the pretty flowers. these are pretty flowers, but they are flowers with weird and fascinating stories behind them. that is really fun and really not what people normally think of when they come to a horticultural institution. >> "wicked plants" is now showing at the san francisco conserve tore of flowers. unless next time, get out and play.

>> happy arbor day, everyone. we have a lot of volunteers from the richmond district center. i grew up in the california area, ended up at uc-davis. i made my way out to san francisco in 1984 when i was a college student. i remember growing up on clement street. i have always lived around in richmond area, just being around a unique area of the richmond, discovering san francisco in the 1980's. >> i am hoping we can not support small businesses like this because they are the unique character that makes neighborhoods like this so rich

and lively to live in. >> i have also been active as a community organizer. i worked at the chinese progressive association. i also worked at the mental health center in the richmond district. i have always been passionate about civil rights, equality for everyone. i have a 10-year-old daughter, so having a girl has made me much more sensitive to gender equality issues. i guess i have always been vocal about my politics, but as a supervisor, i have to listen to other perspectives and making decisions. >> very soon there will be of much more seniors in that area. we are trying to focus on whether a stop sign or stoplight might help. >> tried to look at issues of senior nutrition programs, alzheimer's research, even housing policies that allowed our buildings to become more senior-friendly.

also looking at how to support senior services, neighborhood- by-neighborhood programs that allow aging in place. people who are getting older helping each other stay in their homes and communities longer so that they can contribute as long as possible, as opposed to institutionalizing them. >> i support working families, livable communities, definite drawn support for the small business. even in my district, there are pockets of poverty and many people of work. so it is also about supporting those under employed people, small businesses in this difficult economy. >> there are a lot of vacant storefronts, so we are trying to find people to read these spaces. there is a bookstore over there. this way there are a lot of businesses that have been closing. >> i support the small

businesses versus more chain stores that seem to be coming in to some of the vacant storefronts. i am trying to be sensitive to the local merchants because they make up the unique character and diversity of our neighborhoods. you go to lafayette. i was just there reading to a bunch of kids. i think i was reading to fifth graders. what grade are you in? >> as a member of the school board, i know strong schools in the richmond is key. also, from the birth to 5 commission -- each commission has an organization to oversee pre-kindergarten kids. i want to ensure that the state level that we advocate strong support for young children and their families, good parenting support as well. >> often, we have to govern with our hearts. 80,000 people in the richmond district sometimes have

different needs than people in the mission district or bayview hunters point. so often, elected officials and other hard working staff have to make tough decisions. they are political in nature, in many ways, even though people denied that, but at times, many of us are politicians, but we always try to govern with our hearts. >> i have always considered myself having progressive politics. i believe in a vision of people having their needs met. i believe in equity. when people have special needs, we should be considered of that. i also feel that working families in the lowest income population should have a safety net. we should have civil-rights and equality rights for people as well. if that is being a progressive, then i am proud of being a progressive.

supervisor chu: thank you very much, president chiu. i wanted to emphasize what supervisor cohen, and this is the same conversation we have had with the nominee, and i look forward to seeing mr. ramos and the conversations and the balance he has expressed to me, and also recognizing some of the challenges that different neighborhoods might have with having accessible transportation, usage of cars and how is he would balance that, given multiple demands there might be, such as large families among other things. so i look forward to that conversation. my parents immigrated to the united states about 30 years ago, and that probably was the most formative part of my background. growing up in an immigrant family, you learn many things.

my parents raised me in southern california, and i grew up in the restaurant business. they had a small restaurant at the time, and i was there every weekend working, and it taught me the value of working hard and what it meant to be part of a small business, a small family, and an immigrant family at that. growing up in an atmosphere in being impacted by the los angeles riots when it did occur. we were always worried watching the news to see whether or not the restaurant would be looted, whether it would go up in fire, so it was something that was a big concern and worry for my family at the time. i remember thinking even at that age how important it was to consider what the economics were in communities, whether people had or felt that they had opportunities or did not have opportunities, and what role it was that government played in those outcomes. >> [inaudible] supervisor chu: that is what

really put me on the path to public policy. so i pursued public policy both at occidental college where i went to school as an undergrad, and also uc berkeley where i pursued public policy. i work on public finance for a while after i graduated and came back to government to really pursue that. ever since then, i have stayed here and fallen in love with how wonderful the bay area is. it is a really great place to be. all around the room, you will see a lot of great financial institutions. talk to them. you will see people who can help you with financial aid. talk to them. he will see departments that might have summer job opportunities. talk to them. utilize your opportunities today. learn a little bit about what you should be thinking about in the future. generally, a very practical legislator. i like to look at what the impacts of legislation would be

before really voting on it, so i think, depending on the issue, you can move around, and that should be the way most people think, which is let's consider the facts of legislation before you actually consider it, irrespective of what spectrum it comes from and what spectrum it is perceived to be. sunset district is a great district. has many residents who are families. we have a lot of families in our district. lots of kids, seniors, people who have raised their families there for many generations. the big issue moving people is the state of the economy. how is it that we are going to be able to bring down the unemployment rate in san francisco? how is it that our future generations, our kids, and our youth are trained so they are able to take advantage of what is emerging? whether that is clean technology, technology in general, the health-care industry or other things that might be looking rosier in terms

of future economic activity. thank you. today, i am very happy to have come with you all and to bike in today. i was able to ride a bike that had a two-person seat on it. i was in the back, and we both paddle together, and one thing i wanted to say is if you bike to school or anywhere, make sure to always wear a helmet. make sure to be safe, and of course, have fun, right? in terms of interesting jobs, this has to be one of the most interesting jobs. you work on a whole host of issues all year round, and you meet so many interesting people around the way, so i really enjoyed that.

supervisor mirkarimi: i think that the deliberations that came out of the last few months on the question of tax breaks and tax reform have helped us arrive at a particular place that gives us this entree to determining, maybe with our toe in the water, of what it might look like to actually recall tax structure. for most of my adult life, i have spent completely here in san francisco. now about 27 years. i was born in chicago. my father had emigrated from iran to go to school in chicago where he met my mother when he was attending university of chicago. that is where i was born. my mother, growing up in that -- growing up for me in the

1960's and 1970's -- was very involved in the war movement and what often take me to protest and lectures. she was also involved in union labor, as her family had been for a couple of generations. my father was the director of ymca in chicago. with the sixth engagement, i think that all was in one variable or another, very influential on me. after my parents had divorced, i spent most of my youth in the state of rhode island. after i graduated high school, i went to the undergraduate college in st. louis, missouri, and came out here for grad school. fell in love with the san francisco bay area appeared all my plans changed, and this became my home. >> [inaudible] do we end up with a wells fargo here? another bank of america over there? what projects as going forward? supervisor mirkarimi: you read

my mind. that is a perfect segue. i wanted to talk about rezoning, areas that fortified neighborhood interests so there is not another chase situation or wells fargo, or what have you, that should put us in this position again. >> i worked as an environmental analyst for a number of think tanks and then applied to that trade in law enforcement where i went to the san francisco police academy many years ago, graduated from the sfpd class, trained in environmental forensics, both here locally, state, and finally by the u.s. epa in a training center, and i worked with the district attorney's office in san francisco for nine years becoming -- before becoming elected supervisor. i was one of 20 people who co- founded the green party in california. i thought that the democratic party in the united states had essentially vacated or left and use a little too much with the

political right. in my opinion, there had been insufficient advocacy for people who were left of center. less than to w. years ago, i decided it was time for me to shift direction and said the democrats. that is what this comes down to. that does not take quite as long comparatively to other cities, either. if anything, at least maybe permitting is made to the frustration that red tape business is the way you deal with that reality, but in terms of legislation, good idea actually gets marshall pretty quickly in this city. i love to campaign. i knew that in advance. how i like to campaign is i meet people. i knock on every door in district 5, and i really did enjoy that. but i like grass roots organizing. does not matter what your brand of politics is. it should never be subverted. whether you come from the right, middle, or left. you should always want to engage the public and in power the public by them meeting you

and you listening to them. that is what has happened around here. thank you. be well. if you look between hagiht and g -- haight and gary streets, you would have seen a complete renaissance. the median is here. the improvements on the sidewalks. this just happened over the last two or three years. the street you are right in the middle of right now is on funding at growth and a visitor. it is an amazing farmer's market that the whole community comes down for pirie whether it is good or bad, i have to tell you, i am the lowly impressed. right here, in front of motor bicycles shopping cafe -- mojo bicycle shop and cafe, we have

the first part what we're week extended the table seating right on the street, and it is the first one in the city here in district 5, and it serves as a template for other businesses wanting to do the exact same thing. >> there is all -- there's always a lot of discussion about diversity. i think class ever city is something that should not be subordinate to that discussion. i want to make sure that sanford cisco has a working-class population. i want to make sure that we do not take for granted because we are seen as more cosmopolitan, that that excuses' us from not tackling issues of poverty, which there are still substantial pockets of it in san francisco, despite what others may argue. that, to me, oddly it's our requirements, to make sure our city, in its reputation of being forward thinking and progressive, learns to make sure that that translates into economic, so that this is not just a city for those who can

afford it. we want to get down to brass tacks issues about not just public safety but the root causes that we want to address of job training, job placement, giving our youth something to aspire to, giving young adults something that they can turn to, giving people who feel that they need that extra level of support from city hall, from local government, the ability to be able to reach out -- that is also what tonight is part of. he is the real supervisor, my son. he just turned two last week. i know i was going to grow to be an eco-leader in some respects, but out of the desperation, the fact that we are not getting leadership from the federal government and state government, trying to mitigate pervasive environmental harm or answering the larger questions, like of a climate change, or trying to figure out ways that we

compensate for insufficient public resources, coming from state government, these are the kinds of things that force us to deal with citywide issues. sometimes, that is the risk of people of accusing us of overstepping our jurisdiction and being a little too heady about dealing with issues that really do not concern san francisco. my response to that is with globalization and with the way that the world has been brought into closer focus and the way that people now have admitted together through social media, there are no borders in this issue, and if there is going to be this kind of policy paralysis on a federal or state level, it is good for municipal government to step up to the plate and start leading the way or a less challenging the other tiers that if you do not do something, then get out.

>> to address these concerns, i have made a series of amendments to the resolution that capture the spirit of the policy but would allow continued conversation with the task force and other stakeholders about how we do metering. i believe strongly that the city needs to start developing toes to help create affordable housing. in our housing element alone, we talk about building a 60% affordable, but we are currently not doing that. it is important to start the discussion about creating tools of measuring our affordable housing and creating tools to enforce that. i grew up in new york city, one to my parents who had immigrated here to the u.s. actually, i started really becoming active in working with the community when i was in high

school. came out to california for college, went to stanford. i was always politically involved. when i was a college student, i worked on the initiative to get rid of affirmative action in our public government system. currently, we have 3 legislative items that are pending. the first is going to be coming to a final vote on tuesday, our mid-market uptown tenderloin task exemption legislation. it is basically an incentive to encourage businesses to come to mid-market. in particular, where we have the highest commercial vacancy. and then when i graduated, moved out to san francisco about 12 years ago. i always loved sanford cisco in college, and i just wanted to try it out. i started working in economic development policy. i was a community organizer for

six years. i worked with young people, parents, and families around issues that concern our neighborhoods, whether it was improving muni lines, affordable housing, public schools, or just planning issues in neighborhoods. we just had a hearing last week, and we are trying to do some work around bedbug enforcement, which is a major issue in the tenderloin and of hill and 63. a hearing will actually be on thursday, april 7, 10:30. we're doing our first hearing on pedestrian safety. i think public safety is a huge concern. it ranges from both low-level crimes to pedestrian safety, and so that is a really important issue to me. we are probably more than double what every other district has. and that are preventable. and we can do better. district 6 is one -- home to one of the most diverse

constituencies. we have the poorest residents in san francisco. we have lgbt. we have immigrants, people of color, youth, and a high proportion of seniors in the city as well. we heard that people want to see more jobs, want to see access to more jobs for our residents. we want to see more preventive instead of just reactive. we want to see after-school programs versus the police picking them up because they are out on the street, which i think our chief agrees with. i actually ran for the board of education in san francisco and got to serve a term on our school board. what really surprised me was how much i enjoyed it. i loved it. i love meeting with families, meeting with youth, meeting with teachers, visiting schools, and getting a deeper understanding of what it means to make our system work better. the one thing i really enjoyed

was i got to run within a district instead of citywide, was that i really got to know voters and residents. i actually enjoy campaigning more because i had time to knock on doors and the voters individually. i'd love it. i actually really enjoyed being out on the field. so i spent a lot of time doing it because i got to really get a deeper understanding of what people care about and what people's concerns are and also what people loved about the district and the city. i was talking with the mayor yesterday. he was very interested in seeing how the good work with our office -- how he could work with our office. i would love to see how we could support small businesses because they are the heart at san francisco. they provide 60% 07% of the jobs in sanford cisco, and they provide it locally, and they are not going to offshore their jobs any time. i am not an opponent of cleaning up the tenderloin.

i love the tenderloin. i love what is right now. i recognize we have a diversity of books that live there and people do not want to see open drug dealing. i do not have a problem with people lit think -- people out on the street socializing. i think that is good. that to me is more -- you know, it is part of the character of the neighborhood. i get to represent one of the most exciting and dynamic districts in the city. it is where change is happening, so i think it is exciting in terms of how we can model what it means to be a smart growth neighborhood, how we can use transit and housing effectively to serve our city and also to do a lot of the new green policies that we have developed over the last 10 years.

within our population there are people who simply do not have access to the internet, who do not have the means to access information the way that others have, and i think that it's really imperative for government to make sure that we play a role in closing that technological divide. so you have to strike that balance between maintaining that character, but also welcoming in the new people who bring their own -- >> absolutely. >> so i love that. i love that mix, that balance that comes with it. it's hard to strike the right balance, but -- >> it really is. >> but it's there. >> i was born in guatemala and came to this country as a kid. i was brought here by my parents. and essentially grew up in l.a. and then moved up to the bay area, where i went to college. i went to stanford. my background for the first few

years out of school was a practicing attorney. i worked for -- in the private sector for a number of years and then i went and worked for the city as a deputy city attorney and then became general council of the school district here in san francisco, and through that became involved in politics and at some point decided to run for office. [speaking spanish] >> i think that san francisco really represents the best that this country has to offer.

it's a place that welcomes people from all over the world, from all over the country, and it's a place that not only tolerates, but actually embraces diversity, a place that is very forward thinking in terms of how it looks at issues. it always felt like home, and i felt that as a gala tino man that this -- gay la taken no man, that this is a place where i could be happy. now doing the job of a supervisor has been the most rewarding experience. it is really remarkable how amazing our neighborhoods are, how amazing its people are. i have a progressive outlook in terms of how i see things, and by progressive i mean we have to make government and make the city work for everyone, and that means that it's not just those who are doing well, it's also those who are not doing so well, those who have the least. but it also means making sure that the city works for the middle class. >> good evening, everyone. good evening. thank you all for being here. and when we first got into office about two years ago, we started talking to the mayor's

office of workforce and economic development and trying to figure out how we can help different corridors within our district have a better sense of what that neighborhood should look like, what its main concerns and priorities should be and a strategy for the community. and that means business, residents and the city working together to make whatever that vision is a reality. ultimately if there is a guidance on how i approach government, i believe in good government, i believe in transparency, i believe in accountability, i believe in making sure that we follow best practices. i think that oftentimes transcends the left, the middle and the right. it goes beyond that. and that's why as a supervisor i focus so much on contracts and how the city spends its money, which is not

traditionally a progressive issue. but i believe that we have an obligation to make every penny count. thank you. [applause] we are still going through a very tough economic time. we are still not where we need to be in terms of job creation and economic development. so government, i think, has to work with a lot of different folks, not only the business community, but also the community groups to see how we can create economic development that works for every san franciscans. >> one of the topics is -- [inaudible] >> as a member of the police commission, i learned that the most effective policing is the policing where you have the police and themm