Frequently Asked Questions
SPARKS FOR 6 – FAQ
BACKGROUND
Q. Tell us about yourself and your background.
Q. Tell us something about you (the “individual,” not the “candidate”) that we may not know.
A. With a US Patent in Recycling and more than 20 years as CEO of several multi-national environmental firms, I came to San Francisco and, within a two year period of time, drove a taxi for DeSoto Cab from 5PM to 3AM, worked as a bank teller at Bayview Bank, was an enumerator for the US Census Bureau, ran the field campaign for Mark Leno’s political campaign for Supervisor in 2000, packed Valentine’s gifts for Good Vibrations in the warehouse where I was then promoted to CFO and ultimately president of the organization.
But in the spirit of full disclosure, I am the transgender woman who ran environmental companies for twenty years, a worker/woman owned cooperative, Good Vibrations, for eight years and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission currently that is being labeled as the “downtown/moderate” candidate in this race....only in San Francisco. In reality, I live my progressive values out loud, in the open, for all to see, every single day of my life.
Q. What is your background and commitment to working in and working with marginalized communities?
A. I came to San Francisco in the mid-1990s, after making a very personal decision that would alter my life forever. In doing so, I lost my home, family, friends, job, financial security and, to a great extent, even my history. I experienced firsthand the kind of discrimination that leading one’s life down a different path can engender. I felt that I had no choice but to speak up to create change in both people’s attitudes and the laws that adversely affected many disenfranchised communities, with which I now had a special kinship.
I am currently the Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the City agency that enforces all non-discrimination ordinances for the City and County of San Francisco.
Q. How long have you lived in district in which you are running?
A. I live in the Civic Center on Van Ness in an apartment building built in 1922. I have lived there for about ten months after living five blocks out of the District on Leavenworth for seven years. I worked in District 6 from 2001 to 2008, on Howard Street between 5th and 6th, as CFO then CEO of Good Vibrations. I also opened and oversaw the new Good Vibes store at 17th and Valencia. My five years on the Police Commission were also mostly spent in District 6. I continue to work in the District at Van Ness and Market as Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.
Q. Do you have any other residences?
A. I purchased a home in Overland Park, KS for my daughter and her two kids. She has been living with breast cancer for five years now and has limited ability to hold permanent employment. I have never resided there and only visit two or three times per year.
Q. What and who inspires you to become the leader you are?
Q. What ethical standards do you believe an elected representative should be held to?
A. An elected representative should be held, at a minimum, to the highest community standards and their primary focus must be the people’s interest, not special interests.
QUALIFICATIONS
A. The time has come for common sense, rational and real progressive leadership in San Francisco. I am unique as a candidate in this race as I have real experience as a city commissioner having served on the Human Rights and Police Commissions; a community activist on such issues as environmental racism and language access for first generation immigrants; a civil rights pioneer on human rights for one of the most disenfranchised communities in the country; and a successful small business owner and clean tech entrepreneur with a US patent in recycling.
I want to bring those experiences to the Board of Supervisors to help rebuild our economy, put people back to work, put more beat cops on the street, make our neighborhoods livable again and to ensure San Francisco remains a beacon of real progressive values. I am concerned about the future of San Francisco. I want to see San Francisco remain a city where our diversity is not just a slogan but our greatest strength, the engine of our creativity and economic recovery; a city that is family-friendly with neighborhoods that are safe for children, seniors and people of all socio-economic levels; and a city that allows everyone to engage in a civil conversation about the role of city government.
I served as a Board appointee to the Police Commission for 5 years, 2 of which as president. I understand not only the importance of public safety, but also the mechanics of it.
I have a patent in recycling and have a strong knowledge of the clean-tech industry. I’ve founded several environmental companies and served as either CFO or CEO, or both. I ran a 35 year-old woman-owned cooperative, Good Vibrations, and know what it takes to operate a business in San Francisco. After running a city department for a year, I have a good working knowledge of how our bureaucracy works, its strengths and how it might work better.
I have the endorsement and support of a broad coalition of business, small business, labor and community groups such as SEIU-UHW, UA Local 38 Plumbers and Pipefitters, SFPD Pride Alliance, BOMA, San Francisco Association of Realtors, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and others.
I am running a historic campaign to give hope to hundreds of thousands transgender people round the world.
Q. List the neighborhood groups or organizations (within District 6) that you have worked with in the past. What do you consider your accomplishments while working with these groups, and how you would help them further if you were elected Supervisor in November?
A. As a community activist in the mid-90’s, I worked with clients at TARC (Tenderloin Aids Resource Center) as a facilitator and an advocate for transgender clients. During those years, there was an absence of wrap-around services for transgenders in the City, most notably in the Tenderloin. As a result, there were cases of transgender women intentionally becoming HIV positive to be eligible for services designed for people with HIV/AIDS. I met with many and assisted them in obtaining needed care.
As the District 6 Supervisor, I will continue working with people with HIV/AIDS and the transgender community. It’s important to understand that living with HIV/AIDS has become part of the compassionate culture and values of San Francisco, from wrap-around care to affordable housing to ensuring end-of-life dignity. In 2001 after 9/11, as a Human Rights Commissioner, I helped organize the first public hearing in the United States to address violence and discrimination against people perceived to be of Middle Eastern descent. The result was an extensive public awareness campaign resulting in a substantial decrease in such incidences.
In 2003/4, as president of Good Vibrations, I met with numerous community and business groups about locating at Good Vibes retail store on Valencia. We received hundreds of comments, good and bad, and responded to all with modifications to the use permit, signage, hours of operation and participation in the neighborhood business association. It is important to have the full participation of community, neighborhood and business groups whenever development or occupancy issues arise in any neighborhood of District 6. I will continue that philosophy as the next District 6 Supervisor.
From 2004 through 2009, as a commissioner and president of the Police Commission, I worked with neighborhood organizations, community groups and individuals throughout District 6 on issues of public safety, from deploying more beat cops to relocating district station boundaries to use-of-force to quality-of-life enforcement. I am proud to say we held more public hearings in the District 6 community, during my five years on the Commission, than any other single district in the City, eleven in the Tenderloin alone. It is also useful to note that the incumbent Supervisor never attended one of those public hearings in all that time.
As the next District 6 Supervisor, I intend to hold regular office hours several times per month, on a rotating basis, in all parts of District 6. In addition, I will conduct quarterly town hall style meetings at least quarterly. It is imperative that your district representative stay in close touch with all members of the community.
Q. How have you been involved in improving the District you are running to represent?
A. I have been active in human rights and discrimination issues in District 6 for more than a decade, dealing with transgender individuals, people with HIV/AIDS, the AMEMSA population, the Latino community, to name a few. I have worked against discrimination in health care, housing, public accommodations and employment. I have also managed businesses in both SOMA and the Mission, creating jobs and providing affordable health care for many individuals who were previously either unemployed or under-employed.
A. I was a Human Rights Commissioner for four years giving me a perspective on issues ranging from ethic discrimination to economic and environmental racism in the Southeast sector and the Tenderloin. I then joined the Police Commission and served for five and one half years, president for two and one half, allowing me a perspective on public safety and knowledge of best practices unique to any other candidate. Currently, as the Director of the City agency that enforces human rights and local business ordinances for San Francisco, I am the only candidate that really understands how our City government works, from the inside. Once in office, I intend to strongly advocate for stronger fiscal policies and a more comprehensive community-policing plan that involves all stakeholders in the City and County.
Q. If elected, what is your big picture plan for your district and San Francisco in general?
A. In District 6, as in all of San Francisco, the most important issues are jobs and economic vitality. We need to focus on creating more jobs by supporting balanced development and creating incentives to put the construction trade unions back to work, by insuring City purchasing power benefits District 6 residents, not out-of-town vendors and by creating a business environment that encourages creative companies in high-tech, bio-tech and clean-tech to see District 6 as not only the economic engine of the region but also a zone of innovation for the country.
A. The time has come for common sense, rational and real progressive leadership in San Francisco. I am unique as a candidate in this race as I have real experience as a public safety policy maker, community activist and civil rights pioneer, clean tech entrepreneur and a successful small business owner. I want to bring those experiences to the Board of Supervisors to help rebuild our economy, put people back to work, put more beat cops on the street, make our neighborhoods livable again and to ensure San Francisco remains a beacon of real progressive values into the future. I will be on Budget and Finance Committee because as a former CEO, CFO, business owner, City Department Head and president of the Police Commission, I am the only candidate that will bring real hands-on financial experience to the Board. I will also want to be a member of the Public Safety committee due to my strong background working with the SFPD.
SUPPORTERS
A. Yes, by far.
Q. Who are your core constituencies?
A. We are building a coalition of labor unions, community organizations, business leaders and elected officials committed to bringing real experience and common sense leadership back to District 6.
Q. Who has endorsed your campaign?
A. I have received endorsements from Senator Mark Leno, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Stuart Milk (nephew of Harvey Milk), Supervisor Bevan Dufty, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, SEIU-UHW, Police Officers Association, Margaret Cho, small business advocates, Firefighters Local 790, Plumbers Local 38, BOMA, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, Plan C, San Francisco Realtors Association and more than 400 individual endorsers.
Senator Leno, Stuart Milk and Margaret Cho are co-chairs of my campaign.
PLATFORM
A. Our campaign is about bringing real change to District 6, not just the same polarizing politics we’ve had for ten years. It’s promoting civil discourse about civic policy that impacts us all. It’s creating a coalition of labor, such as SEIU-UHW and the SFPD Pride Alliance, business groups such as BOMA, the San Francisco Association of Realtors and small business owners and the people who live and work in District 6. It’s bringing leadership to City Hall that represents all people of District 6, transparency, accountability and insuring the voice of District 6 is represented in all policy decisions. Our campaign is about electing the only candidate with practical experience as a small business owner, a human rights activist, a public safety policy-maker and an early pioneer in clean technology. And, about San Francisco once again making history and giving hope to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
Q. What is your core message?
A. I am unique as a candidate in this race as I have real experience as a public servant, community activist and civil rights pioneer and a successful small business owner. I want to bring those experiences to the Board of Supervisors to help rebuild our economy, put people back to work, put more beat cops on the street, make our neighborhoods livable again and to ensure San Francisco remains a beacon of real progressive values into the future. I believe my experience and my values are what are needed today on the Board of Supervisors. We need pragmatic leaders, not ideologues; a common sense approach to problem solving, not machine politics; and, someone who can bring ideas to this City to support the creation of jobs and sustainable economic expansion. We need new leadership for District 6 that looks to bring together the neighbors and neighborhoods of District 6. We need leadership that will focus less on politics and more on policies that have a positive effect on small business growth, jobs and providing real affordable housing opportunities for District 6. In addition, District 6 needs a Supervisor who will work on substantive issues and work with fellow Board members to develop policies that will move San Francisco forward again.
Q. Please tell us your general views about the role of government.
A. The primary role of government is to represent the peoples’ voices and ensure equitable treatment is given to those voices throughout the policy making process. Provide essential services to the people that are best delivered in a collective fashion, such as law enforcement, health services, public education, transit and social services.
Q. What is the most pressing problem in District 6, and what can you as supervisor do about it?
A. The most pressing problems facing District 6 are unemployment, the absence of good jobs, affordable housing and public safety. As supervisor, I intend to immediately introduce legislation to stimulate growth in our local economy by creating economic zones of innovation for clean tech, high tech and biotech start-up companies, encourage developers to create more housing opportunities for low, middle and working-class residents, by offering incentives, and work with the SFPD to not only increase funding for more beat cops on the street but adopt a restorative justice model to first-time offenders instead of immediate incarceration.
Q. As a candidate for Board of Supervisors, what are your top three priorities?
A. JOBS: First priority is to increase job opportunities for people in San Francisco. It is imperative we put people back to work. I would advocate for and strongly supported the Mayor’s fee deferral proposal to jump-start major construction projects in San Francisco. I would also strongly support development projects like the new CPMC facility on Van Ness, the expansion of Moscone Center, Trans Bay Terminal, high-speed rail and others. I would also make the development of the Market Street corridor a priority during my first three months in office. The mid-Market is a disgrace to this City and needs to be intelligently developed into a vibrant cultural and entertainment part of San Francisco nightlife, not the dangerous, dilapidated embarrassment that it is today. I support the development of ore economic empowerment zones to support innovative businesses and start-ups.
Q. Describe how you plan to implement your top three priorities.
A. Clearly, the first priority is to get control of our city budget process. We have a city budget that rivals The City of Los Angeles with less than half the geographic area and roughly one-third the population. Working with my fellow Supervisors, we must identify areas of waste to ensure that key programs, like those dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, are given the necessary resources.
Q. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing your community and what will be your highest priorities if elected?
A. Quality of life, public safety and unemployment are the most severe issues facing District 6. We need to address our chronic homelessness, insure all neighborhoods are safe for families, children, residents and visitors, create sustainable jobs, encourage new business creation, smart development and affordable housing opportunities for all. District 6 will continue to be the economic and development engine of San Francisco and we must support our tourism industry and cultural districts, transit-first developments projects and make SOMA the innovation center of the United States. Made in SOMA should become a standard part of our metro lexicon in 2011.
Q. There’s a lot of talk about “progressive values and agenda items” vs. “moderate values and agenda items” in San Francisco politics. What do these terms mean to you, and how does either side help District 6 residents today, as well as over the long term?
A. To begin with, by far, the majority of San Franciscans hold progressive values, also known nationwide as San Francisco Values. These values encompass many concepts that apply to all, non-discrimination, affordable housing, accessible health care, living wage, wrap-around care for people with HIV/AIDS, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, transparency in government, accountability of public officials, community input to policy before it’s made, workforce development, full employment, creativity and innovation....just to name a few.
Unfortunately, some politicians and special interest groups have tried to co-op the term “progressive” and make it into an expression of their individual viewpoints, rather than what it really is, values held dear by all of us; and define the term “moderate” as what they profess as evil, such as “downtown,” small business, police, firefighters, balanced development, quality of life and others. In reality, outside of this City, the rest of the Country sees us all as the uber-left, lefty-loonie and ultra-progressive. In reality, we all have very slight differences in our beliefs and, as the next Supervisor in District 6, I intend to mediate those slight differences, yet never compromise our collective progressive values, and develop sound public policy that works for all San Franciscans.
Q. What is your position regarding Sit/Lie?
A. The proposed Civil Sidewalks Charter amendment, otherwise known as the Sit/Lie Ordinance, is merely a tool for the SFPD to manage disruptive behavior of individuals obstructing safe passage of sidewalks during specified times of the day. Although I do not agree with all of the specific elements of the proposed amendment, I do agree in concept with its intent. As stated by the City Attorney, there are no other laws or ordinances which currently achieve the same objective. Similar ordinances have been effect in several other metropolitan areas, including Berkeley, with positive implications and no sustained reports of civil rights violations. As a former business owner and operator in District 6, I know firsthand of the problems of disruptive behavior of sidewalks adjacent to places of businesses and the problems that are caused by business owners trying to deal with the situation without the assistance of the SFPD. Repercussions such as broken glass, intimidation of employees and customers, graffiti and feces on door stoops and on the side of the building have all occurred.
I believe this is a needed and just ordinance that protects the civil rights of business owners, customers, the disabled, children and others with the expectation of the use of public sidewalks without fear of intimidation or disruptive behavior.
Q. Do you believe San Francisco should be a Sanctuary city?
A. The San Francisco Human Rights Agency, of which I am Executive Director, is the City agency charged with enforcement of the Section 12.H of the Administrative Code. In practical terms the amendments that were enacted in early 2010 to the original City of Refuge Ordinance sought to primarily address two issues. One was to differentiate the treatment given juveniles from that given adults and secondly, to not allow City departments, primarily the Juvenile Probation Department, to inquire about or report immigration status of a juvenile to Federal or State agencies based solely on probably cause that a felony had been committed not a conviction. Unfortunately, due to the existence and acknowledgement of Federal law to the contrary, as stated in the final sentence of the amendments, “the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department shall, within 60 days of the effective date of this Ordinance, modify its policies and practices to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance to the extent permitted by state and federal law,” the Ordinance as amended alone ultimately does not achieve the stated purpose.
But, if the City of Refuge Ordinance, Administrative Code Section 12.H, is taken in context with the existing Administrative Code Section 12.A and Section 33 of the San Francisco Police Code, the desired results may be able to be attained. Section 12.A is the protects protected classes of people from discrimination on the basis of a number of factors including, race, ethnicity and country of birth, to name just three. Section 33 of the San Francisco Police Code addresses the same issues from the enforcement side.
If, in fact, we are able to combine these three ordinances together in a more comprehensive approach, the city of Refuge Ordinance, as amended, might actually be enforceable. If this can be done, I am certainly in favor of this City’s ability to protect the right of juveniles to be treated differently than adults and ensuring their constitutional right of innocence until proven guilty is protected.
Q. Do you support or oppose the following local measures on the November 2010 ballot?
A. Non-Citizen Voting in School Board Elections. I support this measure in that all parents should have a voice in electing individuals who have such a dramatic impact and lasting influence over their children and their children’s future.
Prohibition of Dual Office Holding in a City Elective Office and a Elected Board of a Political Party County Committee. I oppose this measure in that it encourages campaign contributions from individuals or organizations that may currently have business before the office of the elected official. It also makes it much more difficult for individuals without the name recognition of an elected official to get elected to the County Committee thus discouraging them from using the County Committee as their entry point into local politics.
Sit – Lie Ordinance. I support the Sit-Lie Ordinance in that it gives law enforcement a tool to deal with individuals that block the safe right-of-passage of individuals on streets, sidewalks or passageways. It has been suggested that this new ordinance is not necessary in that there are as many as seventeen existing laws, ordinances or departmental policies that already give law enforcement the legal ability to address this issue. As a police commissioner, I know that departmental officials do not believe that to be the case and feel they need this ordinance to enforce the law. As a former small business owner and manager, I know that this issue came up a number of times in front of our retail stores and the police were unable to resolve it until such time I, or one of my managers, filed an official complaint. In a couple of cases, this incident was then followed by damage to our building. I believe we need to give law enforcement more tools to protect our streets, residents and visitors, not fewer.
Hotel Tax . I oppose this tax. Now is not the time to raise taxes on the very industry that supplies the greatest source of economic activity in the City. We need to support our tourism industry not make it less competitive.
Sustainable City Employees Benefits Reform Act Charter amendment. I oppose this measure. Although few disagree that, at some point, we may have to address the issue of pension reform in this City. If this does occur, we need to engage labor through existing collective bargaining agreements to participate and be a partner with the City, not impose “reform” onto our City workers without their input or voice. In addition, I have not seen any empirical data that suggests what, if any, specific modification to the existing contribution is necessary, or whether that percentage is 5% or 15%. Making public policy without back-up data, particularly on an emotional issue such as pension reform, is bad public policy. Also, there is information available from the Director of the Employees’ Retirement System that suggests that this reform measure is factually flawed.
Q. Do you support San Francisco’s original sanctuary city ordinance and the idea that all San Francisco residents deserve access to services regardless of immigration status?
A. Yes. I not only support it, I direct the City agency that enforces it. I work on City of Refuge cases every day of the week including workshops for know-your-rights trainings and for other City departments on how to comply with the current ordinance.
Q. Do you support an increase in city investment in subsidized employment and workforce development for the most discouraged, low-wage, and long-time unemployed working parents and young adults who live in San Francisco (like a locally funded version of Jobs Now)?
A. Absolutely. It’s only through workforce development projects such CityBuild and programs like Jobs Now can we break the cycle of poverty that destroys the basic fabric and self-esteem of good families throughout the City. The City agency that I manage is the enforcement arm of the local CityBuild program, ensuring low income individuals are given an opportunity to learn the skills to have sustainable long-term employment.
Q. Do you support a workforce strategy that specifically seeks to reduce the high rates of poverty and unemployment among African American families in San Francisco?
A. I do and I work on such a policies everyday as the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, the City agency that enforces both the Local Business Enterprise Non-Discrimination Ordinance and all other Non-discrimination ordinances in San Francisco.
Q. Are you committed to protecting our current system of SF district elections?
A. Yes. I am with the exception of possibly adding one to three additional seats which are elected in citywide elections.
Q. Do you support a better balance of power between the Mayor and Board of Supervisors?
A. Yes. I think all City commissions should have split appointments with the majority still residing with the Mayor.
Q. What is your position on the recently implemented Secure Communities program?
A. I am against it and, as the Director of Human Rights for the City and county of San Francisco, continue to implement and enforce the current City of Refuge/Sanctuary City ordinance and to opt out of the discriminatory Secure Communities program.
CITY’S BUDGET
A. The structural imbalance of our city’s finances and budget is an issue that could make all other issues insignificant. If we do not create a sustainable financial model in San Francisco, all of our programs which reflect the values of the people of this City are at risk. My experience with creating thousands of jobs and balancing budgets over the last 25 years is a characteristic that is unique to me in this election. We need to stimulate our local economy and generate more taxes through increased productivity, supporting new sustainable jobs and encouraging greater tourism.
Q. How do you think the current City budget deficit should be dealt with? Specifically, do you support new or increased taxes? If so, which ones?
A. I am opposed to any economic model that uses taxes on existing businesses as a new revenue stream. Rather, we need a comprehensive economic development that focuses on long-term, sustained growth with accompanying growth in the job market. We should have a long-term planning effort that works to attract growth industries such as clean technology and the biotech industry. We also need to make this City a destination for high tech and application developers. I would support a revenue neutral gross receipts tax, with a payroll/wage deduction, to replace the current payroll tax. We also should not increase our hotel tax other than closing the online
Q. In lean fiscal times, what would you be willing to cut from the City’s budget in order to fulfill your other spending priorities?
A. I would support auditing all city departments to eliminate duplicative services and government inefficiencies such as: multiple IT departments, individual departmental contracting and overlapping human resource functions. It would also be cost effective to complete annual audits on all nonprofits, to review efficiency, compliance with stated mission, and cost effectiveness of individual administrative positions. In addition, the audits might determine that it makes sense for certain nonprofits to combine service delivery and enable them to increase the target population served, without additional cost.
Q. What are the most important steps we need to take to improve the public health of our City?
A. The City needs to create budgets which address public health by individual category as opposed to “lump sum” amounts contained within individual departmental budgets. By doing so policy-makers can evaluate programs individually and make funding decisions based on need. We need to correct the structural imbalance of our City’s budget to ensure public health is prioritized during every budget cycle. We also need to perform annual audits on all city departments and non-profits receiving funding from the City to address waste and eliminate duplicative programs.
Q. What are the most important steps we need to take to improve the fiscal health of our City?
A. We need to create more jobs to stimulate the economy and generate more taxes; eliminate the regressive payroll tax structure and create a net receipts tax; and create a “living budget” with a minimum of quarterly reviews and re-prioritization as opposed to only during “budget season” in June/July. We also need to seriously audit all city departments for duplicative and wasteful practices and implement a zero based budgeting process every year. We also need to evaluate our non-profit providers for effectiveness and quality of service. They also need to be thoroughly evaluated annually for duplications and waste. I think we should seriously evaluate whether or not we should propose a ballot measure to undo the budget set-asides currently in place and re-evaluate our fiscal priorities in the City.
Q. What can be done to achieve better efficiency and effectiveness in government?
A. As the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, I reduced our spending for Fiscal Year 2009/10 by more than $1 million, out of a total budget of $6 million. The agency accomplished this by re-organizing into more efficient and supportive work groups and addressing our mandate with a more professional and innovative approach. We instituted greater customer service by implementing new monitoring systems and technology. I think every City agency could obtain a 20% or greater gain in efficiency if properly evaluated and managed. Much of my approach came from an extensive background in management, operations and the implementation of best practices. We need Supervisors who have that level and depth of experience.
Q. How would you incorporate decision-making about nonprofit cost-of-living-adjustments (COLA) and cost-of-doing-business (CODB) increases into the budget process? Do you support annual CODB increases for nonprofit contractors? Should those increase reflect actual increases in the cost of operations?
A. I would support them, after annual audits are accomplished to determine efficiencies and continued service needs.
Q. How will your ideas be implemented? Where will the money come from?
A. I would mandate annual audits of all City departments. There is still waste in our City government. Many of our departments are individual silos with duplicative services, protective of their head count and resist real management changes. As the Chronicle reported, our non-profit service sector provides invaluable services to the City but may be inefficient and also duplicative. We need annual outside audits of all non-profit providers and eliminate all sole-source contracts. For additional budget cuts, I would look at recent programs that may have been created as unfunded mandates and, unless specific funding can be found, reduce or eliminate them.
Q. What policies would you pursue to ensure sustainable budgets in the future?
A. I would look for serious measures to create more jobs and increase the economic activity in San Francisco. It makes little sense to further tax the economic engines of this City such as the tourism industry and small businesses. The key to a sustainable future is greater economic vitality and real leadership in attracting innovative industries such as clean tech, bio-tech, high-tech, research and development and state-of –the-art medical treatment and teaching facilities.
Q. Where would you look for opportunities to increase revenue?
A. Economic growth and the elimination of the regressive payroll tax and the institution of a comprehensive net receipts tax are all elements that would increase revenue without sacrificing private sector jobs.
Q. Are you in favor of or against the proposed pension reform?
A. Against. It is ill-conceived, not inclusive of labor, and not based on actuarial studies. It also disregards our collective bargaining agreements and is merely political gamesmanship by Jeff Adachi. We do need pension reform but not without consultation and compromise with and by our public employees and their individual collective bargaining units. It’s the only way real reform can be achieved, through a collaborative process.
Q. Do you support increasing the timeline, analysis capacity and legislative authority in the budget process for Board of Supervisors?
A. I certainly support making the budget a continuous process, with two-year cycles of funding, zero-base budgeting for both City departments and all non-profits, mandatory annual audits of all City departments and non-profits, making sure all non-profit service providers are accounted for as part of our service delivery system not just as individual line items in the HSA or other departmental budgets and that all City services are subject to competitive bidding, with no sole-source contracts being issued without a complete audit and budget analyst review.
Q. Many people concerned with services to vulnerable populations urge the City to undertake a long-term planning process that would guide the implementation of health and human services over the next 5 to 10 years. What recommendations would you make to guide this planning process?
A. or such a process to be effective and workable, all stakeholders need to be involved and empowered to make decisions. I have always been successful in such exercises by relying on the judgment of those impacted by the systems, not the advocates or the providers.
Q. As Supervisor, what would you do to reform the City’s current budget process of cuts and add-backs?
A. It needs to be an ongoing annual process between the Mayor’s Budget office and the BOS Budget committee. As opposed to fighting at the end of every budget cycle for programs and add-backs, the process needs to be a non-partisan effort that is ongoing year-round.
Q. What is your position regarding privatization in the public sector?
A. I can say without hesitation, I would not support contracting out any sworn public safety positions such as police, fire, and sheriff. To say though that I would not consider contracting any public sector jobs would be incorrect. There may be instances where the private sector experience might bring efficiencies to a function that would be so cost effective that we could not totally ignore the possibility. For instance, some seasonal work could be accomplished by temporary workers instead of hiring fulltime public sector workers. I’m sure there are other instances, such as some of the work currently being done by non-profits, an integral part of our service delivery system, where we could save enough money to better support the current public sector workers already employed.
TAXES
A. Against. We need to encourage job creation, not tax it; promote economic development, not penalize it; and, support new and existing businesses, not discourage them from locating in San Francisco. We need more incentives, economic development zones of innovation, fee deferrals and small business assistance to stimulate our local economy and create real, sustainable jobs.
Q. Do you support the Hotel Fairness Initiative on the November 2010 ballot?
A. No. Neither the hotel tax nor the business tax measure, originally proposed by Supervisor Chiu, is indeed progressive. The former makes our hotel tax the highest in the United States and most likely would negatively impact our tourism industry, one of the largest generators of economic activity in the City. The business tax Supervisor Chiu was proposing would have added additional taxes onto our already struggling small business community and jeopardize our economic recovery. It’s the economic recovery, creating more jobs, which will provide the additional funds needed for children and families.
Q. Do you support the business tax measure on the November 2010 ballot?
A. No
Q. Do you support the real property transfer tax measure on the November 2010 ballot?
A. Yes
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
A. In District 6, as in all of San Francisco, the most important issues are jobs and economic vitality. We need to focus on creating more jobs by supporting balanced development and creating incentives to put the construction trade unions back to work, by ensuring the City’s purchasing power benefits District 6 residents, not out-of-town vendors and by creating a business environment that encourages creative companies in high-tech, bio-tech and clean-tech to see District 6 as not only the economic engine of the region but also a zone of innovation for the Country.
A. Fee deferrals are one way of jump-starting construction projects in the District. We also need a balanced approach to development as opposed to the current model of only supporting projects that focus on one segment of our community. We desperately need workforce housing, in addition to low income housing, and I would support a housing bond and encourage more public-private partnerships to allow that to happen.
Currently, more than 95% of the $1.85 billion that the City spends on commodities and services are purchased from vendors located outside the City and this doesn’t even include large infrastructure projects or Federal or State projects. As the Executive Director of the City agency that enforces all local business enterprise ordinances, we have made great strides in substantially increasing the requirement for local procurement on contracts up to four hundred thousand dollars. Unfortunately, there is institutional reluctance towards expanding that to multi-million dollar contracts. We need to create the political will to require more local purchasing.
San Francisco should be the hub of innovation for the entire Country in the areas of bio-tech, high-tech and clean tech, and it can be. We need to create a business environment that is not only supportive of tech growth but encourages it and provides basic infra-structure that attracts more of these creative people and companies to the City. One of my first projects as your District 6 Supervisor will be to create Tech-Business Innovation Zones in SOMA with municipal ultra-high speed web access for developers, payroll tax exemptions for start-up companies and small business incubation services for entrepreneurs.
Q. How will fixing the issue benefit District 6?
A. District 6 is the epicenter of development, creativity and business innovation. All of the initiatives I’ve mentioned will directly benefit the people who live and work in SOMA and the inner Mission. Greater economic activity and more sustainable jobs will stimulate support industries such as nightlife, street life, restaurants, service businesses and overall community growth.
PUBLIC SAFETY
A. As a former commissioner and president of the San Francisco Police Commission, I have a strong working knowledge of community policing and how it can be strengthened in all neighborhoods. Currently, it is only partially working and to increase its effectiveness, we need to put more foot patrols in place throughout the City, complete the implementation of our new Com-Stat system, continue our policies of zone-policing and maintain full staffing at the SFPD.
Q. What public safety strategies currently being implemented by the San Francisco Police department do you agree, or disagree with? What will be your agenda regarding public safety, if elected supervisor?
A. I agree with the deployment of more beat cops in all neighborhoods across the City. The combination of the ComStat resource allocation model, impact zone deployment and targeted response have all contributed to the record drop in homicides and violent crime in the last two years. It is important we maintain the concept of real community contact and policing as the centerpiece of our overall law enforcement strategy. Also, the weekly call-in strategy seems to be reducing gang-related crimes and repeat offences. Assigning detectives to precinct stations also seems to be more effective in solving crimes as evidenced by the substantial crease in violent crime solve rates over the last twelve months. SFPD violence prevention programs such as the PAL program, midnight basketball, community Night-Outs and departmental funding of SFSafe and the many youth-related violence prevention programs are all excellent deterrents to crime.
I do not agree with pretext stops and neighborhood flooding techniques after a violent crime as an effective community response. It promotes the possibility of profiling and distrust in the community.
Q. Do you think more police or more anti-poverty initiatives will address violence & increase public safety?
A. The answer is not either/or; the answer in both.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT
A. Absolutely. It’s the only way to encourage a workable transit-first policy, decrease our carbon footprint, provide affordable housing for all socio-economic classes, accommodate projected regional growth and preserve the livability and character of our existing neighborhoods.
Q. What do you believe is the correct percentage of units to be set aside for affordable housing, when property is redeveloped? Please explain why you believe that percentage is correct?
A. The percentage of affordable housing unit has to depend on the specific development with a minimum of 15 to 20%. In the future, if we include mandatory working class and moderate income housing, we should increase that percentage by 10 to 15%. Out city is losing its middle and working class families because they are unable to afford to live and raise their children here. We need to correct that by not only providing affordable opportunities for homeownership and rental units but also by insuring we are creating livable neighborhoods, with schools, parks and safe streets, not just housing developments. It is incumbent on new leadership in District 6 to turn around the policies of the last ten years and promote and encourage balanced development not just that for only one part of our diverse community.
Q. Would you support a measure that would create a permanent city fund of at least $10 Million a year for affordable family housing?
A. Absolutely, I support affordable housing for all residents of San Francisco including working class families as well as police, firefighters, health care workers, teachers and the construction workers who build our buildings and the affordable housing itself.
Q. How do you plan on making more affordable housing opportunities accessible to working class San Franciscans who are earning well less than the Area Median Income?
A. We need to create an additional affordable housing bond measure as soon as possible to provide affordable BMR housing for all individuals in San Francisco including health care workers, public safety workers and construction workers, in addition to low-income individuals. We also need to investigate sponsoring co-housing and cooperative housing alternatives as well.
Q. What ideas do you have about how to ensure that working poor San Francisco families have opportunities for affordable housing in their own city?
A. We need to adopt additional affordable housing bonds to help fund these types of projects. We also need to look into more public/private partnerships for financing alternatives, cooperative housing, co-housing and the possibility of land trusts dedicated to affordable housing opportunities.
Q. From the Redevelopment policies of the 1960’s through rampant gentrification in the 1990’s and 2000’s, San Francisco has experienced large-scale displacement of low-income residents, particularly among communities of color. In city planning, land use, zoning, and other legislative decisions, what types of policies will you support to ensure that San Francisco preserves its remaining economic and ethnic diversity?
A. As the Director of Human Rights for the City and County of San Francisco, I have been a tireless advocate for the basic human rights and non-discrimination in employment for all disenfranchised communities and communities of color. I intend to use my position as Supervisor in District 6 to influence and protect all decisions impacting low-income, disenfranchised and communities of color in all issues of discrimination in employment, land use, planning, zoning, housing and redevelopment.
Q. San Francisco has an extremely low rate of home ownership as compared with any other location in California and the U.S. Do you support increasing the percentage of homeowners? If so, why and how? Along a similar vein, do you support increasing the number of allowable condominium conversions from TICs?
A. Affordable homeownership isn’t just about owning a house or property; it’s about building strong, stable and safe communities in San Francisco. One of the most pressing problems in this city in this number of families that are forced to leave the City is simply because they cannot afford to purchase a home. Not only are we losing families, we are facing the loss of our city’s greatest strength – the diversity of our neighborhoods and the people that live within them. This is one of the most expensive cities in the country to live, and for most working people, home ownership is a real challenge. But owning your own home is a means to create long term equity, an opportunity to invest in your community and to also develop a sense of connectedness to your neighborhood and community. I believe it is the responsibility of our City leaders to ensure everyone has access to affordable housing and home ownership. I think we need to take advantage of our City’s credit and good-faith to allow all qualified individuals to secure low interest loans, much as the first-time home ownership program we have now. We also should look seriously into the possibility of municipal land trusts, cooperative housing, homeownership revenue bonds and, in this economy, public/private partnerships with lending institutions to access foreclosures. I believe TICs and condo conversions are very practical ways in which individuals, especially young families, can access homeownership right now. As long as we continue to build more affordable rental units in this city, it only makes sense to increase the ownership opportunities by increasing TICs and condo conversions.
Q. If you become supervisor, will you spend equal time meeting with both the San Francisco Tenants Union and the Small Property Owners of San Francisco before proposing more rent control legislation?
A. Absolutely, in addition to the SFPD and Police Watch, Fix MUNI and the Transportation Authority, the Guardian and the Chronicle, the dog owners and the City park advocates, just to name a few.
As president of the Police Commission, and head of the selection panel for the new Chief of Police last year, I scheduled 49 stakeholder meetings across the City from which the panel developed criteria against which it compared every candidate for the position. The successful applicant was the only individual that met every one of those criteria.
Q. We keep hearing about million dollar condos being built and SROs moving into the neighborhood - If elected, what do you intend to do about housing for the middle class?
A. I believe the largest housing deficiency we have in San Francisco is that of working class/middle class housing. I intend to support a new bond measure to provide funding for all types of housing including an equal distribution for working class housing. Less than half of our public safety employees live in San Francisco. That is the same for health-care workers, construction workers and transportation employees. I also intend to work with all public employee, building trade and health care unions to negotiate their participation in the creation of opportunities for their members to not only work, but also live in San Francisco. Wouldn’t it be nice if police, firefighters, health care workers, the people that run our trains and build our buildings could actually live in the City they love and they serve. I will work tirelessly to make that happen. The New York Times refers to “the death of the middle class.” San Francisco needs to insure that we not only do not contribute to that trend but we proactively develop sound urban policies to bring our middle class back into our City.
Q. There are a number of residents in the middle of SOMA (between 4th and 6th streets, and Harrison and Folsom Streets) who are concerned about a specific SRO that is relocating from the Tenderloin to the corner of 5th and Harrison. What are your thoughts on SRO Swaps particularly with regards to rules and regulations? How should they be managed? What rules and regulations should apply to ensure a safe and vibrant community in the future?
A. I have met with those residents and their underlying concern is not necessarily that one of development, although it was certainly mentioned, but the whole concept of locating multiple low income housing projects in one neighborhood as opposed to spreading them throughout the City. Over the last several years, only certain neighborhoods and certain constituencies in District 6 have been represented at City Hall. Because of that, the vast majority of low income projects have been proposed and built in this District. The residents are just getting tired of supporting all such projects when other areas of the City have few, if any. An example of the result of this policy is the (unintentional) creation of a “containment zone” for low income residents in the Tenderloin. Those projects are now being targeted for mid-SOMA because the Tenderloin is now being squeezed by market rate developers from Polk Street east and Post Street south. We need to spread the responsibility of low income SROs throughout the City, not just concentrate it in one neighborhood.
As far as SRO swaps, I think they can work to everyone’s advantage if properly conceived. We can’t though continue to allow those swaps to only occur in certain neighborhoods and create low income zones on the City. To create diversity, vibrancy and to maintain neighborhood character, we need to have planning policies promoting mixed housing in all neighborhoods across the City, including inclusionary housing, senior housing, low income SRO developments and market rate projects.
Q. What does affordable homeownership mean to you?
A. Affordable homeownership isn’t just about owning a house or even property, it’s about building strong, stable and safe communities in San Francisco. One of the most pressing problems in this city in this number of families that are forced to leave the city is simply because they cannot afford to purchase a home. Not only are we losing families, we are facing the loss of our city’s greatest strength – the diversity of our neighborhoods and the people that live within them. This is one of the most expensive cities in the country to live, and for most working people, home ownership is a real challenge. But owning your own home is a means to create long term equity, an opportunity to invest in your community and to also develop a sense of connectedness to your neighborhood and community.
Q. Do you have specific knowledge regarding affordable homeownership services in San Francisco (e.g. work experiences, personal experiences, readings)?
A. The City has tried to create homeownership opportunities by establishing funds for members of law enforcement to assist in down payments and first time buyers programs to ease the burden of purchasing property for the first time. What I have found though is that non-profits seem to have more programs, counseling and assistance available to people trying to buy homes in San Francisco than does government. I have never been able to afford a home in San Francisco, although over the years, I have owned homes a number of times, both in expensive and more moderate markets.
Q. What do you think is included in a successful affordable homeownership program (e.g. buyer development, supply borrower support, adequate funding, etc.)?
A. Everything stated in this question is part and parcel of a building an affordable homeownership program within San Francisco. We need to focus – to the extent we can – on building public-private partnerships to improve access to capital and credit, and the number of homes available for purchase. In addition, we need not to discourage programs like TICs which provide a gateway opportunity to lower income families trying to get into the market for the first time. However, all of this cannot happen unless we do something to address the underlying problem – the lack of economic growth and loss of small business and jobs within the city.
Q. How would you rate the state of affordable homeownership programs in San Francisco (e.g. strengths and weaknesses)?
A. The fact is, San Francisco is one of the most desirable cities to live in the United States. As a result, property values are, in spite of the down economy, relatively high compared to other cities within California and most other parts of the United States. I believe home ownership programs in this City are overly regulated causing many opportunities to be lost. TIC and condo conversion regulations need to be redesigned to not just stop the over development of market rate housing but to also provide ownership opportunities for people from all economic groups, low income, middle, working class and moderate.
However, my greatest fear, and a significant risk, is that our city is becoming a city divided between the “haves” and the” have-nots.” We are in danger of becoming a city where no middle class exists because there are just no programs available to assist middle and working class families in purchasing a home. We cannot sustain an economic model in San Francisco that does not include a home ownership by low, middle, working class and moderate income families, in addition to those fortunate enough to be able to afford market rate housing.
Q. What do you see as the current market challenges affecting affordable homeownership in San Francisco (e.g. difficulty to obtain financing, lack of affordable homes, job layoffs, recession, softening housing market, etc.) ?
A. Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. We need to re-think how we, as a community, can approach the concept of home ownership in this city. In this economy, it is not only difficult to obtain financing, but also to accumulate enough savings for a down-payment. There is a huge uncertainty in job stability which also contributes to difficulties in not only buying a home but to even make a leap of faith that, next year, you’ll still be able to afford it. I know from personal experience, getting into the California housing market for the first time is really challenging, even in good times. Right now, it’s nearly impossible without some form of government assistance.
Q. What do you think could be done at the local level to address the market challenges you described above?
A. In today’s economic climate, it is very difficult to deal with these issues. We need to support economic growth in San Francisco, which ultimately make more opportunities available for government programs. At the very least, this city needs to solicit partnerships with private entities to create guarantee programs, new housing bond measures or low interest loans against equity. We should also investigate innovative ideas being tried in other locations such as land trusts or cooperative housing. We could also support short-term condo lottery relief to stimulate some housing opportunities, lowering current housing stock and ultimately stimulating new construction and development projects.
Q. What opportunities exist to expand affordable homeownership in San Francisco?
A. I think we need to re-evaluate our TIC and condo conversion regulations to see if we can expand opportunities for ownership without materially impacting available affordable rental stock. We need to develop programs to assist in down payments and support private lending that creates low interest loans. Maybe we need to take our bonding capacity and look at loan guarantee programs backed by equity in the property. Co-ownership, land trusts and cooperative living are all worth looking at.
Q. Which opportunity would you champion if elected to the Board of Supervisors?
Q. What new local, state or federal resources would you try to bring to San Francisco to support affordable homeownership?
A. Given the current economic climate government resources, especially State, are not readily available. But, given my relationship with Speaker Pelosi, I would not hesitate to try to get her to sponsor more Federal legislation which would give home ownership assistance to working class families, most notably teachers, fire fighters, police and sheriff. I think a case could be made that stimulus funds are needed to create more sustainability in urban communities, especially ones with functioning public transit.
Q. How would you build bridges with supporters of permanently affordable multifamily rental housing in San Francisco?
A. I plan to be a hands-on supervisor and to reach out to constituents and advocates regarding all the major issues that impact our city, housing issues and creating opportunities for home ownerships are ones in which I am very interested. We all know that a stable foundation of home owners will lead to strong, safe neighborhoods throughout the city, something owners and tenants alike can support. As an experienced community activist, I will use my experience to create coalitions between business, labor and community leaders that will expand these opportunities and help make affordable homeownership a reality in San Francisco. I demonstrated my ability to reach out to all interests and build coalitions as a member, and then president, of the San Francisco Police Commission.
Q. What other skills would you bring to the Board of Supervisors regarding affordable homeownership (e.g. languages other than English, fundraising, legal, finance, public relations/marketing, lending, policy development, social entrepreneurship, affordable homeownership, etc.) ?
A. I think I will bring a unique mix of business, community, institutional, public and private sector contacts to this position. A brief overview of some of my specific experience is as follows:
Business Owner/Public Relations and Marketing Executive. I founded Resource Technology Inc, a company that marketed patented technology I developed to recycle used oils, antifreeze and wastewater. I was CEO of Evergreen Environmental, a company that developed numerous innovative recycling technologies and bought them to market in California and internationally. And I was president of Greenfield Environmental, a multi-faceted environmental services company that cleaned up the San Diego Harbor, managed municipal waste from several Southern California cities and counties and serviced the household hazardous waste needs of millions of California homeowners. I created Green companies long before the concept of a Green company was made popular.
My most recent, and possibly most difficult business challenge, was turning-around Good Vibrations, a thirty year-old woman-owned, iconic San Francisco company. Starting as a seasonal temp employee and ultimately emerging as president and CEO, I brought to the organization a more traditional business approach allowing its continued presence and the retention of more than 70 jobs.
Human Rights Commission (Executive Director). In 2009, I was named by Mayor Newsom as Executive Director of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission, in its 45th year, is one of the oldest government human rights agencies in the United States. It is the City agency that ensures that the City lives up to its promises and does not discriminate in City contracting, manages the City’s minority, woman and local business enterprise ordinances, enforces all local non-discrimination ordinances, mediates intergroup tensions throughout the City and investigates hundreds of housing discrimination complaints annually
FAMILY AND CHILDREN
A. Affordable housing, day care and after school programs and safe public transit.
Q. In the annual city budget process, will you protect the voter-approved set-aside funds for children and youth in San Francisco, the Children’s Fund and the Prop H Fund for Public Education?
A. Yes
Q. Will you vote to place the reauthorization of the Children’s Fund on the ballot in 2014?
A. Yes
Q. Will you commit to play a leadership role in protecting and expanding funding for family safety net services (like child care, afterschool programs, jobs programs, health services, affordable housing, etc.) and cutting waste in law enforcement?
A. Yes. I will play a leadership role in protecting and expanding the family safety net services but not at the expense of funding public safety. All people of San Francisco, including people of all socio-economic levels, deserve and expect to be safe in the City. I will though cut waste in other city departments to provide additional funds for families. The department that I currently manage, out of an annual $6 million budget, I under-spent last year by 20%, saving the City more than $1 million. To a certain extent, these kinds of savings can be obtained from all city departments.
Q. Do you support reducing the incarceration rates of young people of color in our juvenile hall and jails, and increasing community-based alternatives to detention for youth offenders?
A. Yes. As the president of the Police Commission, I worked closely with Dr. Joe Marshall, founder and Executive Director of the Omega Boys Club, to do just that. I think law enforcement itself, police and sheriff, should also participate with personnel resources and financial contribution.
Q. Many of our youth are dropping out of school or failing in our public school system. How do you plan on responding to and meeting the needs of this growing population?
A. I think our new policy of the SFPD and the USD working in concert to enforce our zero-truancy policy is a good first step. In the long term, it is important that we create a strong partnership between the school district, other City agencies and parents to achieve a successful and sustainable solution.
THE TENDERLOIN
A. My first priority is to introduce an economic development concept to the Tenderloin which encourages non and for-profit organizations to locate in the neighborhood. We need to change the way the Tenderloin does business, looks at itself and others see it. The neighborhood can no longer continue to serve the City as a “containment zone” for individuals with multiple diagnoses, physical, emotional and substance issues. We need to turn the current social service model into an economic self-empowerment model. Tax incentives, fee deferrals, public/private partnerships, business accelerators, and incubators are just a few of the tools we can utilize to jump start the Tenderloin, much as we’re starting to do now on the most embarrassing corridor in San Francisco, the Mid-Market area. We cannot allow the Tenderloin or Mid-Market to continue to deteriorate and languish with the policies of the last ten years. When I’m in office, a strong focus on these areas will be one of my passions.
Without effective policing in the neighborhood, the Tenderloin cannot change. I will immediately direct my attention to providing all necessary resource to the SFPD to do whatever is required to make sure the neighborhood is a safe place for people to live, work, play, participate in the arts, go to school and raise their families, free of drugs, an over abundance of liquor stores, gangs and graffiti.
It is also my intent to hold office hours in the Tenderloin at least once a month, if not more often. I will immediately create a Tenderloin working group comprised of many of the individuals who have been fighting this fight for years with direct access to me and my office. I also intend to hold town hall meetings in the neighborhood at least quarterly, in the first year. This neighborhood needs to set its own direction and have direct input on all important decisions impacting the Tenderloin. As with many other neighborhoods in district 6, they have had to live without a voice at City Hall far too long, and it will stop with my election.
Q. The Tenderloin has recently been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Uptown Tenderloin Historic District”. What are the greatest benefits you believe can be recognized by this designation?
A. To be listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places can be a very useful tool in attracting new investment into the neighborhood and to encourage existing owners to make improvements to their Tenderloin properties. With the use of tax credits and the possibility of receiving outdoor or preservation grants, it can be demonstrated to businesses and investors that locating in the Tenderloin can be a smart business decision. It can be particularly helpful attracting visual and performing arts organizations to the neighborhood.
Q. What role can the arts and other cultural pursuits play in the betterment of the lives of Tenderloin residents?
A. These types of activities will attract for-profit businesses and create employment opportunities for current residents. They will also change the perception that now exist of the Tenderloin, from that of a neighborhood that is dangerous and filled with drug dealers and users, to a cultural center that is enjoyed by individuals of all socio-economic levels and one of the final places in the City that people with low or fixed income and immigrant families can still afford to live. A lively and vibrant arts district in the Tenderloin will increase street traffic in the neighborhood which will also decrease some elements of street crime. There continues to be a shortage City-wide of areas for artists to live and work. The Tenderloin needs to become a hub of that activity.
Q. If you were to be elected supervisor, would you continue the practice of social service agency location in the neighborhood and why?
A. I would not continue the practice clustering all of these social service agencies, programs, services or clients in the Tenderloin or in the mid-SOMA area of District 6. The City needs to accept the fact that the clients that use these services, and the services themselves, are the responsibility of the entire city, not just the Tenderloin or one District. Revitalization and renewal of the Tenderloin is going to be one of my very first priorities and I am not going to support the continuation of the policy to locate all of these services and client-housing in the Tenderloin or mid-SOMA areas.
Q. What responsibility does the City have for the criminal behavior played out on the Tenderloin streets each day and what are your top three actions to change that reality?
A. Of course the City has responsibility for the high crime in the Tenderloin, as it does with crime in every area of the City. I would immediately meet with the Chief and create a program, much as the SFPD has done in other high crime neighborhood, to put in place a sustainable, long-term model to address this issue. We should immediately institute more beat cops on a 24-hour rotation. As it is now, once the beats stop in the evening, the streets turn back into an open-air drug market.
The combination of the ComStat resource allocation model, impact zone deployment and a targeted response should be put into place having already shown to contribute to a record drop in homicides and violent crime in the last two years in other areas. It is important we maintain the concept of real community contact and policing as the centerpiece of our overall law enforcement strategy in the Tenderloin. Assigning detectives to precinct stations should also be more effective in solving crimes as evidenced by the substantial crease in violent crime solve rates over the last twelve months.
It also might be an effective deterrent to institute for a 2 to 3 year timeframe a senior escort program, much as we have in the Southeast sector of the City, to show we are serious about changing the public safety profile of the Tenderloin.
Q. Should the city spend tax resources incentivizing the opening of individual “for profit” businesses on the street level of the Tenderloin neighborhood and why?
A. Absolutely. We should use every business incentive program we have, as a City and County government, to change the Tenderloin from a “social service” model into an “economic development” model. We should offer low interest loans for relocations and start-ups, micro-loans to assist residents of the Tenderloin with starting up small businesses, access to the City’s bonding capacity to guarantee larger loans for restoration and construction of commercial spaces in existing buildings, tax incentives for economic sustainability during the first three to five years and both business acceleration and incubation capacity to assist these companies to grow and prosper. It will only be through the development of a sustainable economic model in the Tenderloin that we can create jobs, develop the needed vocational training and life skills training tools needed by the residents and build a lasting future for the community.
Q. Do you support the creation of a Mid-Market redevelopment agency and if realized, how could that effort benefit the Tenderloin neighborhood?
A. I do, but maybe not immediately. We might actually be able to accomplish much of what a Redevelopment District is designed to do through private investment and private/public partnerships. But if it becomes apparent that those options are untenable, we should then consider the creation of a Mid-Market Redevelopment District. The area certainly meets the criteria for the creation of such a district and can bring financial, development, land-use, affordable housing, earthquake stabilization and many other resources to the neighborhood. It has been effective in other areas of the City, and SOMA. But, the downside is that sometimes the residents of the district can lose their voice in the process and the outcome becomes the vision of others, not the individuals who currently would potentially have the most to gain. In some cases, even here in San Francisco, redevelopment became a vehicle for gentrification. We need to protect the Tenderloin at all costs, its culture, history, affordability, diversity, services and, most of all, its unique character.
Q. Public toilet facilities are almost non-existent in the Tenderloin resulting in the practice of using the streets, gutters and alleys as public toilets. What legislative action would you support to improve on this situation?
A. I would support a short-term, pilot program, to install public toilets in the Tenderloin. The long-term solution is to require the bathroom facilities in all City buildings to be open to the general public for use and to require development projects to install publicly accessible facilities in or adjacent to their projects.
HEALTHCARE
A. The greatest challenges to providing affordable and quality healthcare to everyone living in San Francisco are the current structural imbalance in our City and County budget, the slow economic recovery and the inability to create more jobs.
We need to do whatever is necessary to stimulate our local economy through creative method such as fee deferrals, supporting development projects such as the CPMC Van Ness project and encouraging greater infrastructure investment by our Federal government through its stimulus funding.
We need to institute programs that will create new jobs such as low-interest loans for projects such as the Mid-Market development, green technology projects and the creation of a robust arts and theatre district. We also need to direct the City towards an overall economic development model to create new revenue for healthcare, public safety, reliable public transportation and safe public education.
Q. What do you consider to be the health care services/health policy priorities for San Francisco in the coming years?
A. In the upcoming years, we need to insure affordable, accessible and non-discriminatory health care for all individuals residing within the City and County of San Francisco and affordable senior and home health care for our aging population.
Q. What policies and program priorities do you advocate for maintaining/strengthening the City’s safety net, including not only public health, clinic and hospital services, but also mental health services, care of the homeless, and the health of children and families including the Healthy Families Program?
A. For families, seniors, children and HIV/AIDS patients and wrap-around mental health, substance abuse and homeless services for those indicating desire and/or severe need for the services.
Q. What specifically does the City need to do to maintain/secure state and federal funding for its health care services and infrastructure?
A. We need to maintain close access to, and constant advocacy for, our State and Federal elected officials. We also need to maintain programs that are able to best access grants and matching funds programs.
Q. What do you see as the major strengths and weaknesses of the Mayor’s Healthy San Francisco plan?
A. First, it is discriminatory towards certain populations in San Francisco, most notably transgender individuals. It is also very difficult to access particularly for specialists and prescription drugs. Keep in mind, Healthy San Francisco is not inclusive health insurance and primarily covers issues the cost of which can be directly billed to MediCal or MediCare.
Q. What would you do to increase access to affordable, quality health care for all Californians?
A. I would institute a San Francisco-style health care model.
Q. What do you think is the County’s role and responsibility for the delivery of health care services in the county?
A. I think making affordable health care available to all its citizens is a moral obligation of the County of San Francisco.
Q. Non-profit hospitals are exempted from paying property taxes as well as other city and county fees, and in return are expected to provide other tangible benefits to the community. Yet many of these hospitals are failing to meet acceptable forms of community benefit, including charity care contributions to the uninsured. If elected, what kind of public oversight and accountability measures would you actively and publicly support?
A. I believe non-profit hospitals should live up to all obligations pursuant to the terms of the exemptions. I believe that it would certainly be reasonable for the City and County to impose effective oversight measures to insure full accountability.
Q. If elected, would you actively support proposals to increase state funding to upgrade public hospitals and clinic infrastructures?
A. Absolutely.
EDUCATION
A. I support public education and believe public money should go to improve our own schools before supporting private ones.
Q. What do you see as your role as a County Supervisor in relation to the School District?
A. I would do everything within my authority to support our Unified School District including additional funding. I believe the USD is best managed by an independent School Board but I would advocate for more specific qualifications be placed on the positions before allowing just anyone to run. As in every public office, I believe the people are best served by elected officials who have experience in performing the tasks the voters are asking them to perform.
ENVIRONMENT
A. There are many pressing environmental issues facing San Francisco.
Another issue in the Southeast Corridor is to ensure that Hunters Point Naval shipyard is cleaned up to full EPA standards, encapsulation or capping of the contaminated soil should not be permitted. Significant toxins are present at this facility that must be fully disposed of. Although we have made significant efforts to reduce air pollutants, they are still a hazard to our health in the City.
Another issue is, once again, the siting of a new wastewater treatment plant by the PUC in the Southeast Corridor. It’s wrong that every utility project, such as wastewater treatment and power plants should end-up in the Bayview. Greater efforts must be made to encourage, clean fuels, hybrid vehicles, reduce emissions from diesel trucks and buses and substantially improve our public transit systems.
Q. What are your budget priorities regarding San Francisco’s environment? What programs would you increase spending on? Facing a budget shortfall, what programs would you cut spending on? What revenue sources/programs would you propose to raise more money?
A. I think we need to continue to push for zero waste emissions, starting with continued emphasis on overall waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. Our Urban Forest and Greening plans are very important not only to the landscape and air quality but also to the overall quality of life in our community. Increased efficiency in our public transportation systems are extremely important to both reduction of airborne contaminants and to our ability to improve transit first housing priorities. Environmental racism is a significant issue that cannot be ignored under any circumstances. These are all issues that need to continue to be funded.
I would discourage increases in revenues that retard or penalize small business growth, start-ups or economic activity such as increasing the regressive payroll tax or increasing the hotel tax (beyond closing the internet booking loophole). Increased revenue could be achieved through the implementation of a net receipts tax, exempting payroll and local investments. Also, increasing the property transfer tax might be feasible.
Q. What will you do to improve the ecological health of San Francisco’s parks and significant natural areas?
A. More natural areas and indigenous plants would be a good start. Also, I would work to ensure non-toxic chemicals are used in all landscaping projects. Use of cleansed storm water for brown water irrigation systems would also increase the vitality of our parks and open spaces.
Q. What qualifications do you consider important in Planning Commission appointees? Recreation & Park Commission? MTA Board?
A. I think there are a number of important qualifications to be considered for a commission or board with the city – each commission or board being unique to their needs in terms of members. As Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, former commissioner on the Human Rights Commission and former President of the San Francisco Police Commission, I have a unique perspective on the needs of commissions and, unlike anyone else running for office, an understanding of the needs of the department over which the Commission has jurisdiction.
On the Planning Commission, we should have people with experience in property development, permitting, planning, environmental, architecture, neighborhood groups, open space, construction and labor.
On Recreation and Park Commission, we should have individuals with experience in urban forestry, recreation, children and families, violence prevention, horticulture, entertainment and environmental.
On MTA, there should be individuals with experience in mass transit, labor, transit first, neighborhood groups, tourism or entertainment, to name a few.
On all commissions, appointments should be split between the appointing bodies, the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors. They should all also have individuals with some fiscal knowledge, live in the City and have experience with community or neighborhood organizations.
Q. What measures would you take to encourage San Franciscans to get out of their cars?
A. I am a strong proponent of a true “Transit First” policy in San Francisco. However, to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation, we need to ensure that the system functions well enough to meet their needs. As Supervisor, I want to focus greater energies on reforming MUNI, improving the level of service without compromising safety and providing more access to the system. In addition, I want to do more to encourage use of bicycles by creating more and safer bicycle commuter access particularly along the notoriously unsafe corridors like Market Street. As Supervisor, a top priority for me will be to work with the stakeholders in this area to start improvements right away.
Q. How do you suggest we address environmental justice issues in San Francisco?
A. There are so many environmental justice issues to deal with in San Francisco – I could write a research paper discussing each one in detail. One issue is siting the new wastewater treatment plant by the PUC in the Southeast Corridor. It’s wrong that every utility project, such as wastewater treatment and power plants should end-up in the Bayview. That said, I will work with my fellow Supervisors to increase land buffering, install state-of-the-art technology, go beyond primary and secondary treatment, reduce sewage flow to the system by a more comprehensive brown water clarification process and treat sediments and sludges on-site to minimize the transportation of toxic wastes through the neighborhoods.
Another issue in the Southeast Corridor is to ensure that Hunters Point Naval shipyard is cleaned up to full EPA standards, encapsulation or capping of the contaminated soil should not be permitted. Significant toxins are present at this facility that must be fully disposed of properly. It is critical that we do not build a new community on top of a ticking bomb of environmental pollution.
We also need to address the toxins in the bay, particularly around the wharf areas. I conducted the first environmental clean-up of port sediment completed anywhere in the United States, in the San Diego Harbor in the mid-1990’s. We removed thousands of tones of sediment from the Bay, recycled 100% of the heavy metals, including high levels of lead and copper, sent the PCBs out for destruction and cleaned the water to potable water standards before returning it to the Bay.
I am the only candidate running for Supervisor that has any background or knowledge of these issues, much less knowledge of the technologies available to remediate them.
Q. What steps would you propose to help the City meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals?
A. We need to ensure that all power generation in the City and County is done through the use of clean technology. With my patent in clean tech and background in environmental issues, I have a very strong commitment to the environment and to our current ordinance requiring the implementation of Community Choice Aggregation or Clean PowerSF. We need to address large users and pollutant emissions such as power plants, processing facilities, commercial vehicles and passenger automobiles to really have impact our fossil fuel generation in this City. We can do that by the installation of more solar facilities on City buildings, solar power farms where possible, wind turbines on commercial buildings and City property and researching other innovation ideas such as tidal motion or off-shore generation facilities. Also, more bicycles lanes and much high utilization rates and better on-time performance by our public transit system will help with the problem by getting more people out of their cars.
Q. Given that increasing energy efficiency is the most effective way to reduce power demand, what should the City do to encourage conservation by residents, businesses, and the City itself?
A. We should encourage greater participation by offering more low interest loans to home owners and commercial building owners to install alternative power supplies, low flow water systems, high efficiency appliances and ventilation systems in buildings and more efficient recycling collection for tenants. People, in general, are very interested in preserving the environment; we just need to give them the ability to participate by making financially possible for them to do so.
PARKS
A. Parks and open space are an essential element of the fabric of a community, even more so in an urban environment such as San Francisco. Golden Gate Park anchors our neighborhood parks and serves as an outlet for the stress created by our daily routines and a vehicle for family, cultural, sports and other recreational activities. The Presidio and Ocean Beach are two areas that also make us unique among other metropolitan areas. Parks and open spaces in San Francisco anchor us, give our lives a sense of dimension and provide for us a needed respite from day-to-day urban life. It is imperative that everyone in the City have access to parks and open spaces, whether they be playgrounds for our children, recreational space for organized events or quiet open space for reflection and rest.
Q. What park in your district do you use most and tell us what you like most about it?
A. In District 6, Yerba Buena Gardens is my personal favorite of the few parks in this part of the City. I enjoy the fountains, the periodic entertainment and the quiet time it provided from working South of Market for nearly eight years. I would go there quite frequently during lunch and after work to unwind and enjoy the open space.
Q. Which park in your district appears to need the most help and what do you propose to do about it?
A. District 6 suffers from many serious issues concerning parks and open space, the most pressing is the lack of them. There has to be a concerted, coordinated effort to get more in the District. Of the few parks we do have, Boeddeker Park in the Tenderloin and UN Plaza in Civic Center, suffer from the same significant issues, drug use, crime and violence. As we initiate plans for new parks, we need to make sure the ones we have are safe from violence, needles and crime. I will use my experience as president of the San Francisco Police Commission and excellent relationship with the SFPD, to insure this is not an issue beginning as soon as I take office.
Q. From your observations, what are the 3 most important issues facing recreation and parks in San Francisco? How will you begin to address these issues if you are elected?
A. Funding is the most significant issue and can be partially resolved by prioritization in the annual budget, additional parks bond measures and a greater percentage utilization of development fees for this purpose. Ongoing maintenance is a significant problem facing our parks and open spaces that needs to be prioritized in our annual budget process. Safety in our parks and open space is an ongoing problem that need to be prioritized by our park rangers and SFPD. I would immediately ask the SFPD to create a separate Park and Open Space command, much as it has done for MTA, and direct it to enforce safety issues in our parks. I would also evaluate the possibility of closing our parks after a certain time in the evening.
Q. What is your view of the role of volunteer community park groups? What commitment do you make to working with these groups to improve our public open spaces?
A. I think they are essential elements of our network of parks and our parks system and commit, once I am in office, to work with them on a regular basis.
Q. ParkScan.org is a website that enables park users to report maintenance concerns to the Recreation and Park Department. If elected, how would you promote this tool?
A. ParkScan.org is just one example of an effective service offered by the City of which few people are aware. We need to be readily available to the public.
Q. NPC’s Green Envy study identified many neighborhoods that lack playgrounds and neighborhood parks. How would you address these park and open space deficiencies?
A. We have become relatively good in this City at creating developments, but not so good at making them into neighborhoods. We need to designate a greater percentage of our development fees to the creation of parks and open space on a pro rata basis to the type of development that is being planned. In District 6, we have a significant deficiency of these types of public spaces, although in both the Mission Bay and Treasure Island development plans, a significant greater amount of open space is contemplated. In general the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan does a poor job of addressing these needs and should be reevaluated for more parks and open spaces.
Q. Deferred maintenance of things like irrigation systems continue to plague the park system. With little funding available to fix these types of problems, what would you propose to improve park maintenance?
A. Deferred maintenance and capital improvements are a significant problem in all City departments. This type of expense is unfortunately a foreseeable issue when there are significant budget deficits. Correctly the structural imbalance of our City’s finances is critical to being able to fund deferred maintenance and capital improvement expenses. One of my proposals is to create a multi-year budget planning cycle which is then augmented by an annual spending plan. This process should be totally transparent and inclusive of all stakeholders. This process should include not only operating expenses, and long-term capital investments, as our current budget includes, but also non-profit costs, deferred maintenance, capital improvement projects and all other multi-year expenses so we’re not de-prioritizing them every year to meet current obligations.
Q. San Francisco currently has no citywide open space requirement for new development. In areas such as the Eastern Neighborhoods, which are already deficient in open space and could see a tripling in residential density in the near future, this oversight could create unlivable communities severely deficient in parks. Would you support a citywide open space requirement for all new residential development so that every neighborhood can have green space for play, exercise, and respite from urban life?
A. Absolutely and consider imposing an open-space requirement for all major commercial developments as well.
HIV/AIDS
A. I have started up, owned and managed successful small businesses for more than 25 years. In addition, I have overseen the $480 million budget of the SFPD and the $6 million budget of the Human Rights Commission. This experience makes me unique from all the other candidates in that I have extensive financial management experience to deal with the City’s ballooning budget and deficits. We need to eliminate waste from the budget and City departments to enable the City to adequately fund programs supporting HIV prevention, treatment and support. For about a year, I have run a city department and understand how funding is obtained and how mismanaged some city departments are. I think every candidate running for Supervisor needs the experience of running a city department to be able to really understand the intricacies of public sector financing and budgeting. This will be an essential element to stabilizing HIV funding. The department I manage is the Human Rights Commission, the agency that enforces all non-discrimination ordinances in the City, including HIV-AIDS, in housing, public accommodations and employment. The benefit is self-evident.
Q. Identify three priorities of people with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco. What specific commitment will you make to address these priorities, if elected ?
A. 1. Providing access to quality care, an appropriate level of supportive services and ensuring housing for all.
2. Allowing all persons with HIV/AIDS the access to proper health care and the latest drugs and drug therapies.
3. Insuring that all services are provided in a culturally appropriate manner.
As an elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I would pledge to do all that I can to maintain our historic and successful system of care at the necessary level of funding to provide the necessary care for all impacted persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially from those who are most in need, from the most severely and disproportionately impacted communities: the young, people of color, women (especially African-American women), transgender women, seniors and the homeless and marginally housed.
Q. Where would you place the need for HIV prevention, treatment and care in your list of priorities?
A. As a transgender woman and a member of my LGBT community, I am fully aware of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and it holds a very high priority with me as a person and of course would continue to as I become a member of the Board of Supervisors. Members of my community have been disproportionately impacted by the epidemic and this continues today. This issue is very personal to me as it has been for over a decade.
Q. What will you do to specifically help residents of your particular district with HIV/AIDS?
A. District 6 is disproportionately impacted by the AIDS/ HIV epidemic. I would work with the non-profits in my district and throughout the city to address unique issues and help them to better the clients they serve. I would work to improve access to and availability of housing to those living with HIV/AIDS, housing is in many ways – health care, and is a significant and necessary part of the formula to maintaining health. I will do everything that I can to maintain and grow the system of care for persons living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco.
Q. Do you view HIV/AIDS as a life-threatening chronic manageable illness or a communicable disease such as tuberculosis? How do you see the difference between the two and why do you view HIV/AIDS as you do?
A. It is both and neither. It is also a way of life for many of us. It is a part of many communities and a part of the complex, cosmopolitan quilt of life in our city. It is a product of poverty, a product of prejudice, a product of stigma. I am very proud of how this great city has struggled with and addressed this epidemic. I am very proud of how friends, family really, struggle with and master this incredible challenge. It is a part of who we are and a part of San Francisco as a city. There are thousands and thousands of San Franciscans who have to struggle with AIDS/HIV daily, who have been impacted in some way, who advocate, educate, treat, prevent, lobby, who do everything that we can to raise to the challenge to confront and struggle against this disease. It is so much more than forced public health definition.
Q. Do you view homelessness amongst people with HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, such as TB, as having the same public policy priority as homelessness in other populations? How will you implement your point of view?
A. Homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS, are more at risk of serious health challenges and premature death, than those living without HIV/AIDS. Clearly, it is more critical that those with severe health needs have a stabile housing situation in order to have an opportunity to meet the needs of being retained in care and having access to the necessary benefits of housing to maintain an opportunity for a healthy, stable living condition.
Q. The City recently updated its HIV/AIDS Housing Plan, but has not yet put much funding toward realizing the goals of the Plan. What will you do to improve access to safe, decent and affordable housing for people with HIV/AIDS?
A. Improving access to safe, decent and affordable housing for persons living with HIV/AIDS will be one of my highest priorities. I will do what I can to identify and secure the necessary funding for these services, and to insure that the public/non-profit partnerships providing these services are well-developed and successfully delivered.
Q. The Board of Supervisors hosted a hearing on LGBT/HIV homelessness, focusing on hate crimes, violence and harassment in shelters. Do you support the community’s call for an LGBT/HIV focused shelter?
A. Absolutely, this is a high priority for me. As a transgender woman, I know first-hand the price of discrimination and how it can severely impact access to services, equality and quality of life issues. All persons should have the same safe access to necessary services, and we have seen that this is often not the case. The best way to appropriately meet the needs of the LGBT community living with HIV/AIDS is to fund programs specifically and uniquely serving this specific population. As the current Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, I see the impact of this discrimination every day and not only in shelters but also in City-funded supportive and non-supportive housing such as those facilities housed by LGBT homeless youth.
Q. Virtually all of the housing affordable to people with HIV/AIDS who are no longer able to work is located in areas of high crime and low opportunity. How will your office combat this segregation by HIV status and disability?
A. We need to identify options outside of areas of high crime and high temptation, where clients don’t feel stigma or feel as if they are being warehoused. I will work with the network of service providers and city run programs to help facilitate this process.
Q. The New York Times recently reported that 11 states have closed enrollment to ADAP, the program that provides access to HIV/AIDS medications. Three others have further narrowed eligibility and two have dropped scores of people from the rolls. People with HIV do not have the same options as other people to move to areas with lower housing costs because we have to stay in SF to maintain access to life-saving medical care. Additionally, HIVers from all over the world come to San Francisco in a desperate attempt to save their lives. This creates an untenable situation of people choosing between access to medical care and access to housing. How will you use your office to make more housing available to low income HIVers?
A. The challenge is of course, one of funding. It will be a high priority of mine to secure the necessary funding, and to prioritize these services as much as possible to maximize these desperately needed services.
Q. Describe the obstacles to employment faced by people with HIV/AIDS, especially those of us who are disabled. What will you do, if elected, to empower people to overcome those obstacles? How will you use the power of your office to ensure supportive employment opportunities that fit within the earned income caps of federal disability programs are made available to disabled people with HIV/AIDS?
A. I would champion work training and work re-entry programs that not only prepare one for re-entering the work force when living with HIV/AIDS, but would also champion the necessary support services to maintain the health and stamina who choose this path. As the current Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, I see the impact of this discrimination every day. This is a serious issue that needs informed leadership to address.
Q. Since the City has slashed its General Fund support for HIV/AIDS services in the City and we anticipate major reductions in federal Ryan White CARE Funding in the not too distant future, how will you ensure that HIV/AIDS services will remain intact? Which service categories will you promise to continue?
A. I think the broad, complex network of our San Francisco system of care for persons living with HIV/AIDS is a critical model for maintaining complete health and well-being. I would be hard-pressed to eliminate any part of it. Housing, food, case management, legal services, benefits counseling, treatment advocacy, peer advocacy, dental care, and of course primary medical care…all are such an important part of the provision of necessary services. I would work closely with the leadership of the HIV/AIDS advocates in our community, and the members of our local HIV Health Services Planning Council to identify and support these priorities.
Q. One of the unintended consequences of healthcare reform is likely to be a lessening in the dedication of federal funding for wrap around support services that we know are critical to keeping people in care. With Ryan White CARE funding expiring just 3 months before most of the provisions of healthcare reform kicks in – it is likely to be a different animal with a much smaller program and appropriation. We do not know what the landscape will be or if there will be federal will to fund services to the levels necessary. What is your commitment to ensuring that San Francisco will continue to have the level of service that has made the San Francisco model of care a worldwide icon and how will you honor that commitment?
A. I would actively work with our city lobbying arm to help secure the necessary funding from federal and state agencies to sustain our local supportive services, and if necessary work and identify the needed local funding to sustain these vital services.
Q. Youth continue to be at high risk for contracting HIV. What strategies will you propose to help reduce the spread of HIV among youth?
A. We must do what is necessary to test, educate, empower and train youth to help us spread this important message. I believe that peer advocacy, communication and technology are keys.
Q. Have you collaborated with people with HIV/AIDS in your community work in the past (list specific examples)? What value did that experience bring? How are HIVers involved in your campaign?
A. I have worked with many HIV/AIDS and community based organizations in the LGBT community including, TARC, Trans Thrive, Transgender Health Project, New Leaf and Horizons Foundation, to name just a few. Many of my friends are HIV-positive, including my dearest best friend. I have worked with these people on countless projects in San Francisco for more than a decade. Many such individuals are helping on my campaign including Cecilia Chung. Respected LGBT community leaders are also assisting me with my campaign including Dean Goodwin, with the SF DPH Aids Office, Jim Illig, Project Open Hand, and, of course, Mark Leno and Stuart Milk.
Q. If elected, how will you stay engaged with the HIV/AIDS community?
A. I will continue to rely on the list of individuals above, and other community leaders, to help me make informed decisions about HIV/AIDS policy.
Q. In what ways have you shown leadership in supporting the low-income vulnerable populations of the City, including people living with HIV/AIDS?
A. As Director of the Human Rights Commission I advocate for these people every single day.
Q. Community Planning has been an essential part of crafting and maintaining a system of care and prevention in this city that is effective and responsive to the needs of the community of people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk. In the face of possible threats from federal and state sectors on community planning bodies, what will your commitment be to ensuring that community planning which includes community members- many of whom rely on the services provided - is maintained ?
A. Same as for similar question above. For such a process to be effective and workable, all stakeholders need to be involved and empowered to make decisions. I have always been successful in such exercises by relying on the judgment of those impacted by the systems, not the advocates or the providers.
Q. San Francisco used to have an ‘AIDS Czar’ in the Mayor’s Office. What did you see as the role of that position? What were the strengths and weaknesses of that office? Do you think San Francisco needs that position again?
A. No, but it does need a more comprehensive policy making body that is sanctioned by the City and County, such as possibly an AIDS/HIV City Commission with powers similar to the Human Rights Commission.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND MUNI
A. I believe it is dysfunctional, much as I believe our public education system in San Francisco is dysfunctional. The primary reason we have such an inefficient public transportation system is a lack of commitment of our city leaders to infrastructure maintenance and improvements for decades, including MUNI. We need to renew our commitment to making MUNI a world-class public transit system and not be satisfied with 73 to 75% on-time record, raising the fares every time there is a financial deficiency or reducing service to balance the budget. MUNI has to work well before we can truly become a world-class City.
We need to have a sustainable, safe and efficient public transportation system, a functional bicycle plan and a City-wide commitment to a strong transit-first development philosophy.
Q. As a Supervisor, what would you do to increase revenue to improve and increase MUNI service from current levels?
A. To increase revenue, we need to increase ridership by making MUNI more reliable, cost effective, with greater on-time performance. We also need to crack down on fare evaders by putting MUNI fare checking staff on substantially more buses and trains. I also believe that the MTA should institute a robust marketing campaign through the City’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, to get more conventioneers and visitors onto our public transit system. I don’t believe we can continue to increase fares, especially on youth, seniors or the disabled. Maybe we also need to institute a two-tiered pricing system such that residents of the City pay less than visitors.
Q. How often do you rely on Muni to get you around town? If not, what do you use instead? What would make it easier for you to choose Muni over other forms of transportation?
A. Even though I own a Prius, I use MUNI every day, in both my work and personal life. I would use MUNI as my only form of transportation if it had greater dependability, more frequent buses and trains, better safety and more routes SOMA and Mission Bay.
Q. What are the primary concerns of Muni’s owners (aka riders) about transportation and Muni in your District?
A. Dependability, safety, accessibility and on-time percentage are all issues in District 6. In certain areas, people do not ride the MUNI due to safety concerns. Also, better access for seniors and the disabled are concerns in D6. Service to Treasure Island is extremely lacking.
Q. As a Supervisor, you will serve on the Board of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. What is the role of the SFCTA, and what would you set as priorities for the agency in the next 4 years?
A. Dependability in funding, an increase in on-time rating and better safety would be my three top priorities. I would also look at replacing the remaining diesel powered buses with alternative energy vehicles.
Q. Difficult decisions often have to be made regarding transportation in San Francisco. Sometimes a well-researched project may have loud, angry opponents, or a popular project may not be the best for City residents and for San Francisco’s transportation infrastructure. How would you make a decision under these kinds of circumstances?
A. As president of the San Francisco Police Commission, I had to make these types of decisions nearly every week; vocal opposition, strong opinions and significant policy decisions relating to public safety. I made it a point to listen to all stakeholders, take the public meetings to the impacted areas, go to great pains to maintain full accountability and accessibility and involve everyone in the decision. Ultimately though, I made these tough decisions based on my best judgment of what was best for the people of this City. An example was during the search for a new Chief. I directed more than 49 public meetings around the City and sought input from all stakeholders and used that input as criteria to assess candidates for the position. Ultimately, the final selection, Chief George Gascon, was made based on those criteria.
Q. What is the Fix Muni Now charter amendment? Do you support it?
A. Yes. I do support it for a number of reasons. MUNI needs to save money to make improvements to service, improve safety and fund deferred maintenance costs. The Transportation Workers of America, the union representing MUNI workers refused to participate in City-wide cost reductions made by every other union in the City. Driver’s wages are set based on the economy of cities on the East Coast, our drivers wages are guaranteed to be always the second best wages in the country. Unusual work rules such as those for call-ins, sick outs and others result in highly inefficient service and unnecessarily high elevated costs. The TWA is the only union in San Francisco not subject to collective bargaining rules. For better service and equality with other unions we need to pass FIX Muni Now.
Q. One (of many) causes for Muni’s perennial budget woes was the illegal seizure of state gas tax money by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature. This has left a large hole in Muni’s income (as well as every transit agency in CA). How would you make up this gap in Muni revenue?
A. We need to elect a Democrat as Governor of California to stop these illegal seizures of funds and pass the State proposition to allow the State budget to be enacted with a simple majority rather than 2/3 vote of the legislature. We need to pass FIX MUNI Now to help fund these deficits and service cuts. We also need to reduce costs in MUNI’s infrastructure not continue to raise fares.
Q. Would you support a local funding source or sources (fees, taxes, or other type of revenue) to avoid future problems caused by the state?
A. I do support more local funding through re-prioritizing some of our existing general fund dollars for MUNI, and for public schools. We also need to look at using millions of dollars of existing development fees to help support our transportation infrastructure.
Q. Would you achieve savings through cuts to Muni’s budget, fare increases, etc.?
A. We need to achieve savings through cost savings at MUNI not fare increases.
Q. Do you have other ideas on how to get Muni out of its annual financial woes?
A. We need to address and fix the structural imbalance of the City’s finances and budget. We cannot sustain year-after-year half billion dollar deficits. Multi-year financial planning with annual spending plans would give us an opportunity to assess both our long and short range needs and priorities including cost of government services, non-profits and infrastructure costs such as public transportation, public education and public health. MUNI would ultimately benefit from a cohesive financial structure allowing us a more comprehensive understanding of the costs of running this City.
NONPROFITS
A. My work advocating for non-discrimination and disenfranchised populations in San Francisco is well known, in the LGBT community and the transgender community. I have also served on the Board of the Horizons Foundation providing over a million dollars annually to disadvantaged communities. I have served as a Human Rights Commissioner, Police Commissioner or Human Right Director for the City and County of San Francisco since 2001. I have also worked with New Leaf, TLC, TARC and others over the last few years.
Q. Do you have any specific recommendations to improve the programs or services provided or funded by the City & County of San Francisco for low-income and homeless populations?
A. We need to increase available funds for these programs and services by focusing on increasing job opportunities in the City and encouraging start-ups and mature companies to locate in San Francisco. We need to create more housing opportunities through new bond measures, co-housing concepts and cooperative housing. It is also imperative that we continually audit City departments and non-profits receiving money from the City to eliminate wasteful practices and duplicative services and programs.
Q. The San Francisco Housing Element has identified the need for some 13,000 very low to moderate income homes, including: 3200 units of affordable accessible housing, 1500 units of affordable senior housing, and 5600 units of affordable multi-bedroom family housing. Given the declining level of federal and state financing for affordable housing development, how would you finance this level of affordable housing?
A. Stimulate the economy and create more jobs, affordable housing bonds for all populations (targeting seniors, families and working class), correct the structural imbalance of the City’s budget and approach local corporations and businesses to create more private/public partnerships. This issue requires a multi-year and sustainable effort by policy-makers in the City to resolve.
Q. As Supervisor, through what mechanisms would you seek input from nonprofits when considering legislation that would affect agencies and the clients that they serve?
A. I won’t just seek inputs from non-profits, they will be actually partners in the decision-making process. I firmly believe that legislation that directly affects non-profit’s ability to deliver services has to be part of the equation. All non-profits need to be included as individual line items in the budget process from its inception as opposed for fighting for funding at the last minute at the BOS.
Q. Do you feel that nonprofits receive adequate funding to meet the needs of the city and its vulnerable populations, and to ensure the health and sustainability of their organizations? If not, how would you address the need for more funding?
A. Given the current state of the city budget, I would have to say no. However, I think we also need to review the budget process, consider how to resolve the issue of duplicative services and ensure that non-profits are receiving the resources they need to fulfill their particular mission.
Q. Should employees working on nonprofit city contracts earn wage rates that are comparable to civil service employees in similar job classifications? If so, what specific steps would you take to advance wage parity?
A. Much like City contractors providing other types of City good and services, employees of non-profits should be paid, at a minimum, a livable wage and have benefits comparable to other organizations in their particular industry or service classification. It would be useful if the non-profits could be represented by a collective bargaining unit thus giving them a much better bargaining position when discussing wages and benefits. I would certainly advocate for such a concept.
Q. Many nonprofits urge San Francisco to undertake a long term planning process that would guide the implementation of health and human services over the next 5 to 10 years, analyze and prioritize community needs and resources, ensure the sustainability of our system of care, and develop a plan that transcends the cyclical nature of the political process and individual department policies. What recommendations would you make to guide this planning process?
A. I think it is imperative that the City undertake a long-term financial plan, much like is done in the private sector, with annual and quarterly updates that reflect changing circumstances and priorities. This process should be directed by the Controller’s office, not the individual bodies of government. The legislative and executive branches of government would then collectively develop annual operating and capital budgets that fall within the context of the long-term financial plan. Somehow, we need to minimize the political implications of the current budgeting process.
ENTERTAINMENT AND NIGHTLIFE
A. I would institute a worldwide marketing campaign to promote the music industry in San Francisco as what it is, the musical pioneer of the last several generations. I would create an entertainment sister-city program with other music urban legends such as Nashville, Memphis, Kansas City and New York City. I would create a model public/private partnership around public safety, zoning and planning to help integrate the industry into neighborhoods, not isolate it from them. I would also create working partnerships between the traditional and contemporary performing arts venues creating a seamless entertainment continuum.
Q. According to the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, San Francisco had 15.4 million visitors spend $7.9 billion in 2009. How does a thriving music scene support our City’s largest source of tax revenue, and what steps can be taken to grow it even further?
A. Much like the life sciences, high tech and clean tech, the City’s music industry needs to be recognized as a major contributor to the economic vitality, in addition to the cultural vitality, of the City. We need to support this industry through more micro and low interest loan programs, tax deferments for start-ups, an expedited permitting process and an civic attitude of institutional support.
Q. The nightlife community has recently experienced a string of alleged violence and tension. Do you believe a distinction should be made between nightclubs, strip clubs, and live music venues? How will your office address alleged problems associated with nightlife?
A. I think each has its own individual issues, particularly around crowd control, alcohol consumption, potential for violence and others. But regarding issues such as closing hours, crowd dispersal after closing, transportation availability and business modeling, they share many of the same challenges. When I am in office, I intend to set up a standing industry coordinating council within District 6 to address these issues on an ongoing basis, not wait until there is a problem. I cannot emphasis enough my commitment to this industry. Besides, after running Good Vibrations for 8 years, I know the value of both mainstream and alternative entertainment to San Franciscans. I would also coordinate ongoing communications between law enforcement, community groups and nightlife venues. I would support the creation of ombudsman positions within all branches of government to work with the nightlife community. I would stop protesting at the gates of power and start working within the halls of power.
Q. Are entertainment and nightlife under-valued in the media and public sphere?
A. Undervalued and mischaracterized.