quickly, and a Mental Health worker alone by himself is not trained to deal with that. So while im not opposed to having Mental Health workers and Homeless Team outreach people to accompany police, i dont believe at any time they should be a total replacement for the police. Thank you, stephen. Now well move onto question number 9. How will you ensure that residents of district 7 have access to services and resources that will help them meet their basic needs as they struggle with the challenges of covid19, and well start with myrna. Thanks for the question. I think that district 7 has, for many, many years, been short changed in the services that we receive. Theres a perception that were all right. Were wealthy, and theres nothing that we need when, in fact, we have a very Large Population of folks that are elderly, immigrants, people who dont speak english. Were a quite diverse district that has a lot of needs. I think in terms of my priorities that you asked about are food security. When the pandemic started, we started working at the food bank thattum emily has started and my daughter, as well. We thought we were going to see 200, and we saw 700. Foot security, transportation, housing, all of those services are needed in district 7, and i will prioritize them. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next is emily. Yeah. So among the 40 different neighborhoods in district 7, there are varying degrees of organization. So, for example, i know ben has worked very hard to help the west portal neighborhood be organized. Lake shore was not very well organized, so actually, joel, whos a neighbor, and i helped standup resilient lake shore, and we put out hundreds of door hangers with resources for covid for our neighbors. Id like to make sure theres seed funding for every neighborhood to band together, whether its crime or covid, and really create Community Within the neighborhood. We have the strongest along access ordinance in the country, and we are obligated to provide services to english language learners at the same level as native speakers, so i will make sure that services for example, briefings by the police are in multiple languages. Thank you, emily. And next is velasco. Im extremely proud of my criminal justice experience, being a public defender going on my 16th year now. Every day, walking into court, that is a phenomenal responsibility to provide a voice to those who are forgotten and marginalized. I think as an extension of my advocacy as a public defender, we need a leader at city hall who is going to speak up and advocate and really ensure that district 7 has all the resources that our community needs. Myrna and emily touched upon some of our most vulnerable, particularly the elderly. And with the population and communities being comprised of 17 chinese, particularly a lot of elderly folks who dont have a lot of family support, we need a mixture and every resource available to make sure that theyre not isolated, and to make sure their health and wellbeing is taken care of during this pandemic. Thank you, velasca. Now well move onto question number 10. What is your plan to bring back business and encourage new businesses in the west portal and 9th and irving shop districts . Well start with ben. Thank you. And i would expand that question to include both ocean avenue, lakeside, taraval, and 19th. Our neighborhood commercial corridors are amazing. They are the envy of so many areas of San Francisco, and theyre a Gathering Place for so many in our community. And frankly, theyre not getting enough attention, and, you know, what we early on in covid, i helped set up the largest covid19 response effort in district 7, and one of the things that we did right at the beginning was we brought in the merchants. We knew how difficult it was going to be. That type of Small Business advocacy doesnt take place right now. The city loves to tout being in partnership with Small Business. Im a Small Business owner. I dont think that anybody in the city feels genuinely that the city is in partnership with them. Theres a lot of fees that you just dont know about. Theres an opportunity to have clarity, and i will certainly champion Small Business. Thank you, ben. Next, well hear from joel. Even when the economy was booming, our Small Businesses were in trouble. We have to remember that last year, 500 restaurants closed in San Francisco, and why did that happen . Its because city hall was killing Small Businesses with all of its permits and fees and regulations. So we need to acknowledge that Small Businesses were dieing before the pandemic because we cannot go back to the way things were. The chronicle reported that San Francisco is one of the most difficult cities to open a food truck. We should be the easiest city to open a food truck, especially during a pandemic. Some regulation is necessary to keep people safe, but beyond that, we should let an entrepreneur with a good idea try anything they want. Give them a long runway to see if it works, and we need to foster that creativity because we dont know what the great new idea is thats going to save our economy, but we want to make sure that we create the economy where that can happen, and were not stifling it. Thank you, joel. Next, well hear from kenneth. Hi, thank you. So excellent points already from joel and ben. Very consistent. I will tell you this, that the San Francisco does not city a Small Business as a help to the city, they see it as a tax base. The burden to open up a business is ridiculous in this city. It is easier, less regulation to put a satellite in space than it is to open up a basis in San Francisco. Thats a bit of a joke. If prop 13, this new amendment, passes on commercial development with commercial debt lessening that burden, some of that is going to be passed onto Small Businesses. The reality of the day is weve got a lot to change. Weve got a lot of regulation to get rid of. The last thing is this city may have changed. Look at whats happening downtown. And if the Office Workers dont even come back to 80 to 90 , the Small Businesses there are going to get hurt, and its going to permeate itself through the city. Thank you, kenneth. And next, well move onto question number 11. There is concern that the California Environmental act, ceqa, regulations are being used to create significant delays in the revenue of City Projects. How will you approach this issue . And well start with stephen. Okay. So i think that the ceqa may have become a little bit convoluted. It was meant to be protecting the environment and ensuring the wellbeing of people, but i think its kind of become a little bit weaponized at times. People use it to stop other businesses and really burden new startups from ever happening. So one thing id like to see is if theres a way to simplify the processes, if the community has the ability to speak on behalf of their community if theres a new business coming in. I feel like we can do a lot to simplify the process, reduce the time that a business spends in approval, and really, i think that would go a long way to improving the economy, at least more Small Business startups. Thank you, stephen. Next will be myrna. Ceqa is a good tool, its an important tool. Not only does it help us protect the environment, it also helps protect our historic resources. It can be cumbersome and lengthens the time that a project takes to completion, but i am a Firm Believer in democracy, and this is the way our communities have had a say in whether we preserve something or we clean something up before something gets built. It is very important, and i think we need to not shortcut it or cut people out of the process or only let the loudest voices or the people who have the most resources weighin. I think we need to keep using it as a way it was intended, as a democratic tool for people to weighin on development. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next is emily. Yes. So my approach is generally to listen and lead for our neighborhoods. Community Stakeholder Input is essential in things like the ceqa. Were seeing sort of the negative impacts of environmental unsustainable behaviors with the fires and with the pollution, so ceqa is very important. Neighbors must have a say in things that go up in the neighborhood. On the other hand, it shouldnt be the case that a Single Person can halt a project. So there was a big article in the chronicle. A project should be halted by at least 50 people. I agree with that, and it shouldnt be at least one person. Thank you, emily. Okay. Well move onto question number 12. San francisco has a significant deficit in the upcoming budget, which, due to covid19, will likely persist in the future. What specific policies will you champion to address the likely current and future issues related to budget decisions . And well start with vela asca but in 2008, i remember being calling into my offices conference room, and i remember my boss asking if anyone wanted to take an unpaid voluntary leave. And i remember being shocked, angry, and pretty scared for about a year as a relatively new lawyer practicing. And im not comparing what we went through over a decade ago to this unprecedented pandemic, but it did serve us in terms of the rainy day funds that we prepared for this particular scenario. Im looking out the window, and it is absolutely pouring. If this is not a scenario to rely to those rainy day funds, i dont know what is. But we dont have to rely only on those rainy day funds. There are measures on the ballot in november that will enable us during this pandemic to survive. Thank you, velasco. Now well hear from ben. Were in an economic crisis, certainly in the state of california, and certainly in San Francisco. The challenge is the district 7 supervisor has historically been a leader on the budget and really been a longterm thinker. I think fundamentally in this race, voters are going to make trade offs. Because in a city that has a 13. 6 billion budget, there are 8. 6 billion of asks. I come from a 15year experience asking for money and getting results for causes. Whether thats large scale housing, whether thats building in ports, whether thats access to the internet. I think those skills are absolutely needed. Theres a misconception somehow that were one audit short from Better Outcomes of homelessness. It is a workmans journey thank you, ben. Next is joel. We have to acknowledge that the budget was too big the past decade. It doubled, and nothing got better. City hall just spends whatever it wants, and it uses residents like its a nonstop a. T. M. That needs to stop. The hard truth . We need to cut salaries and cut jobs, just like mayor newsom did during the great recession. Back then, we had 26,000 employees, which was too many. Today, we have 40,000, which is not sustainable. Theres never going to be enough revenue for what we need. We talk about rainy day funds. It was irresponsible yesterday or today to use our rainy day funds to give City Employees raises. We should be saving so we dont have to lay people off. Thank you, joel. Well move onto question number 13. Many residents take advantage of open space and nature for recreation and health benefits. How would you ensure that these resources are maintained not only for district 7 but for all of san franciscans, and well start with kenneth. At this, thank yhi, thank y. I really wish i could have answered that last question because ive got a lot to say here. Certainly, the open space in this city is fantastic. Actually, in district 7, its reasonably limited, so i am a huge fan of the parks. I think the parks are one of the most wonderful things that we have here in the city. Golden gate park running from the middle of the city to the ocean, mclaren park being the biggest park in the city over here not too far from the district. What i think we need to do is maintain them. Theres been calls to open up some of the nonused areas for development, and i am completely against that. What i want to say is the twablt to actually access them and for people to feel safe. I think its one of the biggest issues for mclaren. You can look at it statistically as the biggest park in the city. There are safety concerns in the city that we really dont need to anymore. We need to use those parks and fund them. Thank you. Thank you, kenneth. Next, well hear from stephen. Im a huge proponent of open space. As a kid, i grew up within walking distance of mount davidson. Glen canyon park, one of the few creeks left running through the city. Whatever we can do to preserve those treasures, im all about it. One of the things that i want to say is some of our open spaces are looking a little bit rough. Mount davidson in particular, its overgrown with eucalyptus, thornberrys, ivy. I think from a safety toppstan approximate point, you need to open it up and let people access it to enjoy. Theres been talk of using our park open space for development. Im totally against it. Theres so little of it left. Thank you, steven. Thank you, myrna. Im a little surprised, steven, that you dont have a lot of open space in district 7. We have a lot of really great space. For the past four years, ive been on the Planning Commission. I was the president for the last year, and in conjunction with the recreation and parks department, we approved a plan for the maintenance of the wilderness areas, some areas that are open space in the city. As steven pointed out, we are experiencing some nonnative species that have taken over our parks. Like Everything Else in San Francisco, it is contentious, whether we get rid of the eukal eucalyptus, whether we keep it, but its one of the things that makes San Francisco a great place to live. Thank you, myrna. What would you do to cut down on the amount of emissions caused by fossil fuels . Well hear from emily. Thank you. We need to promote Public Transit. We need to get mouny back where it once was precovid. Since the pandemic, ive become an expert avid cyclist. We need to encourage walking, but i also want to acknowledge that there are some folks in the community would have to rely on who have to rely on cars. Perhaps theres people with disabilities, seniors, young children. So i dont envision a 100 car free environment, but i would like to see more options. For example, for rental bikes, if there are families that cant afford to rent those bikes, we should subsidize those, really, and encourage bike traffic. We also need to address our eating habits. Im a big proponent of meatless mondays perhaps in the schools and the city, and to buy local. Thank you, emily. Next. Well hear from velasca. I like the idea of meatless mondays. I think im going to adopt that. We need to get to a point in our city where taking Public Transportation is the preference in terms of efficiency and the first choice. I mean, i drive my minivan and my two kids around out of necessity, and i dont like this dichotomy where people are blamed for depending on their cars here in district 7. I think we have a long way to go in terms of improving our Public Infrastructure and transit system. I think theres a world where we can get there. Its going to take a lot of work, but i think in terms of starting with meatless mondays and then taking this as a top priority in terms of improving our infrastructure will be a long way, but we can get there. Thank you, velasca. Now well hear from ben. Im a father, and i have a young daughter thats 15 months old. When i think about our city, i think about our planet, it rightfully causes alarms for people across the planet. If you look at the fires raging across california, people are concerned about that. San francisco has consistently taken a leadership approach on this. I think one of the key elements is actually pushing towards a transit first city, and how that becomes possible is when muni is clean, safe, and reliable. Its very simple. You know, for 15 years, when everyone looked at the ridership surveys, it says clean, safe, and reliable. Right now, even before the pandemic hit, people did not feel that way on muni. We have an opportunity right now to be able to change a lot of the things that were thank about the Transportation System and move toward that. It starts with replacing some of the basics, and thats what ill champion. Thank you, ben. Final question for all candidates. What would be your top three priorities for your term as supervisor, and what is the boldest idea that you think that you will bring to the table . And so this is for all candidates, and well start with kenneth. Great. I really like this question. Thank you very much. So so so accountability. We can talk how much time do i have . Its just one minute. So ive got a lot to say. So accountability on the budget. The budget was a joke that we just passed. Its based on data that income is not going to come in if we dont pass all these measures come november. I think we need to hold these supervisors accountable, but of course they wont be held accountable. The one plan that i would like to see done is every public official in San Francisco take mass transit, Public Transit, for 80 of their work and be fined if they do not. If these Public Officials do not back Public Transit, they dont have a willingness to ride that Public Transit, then they should vote that way when theyre in office. Im all for every elected official taking Public Transportation for 80 of their work and fined if not. Thank you. Thank you, kenneth. Now well hear from myrna. Thank you, dee. Actually, the boldest idea that i have is we are going to have a woman as supervisor for district 7. Thats pretty he had bold. It would be the first time that thats happened. I also have lots of ideas about housing production. I think that we are remarkably uncreative with how we do this. The biggest area where i think that we could make progress is in workforce housing. We have a lot of major employers in San Francisco that dont have this as part of their business plan. I think folks could, you know, put some of their money into a fund that would be more flexib flexible and more patient than what we could get from wells fargo bank. I think its an idea that needs infrastructure and capacity, and i intend to push it forward. Thank you. Thank you, myrna. Next, well hear from velasca. Its supremeextremely scary think what our environments going to look like in the next ten years, and we need to focus on Environmental Justice if were going to take care of our city and our environment. I believe that working class families really make this city go, so ensuring that working class families can afford to live here and earn a living wage is going to be a top priority. But being a public defender, i am proud of my work in terms of criminal justice reform. I think on day one, one of my boldest plans would actually be to write policy that would essentially outline Police Officers not responding to noncriminal offenses, and i think that would be a first step in terms of really improving our Police Department but ensuring the safety of our community. Thank you, velasca. Next, well hear from emily. Yes. So modelled after president obamas american recovery and reinvestment act. I would call for a San Francisco recovery and reinvestment ordinance. The bold part of this is i would ask my colleagues, the mayor to set aside political differences and work towards a single goal of getting San Francisco back on track, to get businesses reopened, get people back to work. I would call for expanding child care resources, investing in neighborhoods, more foot patrols. But another big idea would be universal free wifi, to have it be government owned but bid out to operations. I wouldnt want the government to run the wifi system, but this universal free wifi could be an engine for new businesses, new connections, new economic activity. Thank you, emily. And next, well hear from ben. You know, the boldest thing that i would do is actually deliver. I think all of the things that we care about in San Francisco, the fundamental challenge is the announcement, and then, the day after, nothing seems to go forward at the same pace. And i think what we see in a lot of these debates in city hall is what i like to call policy popcorn, and idea, idea, idea. All the big challenges that we have in San Francisco, whether its homelessness, whether its tackling corruption in contracting, whether its pushing back against affordable, it takes experience, and it takes showing up every day. One of the things that i tell everyone is i work for you. I think a lot of times, we have supervisors that are chasing the next announcement, not chasing the end result thats g going to make your life better, so im running, and im fighting to deliver on that. Thank you, ben. Next, well hear from stephen. Okay. So ive got a couple of, i think, pretty good ideas. Well, first of all, i think the three biggest issues that were facing right now is San Francisco is corruption, homelessness, and crime. So for the corruption part of it, one thing that i want to do which i think is pretty bold is call for term limits. Two terms, and youre done forever. We have john avalos and aaron peskin that have served before, and now theyre running again. I feel like theyve had their time in the sun, sand now its time to step down and let somebody else run for a little bit. As far as crime goes, im going to call out our d. A. I think hes failing as our d. A. Its time we get somebody in there that knows what theyre doing and is not afraid to do it. I think we need to have stronger conservators. Im willing to go to sacramento and lobby and enforce to get it. Thank you, stephen. And finally, well hear from joel. Were facing a lot of challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, but this is an opportunity, and i think we need to get city hall to focus, focus, focus on the basics. Less crime, better services. Until we get those right, Everything Else is distraction. I want fiber for all. Im not talking about the fiber you eat, im talking about internet for all. Work has changed forever because of the pandemic. We need fiber infrastructure, and its something basic. I think fiber is the 21st century version of filling potholes. I think the city should lease it out to private enterprise and make money on it, and then make sure that everyone has access to subsidies because this is whats going to save our economy and allow us to be plugged in and open for business. So thats the bold idea. Thank you, joel. That concludes our questions for this evening. And now we kpcome to the candidates closing statements. Well do the statements in reverse alphabetical order, and well start with velasquez. I think when it comes down to district 7, it comes down to who do you trust to represent the voices here in district 7, and also, who is going to be Strong Enough and unafraid to push against the status quo . I am proud to be the only candidate that is supportive of having a Navigation Center in district 7. I was equally as proud to be a candidate to support supervisor mars public advocate. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what were going to see as the corruption unfolds, and more individuals are indicted. And i also am extremely proud that when i started my campaign, i was the only candidate that objected to the mayors nominee of the police commission, a prosecutor who wasnt dedicated to criminal justice reform. I am the leader because i am unafraid to take bold action and represent the folks out here in district 7. Thank you, velasca. Thank you. Now well hear from steven. As long as were talking status quo, i dont think theres anybody less status quo or business as usual than i am. Im not afraid to speak truth to power. When i began my campaign, i made one promise to myself. That is always tell the truth and dont hold back, and the response has been tremendous. I started my campaign with myself and my accountant, and people have come out from all over the city to say, thank you, stephen, for speaking the truth. Someone thats not afraid to speak their mind and identify the problems in our city and talk about them honestly and frankly, and thats me. Im offering a different approach. Im offering common sense politics. Im no b. S. I dont have time for political correctness. Ive only got time to make good decisions and speak truth to power. Thank you for voting for me. Thank you, stephen. And next well hear from myrna. Four years ago, we had a National Election where a guy that convinced millions of american that policy experience and lemgs lay tiff experience were unnecessary in gorcvernin and that has not worked out so well for us. I will tell you that i have decades of experience in public policy, and i have more than just opinions about the things that really are affecting san franciscans. I can show you programs that ive developed and legislation that i have written, organizations that i have worked on that have produced results for thousands of families, housing projects that have been built and financed, and i think thats what we need. We need someone who has experience, who has relationships, who will be able to do the things that we need for district 7, to drieliver services for our community. I hope you pick me as your number one choice. Thank you, myrna. Next, well hear from kenneth. Hi, thank you very much for having me today. Youve heard a lot from all of us, and think any of us would be fine. Ive also heard a lot of platitudes. And it didnt take long to bring up trump. The idea of having business in government is incredibly important. Take a look at what people are expecting. Rather than solving a business crisis, you want to chase reality. You want someone with a good solid business background that can solve problems. What you have is people who have been receiving government checks for a very long time who want to keep doing so. I hope i get your vote for district 7 supervisor. Thank you. Thank you, kenneth. And next, well hear from joel. Hi. Im Joel Engardio. Ive lived in San Francisco for 22 years. I was a journalist, and my role was to hold the city accountable, and ill do the same as supervisor. I think city hall should be treating residents like customers because without them, we dont have a city. Kids should be able to attend their neighborhood schools, and entrepreneurs should be able to open a business without facing road blocks. City hall should be focused on the basics and getting the basics right. I have 24 years left on minority gage, so mortgage, so i wonder what San Francisco is going to look like by the time its paid off. We need a combination of innovation and common sense. Im Joel Engardio, and i would love to have your number one vote. Thank you. Thank you, joel, and next, well hear from emily. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my ideas and platform. I served 28 years under five mayors. I was held accountable for every public dollar i spent. I already have relationships with police chief scott, Health Director colfax. Ive been twice elected to will school board. I served as president when the School District put together its long range Strategic Plan, and im so pleased to say that plan is paying off. San francisco had a Graduation Rate of 89 , exceeding the state rate of 86 , and black graduates exceeded 90 for the first time. Im supported by assembby nume officials, and i respectfully ask for your vote. Thank you, and last, well hear from ben. My name is ben matranga, and i respectfully ask for your vote. Im endorsed by Public Safety leaders like sheriff vickie hennessy, former district 7 supervisor susie loftus. These are going to be a series of difficult decisions over the next four years, and some people arent going to be happy. You cant fund everything, and what i come to the table with is a life thats been grounded in district 7. I come to the availabtable wite of delivering products for people that i think creates the best scenario where we can actually move our city forward and recover from covid. Thank you. Thank you, ben. Okay. On behalf of myself and the league of women voters of San Francisco, our thanks to the candidates for participating. And thanks to each of our attendees for taking the time to inform yourself about your choices on november 3. Its coming right up. Please remember to register to vote if you havent already registered, and please urge others to registered. I just heard today, one in four is still not registered, so we have work to do. If youve changed your name or youve moved, you will need to reregister, so please check that. And if you will be voting by mail this year, please ensure your ballot is dropped off at a polling place or Voting Center early. Early is the keyword there. If you have any questions about voting, go to our website, lwvsf. Org. Thank you so much, all of you, for attending and participating. Good evening, and vote. My name is ahsha safai, and im the current district 11 supervisor. Were building housing on a scale weve never done before, almost 600 units, 65 of it being affordable to working families. Weve planted over 2,000 trees, and weve investing in our transportation like weve never done before. Weve done speed cushions, were doing transportation improvements on mission and general geneva, and were making sure we have affordable and accessible transportation. During this time of crisis, we are weve been in constant reaction mode to make sure our citizens have the protection and access to health care that we need. Weve opened up ultimate multiple testing sites in our districts. Weve distributed thousands of masks to families and individuals to make sure that theyre safe. Weve been on constant, constant mode of delivering services during this crisis. One of the largest things thats also happened in our city and our nation is black lives Matter Movement. Weve eninsured, working with our mayor and supervisor walton, that weve invested in the Community Life never been done before. Weve directed over 120 million in black led organizations and in the black community. In my district in particular, its building on the success we started over three years ago where weve been investing in those communities and those leaders and those businesses consistently. I would appreciate your support. Im running for reelection to continue to work aggressively for the residents of San Francisco and the residents of district 11. Thank you. Skbl. Hello. Im shawnna loghorn with the league of women voters. Along with the league and sfgovtv, im here to discuss proposition b, a proposition that will be on the ballot and before the voters on november 3. The city has three departments tasked with cleaning tasks. The city administrator oversees the department of public works and appoints the director with the mayors director. Proposition b is a Charter Amendment that would create a department of sanitation and streets which would take over some of the duties of the department of public works. This new department of sanitation and streets would be responsible for sweeping streets and cleaning sidewalks, providing and maintaining sidewalk trash cans, removing graffiti and illegally dumped waste and maintaining city buildings, public rest rooms, and street trees. The department of public works would continue to provide all other Services Required by law. Proposition b would create a fivemember sanitation and streets commission to oversee the department of sanitation and streets as well as a fivemember Public Works Commission to oversee the department of public works. The mayor would select the directors of both departments. If you vote yes, you want to create a department of sanitation and streets with oversight from a sanitation and streets commission, and you want to establish a Public Works Commission to oversee the department of public works. If you vote no, you do not want to make these changes. Im here with honey mahogany, a legislative aide with supervisor haneys office. Were also joined by lari m larry marso, an opponent of the measure. Were going to start with some Opening Statements, and well begin with honey. Thank you so much for having us today. I think that as a native san franciscan, someone who grew up here, and a Small Business owner, its become very clear to me that San Francisco has really failed at keep our city clean the clean. There is trash all over the streets, some streets are covered with feces, and sometimes you cant find a bathroom when you need one. Weve been working on how the city can better address this issu issue. What we found is the system that we have in place is broken. No matter how hard the workers at d. P. W. Work, theyre unable to get the streets clean because the system is ineffective. D. P. W. Is too big, there isnt enough focus on the streets, and especially during the time of covid19, sanitations now more important than ever, so we are putting forward a new department of sanitation to effectively keep our streets clean, wash our sidewalks in our most busy corridors and also to establish commissions overboth d. P. W. And the department to ensure that both departments are accountable to the public. The commission will also set baseline standards for cleaning, something that really doesnt exist now under the Current System. Thank you, honey. Now, larry . Hi. Please vote no on proposition b, which takes a 400 million San Francisco agency and needlessly cuts it in half and politicizes what remains. Its the case chaos and paralysis that will worsen the squalor on our streets. San francisco has the political will to clean the streets. The board of supervisors does not. Proposition b creates two new bureaucracies and injects politics into the department of public works. This is a failed model of oversight. We have over 100 boards and commissions in San Francisco already. Proposition b sets no clean streets standards. Theres nothing in here that says we are going to deal with the needles, the syringes, the feces on the streets. Its not there. Matt haney writes in his argument that theyre in proposition b. Theres nothing in proposition b that sets baseline standards. We need we need we need to address the fraud and waste in the department of public works. Thank you, larry. Thats 1. 5 minutes, so were going to go into questions now, and the first question will go to you, larry, and then honey, youll have a chance to answer it. The question is the amendment would create a new department of sanitation and streets to perform duties thats currently performed by the department of public works. If thats the proposition, whats the argument for creating a new department . The city controller says its going to cost upwards of 6 million a year. Thats over 50 million in ten years. Thats a lot of money. But if you look at the paid arguments for proposition b, you see a long list of Public Sector labor unions. The seiu and the San Francisco labor locals representing the trades that engage in cleaning our streets and maintaining some of our parks. Theyre talking about we need more resources, we need more resources. They believe that this new structure, which is going to put the board of supervisors in the position of straiting political appointee placing political appointees into governing these agencies, they believe it will mean significantly higher spending. And nowhere do the proponents of proposition b stay straight to the San Francisco people that this is a major spending increase. Will it address any of the core issues of cleaning San Francisco streets . Not if it atdss drug addiction, homeless, and Mental Illness on our streets, the root of so much of our problem. Thank you. The same question to you, honey. Why create a new department . Well, i would like to first address some factual inaccuracies in some of those statements. One, the measure does require the department to set public standards for cleaning. We want to hold Community Outreach to set those standards. There is a metric to address that. Also, i do want to correct that the controller report says the updated controller report says this will be closer to 2. 6 milli 2. 6 million in costs to create this new department. The reason we have to create this new department is the Current Department is broken. There is not enough oversight over cleaning and sanitation in the Current System. It is less than a quarter of what d. P. W. Does. D. P. W. Is a department with 1600 employees, and like you said, a 400 million budget. Less than a quarter is dedicated to cleaning. We feel like a metro city in San Francisco where tourism is its number one industry, we need to have a focus on cleaning with metrics that are created in a very transparent manner, a method for us to have feedback, and for the public to have feedback, and again, really providing some very close oversight and accountability for a department that, up until now, really hasnt had any. Thank you, honey. Our second question, and itll start with you, honey, is again, about the cost. The office of the controller states that this amendment, in the report that i read, ranged from 2 2. 5 to 6 million annually. Honey corrected that it will be just over 2 million. Do we think this is the right way to spend the extra money on sanitation or is there another way that is perhaps more beneficial . You know, 2. 6 million is a very small its less than a percent or a fraction of a percent of the citys current budget. Its a small amount of revenue that the city would generate through improvement to its business districts. It has been very public how weve been criticized by all over the world, really, for our filthy streets. The travel industry has been impacted, our Hotel Industry has been impacted, so those are our Biggest Industries for our city. So for the city to spend 2 million on an issue that we havent been able to fix in decades is nothing. I will note that the legislation actually also reduces duplication in terms of staffing by putting some of the staffing as shared with d. P. W. For the back end, which larry referred to earlier, and it also required city administrator to also provide that support. So the additional hiring is really minimal. There is some costs for the commissions, but again, the controller actually the f. B. I. And the scandal recommended that supervision be placed over d. P. W. , so it is good governance. Itll put a commission over d. P. W. , and itll also put a commission over the department of sanitation and streets to oversee them. Okay. Larry, same question to you. Since 2014, the portion of department of public works spending on cleaning our streets has doubled. If you look around you, do you see that our streets are cleaner . Spending money is not the solution to cleaning our streets when we have significant significant endemic root causes of drug abuse and Mental Illness on our streets. The department of public works, if its split in half, its going to generate more costs than simply what the controller has documented. There are duplications of bandend services backend services. Okay. But why are the biggest unions in San Francisco pouring money into this measure . Theyre doing so because theyre looking for higher pay and more hiring. Sorry. I have to cut you off there as time is up for questions, but were going to move into closing statements, and we will start with honey. Thank you so much. Its funny because i think larry and i agree that weve been pumping money into d. P. W. , and things havent gotten any better. In fact, things have gotten worse, and that is why were establishing the department of sanitation and streets because the Current System is broken. Were going to be providing accountability, setting baseline standards. I have to say the reason why so many labor unions are behind this is we figured out a solution that would work for everybody. Its not about raising salaries for anything like that. These are hard working san franciscans, people who really care about their city and want to be proud of their city and the work they do, and they know best how to address this problem because theyre dealing with it every day. So were proud to have worked with them, to provide this measure of accountability to provide safer, cleaner streets, trash cans that will work, access to more rest rooms. More Green Infrastructure which has been sorely lacking. And, again, public accountability and a real focus on street cleaning. So im very proud of the measure, and i implore san franciscans, if you want to see our travel industry be reinvigorated, our children and familied supported by the picking up of needles and keeping our streets clean, then please vote yes on proposition b. Thank you, honey. Closing statements from larry, please. Proposition b will politicize the department of public works. Thats why i and a number of centrist politicians and organizations are opposed to proposition b, on the board of supervisors, supervisor sandra fewer voted no, raff vel mandelman voted now, more man yee, voted no, catherine steph he knee voted no. The Ed Lee Democratic Club says no. The sfgop says no. You have people across the political spectrum who recognize that this is going to increase costs significantly while at the same time inducing chaos in Public Services, paralysis in the cleaning of our streets. Uncertainty at a time that San Francisco needs to be smart and focused in how it spends its money, how it raises its money, and to address the real causes of what we see going on in our streets. Matt haney does not represent a common sense approach on homelessness, drug abuse, or Mental Illness. I have tried to bring these solutions myself to a citizen ballot measure on the regulation of Navigation Centers. The entire ballot youre seeing was put together by the board of supervisors. No one could even collect signatures under shelter in place to propose alternative measures, as i tried to do. Thank you, larry. Thank you very much both for your comments and for your time. We hope that this discussion has been informative. For more information, please visit the San Francisco elections website at sfelections. Org. This year, every person in california will be mailed a ballot starting on october 5. You may drop off your vote by mail ballot in person starting on october 5 in the city hall Voting Center located outside of bill graham City Auditorium 8 00 a. M. Through 5 00 p. M. You may drop off your ballot at your Voting Center for the two weekends before voting day, 8 00 a. M. To 5 00 p. M. Thank you. Hello. Im shawnna longhorn with the league of women voters. Along with the league and sfgovtv, im here to discuss proposition f, a ballot that will be before the voters on tuesday, november 3. The city collects taxes from San Francisco businesses, including the payroll expense tax, the gross receipts tax, the Administrative Office tax, the annual Business Registration fee, the child care tax, and the Homelessness Tax. The child care and Homelessness Taxes have been challenged in court, and the money collected through these taxes has not been spent by the city. State law limits the amount of revenue, including tax revenue, the city can spend each year. State law authorizes San Francisco voters to approve increases to this limit to last for four years. Proposition f would change certain taxes the city collects from San Francisco businesses, including eliminate the payroll expense tax, increase the gross receipts tax rate in phases, expand the Small Business exemption, and eliminate the credit for businesses that pay a similar tax elsewhere. Increase the Administrative Office tax rate in phases, and change the Business Registration fee. Proposition f would further increase the citys business taxes if the city loses either of the child care tax or Homelessness Tax lawsuits, but it would exclude money collected from these increases when determining baseline spending. It would also increase the citys spending for the next four years. If you vote yes, you want to overhaul the business tax structure. If you vote no, you do not want these changes. Im here with jennifer brooks, a proponent of the measure. Were also joined by starchild, a libertarian, and an opponent of the measure. Were going to begin with some Opening Statements, and we will begin with star child. Yes. This is starchild, the Libertarian Party of San Francisco. We believe that tax adding on right now is just absolutely the wrong time. Theres so many businesses suffering under the lockdowns. I live in the castro, and it just seems that every other business is closed and boarded up. The measure, furthermore, is so confusing. Its, like, 125 pages long, and reading through it, i couldnt even tell on my own what it was going to do. So im substantially relying on the controllers statement which says its going to be nearly a 100 million tax increase. I think its egregious whenever they pass measures that are so complicated that the average person reading them, everyone someone whos somewhat familiar with reading these kinds of measures cant really tell whats going on, and id be happy to hear the proponents spell out exactly what the different aspects of these measures are and how they affect everybody. But from what we can tell, its a huge tax increase and it comes at a time when businesses are already super struggling in the city. Getting rid of the payroll tax would be terrific, but there is a net tax increase. I dont think this is something that anyone was clamoring for, and i think people should vote no. Thank you, starchild. Well move to jennifer. Thank you. Mission Neighborhood Center has been a Community Anchor in the Mission District for more than 60 years, and its really from that Vantage Point that ive seen the impact that the pandemic has had on San Francisco families, and that is why i feel very strongly that we must pass proposition f. At this time, San Francisco is facing three distinct crises that have come out of the pandemic. The first is job loss. More than 5,000 businesses across the city have shut their doors since the pandemic began. The second is child care sector. Its operating at half its capacity because of the need for social distancing, and third, our City Government is facing potentially a 1. 5 billion shortfall over the next three years. This proposition will help all of these factors. It will help businesses like hotels and recreation. It will unlock 400 million of voter approved child care funding that is currently tied up because of litigation, and third, it will contribute 156 million towards balancing our city budget, and finally, it will create more than 2,000 jobs over the next two years. At the same time proposition f addresses our immediate needs, it solves some longterm needs that have become apparent during the pandemic. Sfesk o specifically, our outdated taxes sorry to cut you off, but were going to go to questions. The first question, jennifer, will go to you. San francisco is facing a budget shortfall of 1. 5 billion due to the covid19 pandemic. This amendment is part of an attempt to address this deficit. Why do you believe its the right way to do so . So, there are a couple of reasons. First, because it helps Small Businesses, and they are the ones facing the critical and are in need of tax relief right now. What this measure does is it rebalances whos paying the business taxes. It is not a new tax. It is overall the same net amount of taxes, it just ensures that Small Businesses get relief, and bigger sector, particularly the information sector, pays its fair share. Starchild, same question to you, except why do you believe this is not the right way to address the potential deficit . Well, its not revenue neutral. You dont help Small Businesses by taxing them more. The people running City Government, they always seem to portray these things as a choice between, you know, well, we have a budget shortfall, so we either have to cut services that you want or raise your