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>> right on time. i am grateful that a number of you showed up today. i thought we had just a few people being sworn in. i kid you not. i was thinking we could do this in my office. we would have only been able to get a 10th of you in there. i am grateful that you took the time to be here. i thought this would be my last swearing in as mayor but i have two people, supervisor dufty, tomorrow that i will quietly swear in. this is the last public swearing in of my tenure as mayor. i do hear some claps on the other side. i am glad i do not hear any on this side. somebody picked up on that.

-- some of you picked up on that. [laughter] i am appreciative of department heads being here. of course, our city attorney dennis herrera, who has taken the time to be here, phil ting, bevan dufty, the ubiquitous supervisor, and so many leaders, particularly from the labor community, chief of staff, and particular, the rank and file of my favorite local, 261. [applause] truly my favorite. they are here for you, vince. i am pleased to be swearing in six individuals and i am

honored that two were recently and overwhelmingly supported by the board of supervisors as a member of their other applicants were rudely rejected for purely political purposes. but i am over that. but i needed to state that publicly. that is sometimes the way people act when they cannot make the right decisions. sometimes they make the wrong ones. in this case, they made the right ones with the two of you and supported vince courtney to the public utilities commission -- [applause] i guess i should have appointed him four years ago. little did i know.

i should have mentioned him last time. that is unfair to the other commissioners. i know jason does not even have a friend here. [laughter] he does, jason elliot, department of the environment. leona bridges. we are proud of her as well. [applause] >> how many have dealt lta sigma theta in the house? [applause] >> our collegiate expert,

supervisor dufty. we talk about behavioral health and mental health, and i say that in the context of anyone who wishes to serve on the mta board. leona clearly passed the test and i am glad she did. it is pretty remarkable with all of the warfare as it relates to public transit in our city, dealing with $220 million in state cuts over the past few years. we have been running surpluses at muni had the state not gone in and drawn down nearly a quarter billion. that became the biggest challenge in your biggest frustration in the last few years. so we are navigating through that. that has been the struggle. we are going to be on a much

firmer footing in the future. leona will be a big part of the new direction, particularly with the transit effectiveness plan. we have a real information to which we can make decisions about augmentation and changes, and that is the first time in over decades. ed harrington was a big part of that as comptroller. i really do feel more optimistic than ever about muni. that is a hard thing to say, right? but i do have faith about its future. beverly, hang on. a big round of applause. [applause] this is a big deal. the mayor gets one appointment to the ethics commission. the ethics commission is a big deal, particularly when a lot of

elections are going to take place, mayor's race, all of the public financing. we had a great meeting yesterday to talk about integrity, honesty, calling strikes, even if your friends are on the other side. you have to stand up and do the right thing. beverly was ahead of me on all these things. i gave this a lot of thought and did not make a precipitous decision in terms of this appointment. i am very grateful that beverly said yes, and i am also grateful if you would also give her a round of applause. it is her birthday. [applause] happy birthday, beverly. [applause] i have known lorna for many years. she has been around since the old days of the school district.

those were challenging days. we were on not getting along. it was challenging. lorna always stood out as someone trying to bridge those gaps, try to work for all those challenges. she has done some amazing work with an organization that only does good work, focuses on best practices, mckinsey, a great think tank. we have talked a lot about how great she would be. she has been an advocate for women's rights, advocate for girls. we thought it was appropriate to appoint her to the commission on women. thank you for your willingness to serve. [applause]

finally, i see francesca, our first department of the environment. there was an opening at the department of the environment and there wasn't a young guy that has driven a lot of us crazy because he is eager, enthusiastic, engage, and he plays above his weight, figuratively, not literally. that is jason elliott, whom i am honored to have served on the commission of the environment. he has been my policy guide. i am just going to -- at peril of being judged -- to be bragadotious. i will put up our record that we have done in the environmental commission with any others. i am really proud of the work that has been done. i have great confidence jason will continue that work well beyond my tenure. which expires soon.

[applause] the swearing in. i will ask each of you, if you could, to stand up, sit down if you must, but raise your right hand, which i insist upon. i will say i -- you will state your name, and then we will go down the road. you got it. vince, you got it? i -- do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california against

all enemies foreign and domestic and i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of which i am about to enter, and during such time as i hold the position as a member for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. [applause]

>> in this fabulously beautiful persidio national park and near golden gate and running like a scar is this ugly highway. that was built in 1936 at the same time as the bridge and at that time the presidio was an army and they didn't want civilians on their turf. and the road was built high. >> we need access and you have

a 70 year-old facility that's inadequate for today's transportation needs. and in addition to that, you have the problem that it wasn't for site extenders. >> the rating for the high viaduct is a higher rating than that collapsed. and it was sapped quite a while before used and it was rusty before installed. >> a state highway through a federal national park connecting an independently managed bridge to city streets. this is a prescription for complication. >> it became clear unless there was one catalyst organization that took it on as a challenge,

it wouldn't happen and we did that and for people to advocate. and the project has a structural rating of 2 out of 100. >> you can see the rusting reinforcing in the concrete when you look at the edges now. the deck has steel reinforcing that's corroded and lost 2/3's of its strength. >> this was accelerated in 1989 when the earthquake hit and cal came in and strengthened but can't bring to standards. to fix this road will cost more than to replace. and for the last 18 years, we have been working on a design to replace the road way, but to

do in a way that makes it appropriate to be in a national park and not army post. >> i would say it's one of the most ugly structure, and it's a barrier between the mar sh and presidio. and this is a place and i brought my dogs and grandchildren and had a picnic lunch and it was memorable to use them when we come here. what would it look like when the design and development is completed. and we are not sure we want an eight lane highway going through this town. and it's a beautiful area in a national seaport area on the planet.

>> the road is going to be so different. it's really a park way, and it's a parkway through the national park. and they make the road disapeer to the national park. >> and the road is about 20 feet lower, normally midday, you go through it in two minutes. looking back from the golden gate bridge to presidio, you are more aware of the park land and less of the roads. and the viaduct will parallel the existing one and to the south and can be built while the existing one remains in operation. and the two bridges there with open space between them and

your views constantly change and not aware of the traffic in the opposite direction and notice the views more. and the lanes of course are a foot wider than they are today. and they will be shoulders and if your car is disabled, you can pull off to the edge. and the next area, the tunnel portal will have a view centered on the palace of fine arts and as you come out, you can see alkatrez island and bay. and the next area is about 1,000 feet long. and when you come into one, you can see through the other end. it's almost like driving through a building than through a tunnel. and noise from the roadway will be sheltered. and the traffic will be out of view. >> when you come out of the

last sort tunnel and as you look forward, you see the golden dome of the palace of fine arts and what more perfect way to come to san francisco through that gateway. >> it will be an amazing transformation. now you read it as one section, the road is a major barrier and then a wonderful strip along the water. all of those things are going to mesh together. >> right now the road really cuts off this area from public access. and with the new road, we will be able to open up the opportunity in a new way. >> this bunker that we see now is out of access for the general public. we are excited to completely

rework this side and to open up the magnificent views. and what we want to do is add to this wonderful amenity and restore this coastal bluff area and respect its military history and the doyle drive project is allowing us to do that recorrection. and this area is not splintered off. >> and we can see how dramatic a change it will be when doyle drive is suppressd and you have a cover that connects the cemetery to this project. it's historic on the statewide and national basis, but you could rush the project or put thought and i