schools attendance area, or whether the students elementary school is a designated feeder school for the middle school. prop h when they get city policy to encourage the school district to ensure that all students have the opportunity to attend a quality neighborhood school. after signing siblings to the same school, the highest priority should be to assign each student to the schools close to their homes. finally, the school district should provide students with the opportunity to attend schools with language immersion rather special programs, even if those schools are not close to their homes. ♪ i am here with kris miller, chairperson of students first, a group that sponsored prop h. ms. miller, thank you for being here. why should voters vote for prop h? >> for starters, the reason that prop h was adopted to begin with is roughly 14,000 signatures

from san francisco county voters that also, as i do, feel passionately about children being able to attend schools near their neighborhoods. it makes sense. everyone automatically assumes that the child attends a school near their neighborhood or has that option in san francisco. as we know, from previous policies in different things with in government here, san francisco is special. san francisco is definitely special in this respect, that we have not followed suit with many of the major metropolitan cities and allow parents the right to automatically opt into their neighborhood schools. san francisco has been having issues with this policy for years. there are thousands of parents who have left the city, over 5000 since the 2000 census. since the mid-1960s, we have lost a little under half of our student population. this is one of the major reasons why. prop h is basically simply proposing that parents or children within certain

neighborhood school areas are given the option of sending their children to the school in closest proximity to their home. that is all we are proposing, nothing more. just that within the current citywide lottery system, that parents are given the option of sending their children to school near their home, as opposed to being bussed across town, where were the district decides the children will go. that is basically the premise of prop h. >> opponents have argued that the current school assignment system does give substantial weight to a child's geographic location when deciding -- one assigning the to a school. how do you respond? it's very simply, one, that comment is not factually based. roughly 30% of parents in the city, according to the school district -- we're not sure if these are accurate numbers, a

roughly 30% of the parents in the san francisco unified school district are opting to send their children to their neighborhood schools. for some reason, they're not able to honor that. a seemingly small number of parents. the fourth consideration -- out of four considerations for the placement system, never the proximity is the fourth. in most cases, within many different school districts, it does not come into consideration because the schools are full of the time to get to that proximity consideration. not only that, but that is only for elementary school placement. in middle school and high school, this consideration has been completely taken away. there's absolutely no consideration whatsoever. it is a citywide lottery system period. so that statement is not true. i just gave you the facts. if you want to look it up on iran, it is right on the website -- if you want to look it up on your own. >> it is argued that keeping

children in their neighborhoods will lead to gentrification in san francisco. how do you respond? >> i will tell you what it will actually lead to from the actual perspective, not from a hypothetical perspective that is not based on this a big numbers. if you look at the statistics, from the current policies, they do not focus heavily on a neighborhood school-based placement system. in the last 10 years, we have moved further and further towards segregation within our school district. the interesting thing is, the current system does not focus heavily on neighborhood school proximity, and the reason for that is to keep the school ever spent to give children more opportunity in areas and better performing schools that would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to a higher performing schools. right now, we actually have a huge issue with schools re segregating in the last 10 years. if the current policies are re

segregating the schools in san francisco, one would assume that parents and voters in the city would vote to change that policy. if we are asking for the opposite of what they are, presumably we are going to be either improving the situation, are in the worst-case scenario it will stay the same. so that allegation makes no sense from a fact-based perspective. >> thank you so much, ms. miller. next, we will hear from an opponent of prop h. ♪ i am now with rachel from the san francisco board of education. the board of education recently voted unanimously to oppose prop h. thank you for being here. why do you oppose prop h? >> for several reasons. first, it is not well-written, and has a lot of unintended consequences. primarily, i oppose it because it is a very simplistic way of dealing with a very complex

problem. i have been working on student assignment, but as a parent -- for many years, i put my kids through the process. i have talked to parents across the city as a candidate for public office. since i was elected to the board, the board has been the last two years working on a news to defend a policy. it is the most complex problem i have ever worked on in my personal or professional life. and i do not think that is the kind of thing that can be resolved by a voter checking a yes or no on the ballot box. >> recent census numbers show that families with small children have been leaving the city in record numbers because of people would argue that the current school assignment system has something to do with that. do you believe the current system is working? >> i do the the current system is working. we spend a lot of time and a lot of money, a lot of resources, redesigning the system, because we knew we had a problem. one of the things we try to address was balancing the needs of parents. there are parents in parts of

the city that feel they do not have access to high performing schools. while we work on the schools across the city, we want to give everybody access to all schools. in addition, a lot of families said they wanted more predictability in the school assignments. i do think that the predictability issue is something that may frighten parents of young children. so we revised it and added a proximity component and a predictability component that i think as address those concerns while still giving parents access to high performing schools wherever they want them to be. >> prop h is merely a statement of policy. what you think that the actual practical effect if prop h passes? >> honestly, i do not think there's going to be much of a practical effect, because the school board has been very clear, and i am being very clear what the voters now, that this is the direction that we are going. that we have spent a lot of time, a lot of effort, going through data, talking to people, looking at what other district

do, looking at our census data, having demographic projections, and we think, as we monitor the system going forward, that is flexible and we can make changes and respond to trends. but we think we're moving in the right direction. >> even proponents of this ballot measure and said we're going in the right direction. >> thank you so much. we hope this has been informative. for additional affirmation about this or other measures, visit the san francisco league of women voters website. early voting is available at city hall monday through friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. if you do not bode early, be sure to vote on november 8. thank you. ♪

>> welcome to sfvotes 2011. we're bringing you statements by 14 of candidates for mayor of san francisco. >> my name is jeff adachi and i am running for mayor. i've served as elected public defender for nine years. i spent my entire career in social justice, and shrink the civil rights of all san francisco and are enforced and respected. my parents and grandparents were in turned during the war. from their experience came a passion for justice. i spent seven years working to free an innocent man from death row. over the past nine years, i've transformed the public defender's office into one of the best in the nation. i have created rehabilitation, community outreach, and youth programs. these programs have helped

thousands of people lead productive lives. in 2007, my office received a national award from american bar association for best public office. i am an experienced manager. i twice won the top management award in the city. i brought the very best in technology and innovation to my department. i brought my department's budget on target for eight out of nine years. as mayor, i will focus on jobs, housing, education and addressing our fiscal crisis. i will create a program that will provide 1000 micro loans to support small businesses. this will create 7800 jobs and help revitalize our neighborhoods. i will also address the lack of affordable housing for lower and income san francisco families. i will be a mayor who supports public education. i will restore summer school which has been cut two years in a row and will make sure every high-school or who wants a summer job or internship get one.

most importantly, i will address and solve our fiscal crisis. i'm the only candidate to take on a difficult issue of pension reform. i put proposition d on the ballot to protect basic services and rick shut -- read -- repayment the system. this is money they can be reinvested in jobs, protecting services and education. san francisco need a strong, independent leader in these challenging times. i will be a leader that's honest and my decision making and will always insure that the interest of the people come first. i will defend the public from special interest and eliminate inefficiencies, cronyism, and waste we all know exist in city government. above all else, i will be a mayor committed to pursuing the best solutions to our challenges, not the most expedient. revitalizing our city will require strong leadership and a pragmatic vision. with your help, we can tackle

these difficult challenges and do what is best for san francisco. please cast one of your three votes for me and visit my website. thank you. >> election day is november 8th, 2011. that is the last day to vote in person and the last day for receipt of a vote by mail ballots. >> hello. i am michela alioto-pier, former district supervisor and candidate for mayor. my grandfather came to san francisco from sicily. he got his very first job at eight years old lighting street lamps at fisherman's wharf. he eventually bought himself a boat and by the time of the great earthquake in 1906, he had several fishing boats. when the fire began to destroy san francisco, he loaded neighbors on to the bow.

it was on that last boat he was introduced to my grandmother as he led her into the fishing boat for safety. my grandfather met my grandmother, and together, they tried to rebuild a city. san francisco has given my family so much opportunity and i would like to make sure our city continues to be a city of opportunity for everyone. san francisco is a place for history and we honor our past. we have also always looked forward to the future. what was once a gold rush town -- we became a center of finance and business, and when technology became a driving industry in the world, we became a center for people looking to launch new companies and new ideas. as a supervisor, i've focused on a future and saw the need for long-term planning and push for the very first economic plan in san francisco. i developed the biotech payroll

tax exemption which attracted companies to san francisco, creating hundreds of jobs and becoming a template to attract high-tech business right here. for every one ph.d. position, we created six entry-level jobs. i created a film and tv rebate program which put people to work and paid out over $5 million in wages in 2008 and 2010. i worked to save st. luke's hospital in the mission and eliminate hazardous power plants in the bayview. san francisco deserved a mayor forward thinking as our people. we need neighborhood schools, long-term budget solutions and a government that is transparent and responsive. the eyes of the world will be on us for the america's cup. we need to turn that events into

real opportunity by expanding our cruise ship terminals and ensuring the most green america's cup ever and turning it into long-term permanent jobs. that is the kind of mayor i will be. i humbly ask for your vote. thank you. >> the league of women voters and sfgov tv have collaborated to bring in statements from 14 candidates for mayor of san francisco. >> my name is cesar ascarrunz. i'm a businessman in san francisco. i lived here for the last 40 years. through my years, i learned and watched very successful and entertainment business. i went to college and i and hands my education at uc- berkeley. i opened restaurants and nightclubs which have been very

successful. in the '70s, there where crime drives. people used to tell me this guy was going to grow but -- going to grow -- going to go broke in six months. [unintelligible] i am running for mayor because of san francisco is full of corrections. i have to clean all of this mess we have in san francisco because somebody has to take care of business. i am financing my own campaign. i am a capable and successful businessman. i was invited to the white house, president reagan, president bush, president clinton, and i asked the people

why. you are taking everybody and i did that. the solution for san francisco is economics. we have to bring businesses through. right now they are very unfriendly. to get a permit to build a house takes two years. to get a permit to build a house, it takes months and months. in a way, it is ok, but not that long. you go to nevada, you can open a business in two weeks. it's the same country, the same language, that's why i'm running for mayor. the solution for the business in san francisco, the most beautiful city in the world, is nobody through the years will having a business person in this city.

the prior mayor was a professional politician. the prior mayor was a police officer. i'm a professional businessman, successful, which is i know how to make the payroll. thank you very much. think about it. vote for the people you know and don't vote for somebody you don't know. thank you very much. god bless you. >> election day is november 8th, 2011. that is the last day to vote in person and the last day for receipt of the vote by mail ballots. >> hello, i'm a pioneer lesbian playwright. average nine gay-rights comical ethics, anti-semitism, and the eternal pursuit of love. my plays have been translated and performed all over the world. for 35 years, i've immersed

myself in the cultural and political life of san francisco. i was fed green party candidate for 2004 and now i'm running for mayor because i am a passionate citizen and i don't like what's happening to my city. san francisco is in the grip of a democratic party machine, the backroom deals, the corruption has created a government that gives corporations like twitter a tax break while basic services are cut, but another city is possible. a city with transit so great you don't need your car. buses every 10 minutes, truly save by claims all over the city. let's make really magnificent every effort -- every underground station covered with murals and mosaics, every bus shelter a work of art. transit so great you don't want your car. now, only the rich can afford to

live here. but another city is possible. let's declare a moratorium on building houses for the wealthy. we have 24 billionaires'. that's enough. we need housing for poor workers, middle-class families, artists. these people are the backbone and soul of san francisco. they deserve to live here. where will the money come from? a few ideas -- one, a municipal bank of san francisco will get the interest on its own pension funds instead of giving it to bankamerica. second, dumppg &e to have public power. that would give us lower rates. 3, the rich must pay their fair share in taxes. money is being sucked upward as i speak. let's bring it back down. taxes the rich. duh.

in this era of white -- right wing at renters and passes aggressive -- it is time for a woman, it is time for a green, it is time for san francisco to woman up and become the city outsiders already think it is. remember, ranked joyce voting gives you the freedom to vote your heart. if my ideas excite you, make me your number one choice. eight other city is possible. -- another city as possible. >> the league of women voters and sfgovtv has partnered to give you statements from 14 people running for mayor. >> i am david chiu, president of the board of supervisors. my story is not differ from the

hundreds of thousands of san francisco not born here. i was born in cleveland, raised in boston, the son of immigrant parents who sacrificed so my brothers and i could receive a grade education. in my mid-20s, like thousands of san franciscans, i came to our city for the reasons whole world loves us. our diversity, our commitment to social justice. by worked as a civil rights attorney and criminal prosecutor to protect these qualities of our city. i delved into another part of what makes our city special, our innovation, are entrepreneurialism, and i founded and ran a small business for nine years. i decided to run for board of supervisors because for much of last decade, city hall was not as functional as it should be. i am proud that during my three years as president of our board, we are in a different place. our board of supervisors is working together to move our city forward and get things done.

now, i am running for mayor because san francisco needs a new generation of leadership that has a record of results, of the visions for the future and is independent. my record includes performing our budget process and passing tough ethics rules to require transparency by lobbyists. i have helped to create thousands of jobs with the america's cup and help to keep companies like twitter ,zynga and yelp herre. i have helped to build tens of thousands of units of new housing in all parts of the city. my vision for san francisco is to build a 21st century economy, a world-class transportation system, and truly great schools. thanks to hundreds of san franciscans who participated in our community voices meetings, i have the most detailed policy ideas in this race. you can review them by visiting my website. you can see my blueprint for a

21st century san francisco. independence -- while we may not always agree on every decision i have made, you can trust i have made the not based on ideology or special-interest, but based on my independent judgment for what is best for san francisco and. i want to thank you were carrying about the 21st century san francisco. i ask for your support and for one of the three votes you can cast in november. thank you very much. >> election date is november 8th, 2011. that's the last day to vote in person and the last date for receipt of the vote by mail ballots. i am a people's candidate and running a people's power campaign, so we will see if you grab. the issue for me is regime

change. we had a ricoh felony going on in city hall. racketeering, and flows organization, and somebody has to step forward and talk about organized crime. we need to put an end to it, but we will never prosper in san francisco. we have a long way to go. i am running for mayor because of my discussed at the criminal nature of the system going on in city hall. that said, there's four things that need to change. it would be our banks. we need to be able to compete fairly and squarely in the area of finance and financial services. the capturing of the profits from financial-services in

sentences go alone would generate $300 million or $500 million to the city without taxing anybody. we are currently losing this to the banks on wall street. there's no reason to have a system where we do not profit and do not benefit from our commercial activity in san francisco. first, the community bank. if we practice for the presence, we will be able to produce billions of dollars we can use for our own infrastructure projects. this is where we start. easily within five or 10 years, we could have a $50 billion or $100 billion capital base to take care of the infrastructure needs of san francisco, so beyond that, we want to have a community development corporation.

based on this concept, we should be able to improve muni. we need to and the plantation model of housing in san francisco. we need a piece of the pie, not pie in the sky. i would like to use eminent domain to take over the san francisco housing authority. you can see my idea at my website. please join us. thank you. >> the league of women voters and sfgov tv have collaborated to bring statements by 14 candidates for mayor of san francisco. next up, bevan dufty and tony

hall. >> i am on the to be running for mayor of our great city. i served for eight years on the board of supervisors representing district 8, but i was also director of neighborhood services for five and a half years, and i ran the city complete department, and i always said an angry customer was my best asset in helping to see what was working and what was not working in our city. it might be streetcar that did not show up or was 30. it might be a pothole that caused a car to break its axle or a bicyclist to break their elbow or a family struggling to make it in san francisco like my family struggled as i was raised by a single mom growing up in new york city. i think our city could use someone who has run the city's complaint department to be mayor of san francisco because i believe that fixing the big picture is about having the basics work. about you walking out of your home and having that bus be on time and clean and a pleasant ride for you. about not having someone drunk and passed out on the street as

you are trying to walk to school or work or church and about having our parks being open on sundays and being great and successful. i believe as someone who has worked in city government for 18 years that there's no reason city government cannot be as dynamic and effective as any enterprise that we look at in the bay area that is such a hope for big businesses that are innovative and thought leaders, and i believe in the people that work for the city, and i believe i can motivate them and work with them and provide them with the tools to be successful in their jobs so we provide great quality services. i want to bring up an issue, which is a black agenda. i am the candidate that has been talking about the fact that with an african-american population that is down to 6%, with our bayview neighborhoods having been 40% african-american 10 years ago and only 32% now, you do not have to be black to have a black agenda, but our city desperately -- if we believe in the diversity that is one of the qualities that most of us love the most