they are dealing weswhich is res on what they believe of the residents that are still there, how to educate them to again live in new orleans, but i will speak at that at the next meeting. president mendoza: thank you. commissioner wynns? commissioner wynns: this past weekend, i was at the unity conference, of the latino school board members association and the coalition of black school board members. a lot of people -- they asked me about that, and i have a lot of interesting material. then i just wanted to say this, because i just got this. san francisco has been named number one in "barron's"

magazine as the 10 healthiest cities for families -- in " parents" magazine. the city by the bay rose to the top of our list in part because of its gutsy move to bring healthier foods to schools. san francisco booted soda and high-calorie, empty food five years before the state did and was one of the first places in the country to push for school gardens. california's with whole grain breads debuted in 2007. now, at least have have them. skipping, it says san francisco also goes the extra mile to keep kids active, with playgrounds, recreation centers, and 60 soccer fields, and there are miles of car free roads during designated times so families can get without traffic worries. there is more, but congratulations.

president mendoza: congratulations. commissioner fewer? commissioner fewer: i wanted to say that i could not be at the conference because i was judging a contest, and i saw many of our principles there. and then i attended the 11th annual conference, and i went to many workshops, and i met many people. they had 1600 acree registered attendees, and i am sure there were many more there, like people like myself who just happened to to stop in and did not free register, but it was overwhelmingly a success. they fed everybody lunch. it was completely free. they had over 20 workshops, and every session, it was excellent, and i look forward it to their

12th annual. and i just want to give a shout out to mission high school and the principal there for welcoming the conference back to their school, and it is a fabulous location to have been in. i think next year, they might outgrow that location, quite frankly, just because of the amount of people that game, and i also like to mention that they are not only educating our teacher or our staff or people interested in education and san francisco but those in sacramento and davis, coming very far to attend this. commissioner: commissioner fewer, many come from across the country to that conference, and they have an amazing history of attracting educators on the cutting edge of what is in education, and i just want to hear more about what happened, and i will talk to you.

congratulations. president mendoza: superintendents? superintendent: we are hosting an event that is actually sold out. we have about 670 people registered for it, and we were planning for less than 500, but the organization is, you know, tenfold in a very, very short time period. it should be great. we have people from all over the country here. they are working with ell students, everywhere in the country. it should be very exciting and very worthwhile. president mendoza: thank you, i want to thank warren again for the bluegrass festival, which was fabulous, and he again retreated our middle schoolers with respect and brought out

lots of fun people, including m.c. hammer, and i also want to thank the marshall middle school -- the middle school, and we have a lot of folks come out, and we have a lot of folks participate on walk to school day. it was an exciting. and the other announcements? item t is a report of a closed session action, with by a vote of 6 ayes, the approve the expulsion of six students. they also approve the stipulated expulsion agreements for three high school students. item u is one informational item. may i announced in first? i would get to you when i am

done. ok, item u are in for mensural items -- are informational items. one is the acceptance of gifts for the month of july and august. we had one speaker, but she has left. commissioner norton? commissioner norton: there are a number of special ed para's that have been added, so why that was. president mendoza: great. this meeting is adjourned.

>> the san francisco cons tri of flowers in golden gate park is now showing a new exhibit that changes the way we see the

plants around us. amy stewart's best-selling book, "wicked plants" is the inspiration behind the new exhibit that takes us to the dark side of the plant world. >> i am amy stewart. i am the arthur of "wicked plants," the weeds that killed lincoln's mother and other botanical atrocities. with the screens fly trap, that is kind of where everybody went initially, you mean like that? i kind of thought, well, all it does is eat up bugs. that is not very wicked. so what? by wicked, what i mean is that they are poisonous, dangerous, deadly or immoral or maybe illegal or offensive or awful in some way. i am in the profession of going around and interviewing botanists, horticulturalists and plant scientists. they all seem to have some

little plant tucked away in the corner of a greenhouse that maybe they weren't supposed to have. i got interested in this idea that maybe there was a dark side to plants. >> the white snake root. people who consumed milk or meat from a cow that fed on white snake root faced severe pain. milk sickness, as it was culled, resulted in vomiting, tremors, delirium and death. one of the most famous victims of milk sickness was nancy hangs lincoln. she died at the age of 34, leaving behind 9-year-old abraham lincoln. he helped build his mother's casket by carving the woodallen petition douche the wooden

petition himself. >> we transformed the gallery to and eerie victorian garden. my name is lowe hodges, and i am the director of operations and exhibitions at the conls tore of -- cons tore of flowers. we decided it needed context. so we needed a house or a building. the story behind the couple in the window, you can see his wife has just served him a glass of wine, and he is slumped over the table as the poison takes affect. a neat little factold dominion about that house is actually built out of three panels from old james bond movie. we wanted people to feel like i am not supposed to be in this room. this is the one that is supposed to be barred off and

locked up. >> the ole andersonner -- oleander. this popular shrub is popular in warm climates. it has been implicated in a surprising number of murders and accidental deaths. children are at risk because it takes only a few leaves to kill them. a southern california woman tried to collect on her husband's life insurance by putting the leaves in his food. she is now one of 15 women on california's death rowan the only one who attempted to murder with a plant. >> people who may haven't been to their cons tore or been to -- do serve tore or their botanical garden, it gives them a reason to come back. you think let's go and look at 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. >> good evening, everyone, and welcome to the forum featuring the five candidates for san francisco district attorney. we appreciate the efforts they have made to share their perspective on this very important office. i am president of the bar association and san francisco

-- senior counsel at wells fargo bank. i want to thank the league of women voters for being our co- sponsor and for their help running this event tonight. thanks also to the san francisco government television for their lives dreaming of this form and for taping it to show san francisco voters during this election season. thanks also to our moderator for formulating the questions asking tonight. he has met with several people to develop questions that will hopefully help you determine how the vote in the november 8 election. many thanks also to the criminal justice advisory council who helps with creating the questions and putting the event together, and also many thanks to the committee of the bar association of san francisco and its share, who also help put this event together. i would first like to introduce

cynthia foster, the first vice- president of the league of women voters of san francisco. she is the executive director of the hillsborough will foundation and is former president of the junior league of san francisco. as a member of the junior league -- junior league of california's state public affairs committee, cynthia held promote the passage of bills to fund critical services for low- income breast cancer patients and domestic violence victims. her advocacy has led to her placement as statewide co-chair has led to her commitment to make a difference and influence public policy through advocacy and education. we are really glad to welcome cynthia foster today. [applause] >> thank you. good evening and welcome. i am cynthia foster, vice president of the league of women voters of san francisco. believe it is a nonpartisan

political organization dedicated to the active and informed participation of all citizens in government. we never support or oppose candidates, but we do take stands on issues. for further information about candidates and election issues, this is the web site. the league wishes to remind you that if you are not registered to vote, please do so right away and urged others you know to register. the actual deadline to register to vote for the november 8 election is october 24, and if you have moved, you need to register again. we want to thank our co-sponsor for tonight's forum, the bar association of san francisco, and our media partner. you will hear from the five candidates for san francisco district attorney. all will have a chance to present their views on issues affecting the city and to answer your questions and those of the

committee of the bar association on issues. to submit questions for the candidate, look for a volunteer who will be collecting index cards you find on your table. we are privileged to have as our moderator tonight peter king. he is a professor of law at golden gate university school of law, former chief assistant san francisco public defender, was president of the bar association of san francisco in 1989, and also served as vice president of the state bar in california. he's an internationally known legal analyst and provides regular legal analysis on cbs television and radio here in san francisco. he offered san francisco's handgun control ordinance and proposition 190, amending the california constitution & reforming the state commission on judicial performance. peter is a well known and expected -- respected leader in

the community and a perfect person to moderate tonight's forum. it is my pleasure to introduce our moderator for this evening, peter keane. [applause] >> thank you very much, cynthia. it is a great pleasure for me to be here, and i thank the league and the bar association and the criminal trial lawyers association for inviting me to do this. i am a neutral moderator. i have not endorsed any candidate in regard to this race, and you will hear from the candidates who will have an opportunity to answer the questions which i have formulated. i want to thank tony and julie for the hell they gave, along with other people in formulating the questions we have come up with. the questions in the long run are those that i have written and that i will put to each of the candidates. in regard to the ground rules, i would say each candidate will

have two minutes to make an opening statement and then a closing statement. each candidate will have one minute to answer every question, and in addition to that, i have a number of intermittent questions, which are lightning round questions, that i will just throw in and ask for a yes or no answer, and then move on to the more fleshed out questions. the time keepers in the first row will hold up a yellow card to signify to the candidate that they have 30 seconds remaining, and they will hold up a red card when it is time to stop. we will be very fierce on the time here. every aspect of this forum will be equally fair to all of the participating candidates. you have many important decisions to make on november 8. we hope tonight's forum will give you an opportunity to be heard. let's begin with opening

statements from each of the candidates in alphabetical order. >> thank you. i am very honored to be here. as an example of some of the work i have been doing this past 22 years as a prosecutor, i would like to tell you a story. george will be was a sadist roaming the streets amongst us. sharon frazier was a prostitute with a 6-year-old daughter. george willoughby was evil incarnate. when sharon frazier got into his car, she had no idea that she was in the presence of a monster. after he raped her, sodomized her, and terrorized her, he took her to a tree and hired her by her left and -- by her neck and ankle to the tree. he set her on fire, and she died hopping around on her right leg on fire. that night, her 6-year-old daughter became an orphan and was left with no one.

sharon fraser's story is important because like the over 1000 unsolved murders in san francisco, i reopen that case, and with the use of dna evidence, the dna that he left on the road that night, solve the murder. that gave closure to sharon frazier's family. you will hear a lot throughout the campaign about our dna labs, the state it is in, which is a failing state, and our dap's inability to address it either as police chief or as d.a.. i wanted to give you this issue because in the 21st century, dna is a critical tool, essentially -- essential to our ability to put the most dangerous and violent criminals behind bars and give closer to their families. every time we put a serial criminal, rapist, and murder behind bars, we are that much safer. as a dna expert, prosecutor for 22 years, and the leader of an

elite trial unit, experience matters. i will bring my experience to my job and leave san francisco to a safer and protected city. >> thank you for inviting us and making this possible. i am the oldest one up here, but the newest member of the candidates for district attorney. i entered the race less than a month ago. the reason i entered was i was a district attorney for 20 years, but i have been a defense attorney for the last 16 years. i looked around and was encouraged by friends and colleagues to enter the race. i looked carefully and realize i had everything all of the current candidates have to offer plus i am que native san franciscan. i bring a well-balanced approach to the administration of criminal justice, having been a prosecutor and a defense attorney for almost the same amount of time here plus, because of my background, my

family lives here. i live here. my kids went to public schools. i have two grandchildren. one lives here, and one lives in the bay area. i think i bring to the district attorney's office in a unique opportunity to look at crimes from the perspective of the san franciscans, someone who knows and appreciates san francisco values. knowing these values and knowing how to prosecute and when to prosecute, simply because a case can be prosecuted does not mean it must be prosecuted. i think those of us who practice in san francisco and practice in other counties no distinct difference between the prosecution of criminal defense in san francisco compared to other counties. i think most people will agree with me it can be much better. i would like to hear support. i would like to end my career at the high point, being san francisco's district attorney, as i began 30 years ago.

>> thank you so much. first, i want to thank the for their support and creating the opportunity for this for -- forum. and the bar. without their help, my office would not be functioning as well as it is. i want to tell you about myself and my trajectory. i came to this country when i was 13. i emigrated from cuba. i grew up in a very important neighborhood. english was a second language. but eventually went to college and law school. i walked with the lapd for 20 years, walking some of the toughest neighborhoods and working in community is very similar to the ones where i was raised. i taught ethics reform in the wake of the and -- i oversaw ethics reform in the wake of a major police scandal.

was able to effectively reduce crime in what i thought was one of the most toxic, racist environments in the country. our work and creating an lgbt community forum for the first time in the city. as the chief of police in san francisco, i was able to bring homicide rates down to 1860 levels. there were 97 homicides in the city. i came in the middle of 2009. there were 20 homicides this year. we were able to bring it to 50% -- to over 50% from being down 23% and here we have the highest referral rid of cases in six years. as your d.a., i am committed to working closely to dealing with violent crime. we have prosecuted eight out of

nine homicide cases this year. i have also worked to create neighborhood courts to bring low-level offenses out of the courtroom, and drug courts. >> i want to start by thanking the lead and bar and for all of you for coming tonight. your story running for this return because our criminal justice system is completely broken. we spent so much on our personnel have practically bankrupt in the state. seven out of 10 people who come out of prison return within three years. we need to completely overhaul this broken system. in order to do that, we need someone who knows how to reform the system to make it more efficient and more fair. i started my career at walden house adolescent facility counseling kids and helping them turn their lives around. i worked at the national council environmental case where i

helped write the book during the clinton administration of the clinton justice department on alternatives to incarceration. i then graduated from stanford law school and got a fellowship to work and legal services for children where are provided free legal services to low-income kids in san francisco and went on to work at the hayward burns institute for juvenile justice, fairness, and equity. at the mayor's office of criminal justice and on the police commission, i helped bring national best practices to san francisco law enforcement, and it brought it all together at the berkeley center for criminal justice, which i found it with the mission of bringing law enforcement and community together to build collaboration around pragmatic criminal- justice reform. that is what my entire career has been about, and that is what this entire campaign is about. however i going to do that? by focusing on what works. we know keeping kids out of the adult justice system is the best thing we can do to keep us safer.

i will reform the juvenile justice system and the juvenile unit in the d a's office. we know that helping them get jobs is the key to helping the reenter society safely. i have a track record of bringing it together from all sides to do that. we talked about what works. we have to talk about what does not work. the death penalty does not work. i will not seek it under any circumstances. thank you. >> thank you. is this on? >> yes. >> i received my legal training in san francisco. i am graduate about uc hastings in 1992. i have been a deputy public defender in orange county. i am the current commissioner to the state law advisory commission. we identify for the public highly proficient criminal law

attorneys. it is a mandate under california will support 9.35 in which we identified attorneys that practice in criminal law falls through the state, and it is a certification program. i moved here in april. i brought my wife and two kids here. the reason why -- we have 1000 unsolved murders. she said, the criminal justice system is in dire need of reform, and it is because of the investigative process. we are not using modern tools to support our investigation of crime. two very effective tools must be used by law enforcement -- the high definition video camera and dna. we need to have a crime lab that is independent.

we need real solutions to the problems that we are facing. and we should be focused on truth and the fairness of the system. i am hoping that in this debate, we can talk about the problems we have and bring real solutions. once we identify these solutions, we need to the employment them by de- politicizing the system -- we need to implement them. thank you. >> thank you very much. the questions i will not ask in a rotating order alphabetically. remember, you have one minute for your answer. the question is -- what is your position on reporting to immigration authorities only people convicted of violent or serious felonies, not reporting those arrested, awaiting trial, and not reporting victims? why do you think it is desirable or not desirable? >>