>> thank you, for that wonderful introduction, this is exciting for me as david indicated both my daughters are graduate of lowell high school. [ applause ] so i know how your parents feel. i am excited today the last time i was at a high school commencement was for my daughters. i want to say that this is

exciting for me because as i was listening to darle and the other speakers that had a moment to reflect on my high school years and i will talk for a few moments about that. those exciting days. but i did want to say that i was walking over here with my director of employment and workforce opportunities and i took a deep breath and said todd you have to find 613 more jobs. and that is what we do in san francisco. we look for jobs for you and we make sure. this city is successful so that when you come back to your studies you are ready to go. >> the principal, and thank you so much for inviting me, and the faculty, and the staff, and the administrators, school board members, and of course, the students, families and friends. >> i would like to begin my

remarks by sending my sincerist condolences to the family of (inaudible) chan was happened was a terrible waste and calls us to action to do better and we will do better. we will make that street safe for everybody. >> and i know that (inaudible) was a beloved member of your community and was in our thoughts today even as we celebrate your achievements. and i would also like to take the opportunity to recognize five phenomenal lowell high school staff members who are retiring today. they have helped shape your high school careers. dr. ray hill, lowell science teacher for 17 years,

congratulations dr. hill. tony, mona, math teacher for 41 years. >> wow. >> i have to say tony that i love my math teacher. vanessa guest, an english teacher for 13 years. cynthia mitchell, secretary for 39 years. thank you. >> and finally someone who has kept you safe on the campus, ron hodges, security, 41 years. thank you all for your dedication and your commitment to the youth at lowell high school and to our great city and now, good evening, for lowell high school graduates class of 2013, go red and white.

[ applause ] [ cheers ] >> i got my red on today. and with 613 students graduating today, i would like to say congratulations to all of you, you truly represent the incredible promise that our great city of san francisco is. thank you david, for your very kind introduction, as one of lowell's student leaders you must be very proud to be standing here in front of your class who will be graduating with you, thank you for being a great example to your fellow classmates and to our city's youth and i hope that kayla your senior class president and david your student body president as well as the entire lowell graduating class of 2013 become the great community and civic leaders of san francisco future. because of being your mayor, i think that the people of the

city every day for the opportunity to serve san francisco. it is a privilege to wake up each morning and to work for you, a people the our city and to do everything that i can to help all of us be successful. and as your graduation day is a day when you set off on a path to success you will use what you learned at lowell to tackle the great challenges next in your life, to make the differences in your world and the impact in the lives of your peers, family, your friends, and your community. looking back at my graduation day in high school, i remember feeling excited, scared, nervous, and inspired to make a difference in the world and just like you my journey started on this very important day, graduation day. and you know, each of our lives

brings different challenges and each of you will have your own individual challenges. for me, i lost my father, when i was a sophomore in high school, so i knew that my days ahead were not going to be very easy. in fact, i made up my mind as a graduate of public high school, that i was pretty much going to go it alone even though my dad was a cook and my mom was a seamstress and she had five other kids to take care of and i did not want to be a burden. so, i was going to do what i think all of you are trained to do at lowell high school i was going to work my rear off to make sure that i could prove myself. and if i did it on my own, more pride to be taken. as a graduating senior, i had a vision to make this world better, a better place for my

family as well as my community. after graduate froming public high school in seattle i went to a small liberal arts college in the state of maine, i went from seattle to maine. i had to sees the opportunity even if it meant moving away from friends and family and moving away from what i was familiar with to take on new challenges looking back at those years i made the right move because the learned the east coast, i learned now where my daughters are at so i could tell them what they were about to face, and i know that this country is tied much more than just land. going from east coast you get a lot of experiences, after four and a half years i had enough

of the east coast and i moved back to the west coast here to get a law degree at uc berkeley and i knew that san francisco would be become my new home. as some of you may know my background is as a civil rights lawyer working right here in san francisco. back then, a generation set out to make sure that we all recognized our greatest asset as a nation, our diversity. and together, in those years, we locked arms and stood in a doorway of the international hotel. to prevent the wrongful eviction of senior chinese and filipino immigrants who had no money and no place to go. [ applause ] and today san francisco has some of the best tenant protections. we sued the san francisco fire

department, to get women and people of color a chance to be a firefighter, to serve, the public of san francisco. and to dedicate their lives to public safety, today we have a city's first female fire chief and our public safety agencies are more diverse than ever, and just as proud and good as any other generation that this city has ever seen. i joined with others there that were just as dedicated and committed as i was to make a difference for the residents of san francisco. together, we helped to make san francisco a different place, one that embraces and celebrates diversity. and today, san francisco is one of the most diverse cities and one of the most diverse regions. in fact, in the world's most diverse democracy. i never thought that i would

ever in my lifetime see an african american as president of the united states and i never imagined that san francisco would have an asian american mayor. [ applause ] so as mayor, one of my many goals during my term in office is to empower all of the residents and make our city even more responsive, efficient and accountable to the voice of all the diverse communities. i gather the importance of the ties in the need of our community and every day i am trying to make san francisco a place where everyone succeeds, a city for the 100 percent. i am honored to be working for the community, and fighting for the community, and trying to help the community and our city be a better place for everyone to live, work, visit, and do

business. today, san francisco's economy is recovering. our unemployment rate has dropped from 9.6 percent when i first came into office in 2011, to an astonishing 5.4 percent today. [ applause ] we put san franciscans back to work and gave them back the dignity of a paycheck so that they could support their families. but it is still not good enough. and i will remain focused on making sure that no one is left behind. that is why we created programs like tech sf to insure that our long term unploid and youth have access to education, training, and job placement assistance. we have already trained and packed scores of people in technology jobs and the first graduation is this june. last summer, i proudly joined mayor pelosi to take up

president obama's challenge of taking up summer jobs for activities for at risk youth and we surpassed our own goal, we got 5,201 summer jobs for kids last summer. the summer jobs plus program and now thanks to another great partnership with the united way this summer. we are working even harder to make sure that we find the paid job opportunities for 6,000 youth in our city. yes, we want to insure that all of you have opportunities and skills needed to compete in the 21st century economy and workforce. that is why with the shared goals with the superintendents of our school and boards and we continue to make it the expectation >> and with the kindergarten to college program we are able to establish a college savings

account for every kindergarten student, can you believe that? as a city? yes. >> and we are working to insure that every student especially students of our middle schools have the resources and opportunities to graduate ready for college. and since day one i have been committed to our cities' family and our children and our youth and i will remain committed because i see education and training not as an expense, but as an investment. my wife, anita and i have been parents to both of our daughters so i know first hand what it is like to be a parent here in san francisco. and i want to thank you all parents to being here. because they could not have done it without you. i know that. and what sacrifices your parents made, i know that. because they are investing in you as part of our future and helping you pursue your dreams.

we all want you to succeed. because as all of you embark on the next leg of your journey, i want you to remember to come back to san francisco. i want you to come back, i want you to work here, the innovation, capitol of the world. i want you to come back and i want you to raise your families here and i want you to buy a house and maybe a couple send your own kids to public school right here in san francisco. i want you to come back and be the next generation of leaders like the great that have help to build san francisco like the houses and the fishers and so many more that fight for the community and build the strong neighborhoods and yes these names you know because they were in your shoes, they were also graduates of lowell high school. [ applause ] >> san francisco is the greatest city in the world, i

know it. i know it. and wherever you go, we will get to brag about that because we are and we know this. and they love the city, and we love the city. so when you succeed whether you become the next fortune ceo or a noble prize winner or a supreme court justice, remember to make your community and your city a better place for all. i leave you with this advice as you begin your new journey, my vision began when i was graduating high school senior. and now, it is your turn to make your vision a reality. make an impact on the future, and make your community and this world a better place. be bold, and to quote one of my favorite movies, boldly go where no one has gone before. congratulations class of 2013, go out there and change the

world. thank you. [ applause ]

>> good morning. thank you for joining me here at the board chambers, and thank you to board president david chiu, budget chair mark farrell, members of the board of supervisors, our elected officials, our commissioners, and our department heads. and welcome, members of the public who joined us this morning. this year's budget reflects a lot of hard work between city government and the people that we serve. we've met in every district of the city. we've worked with our elected city family. we listened to hundreds of

community leaders and providers who help us deliver services to the people of san francisco. and it's because of this consensus approach that i'm proud to propose a responsible and balanced two-year budget that reflects the core values that we share in san francisco, values of fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, and investing in our city's future. when we began this year's budget, we began like many years before, trying to reduce significant budget deficits. but because we have pursued policies to control costs, grow our economy, create jobs and stabilize our fiscal health, this year i'm proposing a budget that protects our social safety net, one that increases public safety, and one that invests in our city's infrastructure at unprecedented levels. and it is a budget that significantly grows our city's reserve