software version: 3.0c ++ >> thank you all for joining our wonderful san francisco symphony. and of course, what with the mayor do without issuing the official proclamation? on behalf of our great city, i would love to present in honor of not only the 100 years, but the grammys, oscars, the wonderful quality of work that the symphony has been involved in, to honor them on this day, to resign from our protocol officer the official proclamation presented to michael. declaring this to be san francisco symphony in day in san francisco.

[applause] free parking is what he asked for. of all things. and of course, with this opportunity that we could not pass up, where would a 100-share birthday bash the without the official birthday song? i'm going to ask liang-liang to get on the piano. and i'm going to have ask all of you to sing in your loudest voice. he would like to have his friends in china hear this. let's go with have a birthday, everybody.

[applause] 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... >> i am ellis said griffin, a columnist the rights of the san francisco city politics. i am also a member of the league of women voters. i am here to have a discussion of proposition d on november's ballot. proposition d is a charter amendment that would change the way that the city, current and future employees share in

funding. it will also require an elected officials to pay the same contribution rates as a city employees. it would increase retirement contribution rates for most current city employees based on city cost. for future city employees, and prohibit the city from paying any employee contributions. proposition c and d, if voters approve of measures, only the one with the most votes will become law. >> i am here with the treasurer of the campaign and a former member -- why should voters vote

for proposition d? >> it had its origin a year ago. the origin of proposition b started with a grand jury investigation of the retirement system in san francisco. i was a member and during those years, i worked with other members of the grand jury. we issued reports in 2010 and 2009 with the expectation that public officials to propose legislation. there is only one public official that approached us and was willing to work on crafting legislation. and that was a public defender.

115,000 voted yes last year. a very strong constituency. we hope they will be back. the difference between proposition c and d is basically cost savings. d will save over $400 million over the next 10 years. prop d was crafted with exempting lowest paid city workers from any increase in contribution, at the rates that are part of proposition d are progressive. proposition d is also a

disruptive force in city politics. there is a very strong special- interest group that has fought against any pension reform in san francisco. that is later. we hope that they will look at it in a positive way. >> opponents argue that it was done not in a collaborative lateway. that it was done unilaterally. how do you address concerns? >> the origin of proposition b and d was a civil grand jury investigation, a group of 19 residents of san francisco, who had a very diversified group of people representing unions,

representing retired people, representing middle-class and minority groups. the fact that this is a criticism is not valid and the collaboration of the opposition talked about who was a collaboration for special interest groups. >> opponents have alleged that even if it is passed, it will be held up in court and perhaps not even implemented. how do you respond to concerns about proposition d? >> i read about prop c, 8225 page document that was totally incomprehensible to me. i am familiar with legal documents. the d measure is 25 pages, simple to understand.

i fully expec tboth me -- expect both measures will be challenging. especially those that oppose proposition c, and there are many, it will be brought forward. >> up next, we will talk to an opponent of proposition d. i am here with the executive director of the san francisco labor council and an opponent of proposition d. why should voters voted against proposition d? >> i was telling people why they should vote yes on measure c. d is the opposite way of the way people should be doing business. this is a scott walker

wisconsin initiative. it was done with no input from the workers. it was financed by a key party republicans that have financed the this and got $5 a signature to put this on the ballot. none of the city workers were involved, it was unilaterally put on. it is the wisconsin way of doing things. it does not accomplish what is supposed to do. it is legally challengeable. i am asking everyone to vote because there will be legal challenges with what it purports to do. >> proponents say it will save $400 million more than a proposition c. why should they not go with a measure that is going to save more money? >> the process was done without any input on those numbers.

they are way over bloated in terms of the numbers, it probably does a little bit more money than what we did, but it was done by the same type of republicans that are attacking public workers and wisconsin, san jose, other areas around the country. it will not save that type of money. we worked with the city comptroller, we talked to workers, we had major analysis. everybody agrees, this is the way that the city will run better, it will save money and jobs. yes on c commonality. -- no on d. >> the increments they used to determine a contribution are smaller >> is a bogus argument.

people claymore during bad times and not so much in good times. it is sensitive to workers that make -- police and fire and up paying more. it was done with a thorough analysis of different employee organizations in the city. >> thank you so much, mr. paulson. for information about this and other ballot measures, go to the san francisco league of women voters website at sfvotes.com. early voting is available at city hall monday through friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

>> i'm melissa griffin, i write

about city politics and a member of the league of women voters. i am here to discuss a proposition g, voters will be faced with on november's valid. -- ballot. proposition g would increase the sales tax rate by 0.5% for a total tax rate of 9%. this would only happen if the state does not increase the sales tax by either 1% before november 30, 2011 or 0.75% before january 1, 2015. the city would pass a tax increase to pay for public safety programs and the other half for programs for children and seniors. the city will start collecting this additional sales tax on april 1, 2012. it would apply for 10 years.

prior to july 1, san francisco had the sales tax rate of 9.5%. the city decreased by 1% when it allowed to expire. san francisco only gets a fraction of this 8.5% sales tax. 7.25% goes to this day, the city receiving about 1%. -- goes to the state, the city receiving about 1%. i'm here with -- thank you for being here. please tell us why you are in favor of proposition g. >> i believe the low income children, seniors, firefighters, and police

officers are worth half a cent. it will restore funding that was cut from these programs. proposition g " restore $30 million so the children will have a better start in life and a better chance of succeeding in high school and college. >> san francisco has one of the highest sales tax rates. are you concerned that the passage will affect our tourism or adversely affect the economics? >> i am not concerned with that at all. tourism accounts for 40% of the revenue. it will still be lower than the sales tax prior to july 1 of this year. >> my understanding is that it will be eliminated if the state

raise the sales tax within the next year. in light of that, palace of the city is able to plan, budget, and expect those revenues if it passes. >> that's a good question. it is about local control. they can decide where their tax dollars go, in light of lack of leadership of politicians in sacramento, but we are not counting on that type of leadership occurring any time soon. it would be helpful that the politicians will listen to the need of san franciscans and act accordingly when they enacted the next sales tax. up next, we will be talking with an opponent. i'm here with howard, former chairman of the san francisco republican party. he is an opponent of proposition

g. thank you for being here. why should voters vote against proposition g? >> in this age of high unemployment and high high unemployment -- of high unemployment, a regressive sales tax will hurt everyone. just to give you an idea, in 2000, the budget was $4.2 billion. in 2010, the 2011 budget is 6.8 $3 billion. that is more than the budget -- $6.83 billion. that is more than the budget of any other states. if you look at the way city hall is, there is over 100

commissions, boards, advisory boards, so on and so forth that overlap. they can combine a lot of them and save a lot of money. >> in light of the fact that this tax has already been proposed, it recently expired. how can you see consequences as a result of increasing the sales tax just .5%. >> it takes money away from the people that needed them most. if you are an upper-middle-class person, it won't harm you. but on lower end, it does harm you. that is why we should not pass if. >> proponents say that we have to do this to offset the tax at the state level. how do you propose that the city

deal with the extraordinary budget cuts that i've come from the state? >> proponent to are mostly public employees and employees of nonprofits will have you believe the sky is falling if they don't get this raised. if they go back to 0 base budgeting, do good budgeting, good management, they have plenty of money to run the city. >> we hope that that was helpful. for information on ballot measures, visit the web site of the league of women voters at sfvotes.org. early voting is available at city hall monday through friday 8:00 a.m. to 8 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. to 8 5:00 p.m. if you don't vote early, vote on

>> voting. we often feel it as a fundamental right. it is the most significant way to have our voice heard. is directly, the right to vote has not always gone to women. 100 years ago, the battle for women's suffrage was not an easy one. it took more than 70 years. it all began in 1840 during an anti-slavery convention in europe. >> lucretia mott and elizabeth cady stanton got together.

basically, it was a proclamation that was a declaration of independence for women. we rightly mark and women in nine states from this point. >> at the time, women are prohibited from voting. >> feminist leaders dedicated their lives to reform and campaign vigorously for women's rights. >> suffrage in the middle of the 19th century was not a governmental forced to organize an accomplished a goal. it was diametrically opposed to the ethic of the age. we were supposed to have won a role in society and women were supposed to have another role. >> many argued it was not their

place. >> women in the 19th century had to convince male voters that having the vote would not keen to anything peeping that women would still be devoted to home and the family. that having the vote would not corrupt them. >> in spite of opposition, reformers gradually performed at the state and local laws in california was amongst the trailblazers. >> they had private meetings. the call them parliament meetings. the afternoon tea. they spoke of these meetings as though they were social calls and not political activism. they did everything they could to grounded their campaign in femininity and domesticity. >> despite their efforts, the link between suffrage and

prohibition made it difficult to win over voters in big cities. >> the problem in san francisco, women's suffrage as an idea was associated with temperance. susan b. anthony made that connection as well in the 1880's when she abandoned the republican party and joined the prohibition party. prohibition was a deadly idea in san francisco. it was the foundation of the local economy. it was the center of masculine public life. anything that touched on the possibility of prohibition was deeply unpopular. >> the first campaign in california was a great effort, but not a success. in a 1896, male voters rejected a ballot, but the war was not over. less than a decade later, the

protests had new life. >> the women's equal suffrage late march on the republican convention in oakland. this time, they had a suffrage march with about 300 women who marched down the streets of brooklyn to the convention center, carrying a banner. it was a very public demonstration and a signal that women now considered the public's fear properly theirs. >> these elements in 1910 -- the opened a club in downtown san francisco on sadr street. she offers lunch every day to the shop girls and the working women. and her idea is if the shop

girls come in and have lunch, then she can interest them in the lunchroom. >> it had to be a transformation in the way people thought about women's rights. what happened some with women's clubs -- they began to go to that social transformation. it pushed the boundaries of what was possible, and they began to engage in civic and public work. >> what followed were parades and pageants, reaching every voter in the state from san diego to sacramento. >> male voters flocked to the polls and approve the vote by a narrow margin. it was the sixth and largest state in the nation to approve women's suffrage. a decade later, women received a

full voting rights after the passage of the 19th amendment and to help newly enfranchised women exercise the responsibility, a new women's club was founded. >> really, it was a movement that was created out of all the suffragettes moving forward with the right to vote. all the suffragette's were not interested in educating the new 20 million new voters. >> today the lead has chapters in all 50 states. it is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates. is very much political. >> 100 years ago, our voices were not heard. they were not going to give us the right to vote. i really hope people vote. it is the one way to have our voice and heard. >> to celebrate, the events and

exhibits are taking place throughout the state. >> uc berkeley is having an exhibit that highlights the suffrage movement. and highlights -- how long has the exhibit been going on? >> since the week of august 20. a lot of people do not realize that california actually allow women to vote before the rest of the nation did in the 1920's. all these materials were pulled from these collections. we have a huge amount of manuscript and raw material. >> 837 annual parade honoring the women suffragists will march today in commemoration of 100 years of voting in california. 100 years ago this year, we won the right to vote.