district and are you happy with what the police department is doing and how the city is dealing with crime? >> well, fortunately because of the new academy classes, we actually got a number of additional off certificates in district 5. that has definitely had -- it's had a big impact on the district. i mean, we are way past the point of what we used to be, and that is a place where homicides were happening regularly, sometimes daily, sometimes weekly. and sadly, we've lost a lot of young people not only to that sort of violence, but to the criminal justice system. and it's a different district. now we're dealing with iphone thefts and other quality of life issues, home invasions and things like that. and i think with the additional police officers and also the foot patrols and some of the things that seem to be happening, especially in the

high-crime areas like the lower haight, it's really changed things. it's more of a deterrent when you see police officers walking around, engaged with residents, engaged with business owners. it really helps to change the environment overall. so, yes, we do have issues of crime just like any part -- any other part of the city. i'm just really happy that it's not what it used to be and i think it's a manageable thing. and we just have to deal with it more and add some more academy classes, but also look at programs like sf faith which helps people learn to take care of themselves and each other as neighbors. we have to make sure we're providing opportunities to perpetrators of these crimes and making sure we're prosecuting people who are committing crimes. but more importantly, that we provide these opportunities before they get to the point where they are committing crimes. >> you mentioned the issue of homelessness as a big issue in your district. how will you deal with the folks that hang out on haight street and the issue of homelessness? >> well, i think that's a real

-- i mean, it's a city-wide issue. and i think part of what we have to do is work together to deal with it, just like public safety. it's a work in progress. it's not something that you fix and then you move on. it's something that you continue to work with. i mean, san francisco is an attractive place to people in general so we're going to get folks from all over, homeless, nonhomeless. and i think part of the balance is making sure that social service agencies that provide support to homeless individuals are available, that they have the resources they need, that they are held accountable to be out there and working and talking to folks who are interested in services. and the other issue is that, you know, we do have sadly an increase in crime and the area as a result of an increase in the homeless population. so, having a police presence which we've had, park station has been really active and not only being out there and enforcing the law, but doing what police are not required to

do, offering opportunities for services. and, so, i think san francisco is an incredibly compassionate city. and i think our police department has been compassionate. i think our fire department has been compassionate. but also we have to make sure that we are really aggressively making sure that folks are not breaking the law in terms of selling drugs, in terms of using drugs, in terms of just the kinds of things that happen when you break the law. i mean, people who are hanging out, they're just hanging out. there is a.m. nothing wrong with hanging out. i hung out a lot. kids hang out. young people hang out. homeless people hang out. the question is when someone makes it, you know, more than just hanging out and it messes it up for everyone else. so, we have to make sure as a city that we deal with those things appropriately, but we also offer alternatives so that we're not just pushing the homeless issue from one place to the next. but we're actually making sure we're taking care of people and offering them alternatives. so, it's going to be a challenging issue and an ongoing issue and one that i'm

committed to working with the mayor's office to help address and manage. >> what are your thoughts on the city's economic development? do you think we're on the right track? >> i think we're on the right track, but i think that unfortunately it allows the rich to get richer and it doesn't have a place for the middle class and the poor in our city. and i think that part of what we have to do as a city when people are interested in economic development opportunities in our city, they need to be a part of our city. and it's not just about giving out free gifts or giving out free turkeys or giving out free anything. it's about what type of job opportunities, what type of internships, what type of commitment are you going to have to the most vulnerable residents of our city? how are we going to impact lives? you're basically -- this is a great economic opportunity maybe for you and the city, but how does this directly impact residents of the city? so, i think we have to do a better job in making those connections.

>> let's talk a little about the issue of sports, the role of sports in the city's economic future. are you supportive of the plans for the new warriors stadium? >> i'm supportive of a plan that includes the residents of this city. specifically, with the warrior stadium, i think it could be a great opportunity for san francisco. but i want to make sure that in the agreement that there are some requirements that make sure that people are not just employed for construction opportunities. they're employed for management opportunities, they're employed for concession opportunities, they're employed with the warriors team. i mean, there's a whole 'nother franchise of opportunities that exists as a result of this particular team. and who are they going after, what folks are they mentoring, or what are -- who are the people that are going to be long-term working with the establishment? and, so, i'm more interested in what the long-term relationship

is between the warriors and the community, and not just we're going to build a stadium, we're going to be here, we're going to do our thing and everyone is going to go home. what does this mean long-term and how do the residents benefit and how are they connected to this great opportunity? so... >> to what degree do you feel the city should subsidize the team? >> i don't see the city subsidizing the team from my perspective, from what i've seen in terms of the deal. other than potentially the land, which they will pay for eventually. maybe not the entire amount, but i don't think there are any plans for the city to give up anything financially from my perspective. other than potentially land that wasn't going to be used in the first place. but i appreciate the fact that the warriors are focusing on private fund-raising and i prefer that they stick to that. i don't think the city should be -- with the situation we're in now, we should be really

investing in that and the warriors seem to be committed to privately fund-raising for it and i'm happy that they're stepping up to do that. >> exciting change. >> yes. >> we're almost out of time. but are there any other issues that concern you that we haven't discussed or anything that you plan to concentrate on as your term of supervisor? >> i think one of the things that i really want to concentrate on is making sure that we are collaborating more. because as a city, we're growing. resources are being stretched. and it's going to be important that organizations collaborate. city departments collaborate. that we don't just operate in our own little departments, our own little sections of the city, but how do we come together to make sure that, for example, upper haight with a lot of great businesses, lot of great opportunities for internships for young people to grow and work in these particular businesses. so, my goal as supervisor is to begin the process of connecting

people so that, you know, we have folks who are living in the community, working in the community, growing in the community, and supporting one another. it's one of the things i care about most and i'm really looking forward to bringing people together as supervisor. >> great. well, it looks like we're out of time so we're going to have to wrap up. but thank you so much for joining us today on sfgov-tv's meet your district supervisor. >> thank you for having me. >> we've been talking to supervisor london breed for district 5. watch for the next episode of meet your district supervisor when we'll be back with another round of our 11 city supervisors. for sfgov-tv, i'm nona melkonian. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ hello, welcome to meet our district supervisor. i've neon norm from district 7 which includes accident twin peaks and san francisco wood and other neighbors neighborhood today, we'll get to know him and talk about the tough issues. welcome supervisor thank you for joining us let's talk about our background. i was born in san francisco and i grew up in the north area and basically went to the public schools and jean parker and san frays parker. i lived in this area and from

there, i went to city college then i went to cal and received my bachelors in civil engineer and worked there for about a decision that's not where my passion was so i left the job and went back to school and never turned back. that's what i've been doing pretty much all my life in the classroom or working on organizations that will focus on children and families. that's a little bit about my bathed >> born and raised san franciscan good for you. why did you choose to stay in the city >> i love the city. i'm very passionate about the

city. i made the decision to focus on children and the families. i keep on asking the same question when i was younger why would i want to focus my efforts in san francisco. are there other places in the world where i could make a difference. i'm talking about the late 50s and 60s. there was at that time, a lot of population coming in from china. it was an opportunity for me to help people that were struggling in awe second amendment and getting used to things over here. >> what motivated you to get involved in politics. >> part of my motivation i guess you have to look at where i started.

i as i mentioned he earlier i wanted to help people and at the time it was children and family. after many, many years of serving people i realized in providing services that somehow, i have to impact the decision-makers so i started advocating on issues i cared about. i was somewhat effective and wouldn't it be nice if i could do something different i ran an organization for 20 years. i felt i needed to grow as much as the impact i made the decision to leave the organization and asked myself now what. i want to make a bigger impact that's when i ran for the school

board. people said you you've been involved in the issues and being in the classroom and one that grew up and having two daughters it seems like a natural thing to get into. i judgment into being an elected official >> you've worked on the school board house has that prepared you. >> there's a couple of of things that prepared me to be on the board of supervisors. number one i not only came in there the ranks vs. the youth director and tutoring uneven he run your organization and you

can't miss like running the organization especially, when you're faced with cuts how do you handle the cuts. and in better years when you get some center funding how can you use that funding effectively. so those opportunities helped me to be on the school board. for 8 years on the school board we had to talk about kit because of state funding. again, it grew my experience in how do you handle this and work with the community to make those. and once you do that how to you articulate that. those experiences lend

themselves really well. >> we're going to talk about the budgeting but what did you learn about campaigning. it was really interesting on the school board you have to campaign citywide. and when you do it citywide you can talk about the issues by nobody confessors about the same issues. you have to do it at two levels. one you need to focus on the district issues at the same time there's a lot of special interest groups that are not focused on those issues but we're on the citywide issues.

you have this tension how do you balance it so people who care about the citywide issues what makes sense to them. i made a decision citywide issues are also going to be there but if i'm going to run i have to look at the interesting issues. so i listened to people. it was early on i made the decision to start knocking on doors and asking people and say i'd like to hear about your issues. it's really difficult to do that after awhile because people asked what's our platform. i didn't have a platform i listened to people my platform

was on what people are interested in >> i mentioned that citywide issues are different. >> there are many issues one of the things is counts economy in san francisco is improving a lot. we didn't take a hit like the rest of the country. i look at the stats today and how are the wider margins in cal how do we sustain, you know, that growth so everybody can prosper. it shouldn't be just for the wall street folks but it should

be for the mainstream. so that's one of the things it's always a challenge in the city to make sure there's prosperity for all >> san francisco is always facing cuts and whether or not to increase taxes how will you approach those. well, that first of all, i'd like to say as i mentioned earlier when i was the executive director of an organization and being on the budget committee for 8 years. one of the things i've learned from being an administrator i does not - my values would be we don't spend more than what we have and if we don't have enough

there's two things you can do you can cut things or look for more revenues. for me, i would be taking the same approach how to generate more revenues for the services the city needs. and if we need to cut we don't have the revenues where do we cut. those are some basic things i believe we need to protect the safety net forepeople that are the most vulnerable and education issues would be very high on my priority particularly childcare. the services for zero to 5. it's a benefit for not only the young but also for the working parents >> you mentioned varies needs for people that are vulnerable in the city what do you think

about the housing needs and what should is about addressed. >> the housing needs are growing and where do we meet the grouth growth. district 7 that there's a tendency for anywhere to say yes, we understand we need growth but don't change my neighborhood. i'm sorry for me, i feel like everywhere in san francisco needs to be a part of the solution and that if there's opportunity to provide some growth in housing we should do that. there's always being to be tension of don't do it here. i'll listen to folks is this too much, too little and still be

part of the solution. part of it you allow for some growth and have you have to be smart. how do you work with the community. it's important for me that my you type of development to ask this is what we're envisioning what adjustments do we need to make? i've seen that on ocean avenue forensic they built a supermarket and by the time you - they went through a process where the community was satisfying but it - and i think i'm supportive of last year's

proposition where we're going to be able to have more funding that's part of the solution. can we make sure there's other housing stock in san francisco so we want to keep the university here. almost everybody wants i don't care where you are people want a diverse society in san francisco that's not just begin about affordable housing >> and what are your plans on park merced. >> there was a lot of discussions and i could have gotten engaged in a

hypothetical. there's also a lawsuit that's pending so let's play that out because i have no influence, you know, under any decision or lawsuit that the court is hearing. so my commitment to the residents out there as i look at the agreement and there were some promises to the occurring residents and i said my commitment is i said i will do everything in my power to make sure those commitments are made. they could have been skeptical but a lot of the residents believed me and there's been -

been asked to leave several times over the last 2 decades and each time i've stepped in and working in partnership with the school itself to help it stay there. that example was very powerful for the residents there >> i mentioned a little bit about your district what are some of the other issues. >> it's interesting there's going to be many, many issues but when i look back at what i did in terms of what my platform was about. equivalent when i heard enough peoples concerns it was about safety in general. of course, there's crime there's crime all over the place but the major thing is pedestrian

safety. another issue i choose to focus on would be to help as much as possible small businesses in the neighborhoods. so i define it as in the neighborhood. sometimes we're talking about 1 hundred employees or less that's not our neighborhood business. so for pedestrian safety the first thing i did do the first meeting i asked for a meeting. it was very timely. it's really unfortunate that i have to say that thought fatalities in san francisco 3 of them were in district 7. so i feel the time is right to talk about that and what are some of the solutions. we found that we have thirty or

40 people in district 7 to come out and testify. i told people i'm very commented to this to get something done >> what else do you hear from your constituents about the transportation situation. the vast majority of people in district 7 are cabins their leaders. in terms of having it operate on sunday's and increasing the rates. so if i had the power i would probably turn it back a that's in the my jurisdiction i'm not under the board of supervisors jurisdiction. and some of the sunday issues i - right now there's a lot of confusion. there's other places i've gone where sunday you pay so part of

it i'm glad that at least mta backed off of having sunday in the morning and it doesn't toward until 12 so the chur churchgoers don't have to worry about that. if you don't live out there but because you're out there and there's so many hills the issues are different. if you take away a bus stop 3 blocks away you're talking about a fourteen percent incline are where you're walking up this hill or something and if you have issues from being in a wheeler or your 70 years old it's going to be a lot. and there's the issue of the

mooney is great then they shot off in their own direction but the m line forensic is a major complaint in my district payroll one of my staff went out there and that was not late evening you have to wait 67 manipulates >> oh, wow. that's a while. >> so that's an issue. >> so there could be more mooney service. >> yes, it's a big concern. i stood out there many moerngz and late afternoon i saw people crossing the street >> do you feel we're on the right track for economics.

>> yes. i looked at some stats today that are relative to california and the united states. we're doing real well, of course, we could do better. employment is coming down. the number of jobs are going up. what i would like us to do, you know, we've had a major focus on the technical destroy. i also feel like there's some opportunities for us to bring back some manufacturing jobs. again to keep the diversity of the touching people and the job opportunities i would support that. way about the role of sports are you supportive of the imply warriors stadium. the warriors starred in san francisco. they plated at the pacific

auditorium. and when it was there i went to the sports activities. i'm sort of a basketball junky i'd like to see the warriors come back. this is definitely going to be some economic benefits >> to what degree do you feel the city should subsidize the team. >> well, if one of the game plans is for them to be at pier thirty and 32 i believe which is not very fundamental right now we're not generating anything from those piers.