>> ok, let's get started. good morning, everyone. i am happy to see so many city leaders here as well as students from local schools. welcome to the asian art museum. my name is jay shee, the

director of the asian art museum. on behalf of the staff and board, we welcome you in the backdrop of the upcoming exhibitions, ritual performances. it will be open to the public february 25. this is the first time in history of the united states that the indonesian culture, particularly the island of bali, will be presented to our public. this is a wonderful example of the value and service that a museum provides to our community. we are a platform for cultural exchange, as well as cultural diplomacy. this museum has served for many years this say and we continue

to be more robust in our service to the public. as you know, our museum is governed by a couple of foundations. the foundation is a private fund-raising arm for the museum. that museum took out a loan in 2000. we have had some difficulty and this is the news lately. under the leadership of our city and our commission and foundation board, today we are pleased to present to the public a proposal to solve a bond issue that is conflicting the foundation. let me introduce to you the leaders from our city, mayor gavin newsom. [applause] city attorney dennis r. veherre.

former mayor willie brown. and the president of the asian art museum foundation. as well as the vice chair for the asian arts commission. carmen chu, our city supervisor. then rosenfield, the city comptroller. and nadia, our city finance public director. welcome all. without further ado, let me give you our mayor, gavin newsom. >> thank you all for taking the time to be here. this is an important moment. we have been working diligently behind the scenes for the last number of months to try to solve a bump in the road in terms of the future of this extraordinary

museum, the finest collection of asian art artifacts anywhere in north america. we are very proud of this museum, its place in history, our city, and the contributions from americans that have built this extraordinary place. in fact, last year i gave my state of the city here because of all of the accomplishments and contributions that were made. it goes without saying, when we first made aware of some of the challenges that were taking place and taking shape here, the city family came together very quickly to try to help work through those challenges. we are blessed to have not only outstanding current leadership but outstanding leadership that was formally here and continue to be represented in the private-sector, particularly mayor willie brown, one of the first call we made.

dennis brown and his team were magnificent and immediately asserted themselves in the negotiations to advance our efforts to get us to this moment. of course, we are blessed -- as was the case when i made when he was originally appointed -- that there are few people better than rosenfield in his ability to think about a tough issue. he partnered, in particular with nadia, and was able to organize a framework working with j.p. morgan, mbia, working with willie brown and working collaborative lee with carmen chu and others on the board of supervisors so that we can get to a place where we can say the future of this museum is now significantly secure. [applause]

you are all supposed i did not y applause time, a lesson for you students here. what we're doing here is important. we are also announcing a new team of people, and that is notably why mayer brown is here. he is committed to lead a civic effort to help significantly enhance the foundation's already good work, to raise additional money for this museum. mayer brown and dennis herrera, are leading that effort. as the future ex-mayor, perhaps

i can be committed to that effort, to go out there and to seek to reach, not only within the san francisco community but throughout the bay area and state, nation, and for that matter, around the world, to raise the millions of dollars that need to be raised by the foundation to put it on more permit financial footing. so the purpose of the day was to celebrate the work that has been done and the case that there is a lot of work that needs to continue to be done and we have the right people to do it. i will close by thanking those who are about to come up and speak, for their remarkable leadership and commitment. thank you, dennis herrera, ben rosenfield, steve cava, carmen chu, and notably, willie brown. >> thank you, mr. mayor.

our next speaker will be the city attorney, deninis herrera. >> thank you, jay. i thought it was notable to thank the mayor. he will be going to the lieutenant governor's office. i think it is notable that mayor newsom said he would continue to be involved. i think that is testimony to the leadership he has shown throughout what has been a difficult time over the last couple of months. there was a tremendous amount of work that had gone on ensuring the security of this museum, going forward. mayor gavin newsom and his chief of staff deserve a tremendous amount of the credit for showing the leadership that we are focused on getting a common

solution that insures the viability of this institution. i want to thank them for their leadership, then rosenfield, who does a tremendous amount of the heavy lifting, i staff who did a lot of the negotiating with financial institutions to make sure everyone had some skin in the game. the fact is, mayor newsom alluded to, there are a lot of people that have to do work to make sure that long-term we have the security that we have focused on here. it is going to take leadership from the city family. i applaud what the financial institutions have done in terms of showing their commitment, but it is going to need the commitment of all of us in the city to assure that this iconic institution continues to provide an outlet for learned about bali, shanghai, japanese art, not just for students here now, but for upcoming generations. this is an iconic institution

that does not just certification san francisco. it is a world-recognized leader. people come from all over the world to learn about asian art. that is the population that this great institution provides for a run the world. it will be incumbent upon us to work with the museum foundation to do what we need to do to make the case to the greater populous as to why they need to financially support this institution and assure that a few years from now we are not in the same place. i think everybody had done their part and it is up to us as a community to show that we value what is an iconic institution and provide world leadership for people throughout the world to have an interest in asian art. i want to thank mayor newsom, mayer brown for coming out of retirement, so to speak, to make sure that he will continue to help in the fundraising effort,

and i applaud everyone's work that they have done to assure that 15 years from now this institution continues to be the world leader in educating generations of san franciscans about the importance of asian art. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, dennis. what a wonderful speech. it was before my time, but i remember mayer brown who unveiled this wonderful building, museum to the people of san francisco. so once again he is with us. let's will come mayer brown. -- welcome mayor brown. >> when mayor newsom telephoned me and asked if i would be available to participate in the effort to make sure that all san franciscans assumed collectively the responsibility to put this

institution on sound financial grounds, now and going forward, obviously, i could not turn down that request. i suspect every other san franciscan would do likewise. he told me the city attorney's office would do what would need to be done to make sure that we would have the opportunity to do it. he said there were some people already pledged on the foundation side to be a part of the effort. obviously, it is going to take lots of hard work, but it is, frankly, a joy to be part of maintaining, and hopefully, perpetuating one of the flagship cultural institutions in this city. this city is about culture. this city is about pride in ethnic heritage.

this city is about an appreciation of the extraordinary talents of people on the arts side and to have 6000-year-old pieces that you can see no other place in the world come and to have the collection here -- you understand the brundage collection could have been dropped anywhere in the world. he chose us to be a caretaker of those 17,000 pieces -- whatever the number happens to be. we can do no less than justify that by being successful at raising what dennis tells me this summer in the neighborhood of $25 million. that is a small figure compared to what we have raised with this young museum, what a fisher family gave for the expansions of the museum of modern art, what was raised with the jewish

museum. what we're trying to raise for the museum that will reflect the culture of the hispanic world of san francisco and beyond. all these institutions come together in one fashion or another and makes this part of the most wonderful place on earth in which to live. mr. mayor, i am proud, from your the 10 governorships, if and when it begins -- [laughter] you still want to be a part of this wonderful city. the rest of us are certainly going to welcome you. i know there will be a celebration in the not too distant future. we will do what we do at my church. we burn the mortgage. we are going to burn the mortgage. [applause]

thank you, mr. mayor, mr. brown. >> we have had tremendous leadership from the mayor's cabinet, city attorney's office, but also from the board of supervisors. with us is the president of the board of supervisors david chiu. welcome. >> thank you. first of all, i want to thank all of you for being here at this wonderful announcement. i want to thank all of my colleagues from the public sector world and your leadership for helping to rescue this incredible institution. as mayor brown said -- and i do not need to restate it. this institution is of critical importance to the arts world, to the asian community, to the storytelling of who we are as human beings.

i am so honored to be an asian american representative here in san francisco and to have the largest art collection in the western world in our cities across the street from where i work is truly special. to have the 6000-year history, as depicted in the 17,000 artifacts that are here, i do not think any of us can question our fortune. the work that was done to pull together this complicated negotiation and to get to where we are today, i want to thank the mayor, city attorney, then rosenfield, nadia, my colleagues on the board. i commit to you as the president of the board of supervisors along with my colleagues, that we will do what we need to do to get this done. hopefully, in short order, we can write the financial situation here and get us back on a footing we need to

hopefully be an institution that will be around for another 6000 years. thank you for being here. [applause] >> our next speaker will be the president of the foundation of the asian art museum and the vice chair of the asian arts commission. >> on behalf of the asian art museum foundation, i express our deep gratitude to mayor newsom, mayer brown, city attorney dennis herrerra, controller rosenfield, and other leaders for their leadership and helping us find a solution to the debt. we appreciate the city's assistance and support for assisting us in these difficult economic challenges. the city's support is for a wealthy cause. for nearly 40 years, the asian

art museum foundation has provided much-needed financial support for the museum. this support has enabled the museum to successfully fulfill its mission of leading a diverse global audience in discovering the unique materials, aesthetic and intellectual, achievements of the asian culture. over the years, millions of museum visitors have experienced the museum's world-renowned connection -- collection. truly one of the city's most viable assets as well as for a great array of education. the city's plan for strengthening the museum's financial position will make sure the foundation can continue these efforts for future generations. a successful capital campaign requires leadership, leadership, -- leadership, vision, and a well found gold.

the foundation's leadership, led by our chair, has developed a framework of a strategic plan that aims to bolster the museum's commitment to serving our community. the plan also intends to maintain the organization's financial health to robust fundraising while also making sure the museum uses its resources in the most effective manner. we fully recognize the challenge that lies ahead but oare confident that our members and donors will support us, as they have done in the past. the foundation welcomes the leadership of the city in helping us achieve our goal. also, thanks to the board of supervisors who have shown strong support of the mayor's proposal. thank you very much. [applause] >> let's welcome supervisor

carmen chu. [applause] >> good afternoon. thank you for all of the individuals who came today. as you know, today is a day that we can celebrate a path for for the asian arts museum. i want to take some time to thank the people who have been so crucial in making sure this day is here. mayor gavin newsom and your staff for leading this effort and for all of your attention to this. even over the winter holiday, i know staff was working through this, so a big thank-you to you. dennis and his fine team who have been working diligently to make sure that all the terms are correct, that we have the best deal for the city. thank you to the board president and members of the board who have always supported the asian arts museum. this is a good day for the asian foundation. of course, to the comptroller

ben rosenfield and nadia, we would not be here without your hard work. today, i simply want to give two messages. one is just how important the asian art museum is to san francisco and to our history. san francisco and asian american communities are intricately linked. we have had a huge mystery here. one of the things that this museum represents to me personally is not just an arts museum that shows bali and the shanghai exhibit. it is the history from where my parents came, from where many san franciscans have come. if there is any message i could leave today, for my lincoln high school mustangs out there, communities in the richmond, bayview hunters point, visitation valley -- this is not my museum along. this is your museum, this is

your history. please support the museum. please make sure that this can stay here for your generation and for our kids. thank you for the tremendous leadership we have seen today, and thank you in advance to the community for their support. [applause] thank you -- >> thank you so much supervisor carmen chu. now i think we have all been waiting to hear from our city comptroller ben rosenfield about key points of the proposal to restructure the foundation's bond. [applause] >> that would be the first time that people would be waiting to hear me speak. [laughter] i am just happy to be here today because that means we found a solution to a set of problems that threaten the viability and vitality of this wonderful institution. more than anything, i am pleased

that collectively we have gone to that point. i will talk through some of the high points in the deal. fundamentally, this is a complicated negotiation agreement that involves five different parties, very quickly worked out under challenging circumstances and executed this morning. some are still subsequent to board approval, approval of the founders of the board of directors and others, but the deal is set. what it's fundamentally does -- of the $120 million in outstanding debt that the foundation formally held, lenders have forgiven $21 million. so approaching 20% of the debt has been written off. secondly, $30 million approximately in collateral that the foundation had been required to post with j.p. morgan under

the terms of the old financial arrangement. those would be returned to the foundation. the form of that underlie agreement has been ripped up. secondly, so that the amount of outstanding debt is reduced, what is outstanding his then refinanced under more stable terms. form of financing was a variable rate subject to interest-rate fluctuations that would change the foundation's payments. it has been restructured as a stable, fixed 30-year loan at 4.6%, which is a competitive rate, and is free of some of the other financial bells and whistles that had served to create some of the challenge with the former financing. third, the foundation commits, with the assistance of elected to the leadership, to raise $20

million over the next 20 years to meet the remaining gap on this financing. lastly, the city enters into this agreement and provides certain assurances for the lenders necessary to make this financing work. in essence, we lead our credit rating to this deal. in the words of the city attorney, it is hard to find such a good deal for all the five parties involved. it would not have happened without the leadership of each. i am here, happy to talk about the leadership before me and look forward to more stable financial footing for the foundation and this wonderful museum in the years ahead. thank you. [applause] >> once again, on behalf of the staff of the asian art museum, i

cannot say enough of our gratitude to civic leaders, mayor newsom, the city attorney, and board of supervisors president david chiu, carmen chu, ben rosenfield, and the public utilities finance director, and the others who have done so much work without being mentioned. and everyone coming together, from the museum to our city, and banking communities coming together to develop this proposal. about the value of the museum, i cannot say it any better any be civic leaders that have said about the wonderful importance of this museum. so we are very motivated to work together, to move the process forward and the at some upon the i would like to acknowledge some of the save members on the museum staff who worked diligently particularly our

c.f.o., mark. he is right there. thank you very much. come back to visit us as a body and once again we have experienced wonderful art from asia and interconnectivity from asia and our city. our leaders here will be available for interviews afterwards for questions. thank you very much for coming.