Transcripts For SFGTV San 20240704

Stood up here at this breakfast before you and shared some pretty daunting numbers. But i want to be clear that theres still remains some serious work to do. However, the results of our annual poll bring me more hope and renewed sense of pride for our city and our residents. We saw two trends that i really want to share with you. This morning. One being that san franciscans are showing new signs of optimism and our city no doubt faces serious challenges from the pandemic, Public Safety concerns and negative media. But despite all that, we saw a slight increase in the voters who think that the current Economic Conditions are better than a year ago. This is a very important. Thats right. And not only that, san franciscans are more optimistic about the state of our city, but they are ready to take action. Well dive into the poll results later. A bit later on. But one thing is clear San Francisco voters are supportive of taking action at the ballot for a change in our city, especially when it comes to making it easier to do business and increasing Public Safety. Im confident that 2024 will be a year that lays the foundation for a stronger, more inclusive and even more innovative San Francisco, a foundation that is actually being built by people in this very room here today. And it feels like literally almost every day i get a call from a Member Company who has a new activation idea for the downtown, a new innovator who has technology thats emerging here in San Francisco, a group of volunteers who want to get engaged and knock on doors during Election Campaign season, or a student whos looking away looking at ways to encourage and get involved in our workforce in 2020, before we even dreamed of apec coming to San Francisco and hosting 21 heads of state, and before chatgpt was available to us on the phone, we had the same annual breakfast. And the theme of that breakfast was wake up San Francisco. That was a subtle call to action for san franciscans to Pay Attention of whats going on in our city. And since then, our city has faced unique and persistent challenges over the course of this last year. But i truly, truly feel the energy. I hope you feel it as well that people in their hearts want to change. San francisco. I think that san franciscans didnt just wake up, but we are starting to put pen to paper right now, implementing many of the visions and ideas about renewing and reimagining our city. The chamber of commerce is deeply investing in reimagining our Downtown Core to be more vibrant, resilient, diverse, and sustainable. Through the partnership of mayor london breed and our Business Association Business Association peers, weve helped push policy forward to make wins and make key investments in Public Safety, cleanliness, tax relief for restaurants, retail, hospitality, the arts and changing some of the city code that allows changes in the widest possible range. Permitted uses. In the downtown. These milestones will help the foundation to attract innovative businesses to San Francisco, and we are positioning all of us San Francisco to become a yes city. Yes to economic prosperity. Yes to renewing our city and yes to our environment. So everybody has a future here in San Francisco. Last june, we worked with some of our partners, deloitte, salesforce, citi, and the World Economic forum to put out a call to action inviting innovators from around the world to contribute to shape the citys future for an even greener future, starting here in San Francisco. And just this last month, these partners unveiled the yes Sf Initiative in davos. I want you to take a look at this clip here. Thats going to show you this important call to action. I just love that music. It makes me feel like i need to be productive or something. I want to thank uplink in the World Economic forum for this program. You know, this started off with more than 140 startups responding to the sf urban sustainability challenge and 14 top innovators were ultimately selected out of that. Theyre an impressive group, an inspiring group, and you may have met some of them just outside who were who were tabling. So stay tuned for more things happening with the sf. More announcements or some big announcements that we cant quite unveil yet. But theres some good surprises, so stay tuned. Um, we know that to build a stronger future, we have to come together and explore innovative ideas as the chamber of commerce. In the end, is a convener and my goal is to provide a table for thought leaders to come together to forge solutions in ways that we have never seen before. The Business Community has come together to brainstorm, refine and champion collective advocacy efforts, and these efforts are centered around making Housing Production pencil out in San Francisco, supporting our Small Businesses and making it easier and less costly for existing and new entrepreneurs to open and operate businesses. Increasing foot traffic in our downtown an obvious one, but to provide a more reliable Customer Base for businesses through events and programing and continuing to advocate for clean streets and safe streets so our employees resident family members, visitors want to come to the downtown and exploring ways to make conversions of existing spaces into new uses and to serve emerging industries. And finally, to make the downtown vibrant and just fun. We need this. So im inspired and more confident than ever that our citys future looks bright. And lets all say yes to San Francisco. Id like. Now, id like to take a moment to thank some of our sponsors and recognize some individuals here. First, i want to thank this years city beat pole sponsor, United Airlines. Thank you united. Give them a big hand. I also want to thank our additional sponsors, sutter health, bank of america and gensler architects. Wed also like to thank all of our Event Sponsors here that are listed on the slides there below. And uh, our Event Planning companies and everybody whos participated. This is a real assemblage of different vendors and specialties and crafts in San Francisco. I also want to recognize the chamber of commerce Board Members, and many of them are here today. Would you please stand up . If youre a board member . Now some people probably think were crazy because we have over 60 Board Members, but it is really a representation of the vast array and range of businesses here in San Francisco, both large medium and small. And i want to thank all the Board Members for your patience and your personal guidance as the chamber of commerce continues to grow. I want to point out in the back room that we have actually a beautiful heart with an image of the palace of fine arts there, and that is from the San Francisco General Hospital foundation. For those of you that are familiar, the Hearts Program has been in existence for 20 years. Its celebrating its 20th anniversary, and there are many just key leaders in San Francisco who have been supportive of that families and support of it. And really, its a public art display that i think makes us unique. I think on valentines day and the Hearts Program, its all kind of coming together and our love for San Francisco. So thank you for the San Francisco General Hospital foundation on. And thank you to our media partners, nbc and the fabulous emcee, audrey asistio, as well as the San Francisco Business Times for their amazing work. And mary huss is here. Mary Just Announced her retirement from the Business Times. Many of you have heard that marys been the face of the Business Community for so long. And mary, congratulations and were looking forward to your next chapter. Its my honor to recognize a number of leaders from City Government that are here and really, its an impressive list. So maybe hold your applause, but mayor london breed, thank you for being here. Our assembly member, phil ting, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins , assessor recorder joaquin torres, sheriff paul miyamoto, treasurer jose cisneros, catherine stefani, supervisor. Thank you. Rafael and thank you, supervisor. Um, director of department of public health. Doctor grant colfax is here. Sfo director ivor sotero is here. Director sarah dennis phillips. Thank you. And San Francisco Police Bill Scott is here as well. So give them a big hand. These are very tough jobs. I also want to thank you. And this is something thats close to my heart. Thank you for those who have supported unite sf. Unite sf is one of the initiatives in the chamber that is a Workforce Development piece, and this program is a collaborative effort with the San Francisco employers and the Business Community. And our educators, academia, the purpose is to really train our youth here in San Francisco and give them opportunities, skill sets to compete for living wage jobs in San Francisco. The chamber of commerce feels strongly that supporting our young san franciscans is a key, key piece to our future in the city. So in past years, weve done a unite sf event, a one day thing, a two day thing. We actually kind of stopped and scratched our heads and we want to make sure that youth is involved in everything we do all year long. So youll see students at every single one of our events participating and engaging with you. So here today we have about ten students from various schools in San Francisco. If you could stand up or raise your hand, that would be great. Well become students and if anybody has the opportunity to talk to them, introduce yourself. That would be great. So thank you very much. And finally, i wanted to thank you for joining us today. Uh, it says a lot when we have a turnout like this with standing room only in the back sold out. And just a reminder that if youre not a chamber of commerce member, theres a qr code in the program and you can become a member today, we really appreciate that because as in the end, lets not forget that it is you individually in your efforts that makes up the chamber of commerce. So thank you very much. With that, its my great pleasure to bring on stage the outgoing chair, Catherine Cahill. Thompson catherine took over as the board chair in the beginning of 2023 and has been a strong advocate and leader for the Business Community. She has led the chamber of commerce in stride through new challenges and new opportunities, and thank you, catherine, for your dedication, time and thoughtfulness. If you could join me on stage, thatd be great. We have a Little Something for you. Catherine, as a token of our gratitude, you have something you probably always wanted. Your own very own cable car bell. Its quite heavy , and it sounds great. If youd like to give it a ring, please do so. Okay thank you, thank you. All right. Ill try to talk fast so rodney doesnt have to hold that too long. Its been my honor to serve as board chair of the chamber this past year. Um, as you all know, it continues to be a challenging time for San Francisco, but im extremely proud of the work that the chamber has done to double down on the city, to push for the changes the city needs to make, to think outside the box and reimagine what our downtown could be. Um, im especially proud of the collaboration the chamber undertook this year, working together with other Business Associations, neighborhood associations, chamber members, the mayor, the board of supervisors to rally behind our city and collaborate for positive change in a way that just hasnt been seen in the city working together before. Um, i also want to thank my fellow chamber Board Members who are alongside me this past year, and especially my fabulous executive committee, alfredo pedroza, scott dunlop, david perry, lee gregory, poppy gamblin, jason geller, cammy blackstone, stephanie isaacson, noah clark, katie brown and mike grisso. I couldnt have done it without you, and i especially want to thank the Chamber Staff who pours their heart and soul into this organization and the city every day, particularly rodney fong, whos a true leader and a coalition builder. Hes worked hard through these challenging times and really lifted us up with his energy and optimism as you heard him talk earlier today, um, this process is far from over, but the wheels are in motion. With everything weve done this year, things are moving forward and we are going to work towards a cleaner, safer and more functional and more vibrant city. I know this momentum will continue you as i turn the Chamber Board leadership over to alfredo pedroza, Senior Vice President of local Government Relations for wells fargo. Alfredo has been my vice chair over the past year, and his insights and support have been invaluable. He is a native san franciscan with a deep love for the city and a true desire to restore the city to be a great place to live and do business. And with that, please give a big welcome to your new Chamber Board chair, alfredo pedroza. Woo buenos. Dias bienvenidos a city. Estoy emocionado y honrado de ser su president e de la camara de comercio de San Francisco. Primero quiero. Agradecer a mis padres de mingo y rosa. Pedroza por su apoyo y sacrificios no estaria aqui sin su amor. Los quiero mucho. Good morning and welcome to citybeat. I am thrilled and honored to serve as your chair of the San Francisco chamber of commerce. First, i want to express my gratitude to my parents, domingo and rosa pedroza, for their support and sacrifice. I wouldnt be here without your love. I love you both. In the heart of San Francisco. My parents journey unfolds as a resilient love story, blending their multi generational immigrant roots. The Mission District became home for my mothers family and love guided my dad to San Francisco. Their 53 year marriage is woven together by celebrations that took place in this iconic city where my dad, alongside my grandfather and uncles, a generation of mexican laborers, contributed to building downtown San Francisco. We see today. Despite their humble beginnings. My mom worked her way from secretary to accounting and sold tupperware on nights and weekends to pave the way for our familys success. Their dream of providing Educational Opportunities they did not have materialized in their four children with college degrees. As a son at the treasury department, a daughter combating cybercrime, another serving as a registered nurse at ucsf, and myself all thriving in the vibrant heart of San Francisco. Id like to acknowledge and thank the farmers and servers who are responsible for your breakfast here today. As your chair of the San Francisco chamber of commerce, its first openly gay son of immigrant mexican immigrants, native born san franciscan, i will draw on the examples and values of my inspiration, teachers and mentors, including the sisters of mercy, the daughters of charity, the christian brothers, the jesuits and the sisters of perpetual indulgence. All orders who have demonstrated their love for this great city. I extend my gratitude to our immediate past board chair, Catherine Cahill thompson, for her leadership. Our ceo, rodney fong, the talented Chamber Staff and my fellow Board Members for their incredible work and dedication in connecting resources and advocating for all, but especially Small Businesses all over the city and year round. Thank you to my husband, Wayne Bautista for 24 years of unconditional love and support. This journey would not be possible without you. I love you. I would also like to recognize my colleagues from wells fargo for their vital work centering customers and offering resources and advice to empower Small Businesses not just survive, but to thrive. Their collective efforts supporting critical programs for women, lgbtq, plus veterans, and diverse entrepreneur doers of color embody San Francisco values and reflect wells fargos commitment. It is why wells fargo proudly stands as the presenting sponsor, a Small Business week in 2020 for our support extends to initiatives like vacant to vibrant, filling downtown storefronts with innovative, diverse and Community Building businesses. Weve introduced hope inside at our bayview branch, offering one on one financial coaching to the community, aiding in debt reduction, credit score improvement, savings, general general wealth building and helping to realize dreams. Our dedication to San Francisco, also our home for 172 years, aligns with the enduring values of this city. While i may not have been around in 1852, when wells was founded, the chamber of commerce was there standing the test of time. As we embark on 2024, i embrace the future with excitement, acknowledging the formidable challenges we face today, grounded in the belief that infusing humanity to our solutions is a catalyst for transforming change. I am confident in our ability to unlock untapped potential. The present offers a unique opportunity. San francisco will undoubtedly rebound and as it has throughout its history, lets envision a San Francisco surpassing its past a city centered on diversity, serving as a global testament to our capacity to change the world. From here, this city will have its unique allure in the air, the water, the land, and the spirit of our indigenous ancestors beckons believers, dreamers, incubators, cultivators, innovators, disruptors, educators and lovers. Despite having our critics, everyone who experiences San Francisco leaves a piece of their heart here. If they didnt , did they ever, ever really have one . The citys challenges foster a tenacity that sets us apart, but that resilience doesnt stop us from striving for improvement. A cleaner, safer environment for all families and businesses to thrive and grow. From bayview and Visitacion Valley to the presidio, the dogpatch, the mission to the sunset at parkmerced, to chinatown and treasure island, and every neighborhood in between, including downtown San Francisco. To your chamber. Is dedicated to fostering and advocating for businesses of all sizes across 49mi s of hills, valleys, and microclimates. If our residents can think it dream it, they can design it, create it, assemble, manufacture, build, and ultimately transform the world we aspire to live in. Ill end with this San Francisco. San franciscans, whether by birth or migration, have never asked for permission to do whats great to do, whats audacious, to do whats good to do, whats just for the city by the bay and eventually the world. We have always set the stage, built the coalitions, marched, the march, done, the hard work risen from the ashes, multiple times to set the example, to light the way for bold and better San Francisco. And a bold and better world. We know something about reimagining ourselves. So lets roll up our sleeves and work together. Lets center our renaissance on racial equity, inclusion, fun and love. Our collective future demands it. Lets show the world that we are still the city. They can leave their hearts in, and some of their cash to happy valentines love is love is love. Love always wins and so does San Francisco. Thank you. That was fantastic. Can we give him another round of applause . Alfredo rodney and catherine. Thank you all. All for your leadership and all that you do for our Business Community. Okay, now id like to give a very warm welcome to allison hagen, San Francisco managing principal for deloitte, to say a few words this morning. Lets go ahead and welcome allison. Morning. Happy valentines day, lunar new year, and black history month. And thank you all for being here. I would like to extend my gratitude to rodney fong and the San Francisco chamber of commerce for hosting this event to celebrate our citys vibrant Business Community and our collective commitment to its prosperity. I also want to take the opportunity to extend my congratulations to the chamber for their 174th anniversary. Yeah lets give him a clap. As as the managing principal of the deloitte San Francisco office, im honored to join you representing the Largest Global professional Services Organization with a rich history of over 175 years. Rodney we almost have the same birth here at deloitte. Our purpose is clear. By creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society, we, in our continued work to drive long terme systemic change and create equitable access to opportunity. Deloitte is proud of our involvement in the yes San Francisco yes sf urban sustainability challenge. Weve joined forces with salesforce, the World Economic forum city and the San Francisco chamber of commerce to support the development of Smart Solutions for some of San Franciscos biggest challenges. We feel its important to help improve our cities and believe that great things happen when the Business Community actively supports the revitalization of the places where we live and work. A huge thank you to all of those involved in sf and to all of you committed to our beautiful city. Were excited about the work completed and the work to come. One important element of our involvement with sf is that is that it provided an opportunity to align with the momentum of prominent city plans. With that, id like to. Its my honor to welcome our keynote speaker, the 45th mayor of the city and county of San Francisco. Mayor london breed, to share a few words of her vision. Mayor breed welcome. Im. Good morning everyone. Yes yes, sf is great to see all of you here today celebrating valentines day. Happy valentines day there are so many wonderful things happening all over San Francisco and including today will be marrying a lot of folks at city hall, celebrating the 20th anniversary of same sex marriage that started right here in San Francisco. Im really glad to be here with all of you, through all the challenges of the last several years. Weve come together again and again. First to save lives, then to build back. Now to take off it. Hasnt been easy. So many outside side of this city have had their targets set on us. Even here in this city, there were those who said the economic fallout from the pandemic might be a good thing. Can you imagine that . Lost jobs, lost businesses, lost residents, lost revenues might be a good thing for the city. Well, despite all that, we persevered. The people in this room. You kept your office open here. You didnt run to miami or austin or kansas city to soon. Thank you for staying. Thank you for believing in our city. But lets be honest about something. You, the businesses, new and old that are here in San Francisco are not engaged in civic generosity. Youre not doing anyone a favor. Youre here because its good business. Lets remember who we are. This is one of the most beautiful urban cities in the world. With an unrivaled pool of talent and builders and dreamers. The largest collection of deployable capital in the country, with a great climate and the home of tech giants and major league giants. We are truly a great city, and its time we start acting like it. Were san franciscans, we dont apologize for being from here. When people come here, theyre not going to find us hanging our heads. Theyll find us building the future just as we always have. Its a little ironic now that those who have been saying San Francisco isnt safe, that secured city had all but vanished from this beautiful city by the bay. They have missed what is actually been happening. 2023 saw the lowest crime rate in the last decade, not counting the lockdown in 2020. That is right. We saw crime drop to the lowest level it has in a decade. And thank you to the San Francisco Police Department. Thank you to our District Attorney, Brooke Jenkins, and her office. Thank you to our sheriffs deputies. But it wasnt just them. We called for support from the state. And Governor Newsom delivered with the california Highway Patrol and the California National guard. We called for support from the feds and speaker emerita nancy pelosi and the Biden Administration delivered the Drug Enforcement agency and the us attorneys office. Thats what we did. All that support, all those people going to work. It didnt just happen because we wished it to happen. It didnt just happen because of apec. It happened because of all of those leaders fighting for San Francisco and all the work that we actually did to make it happen. And were seeing the results. No, things are not perfect. But for a while, the headlines were saying one thing. While the work was saying another. And heres the good news. The headlines are finally catching up. The new york times, San Francisco montgomery street casino, a downtown revival, bloomberg, San Francisco doom loop narrative ignores signs of life. Just this week, the economist how San Francisco staged a surprising comeback. Well, im not surprised because we always bounce back. Im not surprised because ive actually been here. We are not surprised because we have been working on the problems, not just standing on the sidelines watching them. You sense change before it. You see it, it starts a bit of a buzz. Its a feeling. And then boom, its a fact. In 2023, the San Francisco Police Department doubled the arrest of drug dealers on our streets. We challenged years, years of accepted policy, of doing things the same old way and began arresting those who were using drugs in public when we started that work, people said it was controversy. We shouldnt do it. I even got called out by the board of supervisors at un plaza because how dare i direct the police to enforce the law . The existing laws, by the way, thats fine. Change makes people uncomfortable. But im not worried about that because you know who we need to make uncomfortable . The drug dealers selling deadly fentanyl on the streets of our city. And thats exactly what were doing. Solutions cant just be about doing the same old thing and hoping itll work next time. Yes, we are still offering treatment, but the truth is, a lot of people wont take it. We need new tools, new tools like being the first and only county in the in calif to start conserving people under our new state law, new tools like requiring treatment for people who want money from the city. To many people need help in San Francisco. And if you arent willing to get a little aggressive, then youre willing to let the stuff thats continuing to happen on our streets continue. Youre willing to let our residents, our businesses, our our families and our neighborhoods suffer. We are clearing street encampments and not allowing people to remain on the streets when we have a place for them to go. Because of. Finally, the clarification from the ninth Circuit Court of appeals, and we do have places for people to go. And just to give you this perspective, since 2018, since ive been mayor, weve helped over 15,000 people exit homeless permanently, and we and we have never had a homeless point in time count where the numbers were ever, uh, over 9000 people. Were expanding housing for the formerly homeless by over 50. Weve increased our permanently Supportive Housing by 50 and over 50. Weve expanded, ended our shelter capacity by 66. Weve passed tax incentives and relief to keep businesses stable and recruit new ones to our city. Weve changed our laws to build more housing faster and cheaper. Weve streamlined laws of Small Businesses, and we are waiving fees for new ones to open nearly 700 new businesses are registering in this city per month. Two of them, 200 of them last year filling storefronts in downtown alone. We are leading the nation in generating Venture Capital investments, both international and domestic travel, through sfo rebounded to near prepandemic levels. And when the opportunity came to host a government and Industry Leaders from around the world for apec, we didnt shy away from the possibility. We embraced it and our city knocked it out of the park. What an incredible moment of pride for San Francisco. Thank you to everyone who sponsored that historic event and did your part to show case our city to the rest of the world. Our Business Community truly stepped up. Thats the spirit we need as we build something incredible here. As we fight for broad tax reform. Right now, San Francisco taxes are too confusing. Theyre too high, and theyre too often driven by those who put measures on the ballot without regard for the economic consequence choices for our city. They will happily reap the benefits from the services that the taxes pay for. But they wont lift a finger to keep businesses here. We also need to continue to be bold in changing our housing laws. We need to continue to work on downtown by bringing in more housing, investing in the arts and entertainment, and attracting world class universities. And we need to make the hard choices to deal with an 800 million budget deficit. Now, that sounds like a lot, but weve been through a Global Pandemic that sent us all home and reshaped our society as we know it. Compared to that, as my grandmother used to say, this aint nothing were going to get through this. So let us build on our shared sense of what this city can be and who we are. Enough for all the whining and the negativity we you want to point out the problems not a problem, but take the next step. Get to the solutions. Even if it makes people uncomfortable, especially if it makes people uncomfortable. Thats what ive been doing from day one. Thats what so many in this room have been doing. Its easy to show up late and ride the wave of opportunity that all of us are seeing happen right before our eyes. What was hard was when we fought our way out of it. We have been here through the pandemic, through the economic fallout, through the ups, the downs and everything in between. We have been here through the hard times. We will remember who was here and who stood with San Francisco during our darkest hours and who did not, because now, now we are on the path to somewhere. Crime is dropping, our population is growing, new ideas are being born. We are leading in life sciences, biotech and Venture Capital. We are the ai capital of the world. Of the top 20 ai companies in the world, eight are right here in San Francisco, and this city was built by dreamers. But those who came by, those who came west looking for something more. Its in our dna. Surprising comeback. Maybe for some, but not for those of us whove been here doing the work for those who believe, for those who have always been here through boom and bust and boom again, we never give up on our city. What we do is we stay. We work through it, we fight, we thrive, and thats whats happening right now in the city and county of San Francisco. Lets continue the momentum and the excitement. Thank you all so much for being here today. Can we give the mayor another round of applause for her . Inspired words . Um, we definitely appreciate her dedication and hard work. So next, i am very delighted to introduce to you papiya gamblin from United Airlines to present exciting insights from this years poll. Good morning. It is my pleasure to be here presenting the key findings of the United Airlines city beat poll, and to share with you how san franciscans are feeling about our city and where we are headed. The city beat poll helps us take the pulse of our city and provides Critical Data to policymakers. The Business Community, and the public about the top concerns of san franciscans over the past several years, the chamber has commissioned a poll with the well respected firm emc research. The firm surveys San Francisco voters opinions on many issues and spotlight those that are of the greatest concern. The poll asks many of the same questions year to year, so the findings can be used to identify shifts in opinion and attitudes. Now, this data is more important than ever, so San Francisco faces some serious decisions this year, and the city beat poll gives insight into what San Francisco voters want. Lets dive in. 72 of voters say that San Francisco as a whole is on the wrong track. While just 22 say we are headed in the right direction now. Dont shoot the messenger, but this is, i think, really telling. While a large majority of voters consistently believe that San Francisco is on the wrong track, a key change is the slight increase in voters who think we are headed in the right direction. And rodney mentioned that earlier this morning. As i share more about the poll today, you will see a similar trend throughout where we see a slight increase on positive sentiments across all fronts. On Voter Sentiment about the issues our cities face, we believe this trend is telling of all of the real improvements that are happening. San francisco fans are still angry, but we are starting to see progress on our citys most challenging issues as we see that trend reflected here as well. When voters were asked how they would rate the current Economic Conditions in San Francisco compared to a year ago, we saw an increase in voters who think the city is doing better from just 12 in 2023 to 20 in 2024. I want to be clear that the majority of voters think that San Francisco is still doing worse than a year ago, although these signs of optimism are promising, the majority 50, however, think that the Current Conditions of San Francisco are worse than a year ago, when asked how they are thinking about the future, 39 of voters think that San Franciscos Economic Conditions will be worse a year from now, and 28 think that the Economic Conditions will be better. We also saw an increase here from 2023. In those who think San Franciscos Economic Conditions will be better a year from now. Each year, we ask voters an open ended question what do you feel will are the major issues facing San Francisco today . The past five years, we have asked this question and received the same top three concerns crime and drugs, homelessness and affordable housing. 52 of voters cite crime and drugs as one of their top three concerns, while the same number is cited for homelessness and 21 named housing as a major issue. That faces the city. We asked voters to focus specifically on downtown, which we broadly defined as including civic center, union square, the financial district, midmarket yerba buena mission bay, and the chase center. Go warriors, the top perceptions that came to mind for the voters about downtown right now were emptiness, crime and drugs, and homeless. Yes, 26 reported emptiness as what comes to mind about downtown, 15 reported crime and drug use, and 11 said homelessness. Views on downtown remain largely similar to a year ago, though the share of voters citing crime and drugs has what come, has whats come to mind for them when they think about downtown. That modestly fell from 23 to 15. We also asked voters to share how safe they feel downtown. 61 said they feel safe visiting downtown during the day and 34 said that they feel safe visiting at night. Voters were asked to share how often they come downtown to 34 of voters reported that they come downtown three days a week or more, and 15 1 to 2 days a week, 27 a few times a month, 12 a few times a year, 51. Rarely and 5 said that they never come downtown. That comes to about 40 of responders visiting downtown at least weekly. Digging deeper into that data, we compared Safety Perceptions and downtown frequency and found that those who spend time downtown feel safer than those who dont visit downtown at all. Over 60 of voters who visit downtown weekly, monthly, or yearly feel safe visiting during the day. That just means come on down. Thats what that means is come on down. This speaks to the reception perception problem we have. Those who dont regularly visit perceive downtown to be much more dangerous than those who spend more time. 88 of residents agree that a thriving downtown San Francisco is critical to the regions economy. This is huge. We know that our downtown is the economic core of our city, fueling almost 80 of San Franciscos gdp. San francisco residents understand how closely that tied the future is to our downtown. The entire business ecosystem, and the future of our city. So lets talk a little bit about solutions. The San Francisco Business Community has come together to support and advocate for initiatives that where we will rebuild and our economic core into its own livable programable resilient neighborhood that supports innovation in san franciscans are widely supportive of a variety of proposals relating to downtown. Lets talk about what those are. 85 agree that Unused Office Space in downtown San Francisco could maybe convert those uses. 83 agree that there should be more events downtown in downtown San Francisco, 83 agree that there should be more entertainment in downtown San Francisco, 78 agree that there should be more housing in downtown San Francisco, and 78 agree that there should be more restaurants and bars in downtown San Francisco. Yes. There is also a strong support for offering financial incentives for small and Large Businesses to stay or move downtown. With 84 of voters supporting incentives for Small Businesses and 71 of voters supporting incentives for Large Businesses. A large majority of voters, 81 have also shared that they support San Francisco, offering tax incentives to help businesses move into vacant ground floor spaces downtown. Yes i agree with that. I think thats awesome. That brings us to some insights on how how likely march voters are feeling about upcoming ballot propositions, especially the ones that address these core concerns. Ill now share with you some of those insights on whats coming up on the march proposition. Lets start with proposition c. Prop c would incentivize the conversion of office space to residential use by exempting some Square Footage from the citys real estate transfer tax 53 of voters shared that they would vote yes on prop c, prop e would update the San Francisco Police Departments policies on technology, including drones, body cameras and other surveillance technology. Vehicle pursuits and Community Input 61 of voters said that they would vote yes for prop e prop f would require Drug Screening and Substance Abuse treatment for single adults receiving cash assistance from the city, not including families or seniors. 61 of likely march voters also reported their support of prop f , so san franciscans are clearly concerned about the direction and the future of the city. But it is also clear that they are ready to take action at the ballot. March ballots are already out, so make sure you are registered and informed. The chamber of commerce voter guide is Available Online and also available in your program today we heard loud and clear that San Francisco fans are committed and willing to support bold, positive solutions to address the challenges our city faces over the coming months. This data will continue to inform the chambers advocacy agenda as we work closely with our partners and elected officials to address the issues facing our city. Thank you for joining me and the chamber today. So i am staying up here because im really excited about our next set of speakers. We have, um, we, you know, we just have to say, lets just give it up really quick for the giants. Just give me like, give it up for our giants. So, um, but you know what . Were going to what were going to hear today is going to be so heartfelt and meaningful. Its just going to be really exciting. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce former San Francisco giant outfielder hunter pence and his wife, lexi pence, who together began a new nonprofit called Healthy Planet project. Theyre projects mission is to create a healthier environment and cleaner neighborhoods right here in the bay area. Please welcome them to the stage. Hunter pence and lexi pence. Thank you so much. So much. Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for the introduction. Um, we are very honored to be here, especially standing alongside so many impactful leaders who love this city so much, especially as much as hunter and i do. San francisco is not just our home, its our hearts and so for us, we get asked a lot. What do you love so much about San Francisco and i always find this a very hard question to answer because theres so many things about San Francisco. What do you want to talk about . You want to talk about the architecture . Our amazing skyline, our museums, our food. But whats my most favorite part is the people. Right thank you. Lexi. Um that and that is true. We love we love the people. We love the city there. Did someone say say yes, San Francisco Rodney Rodney fong uh, im a big fan of. Yes. And we did say yes. I got to, you know, meet my lovely wife here, lexi, and cofound Healthy Planet project. Um, our love story, this is valentines day, started here. We moved here full time. Um, and we are in it. We are the heart of San Francisco. Were living in mission and beal. Right . Downtown where . Where were seeing the transformation happen. The wave is changing, the tide is turning. And i can feel it. And there was a tough time at and a lot of the leaders in the and San Francisco chamber of commerce, thank you for hearing us, uh, stood up and were like, we need to roll up our sleeves. We are going to get out here and we are going to reenvision ourselves. Change happens here in San Francisco. The world leaders, thought leaders, innovators, they are here. This land is special. Its sacred. And the people are the same. And youre seeing that transformation happen through the hard work, through the vigilance of the leaders and the people in the communities. And we are feeling that as we walk through the city on a day in and day out basis. Now, um, it really is special to see. And i think that deserves a round of applause that the media is going to catch up to this. Theyre going to feel whats happening. And thank you. And its going to continue to grow. Now i will say as a as a baseball player, for a long time, i had many i had 14 seasons. Two of them. Yeah. Thank you. Two of them. We won world series championships, which was great. Yeah. But the other 12 were were were very big defeats. And i have to say that one of the reasons that San Francisco gets a lot of hate and it hurts us because we know its not true, is that unless youre doing something great, i didnt receive that much hate when i was at the top. When i was at the peak is when more haters came at me than ever before. So just know that as we get this press and we combat it and we are going to be great, its because we are so great. So we roll that off and we continue to move here in San Francisco. Thats what we do. Were changers. Were leaders. So as the founder, this is year two of Healthy Planet project. And were very excited, um, to be a part of such a great team. I got to thank tony nicita, whos put a lot of hard work into this. Shes, uh, shes the manager and the coordinator. And then also, obviously alexis. But we are here to roll up our sleeves and to give back to this great city that gave me so much. I was a part of a great team with the San Francisco giants. And how did we want to give back . I was really inspired, uh, when we went on a trip to ireland and we walked through this insane forest and a lot of the trees were kind of not native, but they were part of helping the culture and the environment and sustainability and this was planted 60 to 100 years ago by someone who donated millions of dollars back then to create this forest and this, this transformative, transformative experience for me. And i started studying this team called the new zealand all blacks the winningest, the Winningest Team in all of professional sports at the rugby team. And they have a code. They have values and principles. Yeah youve heard of the new zealand all blacks. Theyre pretty special. Um, but this one moved me to my core and it gives me the tingles. Still steer still hearing it today. And it was one of their alumni speaking to the team before the world championship. And he said, dont ever let the music in. You die. Go out there and play your music. And whenever, whenever this game is over, whether you win or lose, go plant trees that you will never see grow. Do good for its own sake. And with that, with that striking me to my soul, we created the Healthy Planet project and our goal as the Healthy Planet project is to clean up the streets, to create initiatives, to activate the community, to come in and pick up the trash together to inform you the difference in the impact that it makes to hire the greatest thinkers and the leaders, the ones that are doing it. Refuse refuse. Uh, friends of the urban forest. One tree planted. Teaming up with some of the greatest programs and teaching that using the platform that the great giants gave us to share that to the kids and the youth. You talk about the youth is where we need to invest. We need to inform them because knowledge is power. And when you go out and you do the work, you empower them to know that your action does make a difference and you inform them of that. Your little actions on a daily basis do make a difference. When you do it as a team. And you look at that, that trash thats all picked up and how much youve changed and you see the street being cleaned and you feel that you feel the reward because what you put out, i believe this to my core. What you put out is what you get back. And when you put out that work, you receive the reward of that good work thats been done. Um, Healthy Planet project is also planting trees and local parks and also in urban neighborhoods. So weve we planted almost a thousand plants last year. Were looking to do a lot more this year. This was just the first year. Thank you. And really were just having a blast doing it. And were learning as we go. Were cleaning up the beaches as well. Uh, and, and were uprooting invasive plants and cleaning up the habitat so that we can bring back the plants that are healthy to our countryside. And learning from the great, the great minds that are out there doing it. So its been absolutely wonderful. That is what Healthy Planet project is about it. Its about planting trees. Its about cleaning up the streets. But most mostly its about bringing the Community Together and learning and growing and teaching what you can do day in and day out, and showing that you can make an impact. There are no small details and we are just excited and thrilled to continue to grow and to continue to clean up this city and be a part of that movement that is happening that youre feeling. And i just want to say thank you to all of you who are here that are putting in the work to make San Francisco, uh, back to the healthy place that it was. And im feeling it. Im feeling the work that youve put in, just being and living in the city. It is happening now. We are great. And thats the reason that we get the spotlight. So lets continue to be ourselves, continue to love. Happy valentines day to you all. And lexi. Happy valentines day. I love you hunter. Really just nailed it. Im just here for i mean, yeah, im just here. She does most of the work. Trust me, shes the better half. So thank you all so much. Have a wonderful day and lets continue to grow together. That was amazing. Can i just say that lexi is not just here . That was awesome from both of them. Lets give them another round of applause. And lets go ahead and say thank you to all of todays speakers. Mayor london breed hunter and lexi pence, poppy, a gamblin and another. Thank you. To your chamber of commerce leadership, rodney fong, Catherine Cahill thompson and alfredo pedroza. Such inspiring words from all of them. So before i let you go, lets go ahead and keep an eye out for Upcoming Chamber events. Get involved in the San Francisco Business Community if you are interested in learning more about the San Francisco chamber of commerce, i encourage you to visit their website, sf chamber comm. Follow them on social media and thank you to everyone here today for helping us make this event possible. All our sponsors, speakers, guests, and thanks to the San Francisco chamber of commerce staff for their out standing work and happy valentines day everyone happy wednesday. We hope to see you all again next year. You all take care