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. >> ever since i ran a small business in san francisco, i have been a major proponent of reforming the business tax. this is a tax that penalizes the cost of hiring folks and is only paid by want out of 10

companies and san francisco. 90% of our businesses do not pay their fair share. i've also been a sponsor of the vehicle license fee. i was very disappointed when governor brown yesterday decided to veto the legislation that would have given the localities the opportunity to decide whether to get revenue from that source. i've been a big proponent of getting revenue from dark fiber. under the streets of san francisco, we have an infrastructure that we could license to the private sector, that we could control from the public sector. we could stand to bring in millions of revenues from that. i want to expand that. >> one of the major beekeepers and our city through the local economy are the city planning and building inspection departments. i think we can do a much better job of being caught. norris. -- we could do much better job

of being business owners. it is construction jobs, it prevents people from big hired, and would be far more business- like. i want to talk about bridges to biotech and how the city college has the best biotech program in the country. i am so proud of what the country has done to get people jobs paying $25 per hour and changing people's lives. we have to do what san diego did. in our case, it is by attacked, clean technology, and digital media. we have over 200 clean technology companies and i will develop a success plan for every neighborhood commercial district. every neighborhood commercial district need something different, and we will put that together. >> we have the income tax, parcel tax, floor tax, a lot more regulation. do you really want that? are you ready for that? unreal.

i don't think the middle class and san francisco can pay that. i am not sure the rich can pay that. we have to go back to 0-based budgeting. i know that is foreign to everybody appear, but it is worth every penny goes to zero. that is how we increased revenue 40%. it would have to jump-start business by reducing the unnecessary fees, red tape that is precluding and stopping businesses from working in san francisco. is that simple. the revenue will come in. we have to do something like reducing the parking meter rates so local businesses to be patronized. this is not rocket science. if i sit here and tell you i will add another tax, i am just conning you, and i am not about doing this. i have too many years in this business. pinky. -- thank you.

>> i had the good fortune of working with supervisor chu, and he says on the 10% of the businesses pay payroll tax and san francisco. we're the only city and state of california that has peril tax. you'll never wrote attract business when you are taxing the businesses. we need to reform the business tax so it is fair to small, medium, and large businesses and rewards job creation. i think the efforts to fight for vlf, despite what jerry brown has done, it is worthwhile and will have to look at. we also have to look at how we spend. zero-based budgeting? i do it in my office, managing according to my priorities. nonprofits, $600 million per year goes to nonprofits.

some of them are a vital cog in the delivery system, but that does not mean that we cannot be better customers and they need to be more accountable providers. >> in addition to revamping the payroll tax, i think the way that we grow, the way we increase revenue is to really grow the economy. we can do that by supporting the creation of more small businesses. people have a lot of ideas to work ideas in a way in which government to cut red tape. one of my ideas is to make sure we are cutting red tape and linking people with the financial connections they should have to support their development of small businesses. i was happy to see he ceramics takeover of a vacant warehouse. and they will hire local people to create a very vibrant business, selling ceramics and bitter where all over the world. we have the ability to

manufacture san francisco-made products that will not only be sold in the city, they will be sold all over the world because everybody knows that san francisco-made products are world renowned. we just have to support and give a lot more stimulus to our small and medium-size businesses to do that. [applause] >> we will bring in more revenue if we attract and retain more jobs in san francisco. we have lost some of our largest employers who have left because of the employee payroll tax. wish not just reformate for any company that locates on market street. -- we should not just reform it for any company that locates on market street. companies should pay their fair share, but the tax structure needs everybody participating. 25% of the working population

commits out of the city and they are spending their money elsewhere and we need to make sure they can walk to their jobs because they're located in san francisco. we also have to reduce the burden on small businesses. summit people tell me they had a three permits, now have 10, the most expensive are over a thousand dollars. the merchants are the backbones and we are breaking their backs with the amount of performance on top of them. i agree about 0-based budgeting, the denny with a clarity of where we spend money is when we have transparency at city hall. i've requested budgets from every department, even by sunshine request, and have not received one line-item budget from any department. that is not acceptable. [applause] >> we can generate millions by closing loopholes and focusing on departments like myself, the tax collector.

we brought in over $300 million by making the office more efficient, post -- closing loopholes, and make sure everyone paid their fair share. we have to cut the red tape at dbi and planning department pictured stores and businesses open faster. we need to make sure that businesses have a place to go. we should be adding 30 people from many of the other areas of san francisco to make sure they can help small businesses navigate complex bureaucracy in city hall. only then will they feel like they're getting served in san francisco. by creating these jobs, we can grow our budget and revenue and grow our way out of the deficit. >> i have talked about revenue increases, taxes, bonds. a balanced approach also

requires that we look at how efficient use the dollars we have. the budget is now $6.8 billion. you have asked, what the spending the money for? you have to look at how to grow the economy. part of that is to look at what are those industries we do not have that are not mature enough in san francisco. one of the key industries is the biotech industry, the biological medicine and industry, but they are in san mateo. you have to look at, what are those key ingredients as to why companies that ought to be in san francisco are not? having the relationships and having the understanding of the biotech firms will be absolutely critical. having to predictability, dealing with the red tape, dealing with how you provide incentives to bring businesses

in to provide a variety of different skills and workers in san francisco. >> thank you. >> we have a $6.6 billion budget. we need the mayor to make decisions in the best interest of the people. right after the mayor released his proposal, he agreed to a deal with the highest city employees to give them a raise and exempt them from pension contributions that will cost $20 million over the next 10 years. -- $200 million of the next 10 years. we opposed having city employees contribute 1.5% more towards guaranteed pensions. now, this is the reality we are facing at city hall. we have no competitive bidding for garbage. we have a former head of the department of public works who

10 years ago agreed that toa 46% increase when his own staff recommended 20% increase. these are the kinds of decisions being made every day at city hall. what we need to do is say no more and elect a mayor who will make the decisions in the best interests of the people, not special interests. [applause] >> as a member of the board of supervisors, one of the very first things i did it is created san francisco's very first economic plan six years ago. our beautiful city did not have one. but the economic plan did was give us a blueprint for job growth and creation. i also instituted the office of economic impact. before the office of economic impact, we had no economists on staff. as a member of the board of supervisors, you could vote on

legislation not knowing how many jobs were created or lost as a result. today, you cannot vote on something without knowing how many jobs are lost or gained as a result of the legislation. i went on and did the biotech payroll tax exemption. i am glad everyone is talking about their role tax, but the truth is i was the first to do it. i did it six years ago. i proved that we created hundreds of jobs. i did and alignment with school districts, establishing classes, and now we know six years that the kids are taking the position we have created. i also looked at film and television, creating 3000 jobs in two years, $5.5 million of wages, and as we look at the future of san francisco, we should be looking at cruise ships and what the industry can do for the city and county of san francisco. it would be a billion other industry and give us a huge shot in the arm. >> i have to explain, mr. al

avalos had to leave because he has an apartment across town. he apologizes that he cannot stay for closing statements. that leads me to almost the conclusion. i know that it is getting late. first, i want to thank our journalists for their insightful questions and the creed of ways they did that. joyce, rachel, and scott shafer. thank you all very much. [applause] and now we come to the candidates' closing statements. if you have not registered to vote, please do so. we urge everyone to register. it is a right and privilege. the deadline is october 24. if you have moved, you have to register at your new address. we will do these closing statements in reverse alphabetical order, and candidates, each have one minute.

>> thank you for the debate. i appreciate all of your attention and concern. as i said early on, we are in a rather serious crisis in the state of california a, reverberating on the look out government. the realignment of social services, health care services, and public safety. for the first time, realigning public safety in the local government causes tremendous cost pressure of the city and county of san francisco. i'm the only candidate with the kind of experience at the local level and state level to address these problems. i am the only individual who is independent, over 23 years, from power brokers in city hall. i am the only candidate who has published five documents that lay out exactly how i will be held accountable dealing with our environment, children,

education, health care, on and on. in addition, out of those five plants, 130 proposals as to how to fix city hall and san francisco. i urge you to look at that plan. thank you all very much. [applause] >> thank you again to the league of women voters for hosting this great debate. san francisco has some of the smartest politicians in the nation and you have heard a lot of great ideas, but we need to move away from ideas that sound good to implementing ideas that work. it is time to take action and get involved at city hall. we need to build a strong community, support each other, and stay focused to make the city better. we are working to import all of you to participate today. that is why we are holding town halls all over san francisco, to

try to make miscible faster and more reliable. if it does not work, sadly, neither can we. because we have reset the san francisco, with your help, we can grow and work together to make sure our city is faster, better, smarter. i believe our city government can and should be better, but we're really looking forward to what you think, online and in person. this is a city where we have a lot of progress of talks. the most progressive thing we can do today is make government work. thank you. [applause] >> i am not a city hall and cider. i am a proven leader who has firsthand experience at job creation by supporting ideas and turning them into something of value that creates employment. i have proven experience improving public schools, but impressing innovation that supports teachers and improve student outcome. i know

we need to grasp what makes it so great in san francisco is our entrepreneurial spirit. in terms of how we serve people in the community. we need our leadership in city hall to continually strive to improve services and spend less money. and we need to embrace the entrepreneurial talent that starts here in san francisco and let those entrepreneurials know they're important to us and they will stay as we grow in scale. we need a better culture and compassion and empathy where we serve all in our community, not just those with the louded voice and most money and influence. i look forward to getting your support and i hope you join joy anna.com. thank you. >> thank you to the moderators and league of women voters. it's my privilege to be your mayor the last nine months. we have solved very important issues already. it's only through this kind of process

it is only through that kind of process that we get through the very critical issues that face us. if we're not growing jobs and growing our economy, we're going to be in deep trouble. we cannot afford to have a blip right now with so many people needing those jobs. so a simple decision that we made, that we worked hard at, an example like twitter, immediately infuses $95 million into the economy on that one decision. we have many more decisions to come that will continue growing our business is, making sure businesses stay in making sure they create jobs for our local residents. we can do that, and would be privileged to be here later in room 200 to continue the kind of decisions we have made today continued the success we have that in our city, make the city economically strong and investment-friendly. thank you. [applause] >> i want to thank the league of

women voters and all of the co- host's for giving us the opportunity to speak to you tonight. as you recall, in my opening i said that i thought this was a seminal election, the most important mayor's race we have had in 20 years. i believe that. i believe the choices we make in this connection -- this election are not about the next four or eight years but whether san francisco can be a model of what a city needs to be 50 or 75 years from now. i am hopeful that all of you will look at us through a prism. does your candidate have a vision to make sure that san francisco can be that model city, and as he or she have the track record to demonstrate they can use the power of government to get things done and to create opportunity. 14 years is your city attorney on the issues of national significance to marriage equality, choice, shutting down the power plant, making our streets safer, going after fraud, waste, and abuse, i tried to use the power of the law to make a difference in people's lives each and every day. and the leadership that san

francisco has shown on local, state wide, and national issues have been accomplished through the leadership of my office, working in conjunction with a lot of the people of here. i look for to having your support and vote on november 8. thank you very much. [applause] >> there we go. is that on? do not take away my time. no, i am thrilled. i have been a lifelong registered independent. i did not realize everybody was so independent of here. i thought you all were democrats. but now everybody is independent. welcome, gang. i want to thank the league of women voters. you know, san francisco needs serious solutions, needs a mayor who is serious, who has experience and knows that the global problems. if you know my background and you look in my record when i was on the board, you know i accomplished everything i set out to in a four-year time span. we certainly do not need more

political pension ballot measures that merely kick the can is down the road, yet sticky with unfunded billions in debt. that is what you're going to get with these two measures. we do not need a budget that is smoke and mirrors that is not balanced. this current budget is only ballots sunday paying a sales tax and on state and federal moneys that are coming in and the dollar sign240 million bond for something you have already paid for 10 times over. if you're ready for an independent working mayor that is not and venting his career to hire jobs, some and that tells it as it is, that i want to be that mayor for you in my vision and my goal is to return this city to its rightful destiny as one of the greatest cities in the world. i am ready. join me. >> thank you, sir. [applause] >> thank you. i talked about being an outcome may year. one of the things we do not talk about the forums is the job of the mayor to lead t