>> getting sick from covid. a senior policy advisor to former president obama will be the keynote speaker at the professional business women's conference in san francisco. cecilia munoz will share what inspires her and what every woman can do to empower herself.

first, a lopsided the reef in the runoff special election for state assembly district 17 number representing nearly half of san francisco. matt haney scored a huge victory over david compos so supervisor and soon to be assemblyman matt haney joins us to discuss. congratulations. you led the primary but it was almost tied, it was close. this time it was 63% of the vote. are you surprised? >> i'm grateful. i was hoping to win, but it is great to win by that margin. we have a diverse city with a lot of different views on politics. we were able to win in nearly every precinct and every district. that is a powerful mandate that i get to take with me to

sacramento and i feel grateful for the support and ready to get to work. kristen: you put together quite a coalition. it is hard to pinpoint one thing but you did get an important endorsement. some people say that gave you a huge boost. what does this suggest about what san franciscans think about building housing? >> we ran on a platform of building more housing and we were unapologetic about it. we tapped into something that is right there for anyone who lives in this city, which is that the rent is too high. housing is unaffordable and it is impacting all of us. san francisco's want -- san franciscans want affordable housing, they want housing working people can afford and they want leaders to prioritize that. they have seen situations like the project in my district on stephenson street, 500 units of

housing for working families that the board of supervisors said no to. we ran on the message that i would go to sacramento and say yes to housing. it is something the voters responded to and i think was a big part of our victory. kristen: what are some of the other issues that were front and center as you take your work to sacramento? >> homelessness is a big one. frankly, we need every city and county to have a plan and accountability to do their part on homelessness and that means building housing and mental health treatment, care courts the government was talking about, shelters. i'm going to focus on drug addiction and the fentanyl epidemic. we are still seeing nearly two people die in our city from drug overdoses, we need more leadership from the state and we need to stop the flood of this deadly drug into our communities. that will take state leadership and law enforcement and a statewide plan to get folks into

treatment. climate change, we are continuing to see the devastating impacts of this existential threat of climate change in wildfires and air quality, so we need to see a lot more aggressive leadership to get us zero omissions. those are some of the issues i will take on. we have a big responsibility to be bold and move the needle, and i believe i now have the mandate, and i hope to go up and do that and deliver for our city. kristen: no doubt you are excited. i do wonder, you represented the tenderloin for quite some time. there is a lot of work left undone so to speak. you mentioned the issues like drugs, fentanyl, crime, homelessness. talk about what you hope will happen in the neighborhood, and i guess who might carry on the work.

>> there is still a lot of work to do, for sure. we made some progress when we declared the state of emergency, something i was very ppti torovl police into the neighborhood, community safety ambassadors on every corner, a more aggressive approach to getting people into shelter and housing and cleaning the streets. we have more work to do, and i will continue to beep -- be a partner with the mayor and whoever succeeds me as supervisor. as someone who lives in the tenderloin and has represented this area, this is something we can't do alone. neighborhoods like the tenderloin are often used as a dumping ground for people who have been failed in other neighborhoods, cities and counties so i will bring a message to sacramento that we need statewide plans. we need every city and county to build housing to provide for people who are experiencing homelessness and you can't just give people a bus ticket and say go to the tenderloin.

we also need bigger solutions than what can be done in one neighborhood. kristen: what do you hope mayor breed will appoint to your seat? is there a type of person or experience if you can't give us a name? >> in this case, i can give you a name. my chief of staff, who happens to be the chair of the san francisco democratic party, honey mahogany, has been with me in this role but also the founder of the transgender cultural district, would be the first trans supervisor in san francisco and the first drag queen, but beyond that, a brilliant, capable leader who has been in the trenches on important issues of housing, homelessness, and would do an incredible job. i'm hoping the mayor chooses honey. it would be great to get her into that seat for our city, and i know she plans to run either

way. kristen: you will serve out the remainder of david to's term, he is now city attorney. you have to run twice more this year. can't get too comfortable. first in the primary, then the november general. what can you deliver between now and let's say november in the general so people will send you back? >> i'm going to go up there in the middle of the budget process. it is fairly late into the session so i won't be able to do that this year but i will be able to deliver on some big wins for our city to bring home additional resources and housing and supportive services, make sure we move forward bills that will allow us to build more housing in san francisco and around the state. i'm interested in some of the bills that can aggressively build affordable and social housing and make sure those get over the finish line. i plan to hit the ground running when i get to sacramento and make sure with the months left i

have in this term, i can deliver concrete results and build on that for future years. kristen: assemblyman to be ha ney, thank you for talking with us. congratulations. >> thanks for your time. kristen: next, we will tackle the mask mandate battle. a doctor will join

kristen: mask mandate for airplanes and transit is still a public health necessity. the justice department says if the cdc deems it necessary it will appeal mug -- monday's

federal judge ruling that ended the nations mask mandate for air travel and public transportation. joining us with the latest on this battle and covid news, ucsf past chair of the department of medicine. great to have you on again. what should the cdc do? what do you hope they will do? >> it is a hard call. i hope they appeal it if the lawyers and the justice department and cdc come to believe this is setting a precedent that says that federal authorities don't have the ability to enact a mandate at a time of a public health emergency. that would be unbelievably dangerous for the next variant, the next pandemic. the cdc and federal health authorities need to mandate certain things. they may decide it is not worth the fuss that they were going to take down the mandate anyway in a week or two, but -- and this doesn't set a precedent.

so we need lawyers to figure that out but it would be a dangerous precedent if that is what this means. kristen: breaking news, it is like they heard you, the cdc has decided to ask the ruling. we will see what happens. i would imagine if it got reinstated, let's say they win the appeal, how hard is it to get people to put masks back on on planes and trains after they haven't done it for a few weeks? >> i'm guessing even if they want it, -- even if they wanted, they would leave the mandate off. they push things back two weeks, last week they pushed it back to may 3. it will take a hard look at may 3. they pushed it back to ask the question, are we in the beginning of a big nasty sir? it doesn't look that way. it looks like we are seeing in increasing cases but we are not seeing hospitals fill up. looks like they would take the mandate away anyway so they are

probably doing this mostly to push back on the possible precedent. kristen: there is the question of, should we have a mandate? it sounds like a lot of people say maybe not although that could change. there is the question of, should we opt to mask? let me give you scenarios and tell me what you think. for the typical person, although i don't know what a typical person is but. >> what is the scenario? kristen: would you mask? let's say on a packed plane. >> packed plane, any plane, the only plane i wouldn't mask on is an empty plane. the only person on it. i wouldn't otherwise. i think given the amount of covid that is around, there is a good chance someboandye, on mayg next to me, has covid. the ventilation system is good, but to me it is not a big deal

to mask and i would rather stay safe so i'm wearing a mask. i will take it off or 30 seconds at a time to gobble down some or chug a drink, then put it back on. i will wear a good mask, and n95 mask. kristen: i am assuming it is the same for trains and buses. what about school classrooms? >> in a city like san francisco where cates -- case rates are low, it is good to leave the choice to parents. i could see parents choosing to do mask on. if it was my kid i would have them mask. if the kid was fully vaccinated and i was confident everyone in the class was vaccinated i think it is a closer call, but i would tend towards masking as long as the case rates are reasonably high, as they are now. i'm glad they took away the mandate. at this point it can be an individual choice. kristen: what about waiting for your food at a somewhat busy restaurant, maybe half full? >> i'm co--- i'm ok eating in an

indoor restaurant in san francisco. i did last night. i was with a group of five colleagues from ucsf so i was confident they were all vaccinated rate i didn't wear a mask where -- while i was waiting for my food. we took our masks off and sat there and enjoyed the meal. i felt ok with that. is it possible i will have covid tomorrow? i would feel like i made a reasonable choice based on the facts on the ground. 1 some doctors say masks are unnecessary because we have vaccines and vaccines are more effective at preventing covid. what do you say to that as a choice? >> that is a false choice. there is nothing about getting vaccines that would prevent you from wearing a mask. i take myself as a reasonably typical person who is pretty aware of the risk. i have gotten my vaccines and

two boosters. i am much safer than i would be if i hadn't, but my risk of getting covid has been diminished but it is not diminished anywhere near zero. there is a fair amount of covid around, and if i wear a good mask but there is no question i have enhanced my protection. to me, this is "and" rather than "or." if you are vaccinated and boosted, it is reasonable to keep the mask off. having friends over to your house, it is fine to have your mask off. but to say, to frame this as one or the other doesn't feel right to me. there is no reason not to use both if you are in a risky setting. kristen: alexis has a question. how can people tell if they have seasonal virus hayfever from covid? >> testing. unfortunately, there is really no way to tell the symptoms of covid are so myriad.

there are so many things it could be. i guess the thing i would say is, and i have allergies and there are some days i will wake up congested. the first time that happens, you should do a rapid test and be sure it is negative. second time it happens, do a rapid test, be sure it is negative. if it is the third day in a row, at some point after two or three times it is negative, it is fine to say that is allergies and i will testify have a different symptom. the first time, there is no way of being sure it is not covid and that is a good use of a home test. kristen: if you haven't gotten your second batch of tests, get those and use them when you are uncertain. we learned there is a high school in san mateo county, after averaging 2-3 cases per work -- per week, spiked to 115

cases after holding a prom. do you think that warrants new action? in terms of what the school should do or activities they should hold? >> that is concerning. i think we all want the schools to stay open, but that is an awful lot of covid around. to me, it would merit taking a good look at what we are doing in the classroom. it may be a time to have the kids wear masks for a while until that little epidemic has passed. clearly, they had a super-spreader event of one kind or another and there will be a period of risk for a few weeks where all of those cases not only go through, but the kids that havead t kids come of them has become a risky place, riskier than it was a month ago. i think it is reasonable to do some testing and i think it is reasonable to let parents know

and encourage people to wear masks and it might be, i know how hard this is but that would be a place if it was my kids school i would want a mandate for a week or two until it is clear you are past the hump. kristen: i believe they are doing that. we only have a minute left but i want to touch on the cdc numbers. the vaccination rate is pretty low for kids 5-11 and this speaks to that. seems like it really makes a difference in terms of a kid's outcome if they were vaccinated. >> no question about it. numbers show the vaccines are working incredibly well in every age, but including the kids. to me, it is not even a close call whether the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the very, very, very small risks. people worry about cardiac involvement but it is very rare. it has almost never landed a kid in the hospital. there have been a fair number of kids who got very sick and i'm

still worried about long covid in kids and the ultimate consequences of their infection. people are worried about the long-term effects of vaccine. i am met --ffects of covid. it is not even a close call. kristen: next, the professional businesswomen of cal

kristen: abc 7 is a proud sponsor of the professional businesswomen of california conference, coming up in three weeks. joining us is cecilia munoz, one of the keynote speakers and the former director of the white house counsel under president obama. thanks for joining us. we look forward to hearing you speak at the conference. it is virtual but it is may 10 and 11th, always so much learning and networking.

share the importance of supporting women and why it is important for you to speak to this community and the message you will give. the keynote speakers are always great. >> i'm very excited to be part of the conference. it is important to support women because we are half of the population. this is as much about us developing skills and networks as well as helping others to develop theirs and move forward. the theme of the conference is rise. i'm going to be talking about ways to help ourselves rise and move forward and ways we can help others to rise around us. we are half the population. the stronger we are, the stronger the country is. kristen: that is an appropriate theme. you have certainly risen as the first latina to lead the white house domestic policy council. talk about what it was like helping shape domestic policy and how being a woman brought something to that role.

>> i was the first hispanic person ever in that role, and it was one of the most challenging things i have ever done. i spent eight years at that senior level at the obama white house and it was extraordinarily exciting and challenging. i wrote a book about the experience of frequently being the only hispanic person in the room, what it's like for people who are firsts or the only one in a position like that. sometimes you have doubts. sometimes you have fears. i learned a lot about bringing empathy to the job and how important that is in being successful at making policy and doing right by your colleagues in the country. kristen: can you give us a story in which you took your background and made that a strength where it could have been a weakness or perceived by others as such? >> i talk about this a lot especially if you are the only person like you in the room or the first person in the

position. you are called upon to bring that expertise. it can be scary because sometimes you are explaining things that the rest of the people in the room don't understand. maybe it is information they don't want to have. part of the reason it was important to write about this experience was i wanted to convey to other women, to other people of color, that whatever room you are in, they need what you bring. they need that experience. there is all kinds of evidence to show that having a diverse group of people making decisions means better decisions. it is important that those of us who bring a different perspective take confidence in the fact that the rest of the people we are with really need what we bring. kristen: as women of color, i think sometimes we can be a little more prone to imposter syndrome. can you talk about how you dealt with that and how we can overcome that? >> it is so common. we all go through it. i recount an experience where a high-level official told some

journalists that he suggested i might not be qualified for my job, that i was an affirmative action hire and that caused me, -- cost me confidence. i talk about strategies that i and other women use, being older prepared, making sure we ask for feedback and that we are so prepared whenever we walk into a room that we won't make a mistake because our mistakes feel like they aren't just our mistakes. it feels like it would trip up, it is everybody like us tripping up and we don't have the space to do that. so we prepare. kristen: it shouldn't be like that but it is. we saw the preparation reflected recently at ketanji brown jackson's confirmation hearings. giving them no room, there is nothing they can say. your memoir, so many lessons in there for women. pbw see is may 10 and 11th.

i think besides you, there are lots of other great speakers and people can get tickets at pbwc.com. leave us with one final thought. >> building your skills and putting yourself out there isn't just good for you, it is good for the country. we really need everyone to be leaders now. pbwc.org is where you can get resources. kristen: that is why we are a proud sponsor. there are great opportunities for women, for learning and fellowship. cecilia munoz, pleasure talking to you. we will be right back.

kristen: thanks for joining us

today on this interactive show, getting answers. we will be here every week day at 3:00 on errand on tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the cdc has asked the department of justice to appeal the decision on masks, to appeal that ruling from a federal judge that struck down the travel mask mandate. tonight, the notice of appeal has now been filed. it comes just as millions of americans take off their masks to fly and to go on public transportation in most of the country. tonight, the cdc now asking the jus tigs department to appeal that ruling. the judge who struck down the federal mask mandate. so, tonight here, what does this mean for americans traveling? and why is the cdc concerned about a large herb issue here, if there's another threatening wave of the virus down the road, are they concerned they won't have the authority to have americans put on masks? gio ben itez tonight.