this goes to part of what mr. schaefer's question was earlier, as most of the most people currently on the streets have very severe cases of mental illness. a lot of them have high cases of schizophrenia and bipolar disease. part of what we are faced with now is taking care of those real illnesses, and not just providing housing. you could give housing to people who are mentally ill, but it will not be able to hold it down. in new york city, they passed kendra's law, and our own senate in california passed laura's law, that would allow san francisco to bring assisted outpatient treatment outside of the current prison system. by doing that, we saw in new york they were able to bring homelessness down by 60%, a decrease in incarceration of the mentally ill by 72%, and the

program itself, the pilot program in los angeles has worked very well. for every one person with mental illness in our system, it costs us $100,000. by pulling them out, it costs 25,000 others to give them assisted outpatient programs outside of the jails. it costs $25,000 to give them assisted outpatient services. [applause] >> i agree, are homeless issue in san francisco is a national problem it also affects families with children. a big part of the homeless population are families with children, and we need an approach that has already been planned. the 10-year effort to end homelessness and san francisco talked about the continual of care, and we need that. that includes support of

housing, not just a room, but housing that comes with support services that include mental health services, substance abuse, job training services. having that model is one that is working. there is a great organization among many called the community housing partnership that does a really great job of providing housing for people with dignity, and we truly need to have expansion programs like that. right now, the program counts shelter beds as housing. that will not end homelessness. i have been part of trying to change that program to make it more robust around housing and not taunting shelter beds. -- and not counting shelter beds. >> moving on. >> i have already discussed the fact i do not think in san francisco we can do what mayor giuliani did in san francisco -- did it in new york. i say that as a former

prosecutor who knows that would be impossible to find 12 people who would put somebody away for aggressive panhandling. this is why i support the committee justice center, moving forward with supportive housing, but i agree with john avalos, one of the real issues is expanding affordable housing. i am proud of my record of expanding affordable housing to the homeless veterans, seniors. just last night we passed a piece of legislation for transitional teenaged use. we passed legislation that we have to commit as a city to investing more, expanding all of our housing opportunities, and i am proud of the fact of the past year i have helped move forward the creation of close to 34,000 new units of housing, affordable housing. >> when i talked about housing and the model in seattle, saving

$4 million in the first year getting 75 people off the streets, i am supporting the d.a. because it he will do some of things we need around neighborhoods. i think there are some things that new york did around restorative justice that are important. the reason i did not support sit and why is because there are laws on the books not being enforced. there are laws about urination and camping. the problem is if you get an infraction, which is a parking ticket equivalent, you have five weeks to show what. that does not work. the focus is 60% motion to revoke, which have been felonies. i think we need a law enforcement system and somebody who understands how you can waste money to cycling people in and out. i am proud of the fact that i started a young adult supportive housing project that houses 30 people and was supported by the neighborhood. i know how to get it done. thank you. i>> in new york, the state weigs

in. california, the counties are totally responsible. willie brown was spending $200 million per year on social services, for 9,000 to 13,000 homeless people. the program caramel long as it would cure homelessness, but it was designed to elevate the author to the next higher office. we're now servicing 13,000 people, but at a cost that is 10 times greater. it is going to non service providers whose business is, what, homelessness. as your mayor, i will monitor and all that does not competitively bid contracts that are sucking up your money, depriving the homeless people of the true help they deserve. that is where the problem is and that is why the problem keeps

growing. it is really obvious to me what is happening with the homeless. [applause] >> i think closeness has been the most vexing problem that mayors have faced over the past 25 years. if there was one simple solution, we would have dealt with it, but it is comprehensive, the causes are national in scope, and the solutions also have to be national in scope, with a local twist. i happen to believe there are lots of points that were made. we have not done a very good job of coordinating services we provide. that is why i think moving the homeless workers under the mayor's office, out of the department of public health is important. that is why we need a city run drop-in center. i will also say the committee justice board, which has been successful, is not being utilized as much as it should be by the court system itself. it is the new york model, or did

get services you need it or you go into the criminal justice system. unfortunately, the courts are dismissing cases in mass. we have to utilize that system. finally, we need to make sure as part of our cbo reform efforts that we have accountability for the services being provided to us as customers. >> since 2004, there have been 12,000 homeless lives that have been transformed because of our city's policy of housing first. that is care -- that has proven we need to do more. i attended today's project almost connect and there was a big section that we created called the appointment. he should have seen the number of people looking for employment that are homeless. they want jobs. they want the city to make sure that can get help to get these jobs because they know they could work their way out of homelessness is to have the job training and job support.

that is what i want to continue doing as your mayor, picture we have that job training at all different levels. on october 1, we created other jobs program without federal help. two other people are sweeping the streets and cleaning trash from the parks, without any regard to their background except they needed the jobs and they were san francisco residents. that is how we get people involved in their own transition of their lives is through the job creation program and we need to do that more. [applause] >> your point about project homeless connect is great because somebody people access those services and that is why we need to make it a permanent facility and bring together all of the different providers of services that support the community into one central organization under homeless connect. and really have the discipline and accountability to continue to fund those that are having a

positive impact on the committee, and we have to have the discipline to look at organizations that are no longer needed, no longer serve their intended purpose, no longer having positive outcomes and not continue to fund those. we cannot perpetually fund organizations. we have to have discipline and accountability to make sure they are having an impact. [applause] >> we're going back to the earlier question, why does this problem still exist. one of the reasons i believe is we have generally governed by anecdotes, not by data or outcome. what we need to start doing is looking at how many homeless people we have moved. but the mayor said 12,000 people. i know that care, not cash has moved 37,000 people into homes. that was an 85% drop of general assistance, partly achieving its goal. but it is not enough. one of the reason our campaign partner is partnering is because

we need more data and organization and focus on how many folks we are helping, not just helping this one compelling person but are we really moving the population into permanent housing. that is why we also need to make sure those are partnered with solutions. most critical thing about getting somebody served it is having a place to live. it is hard to chase them out in the streets. it is much easier if you know where they live. >> the reason why we have failed dealing with the homeless problem and san francisco and other urban areas is we really do not understand what homeless is. but homeless is is the condition under which individuals are no longer at home. the problem is that's the solutions will not give them a home. that is not the solution. you have to understand the underlying cause of that homelessness. some individuals may not have a job, may not want a job.

maybe other individuals who have mental health, physical, social problems, and you have to address those underlying problems. you cannot simply just provide services and simply said, we provided services. you have to also understand whether a program you have established is effective in dealing with some of the metal health and social health and other physical health needs of these individuals. if you cannot make the initial diagnosis and tailor the program based on their needs, you will continue to perpetuate these kinds of individuals that we call homeless and the problems that continue to have. [applause] >> thank you. we will continue to ask questions from audience. thank you for your input. we will continue to do this alphabetically. we start with you. ext. person, we will start with you. everyone will answer the same question.

the question to everyone, what can you do to keep the middle class of san francisco and bring families back to the city? >> we are the city with the fewest children per capita of any other city in the country. as a child who was born and raised in san francisco and played on the streets, i can attest this is a fabulous place to grow up and be raised. but people, the middle class with families in particular, children at the tiller, have a hard time balancing schools and home ownership. it is an expensive city and is a city where most people in the public school system did not feel, in my opinion, and have enough control over our kids get to go. i think we should be able to walk through the schools of that should be the problem. i also believe that parents

should have the ability to have all of their kids in one school, not having them separated across town. i also believe we have to look at home ownership opportunities, look at people's ability to purchase property out right. so they can get their foot in the market, plant roots, and the economic stability they need to stay in the city. >> i like to change the debate on family staying in san francisco. there was always talk about what is wrong with san francisco, why families are leaving. i am raising two kids and san francisco. they are in public school. my wife is a public-school teacher. i want to look at the assets, to build upon and improve family staying in san francisco, families choosing to stay in san francisco. i want to fully fund education

and san francisco. but eighth year of my administration, to fully fund education, and expanding schools and sports programs and libraries. i want to build affordable housing in san francisco. i want to support local property owners to prevent defaults and foreclosures. i want to look at how the banks can write down loans and property, house is that are underwater. properties where if we did that we would give families much more buying power and put more money into the local economy to support local jobs. >> yes, i feel that housing. we're talking about housing, is the central crisis and san francisco because we are this beautiful little peninsula surrounded by a lot of water and a lot of people who want to live here. we already have a lot of rich people living here, and i would

stop building housing for the wealthy. that is it, moratorium on market-rate housing. if we do not develop any more of it until we develop housing for the rest of us, for the middle class, families, working class workers, artists, seniors. we have to preserve our rent- controlled housing. we cannot allow it to be demolished. we have to work on other housing schemes, limited equity, nonprofit. we have to build housing just for the rest of us. only the rest of us, until the rest of us have enough housing. no more housing for the wealthy. we have enough rich people. >> on the topic of families, i often tell folks that if we did a better job of keeping families, i would probably have 1000 more votes in san francisco because i have that many

personal friends who have had to move to the east bay, north bay, and south. we have to invest in our schools. we need a mayor who will be in education mayor coming use the bully pulpit for that purpose. we have to invest in services that wraparound families and make sure we're not cutting funding to parks and recreation centers and after-school programs. fundamentally, we have to do with far better job of keeping the jobs we have been losing. over the past couple years, we have lost 30,000 jobs, hundreds of companies. this is why have been proud to fight to keep companies like twitter and san francisco come to fight for the next biotech company, clean technology, to fight for the 80,000 small businesses and stethoscope and the several hundred new manufacturing companies. i hope everyone may take a chance to visit my website and see my plan for jobs and the economy and all of the policy papers we have and how we build a 21st century city.

>> i hope you will visit my website. i have the education, down payment loan assistance, condominiums, or reform, but let's get real, san francisco has lost its black middle class. this city has become on wealthy -- unhealthy and unwelcoming for african-americans. the outcome is terrible. i would not blame anybody for leaving. i see two brave women and the audience, individuals who are fighting for our young men of color to have better outcome, and i challenge everyone of you because i walk into one room white room afterward other in the city to say you did not have to be black to have a black agenda. we need schools to give everyone the education and we need to build the capacity of african-american organizations. why is it that other organizations have corporate

click titans on their board, but the hunters point family foundation, but they did not? i will change that. >> the question is, what can you do to keep middle-class in san francisco and welcome families back to the city? >> my wife and i have raised seven children in the city and is not a family friendly city. we have to change our attitude. what can i do? i would streamline the committee process to allow local small businesses to really get to work they implored the middle -- date employed the middle class. we have to reduce the red tape, unnecessary fees, and hidden costs associated with jump starting small businesses. in 2002, i came up with a program called hope, homes and surfaces go beyond the reach of middle-class workers that allows landlords to voluntarily sell their apartment as these

units. people get a piece of the rock. they can invest in san francisco, the city gains through taxes, and the people abroad and with home ownership. it is a program that will keep the middle and blue class workers in san francisco, and that is what i was do as mayor is try to reinstitute it. thank you. >> the key to keeping families in san francisco revolves around three complimentary things -- jobs, housing, schools. 60,000 sent franciscans have moved here over the last decade, many of them young workers trying to find their fame and fortune, but we need to make sure we are providing job up to these four folks at all levels of the scale. we're looking to expand trading opportunities and the community college district. those young folks who are coming

here, we need to provide smart growth housing opportunities so people can have a piece of the dream and san francisco. if we're going to keep them long term, we need to invest in education. that is what i call it an expansion and extension of proposition h. we need to put our money where our mouth is and expanded from 60 million to 90 million and ensure that we are building a committee schools model which strengthens the partnership between the city and the san francisco unified school district. you do that, and keep families in san francisco. >> i think that every level has to participate in our economic growth. that is the way that you keep families here, and all other families, whether low income, middle income, or high income working in the city. we have to have small and medium businesses create those jobs. government cannot do it alone.

the government is shrinking. at the have to use the ingenuity and the private sector to create real jobs. i am really proud of putting together a road map, 17 ideas i have. one of them gets the best talent to go out to all of the communities and make sure we are supporting the local merchant efforts to create jobs and fill vacancies in storefronts and provide ideas like we have done in central market to activate those areas and create job activities. the $5 million small business loan program i am offering right now to make sure bthe financing for small businesses discontinued. i'm for a proud of the folks we have worked together with. they landed a grant from the federal government because they themselves were involved in rebuilding their housing. that is the way you get people back to work and stay here. families have to be involved in the actual building of san francisco.

[applause] >> as a world-class city, we deserve to have a world-class public school system. if we do, families will stay here and move to san francisco and jobs will come to san francisco. my moment of obligation when i knew i had to run was not to circumvent the only way to achieve this was that the mayor makes it a high level priority. it takes a community wide effort to improve the public education system. i am a proponent of high-quality schools. i cannot tell you how many kids as young as seven, who i've met alone on the minutes of bus, going across town to get to their public school. we're not supposed to leave children at home alone at the age of 12. that is not acceptable children are traveling across town by themselves to get to school. we have to create committees schools where we bring resources to support children and

families, social work, mental- health care, after-school programs, locate them on the site of schools. we have to support the business community. as the innovation capital of the world, we are the shoemaker kids with no shoes, we are not compiling any of the great education. we need to reach out through our philanthropic community to support these efforts. if we do so, families will stay. [applause] >> as a father of a 4-year-old and 1-year-old, have seen many of my friends leave at san francisco. the primary reasons were we had a very volatile education process and they cannot afford to live here. at in order to reform that company to make sure that we have an assignment process for public schools that helps you know where you will send your kids. i think the school district took a big step in doing that. i am very hopeful as we move

into the second year of that process that families will see they have a much greater probability of getting the schools in the neighborhoods, which i think it's a great thing. in terms of housing, we need more housing, or family housing. most of the housing we have built in the last 10 years have been one-bedrooms and studious. i know of very few families who live in a studio with three, four people. instead of getting developers to build those, we developers to build 3-bedroom, 4-bedroom house in. we also need more affordable housing. i plan to champion and affordable housing bond if i am mayor. >> i did some research, and i did a survey of a number of residents in san francisco. i represent both san francisco and the san mateo. what i found is many individuals who used to live in san francisco do not anymore. they are in san mateo county.

when you ask why, number-one, because quality of the public education that their kids were getting was not there. what did they do? they send their kids to private school. you can handle one child and public schoolone childtwo -- one child in public school, but two you cannot. the jobs were not there, so they had to move. finally, the cost of living, housing, those other variables we need to work on. we have to improve the quality of public education across the city, not just some areas or schools. you have to also provide additional money to developers to develop affordable housing. finally, we need the diversity of jobs. a variety of jobs that fit all qualifications. that is how you keep the middle class from leaving san francisco. >> thank you. [applause] >> i would do four things.

at first, i would build more middle-class affordable housing in san francisco. right now we only have 21% of the affordable middle-class housing that we need and we're building about 120% of the above-market housing. the second thing i would do is have an aggressive jobs program. 86% of the jobs in the city are small businesses. i would create a micro loan program where 1000 businesses would create 7,800 jobs. the most important thing is school. we have cut summer school two years in a row because we did not have $1 million to pay for it. 10,000 kids cannot go to summer school. that is a disgrace. i would restore summer school, and i have a plan to pay for it. the reason i got involved is not to be against the union, it is about making sure that we have the backbone to make the decisions so we're not spending

five under million dollars on pensions every year and we did not have $1 million to pay for summer school -- so we're not spending $50 million on pensions every year. >> i picked a question that sort of reflects everything. you touched on this, but our next speaker who will start will be mr. avalos. what we should do to help generate additional revenue to support city and county services. how would this impact the city and residents of san francisco? >> thank you for the question. last year, i worked on the local hire ordinance. it is using existing revenue, our tax dollars to create jobs for local residents. as far as looking at revenue,

the services, it is something i have been doing a number of years and i have already talked about it. i want to look at the income tax that we can use to cover basic services. i also want to look at a vehicle license fee that could be used to cover municipal, pedestrian safety, cycling, looking at a parcel tax that would cover the needs of the parks and schools. the parcel tax would be graduated. if you have commercial real- estate property, you will pay more. and want to focus on the least among us. we have black kids and brown kids who are killing each other on the streets. we need a strong response, and having revenue to do that will be part of my solution. >> first, i would change the charter so we have the immiscible bank of san francisco. instead of depositing our pension fund and the bank of america and letting them take

the profits, which they add to what they're getting from their new charge for debt cards, we would get the profit and we would lend the money to individuals and businesses in san francisco. then i would institute a commercial rent tax that would be a lot more fair than the payroll tax that we have now, and also much more progressive than the gross receipts tax. then we would need public power. we need to be creating our own power and also owning the grade. we can do that. p.g. and evil has been proven to be incompetent. this is something we can work on and we have to bring the money back down by progressive income tax. there are many cities that have progressive income tax. it is time to tax the rich. duh. >>