which legislations will go to various committees that we have. as a district supervisor, i sit on a number of legislative committees. >> what are some of the biggest issues facing san francisco? >> we have a lot of challenges right now. we're still in the midst of the great recession. we know too many folks who are struggling in minimum-wage jobs. we know folks who have been laid off of work. as a city, we need to do much better at creating an environment where we have more jobs and economic development. we are also extremely challenge in our public transit. we talk about being a transit first city, but everyone has had the experience of sitting in gridlock, waiting for the bus, trying to hail that tab, walking on pedestrian sidewalks that are not particularly safe.

as a city, we need to do more to invest in the first-class transportation system. >> what are some of the biggest issues facing your district? >> in addition to the local economy that impacts the merchant corridors, to many vacant storefronts, transit issues, in every neighborhood we're having a real conversation about how we change, whether we should preserve aspects of the important characters of our neighborhood or think about building new things. there is also a real discussion we're having in many neighborhoods about affordability. i hear from too many tenants in the process of being evicted, homeowners being foreclosed on. we need to think about how all of us can continue to live in a city where the whole world wants

to be. >> it is a great place to be. >> it is a great place to be. how do you balance the needs of your district versus the needs of the city as a whole? >> i have an incredibly diverse district. it encompasses north beach and chinatown. we have the city's famous hills. we have for the world comes to work, the financial district's, where the world comes to shop in union square, where the tourists spend time on fisherman's wharf , and the wonderful polk street neighborhoods. my district encompasses the ethnic and economic diversity that exists throughout the city. i think my district is emblematic of the entire city. you can find every political perspective you can possibly want in district 3. oftentimes, the interests of my district and the city are

aligned. i do not have to think about those differences quite as often as some of my colleagues may have to. >> let's talk about the budget situation. we have been faced with some tough budget decisions again, including where to make cuts and whether or not to increase taxes. how will you approached these hard choices? >> our budget is one of the very top challenges facing city government right now. over each of the years i have served, we have had to balance budget deficits that were around $500 million. this year, we're facing another budget deficit of almost $400 million. fortunately in recent years, we have had some ability to do some one-time budgeting tricks that allow us to balance the budget that do not exist this year. in past years, we've received

federal stimulus money. we received more monies from the state government. last year our labor unions decided to contribute a quarter of a billion dollars to help balance last year's and this year's budget. those are things we do not have the ability to avail ourselves of us we balance the upcoming budget in a few months. we are faced with far fewer options. i think we are going to have to continue to look at very deep and difficult cuts. our priorities have to be insuring and protecting the most basic city services and helping to ensure that we have services to the most vulnerable during this great recession. >> what about the city's housing needs? what should the board due to address those needs? >> we are a city that is seventh

by 7 miles. we have incredible density. we're the densest neighborhoods on the west coast. everyone wants to live here. that drives up housing prices dramatically. the housing costs are driving out working folks, families, the middle class. we need to continue to reinvest, to build, to develop, and maintain a troop stock of affordable housing. i am committed to increase in more funds so that we can build more housing that can be afforded by folks of all economic backgrounds. >> what about the issue of homelessness? >> in recent years during the terrible economy, we have had to cut back significantly. our social-service net, programs for folks who may have mental

illnesses, we have seen many problems become exacerbated on the streets. when you combine that with the fact that we have an affordable housing in most parts of the city, it is no surprise our homeless numbers have gone up in recent years. the city needs to recommit ourselves to the values that our city was named after. st. francis believed in compassion for those who have less -- had less than others. those of us with opportunities have to give back. part of that entails taking care of the most important among us, the folks who have need, including our homeless. >> let's talk about the transportation situation in your district. you mentioned that transit could be better. how is parking and traffic? is there enough muni service now? >> you are talking to the one

member of the board that does not only car. i get around my district by muni, bicycle, or hailing a cab. our transit system is truly challenge. our bosses are late one out of four times. -- our buses are late one out of a quarter times. they're still not as clean and safe as we'd like. we can do better and investing in our muni system. we need more taxicabs on the streets. is difficult to obtain a cab. i support the concept of centralized taxi dispatch systems so you know who you can call to get a cab. i am a big believer in pedestrian bicycling as options to get around town.

many cities in the world have far more people working or on bicycles into blocking or on bicycles. they are pleasant most of transit and are efficient. -- many cities in the world have far more people walking or on bicycles. they are pleasant and efficient forms of transportation. that will take cars off the road and make it easier for those who drive. if we want to create a world- class transportation system, we have to make a commitment to each of these modes of transit to allow us to move where we need to go. >> is it safe for pedestrians on the streets? >> it is not. in recent years, we have had too many pedestrian accidents. there are estimates it costs our cities several hundred millions a year because of traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities. i am asking one of our transit

agencies to study where we're spending our dollars around the district and whether we invested more money would help to reduce our overall costs that come when a pedestrian is hit by a car. >> let's talk about crime in your district. how is the police department doing? do you have any thoughts on how the city is dealing with crime? >> crime rates have been down, particularly violent crime rates and homicides. that is a good thing. in the first few weeks of 2011, homicides have started to climb back up. we have to be ever vigilant about crimes occurring in all of our neighborhoods. i have been generally satisfied with much of the activity of the san francisco police department. in my district on nob hill, we

have always had too many automobile break-ins. on polk street, there are many incidences of drug dealing and prostitution. in some of the entertainment quarters, we of shootings that happened. these are perennial issues that the police department needs to continually tackle. i am a big fan of the concept of community policing. that is the idea that our local police officers need to establish a better relationship with members of the community, residents, and merchants. through that community partnership, we have seen true successes in being able to combat crime. you have eyes and ears on the street cooperating with the men and women in blue. that helps to reduce crime. i have been pushing our police department to implement that. >> your district is a well-known nightlife destination.

how do you balance the needs of the residents with the needs of the restaurants and bars? >> i moved into my neighborhood in part because we have such a wonderful vibrant nightlife. san francisco is famous for our restaurant scene, are seen, club scene. -- are sbar scene. we have had too much violence around these nighttime venues. i have passed several pieces of legislation to address the security and safety needs of neighborhoods. we all support a healthy, vibrant nightlife. but we also support a safe nightlife that complements our neighborhoods and is not in competition with our neighborhoods. >> what are your thoughts on the city's economic development? what would you like to change about the approach to developing

the economy? >> as a city, i do not think we have been good at creating jobs and economic development. there are things we can do to make life easier for businesses. businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. over the past few years, i have helped to eliminate dozens of fees that have been nickeling our small businesses to death. i have been pushing for more stimulus from city contracts. in the past, those would be awarded mostly to non-san francisco businesses. san francisco needs to do a better job of cultivating business innovation. we need to be the city that competes with silicon valley to attract clean tech, biotech

companies. we can do a better job of nurturing creative industries. we need to create a better economy for our local artists. this is a city that has many thousands of small businesses. as someone who used to run a small business, the city can do a much better job of nurturing that sector. that is part of the life blood of who we are as san franciscans. >> we could do better. are we on the right track? >> i think we are in a transition right now. we have an interim mayor and a new board of supervisors. i do think we have a new tone at city hall to move things forward. we have a lot of challenges we are facing. i am doing everything i can to put us back on track. >> let's talk about the role of sports in the city's economic

future. are you happy with the plans for the america's cup? >> i have been a huge fan of the america's cup. i am proud of this board came together unanimously after a fairly contentious debate to support bringing the america's cup to san francisco in 2013. it is estimated it will not only be an incredible sporting event, not only showcase our city and the natural amphitheater of the bay, but it is estimated to bring in over $1 billion in economic activity with 8000 to 9000 jobs. it will be a lot of fun. i am very excited. >> should we spend money to keep the 49ers? >> i just had a conversation with the head of the organization. i told him that i and many others would love to do what we

can to keep our beloved 49ers here in san francisco. they are having a conversation with santa clara. we think they need to be part of a city that is in their name. there is so much history intertwined between our 49 years and san francisco. i am very committed to doing what i can to keep them here. >> governor brown has proposed to eliminate funding for redevelopment agencies. what is your opinion of the plan? >> we knew that by electing a governor brown he would have to make incredibly difficult choices. i do think this through development proposal goes a bit too far -- redevelopment proposal goes too far. it would be catastrophic to many developments and proposed developments. i hope the ongoing

conversations to change his proposal will modify it into something that will continue to help localities and counties like san francisco. i think we can get there. >> water some of the biggest land use issues in your district? >> in addition to the america's cup planning, there is a discussion around the development of cpmc. it would be the largest hospital project our city has seen in decades. it would probably be the largest land use project discussed this year. it is right on the edge of my district. it is seated at the intersection of several separate as oriole -- supervisorial districts. there are issues around displacement, the impact of a

large hospital on the surrounding neighborhoods, and whether the size of this hospital and plans in the city wide picture of health care access. i am sure we will have robust discussion about this in the coming months. >> are there any other issues that concern you that we have not discussed? are there any other interests you plan to concentrate on as supervisor? >> one thing every supervisor works on is the relationship between our neighborhoods and city hall. i am blessed in district 3 to have a rich network of neighborhood associations, merchant groups, and nonprofit organizations that i interface with regularly. they often had difficulty navigating city hall. i am trying to help develop neighborhood councils that bring

together these various groups to interface with city hall and city staff as a model to foster partnerships between and our neighborhoods and city government. it is a model we have been working on for a couple of years in district 3. i hope to replicate it to out san francisco fairly soon. >> we are out of time. thank you so much for joining us today on sfgtv "meet your district supervisor." we have been speaking with david chiu of district 3. ♪

>> i have 2 job titles. i'm manager of the tour program as well as i am the historyian of city hall. this building is multifaceted to say the very least it's a municipal building that operates the city and county of san francisco. this building was a dream that became a reality of a man by the name of james junior elected

mayor of san francisco in 1912. he didn't have a city hall because it was destroyed in the earth wake of 1906. construction began in april of 1913. in december 1915, the building was complete. it opened it's doors in january 1916. >> it's a wonderful experience to come to a building built like this. the building is built as a palace. not for a king or queen. it's built for all people. this building is beautiful art. those are architecture at the time when city hall was built, san francisco had an enormous french population.

therefore building a palace in the art tradition is not unusual. >> jimmie was an incredible individual he knew that san francisco had to regain it's place in the world. he decided to have the tallest dome built in the united states. it's now stands 307 feet 6 inches from the ground 40 feet taller than the united states capital. >> you could spend days going around the building and finding something new. the embellishment, the carvings, it represents commerce, navigation, all of the things that san francisco is famous for.

>> the wood you see in the board of supervisor's chambers is oak and all hand carved on site. interesting thing about the oak is there isn't anymore in the entire world. the floors in china was cleard and never replanted. if you look up at the seceiling you would believe that's hand kof carved out of wood and it is a cast plaster sealing and the only spanish design in an arts building. there are no records about how many people worked on this building. the workman who worked on this building did not all speak the

same language. and what happened was the person working next to the other person respected a skill a skill that was so wonderful that we have this masterpiece to show the world today. >> hello and welcome to "meet your district supervisor." we're here with supervisor elsbernd from district 7.

supervisor elsbernd was appointed to the board in august of 2004 and elected to his seat in november of that year. he is in the middle of his second term. we will get to know him and learn about the toughest issues facing the city. welcome. tell us about your background. >> i was born and raised in district 7. i went to st. cecilia's grammar school. i went to a small school in los angeles and came back here to teach law school. -- went to lost cool. i went to work here immediately after passing the bar on the first try. i worked at city hall for a few years. then lightning struck and was appointed as a member of the board of supervisors in august of 2004. i have been here ever since. the choice to live in san

francisco was made for my family about five generations ago. we have been here a very long time. i could never imagine leaving. this is home. this is where i am raising my son and hope that he raises his children. >> what motivated you to get into politics? >> i attribute a lot of it to the jesuit credo to be men and women for others. there is the idea that the best way to service through the political process. i have a love for the law. i found a way to combine that with service through the political process. i have always been intrigued by it and the opportunity to present themselves well. >> where do you place yourself on the local political spectrum? >> i do not like labels like left or right.

most people would call me in moderate. >> what did you learn campaigning for supervisor? was there anything that surprised you? >> in my first election, the personal side of the campaign -- i did not appreciate the thick skin you need as a candidate. being a candidate is not the easiest thing in the world. i have come to really appreciate my opponents. while i may disagree with them on policy, they are stepping into the arena and that says a lot about themselves. you really have to respect anybody that does that. >> what are some of the biggest issues facing san francisco now? >> the single most important issue is the budget.

whether your concern as homelessness, transportation, parks, public health -- fundamentally, it comes down to how much money we have and how we will spend it. looking forward, unfortunately it is getting worse. the amount of money we are spending is far outpacing the amount of money coming in. getting our hands around that and how we will bring that into line is the biggest challenge. >> what about the biggest issues facing your district? >> biggest issue right now and for potentially decades to come is parker said -- park merced. the owners have proposed demolishing half of the units and building 8000 new ones over the course of the next 25 to 30 years. that is a significant change for the district and the region. it is right there on the corner

of california highway one. whether or not the project moves forward and if it does, how the city and region grapple with the growth is probably the biggest challenge of the district. >> how will you balance the needs of the city against the needs of your district? >> that is the biggest challenge for any representative, whether it is a local supervisor, assemblyperson, or congressional representative. it is important that i keep in the back of my head that i sit on the city and county board of supervisors. there is a responsibility to the city as a whole. there is no easy way to balance it. you deal with those issued by issue. >> the city is faced with tough budget decisions, including where to make cuts and whether to raise taxes and fees. how will you approach the

difficult choices? >> i think the biggest challenge in the budget is the cost associated a city employee pensions and benefits. those are the single biggest driver to our expenses, far exceeding our revenues. i have a single-minded focus dealing with that. for the last few months. we have been sitting down with our various public employee unions trying to come together on a way to balance the city's needs versus respecting the rights of the employees. if we are able to come to some sort of agreement and present the voters in november with a fair proposal, that will address a lot of the smaller budget issues. we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. on pension and benefits alone, we will