months, they will offend again. because of the recidivism rate being a 65% right now, and 78% in the state, we need to better be able to answer this core question ourselves. it would be nice that if in the unused space, we would use of the land to st. -- delancy street model. it would remain with vertical attention accountability so that those getting the attention are not treated to an hmo-like suggestion by the time that they get out and the people who are being treated inmates are not really clear who is they are dealing with. those are possibilities here. those possibilities are made because inside the system, something beautiful was started.

the first charter high school in the united states was created by sheriff mike hennessy with the support of our teachers in united educators and others, who took a chance on the idea that no other county or jurisdiction in the state of california took a chance on. in the notion that using that time in a way that is constructive, building that confidence in skilled value so that by the time that you leave you are able to reintegrate into something better. i will, through the transition team of working groups, work together in expanding the charter so that we realize the value of turning the vocation into the inside of the jail system so that those, believe it or not, where we would like to see more vocational programs and

up affinities, that while those opportunities may not be present, we will work for them as a way to help expand on their custody, being exactly what we will do. on immigration itself, the fact is that i could not be more proud of the sheriff for demonstrating the sensible response to what i thought was a very reckless program by secure communities in an effort to deport without questions asked. his administration, speaking to what became a harbinger for many others like him in the united states, to question, quite legitimately, where the federal government is going. san francisco is a sensitive and caring place for its immigrant population. we believe in due process.

we believe that there are values that need to be held within the criminal justice system backup be deviated. sometimes the local, state, or federal government does not line up in their thinking, which is why we must continue to proffers our point of view in the most pragmatic way possible. so that people understand that we want to be sensitive and good caretakers for the people here in san francisco that cross over into the criminal justice system. [applause] there is no question that over the last several years, with the implosion of the national economy and the gasps of all of us in these high incidence of eviction for foreclosure, that there seems to be a real wrestling of what it is that we in san francisco can do.

unfortunately, we are somewhat incapacitated by the empowering of addressing those that need help. by court order, the sheriff is responsible for facilitating evictions, even if it seems wrong in the heart and mind. when i saw that there were sheriffs in the united states that resisted and denied evictions, i called them up. i spoke to their offices and other sheriff's and tried to understand -- are these ceramics coming from a place that i believe can be sustained? you know what? 100% of them told me that while that was the right instincts, it was not a sustainable action because of the absence of law that does not support the share of stability in order to protect those that they would also like to protect. it is not any different in san

francisco. it is incumbent upon us to bring together those that know best in how we can speak our minds and demonstrate, with the level of 42 that we can realistically do. i am not into hollow relicts. i have been told by people that it may be a good idea of for us to just clearly evict. yet, when i remember the sheriff, who is a friend of mine -- sheriff [unintelligible] , telling me about the days that he had resisted, having to follow orders several days later. painting the picture of what we were up against. the law had not reform since then. it is important that we

continue to recognize the value of the sworn staff in the sheriff's department. we have a great deal to be proud of. i know that the police department is the primary responder in public safety. approximately 850 men and women who have served with distinction their sworn personnel. many i had meant in my days at the police academy. many had believed had certainly served with great honor on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, been eager and willing to help the police department in any way possible to augment medes and assist with needs in a primary public safety way. in something that is very basic and has not been continued, i would like to see -- and i have met with the mayor and the chief about this very idea, the return

of station transfer units. this means that the 10 different district transfer stations where the police department apprehends and arrests someone, they are the ones responsible for the detention and booking of those party the other prisoners. this is an immensely time consuming effort. let us do it. we could be the one that saves the people lot of money and time, helping to alleviate the police department from having to perform this function. sheriff's do not get paid the exact same as the police department. i know that that is another issue and we will do what we can to support the need for fair and just compensation. at the same time, recognizing that the city must -- that there is an under-utilized asset in

the department, transporting prisoners, or perhaps when there is a deficit in responding to control functions where people need help. especially as we grow out the island. let it be known that these discussions should not be off of the table, but on the table, so that we can discuss what it means to enhance our response to the objections in public safety. i am pleased to see that there were members in education, and so many educators here today. i want you to know that it is daunting that 55,000 people entered the san francisco county jail system every year. a number that almost merits the exact number of students in the san francisco public school.

it sends the exact signal of what we must do through the educated community, working together to make sure that young people -- we are beginning to see a growing class of young people that would keep their offender rates in a way that we should take notice. take notice. this is hard when you see headline news that crime is down. bowels people, i think, into a false sense of security. -- that lulls people, i think come into a false sense of security. keeping the issue of high recidivism rates, keeping the issue of causes that continue to fuel but predicted the reality is not something we will ever let off the radar, and something we will continue to make sure is on the minds of elected officials and the people of san francisco. the job of sharing it is not to

lock up people and throw away the key. mike hennessy and his an administration demonstrated that quite soundly. the effects not helping people return to the community from which they come from shall continue to prove that finding a job in community is adding a sense that time our reserves. san franciscans are proud people. it has been a bellwether for some and a watershed causes and reforms. i have grown up with many songs that proudly remind me of walt -- why i love san francisco. flowers in your hair, and certainly i love that song -- i played all the time for my son. of course turning back to the movie and musical of san francisco, clark gable film of

the 1930's and the song san francisco reminds me of the purpose of the song, open your golden gate, let your stranger wait outside your door. this continues to speak to the lessons of who we are today. a city that lets no stranger wait outside the door. we must know what it means to receive them by the time they come out of the criminal justice system, and not treated as if it is a problem in visitation valley, a single site, a sunnyvale, bayview come up mission, so much fomma or any or neighborhood that continues to be routine neighborhoods that

are the ones assigned in shouldering this particular problem. the fact is a lot has been done to address these inequities of programming and sell it -- service deliveries, but we a lot more to do. that is why i believe we need to respond to the san francisco song of not forget anybody. it is with that that i arrived at this particular place but i want to thank everyone for being so patient and so poor -- so supportive to me and my family. [applause] in being so present in our need to venture on that with great humility i want to say how much i really, really am honored to be here in front of you. i want you to know we worked

very hard to get here, and over the last few weeks, and in particular the last few days, there are tests built into these experiences. i want to guarantee you i will be a better share up for it. -- sheriff for it. [applause] so i would like to introduce to rev. dr. mcrae who will give the

benediction, and afterwards i think we should go party of stairs in the green room. [applause] >> san francisco, san francisco, we have gathered in factihtiaith and in hope that te righteous is better than the evil in the world. we have gathered with the ace and with hope, trusting that are best instincts for the city and county of san francisco and future leadership in the elected of ross mirkarimi 4 share ofor will find the peace and prosperity that the creator intends for all of our good

works. join me in stretching out your hand and karrer, meditation, contemplation and whatever way you do it york tradition and asked that the creator with less of san francisco, the sheriff's department, and the administration and family of ross mirkarimi. [applause] now as the journey continues, and by tradition we are taught to bless that journey in a particular way. and made the lord bless you and keep you, may the lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. may the lord lift up his confidence up on you and give you and yours peace. amen. [applause]

>> good afternoon. are you ready to go? i am the transportation director for san francisco. we have a little feedback. a little high? back off a little bit? thank you all for coming out today. we're here to talk about the intersection of two things in san francisco at a very important. one is partnering and the other

-- one is parking in the other is technology. parking is important in san francisco. there is a lot of competition for the public rights of way. parking is something that people in san francisco care about. it is something that we at the sfmta have to manage to make it work, to enable transit to flow in keeping with the city transit first policy. parking is important. to manage it, we create rules and regulations. a lot of people may not like them, but it is what we need to do to make parking and transit work. the purpose of the rules and regulations are not to get people caught up in them, but to make transit work and make transportation work in san francisco.

that leads us to technology. technology is important because it helps us to be able to do things more efficiently and effectively. most san franciscans like and have technology. we are bringing technology to where people are. most people have cell phones come smartphones. we are adopting our systems to work with what people have in their day-to-day lives. i am joined by a great group of people behind me. they will talk about an exciting initiative we are launching today that will be one of the most significant things to hit parking in san francisco in generations. i am honored to have a man for whom this technology is not very important. that is our majoyor ed lee.

the reason it is not important is because someone else has to worry about parking, it is because of something i learned about him a couple of months ago. it did not come out in the campaign or media. it turns out that ed lee has parking karma. he does not need it. but for the rest of us who do not have parking karma, we're here to talk about something that is really exciting for san francisco. without further ado, our mayor, ed lee. [applause] >> i never thought we would give the parking meters so much attention in this city. i want to thank ed for his leadership at sfmta, the leadership of the board, supervisors got leaner -- scott

wiener. this is a great launch for the pay by phone program we are announcing today. earlier this year, i have the privilege of announcing sf park. there was a great deal of interest. we rolled that out to the delight of many people who started using that application to lessen the congestion when they were looking for parking. we are starting today in our castor district to want the pay by phone program that will allow you to use your smartphone and be able to pay a parking meter. then you have an electronic reminders sent to your cell phone while you are eating or shopping to remind you that the parking meter needs to be

replenished so you do not suffer the consequences of a ticket. it is not to say we are decreasing revenue for muni, but ed and the board have decided these are conveniences' the public need to have to allow the traffic congestion to be lessened and make its smarter the way we do things. i get to announce with our partner here today with the pay by phone application and suggest to the rest of the conference of mayors that we are an even cooler city. we are one of the first in the country to do this. we think it will work and will be very exciting.

who would not want to have this at their fingers and prevent a parking ticket? we can also use technology and blended the right way. i am excited we're doing this. these are the updated meters we have been able to install on 18th and 19th. we will begin right here. we will roll it out to areas across the city including glen park, the sunset-richmond, downtown, and all the sf park areas we have been announcing. we have to change out the old leaders quickly. we have to get the smart meter technology available. the application will be available today on these streets. you will be able to see it in action. it is exciting.

it is one of the things i promised that we will be able to introduce the use of technology and make it easy and family for everybody. for our shoppers to come here during the holidays for the castro area, they will be able to see it and experiment with it right away. the pay by phone launch is here. it is a great and cool thing to use. we will be able to use its soon all over the city. thank you to our partners in the technology world for our pay by phone technology, to our board, and our supervisor for allowing us to introduce it right here. we will see a lot of shopping and convenience, a lot of applications where there are no tickets. that can be prevented by doing this. thank you very much. [applause] >> the mayor mentioned the castro. part of managing parking is

making it work for neighborhoods and commercial districts to keep the turnover moving, to make it convenient. if you are sitting in a restaurant or shopping, you do not have to run out. it is important to neighborhood businesses and residents. this neighborhood is lucky to be represented by supervisor wiener who has been a strong advocate for smart transportation policy. he also is one of our representatives on the metropolitan transportation commission. he is doing great things for san francisco in terms of transportation. we're happy and grateful to him for hosting us today. supervisors go scott wiener. [applause] >> not for tall people.

thank you. one of our goals in having smart parking policies is to make it as easy as possible for people to pay for the street parking. i think we have seen that when we make it easy for people to pay, the number of parking tickets goes down and revenue goes up. that is how it should be. people paying for parking and not being penalized and coming away with a terrible feeling. we're lucky in this area. this is one of the areas to get credit card meters first. we're thrilled that the castro is the first neighborhood to get paid by phone. we are really doing innovative work that will be a model for other cities and counties in the area and across the country. i am thrilled that we're doing this. thank you very much. [applause]

>> the voters in 1999 created the mta and established a board to create policies such as this. to put policies in place like sf park better groundbreaking, we now have new york city following our lead in terms of some of the technology we're doing. it is ground-breaking and bold step for the m -- stuff for the mta. that leadership is exemplified by the chairman of the board, mr. tom nolan. >> thank you and good morning. the board has been looking for ways to be as creative as possible in using technology to assist our customers. we think the flexibility and convenience are really important.

they are putting these stickers on their. it does not cost the mta anything for this program. that is really exciting for us. so many things cost money. as an occasional driver, and one feature on this is that when parking is about to expire, there is a five-minute notice. we send a text message. i think people will really appreciate that. this is another step forward by the sf mta. we look forward to seeing the results very soon, starting here. there will be 30,000 in san francisco eventually. now the largest city to do this anywhere in the world. thank you. [applause] bu>> with leadership like a scene from the three gentlemen behind me, they have set a clear course and strong direction for us. there are a number of folks within the mta that will

execute. i want to acknowledge a few of the folks at the mta that have gotten us to this point were driving the program forward. jay is the project manager for sf park. he has been a great leader setting the model. steven lee, lisa foster. george reynolds and the neter -- meters shop putting it todd monology -- putting the technology on the street. i went to acknowledge all the great staff behind the effort. it is city staff partnering with the private sector. the mayor has been strong in pushing technology and partnership with the private sector. we have a great private-sector partner here who has done the work elsewhere in the country and the