the precious money. i know that rings well with our board president chiu adjuster arrived. he knows this is a precious moment. we worked on the first effort that did not succeed. it hurts when we cannot get that stuff done. we will adhere to the rigors of our 10-year capital plan brian knows how hard it is to get all of the department's and agencies together to understand what we're doing with the 10-year capital plan. there are a lot of elements. as mayor, i want you to know that this is my new desk. it is global. it will be the kind of desk that i like working at. this is the one that will get things done. it is one that you can ride a bicycle around. it is kind of a public works type looking desk.

it will evidence as we go around all these projects that the $240 million will pay for, and as we work on long-term infrastructure funding that does not increase property taxes but honors what people pay through their taxes to get stuff done in the city. i am looking forward to working on this desk for many years to come. thank you very much. [applause] >> next, i would like to introduce the supervisor who was a strong supporter of the bond. he led the charge and built many bridges. he brought many community groups together. he was there working hard with us. it is only appropriate that we launched this bond program in his district, supervisors got leaner -- supervisors go scott

wiener. >> i want to welcome you to the oldest neighborhood in san francisco. i am proud to represent it. it is about to get new road surfacing. i am very excited about that. 17th street is a major thoroughfare for cars and bikes connecting the castro close to san francisco general hospital. it is a very appropriate place to start. when we went in to the campaign , i was proud to work with a great team to pass it. there were a lot of people who said to me to go for it but it will never pass in 100 years. sometimes we failed to get it on

the ballot. in 25 years, two different bonds have failed. that is not just in san francisco but throughout the bay area. it has been a very hard thing to do a hard sell. the people of san francisco understand that we as the country have failed in maintaining our infrastructure and investing in that. we see the consequences of that with bridges and public transportation and roads. people are beginning to understand that we have to invest in our infrastructure. our roads and sidewalks are a key part of that. i am so proud of the people of san francisco for understanding that and giving us the 2/3 that we needed. my counterparts around the bay area and elected officials from other areas of the county, their jaws dropped because they have never been able to do it. it is a great thing for san francisco. we will make significant

improvement to our infrastructure. the day after the election, he should have been lounging in the wadi, -- in hawaii, but he called me into his office to get to work right away. it has been amazing the team effort to move this forward and get it implemented quickly. mayer, president, thank you. thank you to everyone who has made this a reality. i look forward to making our infrastructure even better. [applause] >> another big hand for scott, who worked tirelessly to make sure that this happened. [applause] the next person i am going to introduce is a member of the planning committee and is responsible for implementing and developing the 10-year capital plan, a supervisor and or president david -- and board president david chiu. >> it is great to be here.

this is a wonderful celebration. i am sorry i am late. i spent this morning going through four different districts. i experienced many of the pot holes in those districts. this is wonderful. it has been a long road. many years of wanting to get this measure done. in 2009, mayor newsom and i proposed this out of the work of capital planning. we did not have enough support. we knew where one might region were not able to pass it during the recession in 2009. we knew we were not able to pass it in 2009 because of the recession. mayor lee and i were a bit distracted last year. i want to thank supervisor w iener for stepping up and doing the work to get the bond measure passed. it is not easy. i want to thank him for the fund-raising work he did, for being such an able spokesperson all over the city to explain why

we need to do this. we all know that in addition to the bond, your elected officials as well as everyone who's part of the capital planning committee and city leadership, we know we need to find an ongoing source to make sure the money we get is going to be a down payment on keeping our roads paved and working over the next decades of our city. we're all committed to that. the excitement of being able to attack the 800 miles of streets, the 300 building structures, the ability to make our roads safer for our seniors, the disabled, kids, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, i could not be more pleased. i look forward to signing this of the mayor's new desk and look forward to working with you as we see improvements in every single district and neighborhood of the city. thank you very much. [applause]

>> part of the program is dedicated to improvements that will bring benefits to the many muni riders. a key part of that is the mta. during his tenure, the bond was brought to life and successfully passed. it is my pleasure to welcome the director of the mta and former director of dpw. >> it is like the former director gathering. [laughter] having spent four years doing right of way infrastructure work in san francisco, it is not sexy, it is critically important to the economy and quality of life for those of us in san francisco. this bond will make it easier and safer for people to get

around san francisco on foot by improving sidewalks, intersections, better striping, countdown signals it will make it easier and safer for people to get around on bicycles by improving and adding more bicycle lanes, making them safer, separating them from traffic wherever we can. it will make it easier and more efficient to get around on transit because we will be improving our traffic signal controllers so the traffic signals talk to the others so that the buses move faster. this will be helping -- happening on the smoother pavement that these dollars will bring to san francisco. it is an important investment in infrastructure. you put those things together making it easier and more attractive to walk, bike, and take transit.

that is how we meet the goals set back in 1973. it is only with this kind of investment that we can become the transit first city we all want to be. i want to thank the leadership standing behind me, particularly a supervisor wiener, without whom the spawned would not have passed. i want to thank some people who worked hard behind-the-scenes to do the legwork, analytical work, the packaging of this. i want to acknowledge douglas legg, gloria chan, and others from dpw. we stand ready to work with dpw, stakeholders, and the public. we're ready to go to work to invest for san francisco and create jobs. thank you very much. [applause]

>> power agency also works very closely with the san francisco -- in our agency also worked very closely with others to address pot holes and provide smooth rides for bicyclists. we depend on the bicycle coalition and its members to give us information, assessments, and conditions of the streets. i would like to introduce the executive director to say a few words. [applause] >> you know we will tell you what we think. we will keep on that. i want to thank the political leadership behind me and the amazing leadership of the family around me. we're so proud to be part of the bond passing. i bike regularly on 17th street. this is a very welcome news of the bond funds to repay the 17th street. it is a great example of how far

our money can go. these planes were strike less than a year ago. we have seen noticeable increases in the number of people biking on the street. this has happened throughout the city. every time we have dedicated space to biking, we see increases in the number of people biking. we will see the same kind of improvements and changes in safety when our roads are paved and smooth. it could not matter more to someone on a bicycle. the numbers of people boking in san francisco -- the numbers of people biking in san francisco are skyrocketing. that is good for our environment, public health, and quality of life. it is also good for our local economy. more people biking and walking means more people visiting our commercial corridors, shopping, eating, in the local economy.

that is for all the neighborhoods in our city. there is a great new study by -- i have to get the name right and give them credit. the political economy research institute in baltimore. the new study shows infrastructure projects around biking and pedestrian projects create more jobs than traditional road projects. on average, the projects create 11 to 14 jobs per $1 million spent. traditional road infrastructure projects create on average seven jobs per $1 million spent. we are really proud of that. we want to make sure we're pumping more money into our local economy with more jobs, more people biking, and frequenting our commercial corridors. we look forward to repaving 17th street and many more. [applause]

>> one more important partner. we've touched on improvement for drivers, transit riders, and bicyclist. this bond will also repair sidewalks all over the city. what san francisco is premier pedestrian advocacy organization. i would like to introduce the executive director. [applause] >> walk s.f. is eager to see new investment in wider sidewalks and smarter street design throughout the city. in san francisco, even though we all walk, we still see 800 people here get hit by cars. that is too much. thanks to the mayor's pedestrian safety task force, we know that only 7% of our streets are where

over half of all of the serious and fatal injuries occur. that means we know where to focus our resources to save lives. smart investment will pay off for everyone in the city because more walkable streets means more foot traffic. that is better for local businesses. that means safer streets for kids to walk to schools, families to walk to parks, and for everyone to enjoy lives, works, and visits san francisco. thank you. [applause] >> i will now turn it over to mayor lee. i will ask all of us to gather around as he signs the legislation at his ne

>> today is 2/3. one there. i only have one of these pens. if i had more, everybody behind me would get one. they're valuable things. otherwise, the tallest person. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you very much. >> let's get to work.

>> i would like to call to order the november 9, 2009 meeting. will the clerk please call the roll? >> commissioner alexander. >> here. >> the vice chair.

commissioner gonzales is absent. commissioner hill. >> here. >> commissioner mccarthy. >> present. >> commissioner perez is excused. >> thank you. good evening. i am the chair of the immigrant rights commission. on behalf of the immigrant rights commission, i would like to welcome everyone to this symposium. four members of the public, the immigrant rights commission represents the voices of the san francisco immigrant communities. we are responsible for advising

the mayor and the board of supervisors on any matters related to the well-being and concerns. the commission meets regularly on the second monday of every month beginning at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. in april of 2009, we have the joint hearing with the human rights commission to listen to the first 10 testimonies from san francisco residents. the purpose of tonight symposium is for the commission and for the rest of the city family to hear from national experts on comprehensive immigration reform, and to obtain guidance on how local governments, commissions, and community organizations can weigh in on the comprehensive immigration reform debate.

tonight's information will be used to guide the commission's work and to help shape our recommendations on behalf of the city immigrant community. i would like to introduce our presenters for tonight's symposium. the office of assembly man is here. thank you. the northern california chapter of the immigrants lawyers association. the commission would also like to thank our symposium partners. the asian american justice center from washington, d.c. the center for state and local government law. the chief justice earl warren

institute. the consulate general of mexico. the quality federation. -- equality federation. the national center for lesbian rights. san francisco chamber of commerce. the san francisco department of children, youth, and their families. san francisco department on the status of women. san francisco zero divided foundation. we would like to thank the city department heads that are here. the department of status of women. the human rights commission, and our own director, the office of

civic engagement and immigrant affairs. you have an opportunity later in the meeting for public comment. please indicate if you would like to speak or write down your questions and return the cards to staff members. i would like to introduce an outstanding leader who has worked hard to bring the diverse segments of the san francisco community together to reach a common ground. since coming into office in january of 2009, he has brought thoughtful leadership to our city. we're pleased to welcome the president of the san francisco board of supervisors. thank you. [applause] >> good evening. i am pleased to be with all of you today. i want to think the immigrant

rights commission and all of the many partners here to talk about a very important topic. 13 years ago, i lived in washington, d.c.. i worked for the senate judiciary committee during the last debate about immigration reform won the 1996 piece of legislation that we will hopefully overturned was passed. it was a fairly dark time in washington, d.c. the republicans controlled washington at that time. at least on the senate and house side. there are many things that immigration advocates were not able to get done. i moved here for many of the reasons that i think we're all here in san francisco. we're a city of compehensive immigration refoimmigrants. we know that san francisco was built on the backs of immigrant labor. we also know that for the past

10 years on so, it has been fairly dark nationwide for our immigrant community. we've had a new record number of rates belief had a tremendous backlog of applications of legal immigrants that are trying to become citizens. there have been countless stories of constitutional and civil rights violated of many of our family members and friends. i used to be an immigrant rights attorney. i can tell you firsthand that i would visit the ins detention center and see individuals who had been beaten by ice agents. this conversation cannot be more timely and more important with the new administration and a new recognition and importance of building an immigrants rights

movement. hopefully we will soon get healthcare reform behind us. hopefully the next question that our nation grapples with is how do we tell you the constitutional and civil rights that all individuals must have. hopefully we will be able to some they put as an outdated statement the fact that there is some consideration to the concept that certain human beings are illegal. on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, i want to welcome you for taking part in this important conversation. obviously, the next person i would like to introduce is someone who has been a tremendous champion for many segments of our society, especially individuals and communities that have been marginalized.

he has been fighting for immigrants for your entire life. certainly at every step during his political career. we have had a really empowered immigrants rights movement here. we are trying to extend that statewide. tom has been trying to put out the message that as we can do here in san francisco, living among tolerance, we can hopefully do around the country. i apologize. i need to leave. i have to go to another commission to talk about some legislation. i know you are in very able hands with him. [applause] >> good evening. thank you very much. it's an honor to be here. i want to commence the commission.

i always championed the commission when i was on the board of supervisors. i remember when and this applingus applied. when you climb that ladder, it's important not to pull the lever up after you so the next person will not make up. was that close enough? it is very irish. politics and mighpoetry, my favorite. it is not the melting pot in the cliche way, the san francisco public schools, but it presents you with many opportunities to see what newcomers bring, to see the challenges they face. the institutions are not user friendly. i remember a principal not wanting to provide free breakfast to any kid that was undocumented. i remember we got notes from the principle that saidthis

would be spoken on the play yard -- said that no spanish would be spoken on the play yard. i turned to the community. the school district was not responding at that time. they got a moratorium on iq testing because it was so culturally biased. i think one of the questions was they showed a toboggan and asked what was a toboggan. if you did not have snow or a certain privileges in your live, you did not know what a toboggan is. we have come a long way, but we still have contradictions. we get attacked for the

sanctuary city. the id cards in san francisco and connecticut are very, very good. this is an issue that most elected do not want to deal with. in sacramento, it is not a user- friendly situation. people acknowledged that something has to be done, but then they run away from the. commissions such as this, cities such as san francisco, and basically the reality. sometimes i make a joke about immigration. we are here already. we are not going to go away. if you're worried that we have h1n1, then give us health care. i went to washington and ask what is going to happen with health care reform? you have to think of ways.

you have to give us more funding for community clinics so people will not be worried about getting deported and not be worried about getting health care. and not be worried about somehow being identified as a criminal. we have a lot of responsibility to all our brothers and sisters who made this country great. we cannot be intimidated. we are a productive people. i walked on the picket line the other day. almost everyone there had a different background. their children are here. yet they are still quibbling over whether or not they can get health care, and who cleans their toilets, and who makes their bets. there's a lot of class issues within the immigrant community.