r: so, what's the biggest issue in america today? segregation still exists... racism... the repression and oppression of women the educational system stem cell research homeless people cloning government health care taxation announcer: so, is there anything you're doing to help make a change? i'm not really doin' anything. ummmm [sighs] got me on that one... >> good morning, volunteers. good morning. can everyone hear me?

yes, good, good. this is really exciting for me. this is my very first project connect, and i and the new director, so i look forward to getting to know each of you. just today, we want to thank you for your help. there's no way this project would exist without you guys. you are the lifeblood for this program, and that just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. we had a couple of speakers who are here to support the program today, so the first one i'm going to introduce -- i'm not the world's greatest public speaker, so bear with me. first of all, let me start by giving thanks to a few different organizations that have helped out. one is trader joe's. they have given us bags throughout the years. next is san francisco food bank, one of the greatest assets that we have as well, so thanks to them. [applause]

walden house and also a big thanks to our event sponsor, who i will be introducing in a second. not only did a financially sponsor the event, they bring many doctors and volunteers here today, which make the event happened. today, warren browner is the ceo of the largest hospital here in san francisco. he is part of better health. he has lived in san francisco since 1975, so he is still pretty young, right? he has two children who were born and raised here. he is trained in internal medicine. you can find him in his gym clothes moths that is around 1:00, buying produce at the farmers' markets in early rally, which is exactly where i am at the same time, just not-jim close, so welcome, dr. browner. [applause] >> thanks so much for that

introduction, which was a little bit too revealing, perhaps. anyway, welcome, everybody. i am delighted that we have the chance to sponsor this event. again, we have been here almost from the inception, and i think we're going to have about 100 of our folks here. in fact, do the wave if you are from cpmc. great. thanks, everybody, for coming. this is a really important thing that everybody in the city has a chance to do. it is kind of a yucky day, so i'm sure that people waiting outside are in a hurry to get in here and get the services we are providing today. this is a meaningful opportunity to do things we do not often get to do, but to go with those of us working in more administrative or non-clinical roles, so roll up your sleeves, and thanks so much for turning out. thank you. [applause] >> the next person i get to

introduce has become one of my favorite people, having just moved to san francisco. she is a visionary who believes in what we are doing and really believes in making services client-based, and that is the director of the department of public health, barbara garcia. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. this is number 38. [applause] how many of you are first- timers? all right. i want to thank all of you. it is a great honor for me today to present to you our new mayor, ed lee. he is new to some of you, but he has been very much involved since the beginning. mayor lee. [applause] >> good morning. look at all of you. it is wonderful.

in 2004, when dad and newsom -- when gavin newsom became mayor, he had a heart to heart talk with all of us about homelessness, and he wanted to something different, something that would touch the lives of people on the street, and -- because there were so many of them, and they were all hopeless. he gathered a lot of us together and talked very seriously about what really can we do. there has been a lot of things in his life that he appreciated, as well as mine and others that worked with him, and that is, of course, the way we have been able to gather volunteers. volunteers -- for you today to do what you are going to be doing all day today is something that i think is part of the history of this great city. we have always found a different way to do things. back in 2004 when we started project homeless, and now, this is the 38th time -- you are

making and continuing a piece of history that over 220 other cities in this country are trying to copy. 220 other cities. we helped out over 31 dallas -- 31,000 homeless people. we had over 20,000 volunteers like yourself today, and i want you to take a moment and looked at each other, look at yourselves. this is the duty of san francisco and the bay area right here in this room. i love you all for doing this. a large part of my life has really been to work with volunteers. you get the greatest things done when you do it from the heart. not doing it for money. not for fame or politics. today, what you are going to be doing is offering probably one of the few smiles that people on the streets get.

a genuine look directly into the eye. an offer of assistance of how i can help you. what do you need? what can we do today to make their life a little easier? and then, hopefully, with all of this great service that we have today sponsored by cpmc, and i think all the volunteers here today, but i also want to note that there will be a moment today, hopefully, that you will be able to talk to somebody who is on the streets and maybe suggest that there is a way out in the long term. that is what these opportunities have suggested to us. there is always a way out. you do not have to be stopped, and you can get the services here today, but you can also get them every day. a life can be changed. you are part of that great opportunity. you are going to be part of that direct opportunity to talk with someone, to give them resourced, f, hopefully, they will receive

that with the amount of care and the amount of compassion that you have. so i want to just say to the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for volunteering to give. thank you for being part of this historic event, and i know that one of these days, our lieutenant governor is going to come back and see us, and he will be very proud of all of you. thank you very much for volunteering today. [applause] >> today, it is really exciting because together, we have created a solution. we are coming together to make one-stop event where people can come together for holistic services, and that is because of your work. again, thank you, and have a wonderful day. [applause]

the single largest expense increase has been pension expense. the annual expense will reach $500 million by 2013-2014. simply put, san francisco cannot afford to pay the pensions of the employees it already has, let alone the same program for new employees. our whole concern -- confirmed their support for pension reform, a full 2/3 of voters are in favor of changing the pension plan for new city employees moving from the guaranteed benefits model to a 401k-like defined contribution system, a change already in place at most of your own businesses. san francisco voters agree with most chamber priorities, putting

jobs first, encouraging government efficiency, and investing in the city's assets. now is the time to plan for the future. it is essential that we commit to invest and upgrading the port, airport, bridges, and transit system, and continue to support seismic retrofitting of these assets that power our local and state economies. voters are increasingly looking more like chamber members every year. 70% of voters support a payroll tax exemption for five years for businesses creating new jobs in the mid market area. this is the proposal currently being considered by the board of supervisors. the support for this measure is widespread. it includes progressives. it includes liberals. it includes the business community. it is widespread support. a full 55% support a two-year

exemption for businesses creating jobs anywhere in the city, and 78% of voters oppose congestion pricing. this scheme to charge a fee to drive downtown. 78% oppose. we should take that idea off the table. in the months ahead, we look forward to working with the mayor or president david chu and business leaders across the city to develop more fair and equitable business taxation, which will make it possible for all companies here to thrive. in summary, the 2011 agenda will focus on advancing these three priorities. putting jobs -- job creation first. number two, encouraging government efficiency, number

three, avoiding any new burdens on business growth. we will continue to hold our elected leaders accountable with our paychecks and pink slips. everyone across the country is now talking about jobs and economic development. the real test is not what they say. it is how they vote. we will continue to monitor the votes at city hall for job creation and economic development. now we will take a few minutes, enjoy the rest of your breakfast, enjoy your colleagues at your table, and we will be back with dr. warren browner and ed li in 10 minutes. thank you very much. ok.

time to get down to the business of the chamber breakfast. health care continues to be one of the nation's top-growth industries and is growing at an average rate of 6% per year, adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. the san francisco health care industry employs 58,000 people, and these are high-wage jobs. the average wage is more than jg to the local economy. they are local and our hospitals create thousands of ancillary jobs benefiting the commercial districts that surround them. california pacific medical center is the second largest private employer in this city. it is led by the chief executive officer, dr. warren browner, a

physician overseeing the $2.5 billion rebuild of cpmc. here to introduce the mayor of san francisco, please join me in welcoming dr. warren browner. [applause] >> thanks, steve. it is now a great pleasure for me to introduce our new mayor. i think everybody knows mayor lee has been a diligent worker in senior management met -- management under many mayors. he was appointed our city administrator in 2005 and then appointed again in 2010. he was unanimously selected the interim mayor by our board of supervisors on january 11 of this year. mayor lee has promised all of us to be inclusive, to tackle things head on, and to move the

bar for. we are all in need of that strength of conviction at this point in time. please join me in welcoming the 43rd mayor of our fair city of san francisco, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you. good morning, everybody. thank you very much for being here this morning. it is my honor to join all of you today. i just wanted to let you know, you know, i am not known to be reading of all bunch of speeches. i really like to speak from the heart. i like to speak from what people are talking to me about, and listen carefully to what their needs are. let me say to you this morning that i really feel the city beat here in this room. it is wonderful because so many

of you, not just a few moments ago, but throughout all of my time, my brief time i have been mayor, have come up to me and wanted to wish not only need the best luck, but wish me and actually ask me how we can partner. so many of you are partnering with our city in some many different ways. this morning, just on behalf of myself, on behalf of members of the board of supervisors here today, supervisors whom i am seeing very regularly these days, but all of us, i just want to say very sincerely, thank you for working with us so much. running a city is no longer just about government. the public-private partnerships that many of you are a part of our essential to the way we run

government, essential to the way we present ourselves throughout all of our community. i know many of you, whether you are with banks, with private institutions, with small businesses, large businesses, you devote so much time in the partnering with our city. i wanted to say thank you. everytime i see you, it is not so much about us doing something for you. it is about what we can do together to improve the city. i want to thank you. every conversation i have had with all of you has always been about how we can do things together. it is in that spirit that i also kind of want to give a shout- out. when you hear about the hilton and about local two coming together and resolving something that has been going on for several years, essentially opening up another place i can actually walk into, you start saying, this is a good year. this is beginning to really feel that all of us are communicating a little better.

i want to say congratulations, local two, and the hilton. let's get everything resolved quickly. [applause] >> thank you, dr. browner, thank you, steve, for your introduction. i also want to emphasize to you what everybody has been talking to me about throughout the whole city. as i walk through the neighborhoods with individual members of the board of supervisors, as i hold town meetings, as i hold so many more meetings in room 200, everyone, to the last person, says, please, find a stops. help us with job creation. help us with getting back to work. help us with how to afford to live in this very expensive city. the only way we can do that is to create and sustain our jobs. that is why i want to say to all

of you and particularly to my colleagues on the board of supervisors, please, let's all focus on jobs this year. it is so and valuable to everyone. the dignity of people right now, their wishes to keep their families in the city, their wishes to have dignity for themselves, is reflected in their ability to find these jobs and in their hope to have jobs in the future not only for themselves, but their kids. this is a very personal objective that i have learned through thousands of meetings with people, through the handshakes i have had. i want to say to you that it cannot just be on business. it has to be on business and government working together to create jobs. that is why i spent so much time with supervisor david chu

in rolling out this mid-market tax exemption. it is a new way that we have got to work together on. it is one that i think not only will help us anchor one of the most important companies that the city has come and we have many important companies, but this one,twitter, will grow exponentially the next few years. it will have an international identity. it has got a home base in san francisco. more importantly, it will be an anchor for the mid-market, an area of the city that has been our skid row for so many years. that is why it is so important for us to establish an anchor there, to roll out a six-year payroll tax exemption, one that is calculated to not only bring in the additional 2000 jobs that we think will be afforded for

this one company, but it will also attract other businesses. the economy of our city has been changing. even though we have an unemployment rate today of about 9.5%, and that represents about 41,000 san francisco residents being unemployed, you have got to know that we have a lot of hope. the hope that we have instilled through our projects, the hope that we of gained through what we have done correctly and vigorously, with our private partners in mission bay, it simplifies what we do all over the city. that is the same thing we are doing on mid-market. we're trying to catalyze with an anchor and enroll more -- unroll more. i have had a lot of conversations. if twitter stays here, we are coming. we are coming to where they are. we can find our way to san francisco, find our way back to

san francisco. we are doing the right thing. i want to let you know it is not just this, it is the spirit we are creating, the venture, the partnerships we are creating with this business to help us alleviate a problem. that problem has been a blight along mid-market, the hopelessness that has been reflected in so many people there who don't find jobs, who cannot find their way out. we have that hope coming. having said that, because our economy is changing, as you know, we have been working hard to attract technology, green tech jobs for the city. i want to announce today yet another revelation. it is not just twitter. is zenga with their game and many other companies in the on- line game industry that is coming, that is beginning to expand their offices here in the

city. it has been buying up 14 acres in mission bay because we have done the right thing in building that infrastructure. those kinds of technologies are still coming. they're still being attracted to our city. as of today, i wanted to make sure that you know that the other company has been here a while, but they are expanding. auto desk technologies, and their online entertainment software, is expanding. today, they just told me that they're adding some 16,000 more square feet to their offices that will invite another 75 people to work in the city to add to their 575 persons already. that is another indication that people have hope in our city. as long as we are headed in the right direction, we will get those jobs going. i do want to say to you that we

have a big challenge as well. while we are creating those jobs, while we are doing our best to change, to do the right things, we have a big challenge in front of us. what is at stake with our redevelopment agency and the work that they have done to lure private investment in our city, it is at stake. we promised years ago when congresswoman pelosi was the speaker, and she allowed us to get a lot of federal funds, she helped us get a valuable funds to clean up hunters point and shipyards, and senator feinstein and our delegates worked together for us to get the navy to get to a point where they can sell and turn over treasure island, all these projects cost a lot of federal, state, and local dollars to match. what is at stake is a promise we

made that over 10,000 jobs would be created by these projects. we were successful and have been successful in luring some $250 million sitting in our front living room, ready to go, on hunters point, and treasure island, and transbay terminal, and other ports were we have used redevelopment correctly. we are not the wrong agency. we are not the ones that you have heard stories about throughout the state that might have done abusive things. we have done it correctly. we have learned over the years how to build affordable housing, how to lure private investment, how to make those partnerships and those contractual obligations stir the whole development of large areas in the city. they represent our future. they represent the hope that we have. i want to say to you today that,

you know, in looking at what our governor is doing, and knowing that we were about to receive some hurt from the state, you can call it realignment or anything you want, but it is economic curt, we can take our share. hurt with hope is ok. we have known that. we have gone through many years together of that budgets. at the end of all of those dark tunnels, we have always had some hope. so, i say to you today, if the governor has not changed the language of his proposal so that we can save our projects, then i will ask all of you here today, and our whole delegation in sacramento, to change direction. we cannot afford to have the elimination of redevelopment without language in the governor's proposal but protect our very valuable projects. 10,000 jobs, 570 immediate

construction jobs that we have identified. the hundreds of affordable housing units that we are making. john chang is here today. i have already ask him. we will walk through our project with him so he can see how it is done right. i know he has heard a lot of stories and audited a lot of agencies that have not done it right. we are doing it right here. we have worked closely together with our delegates to do it correctly here. i asked you to take a look the next week or so. it is a critical time. we submit inappropriate language to the governor. we have asked him to make sure that our projects are protected, in fact our own delegates have indicated the projects should be protected. we need to make sure of that because private investors are looking at the language we are looking at and it is cause for concern. if there is cause for concern and they have promised to deliver $250 million in the next

few years to immediately break ground and do all the things we promised to do to create those 10,000 jobs, if that is running risk, then this city and county has to take a different direction from the governor. i ask you to pay close attention to that. it is a big thing. all right? [applause] i say to you today that hurt with hope is ok, because san francisco always finds its way. if you suggest to the governor's lack of attention on this that you are going to give us hurt without hope, we cannot take that as a city and county. i will help lead the effort with the other 10 mayors on this. we are working closer together with them as well. they're looking for hope and everybody in the city is looking for hope. that is why i not only embrace the work the chamber is doing in partnership with the city, but i

want to make sure you know we have got to give everybody openly the city. this is our city of hope. this is what we came together to do. this is what i signed up for. i want to let you know, it has been a wonderful two months. yes. even though it is the hardest thing i have ever done, because there are so many people to meet, the thing that drives me the most is the people of the city and what they are willing to do to keep the city's flavor and vibrancy together. i will say it from the heart that i know there are a lot of people running for mayor. i know i have good friends who i have worked with. i want you to say to them as they run for mayor, you had better exemplify how you love this city. if you don't love the city and every part of it, nobody deserves to be mayor. that is what i am learning today. you have got to love the