>> let's get started. thank you all. very much. for taking the time to be here. i'm willie brown. and i'm honored to swear in 13 new and not old in terms of time of life but senior representatives of various

bodies and boards of commissions in city leadership. i have the privilege today of wearing in 13 people. five who have served previously on board the commissions and seven that will be serving for their first times. i'm honored to be joined by many distinguished guests, leaders in their own right and capacity, members of various commissions, directors of various departments. our senior leader at city hall, my chief of staff and, importantly, former mayor willie brown, who took the time to be here. thank you, mayor. [applause] >> i have said this in a few other public occasions but it bears repeating particularly in light of the fact mayor brown took the time to be here. i started my time and tenure here at city hall, was actually across the street, the temporary

facility, when i got a call from someone in the mayor's office who said that she was very proud that the mayor had selected me to serve on the film commission, which i was quite enthusiastic about. 25, 26 years old, no experience in city government but i loved movies and i thought i would make an outstanding film commissioner. from my perspective it didn't get any better than that. i don't know about the t.u.c. stuff and all that, forget that. film, that what i was cut out for. i was invited down to a very large wearing in ceremony. this is around the first year of the brown administration. there must have been 50 or 60 people that were in the temporary board of supervisors chambers across at the war memorial. the mayor went around and started telling stories as only brown can do, about every single commissioner. and he finally got across and

down to me and didn't have much to say except that he was very enthusiastic that i agreed to be the president of the parking and traffic commission. he didn't tell his staff. he sure as heck didn't tell me. and this is a true story. there was one camera there back in the gold,days of -- golden days of cron 4 and asked me what my vision was for parking and traffic in san francisco. baptism by fire. i said something along the lines i pay my parking tickets. didn't go over so well. but the experience did. and it taught me a lot. it was an interesting year serving as president of that commission. we had some changes with the --

in fact, there were three different department heads that one year. it got very interesting. t.j. johnson and i got to know even other very well. we also were involved at the time in raising the upper deck of the central freeway. so it was a particularly -- well, it was a really enjoyable year. i applied myself. i worked hard and then as you may recall, i became an affirmative action pick to be the next member of the board of superviso supervisors. and you may be quizy calendar in wondering what i said and wondering whether it was politically correct. mayor brown had the time of his life trying to figure out who would replace kevin shelly on the the board of supervisors a year or so later and made the point when he appointed me and the kraupb -- the chronicle said there was so diversity on the board of supervisors and someone long a champion of affirmative

action he needed to appoint a candidate that reflected the person that reflected that by putting on the only straight white male. thus was the pick of mayor brown to be a member of the legislative branch so i would like to thank my tenure and term of the commissioner helped guide him in that decision making but i was proud of both appointments and would not be here had it not been here for willie brown. so mayor brown, thank you for everything. who knows your paths? you may look at that as a negative in terms of your appointment. saying i have greater ambitions than the path you took but nonetheless i'm glad all of you are hear and thank you for your willingness to serve on these various bodies. i will say this because mayor

brown and meyer feinstein primed me all the time to remind you that as appointees we are not here to tell you what to do or dictate the dealerships, but you do hope and expect if i do call you, you take the call and if you have strong opinions that are in contrast to the opinions that have been expressed by the administration, please just give us heads up. there have been two circumstances, which is not bad in seven years, where i wasn't given heads up where one of my department heads was removed by a commission without anyone letting us know at 2:00 in the morning and we had some changes to the commissions that were dramatic where we didn't get heads up. we worked through them. but all i ask is use your judgment, always look out for the best interests of the city as a whole, represent the people that come in front of you, but don't forget there are

800,000-plus people that you represent that have never come down to city hall and 150 people that work here and live here full-time represent good and important things, but there are a lot of people that need to be represented here. so i always want to remind to you reach out beyond just the halls of city hall and those that have the time to show up and are privileged enough to express themselves directly to you. that is my only criterion, my only consideration in the context of a string that is attached to this appointment. just give me a heads up, do what you think is right, always stand on principle. don't play politics. this is not about you. this is about the people we represent and the people we serve and we are privileged all of us to have this moment in time and that we are honored by the fact that the city has a charter that allows us to have this kind of representative

governance structure that allows this kind of interaction and delibera deliberative process. with that a few words. we have an arts commissioner that will be appointed. city hall preservation advisory committee a body formed by mayor brown, a building that he was responsible for providing. entertainment commissioner why, al, would you want to be on the entertainment commission is beyond me. a representative of the film commission. billy is an old friend who does great work. human rights, talk more about shirley in a moment. immigrant rights, art and sonia thank you for your willingness to serve. library, beverly, it is exciting to have you on board and so much good has been said about you. mark buhl, recreation and parks department will be reappointed chair of the revenue bond oversight committee at the p.u.c. very important. a body that was formed in, i

think, 2002, formally. we also have a new commissioner that only she cannot river on time -- arrive on time pa because she worked for me, rebecca prada but her husband is here. she will be appointed on the status of women. just a few thoughts. i thank luis, all the work the arts commission, p.j. johnson has done great work and it is an example of all the great public art not just in front of city hall but all over the city and county of san francisco. mark comes with a lot of good work behind him and a lot of exciting things in front of him. he was disproportionately responsible for helping us with our sister city's arts exchange program which is one of a kind. is something completely unique and very proud he and matthew

and others worked so hard on and i think he will be an outstanding addition. this is an artist in residence program that is an international model. we know jim and ellen and may, their work here in the preservation of san francisco city hall and everything you see around us, the civic center. they appropriately were reappointed by the board and had to be confirmed first and all are outstanding leaders and stewards in their own right. ellen is in my office every day doing tours and jim outside the office every day doing his part to advocate on behalf of city hall and the civic center. and may is everywhere else in the community. ubiquitous and out front and a true later. al perez, i thank you for serving on the entertainment. i have been beating up the entertainment commission lately. maybe i should have taken mayor

brown's advice in not supporting it to begin with but we have it and we are working through some of the issues and you demonstrated real leadership this last week on some of the issues down at the port with one of the clubs and i like that kind of immediacy in terms of response and feel like we have new resolve and with your leadership i'm confident the commission will live up to all of our expectations. bil billy, again, no one does more in terms of engaging our youth in the community on film. we will have a new director. i haven't announced her yet but good news there and i look forward to you working. we have more film coming in the next few months. it is amazing. this will take off. this 2010-2011 are exciting times for film and tv in san francisco. sheur shirley brierblack one of our outstanding leaders and anchors in the community. founding member of the sfmta board, a victim not just willie

brown but shirley a victim of term limits on the m.t.a. board. we are very proud, i know probably 90% of you hear from shirley. we want to thank you for your support of her and thank you to shirley for her support of our city and i think will be an out standing addition to h.r.c. which is an extraordinary commission with a great leader who is running that department who we are very proud of. immigrant rights. sonia and art. this is an interesting body and you are in the midst -- sonia, you are in trouble, a lot of work in front of you. art is familiar with a lot of this as well. it is a split body. 15 members. eight have to be immigrants. seems appropriate on immigrant rights. i'm very proud. sonia from ireland -- excuse me, russia. that will be self-evident when

you hear from her -- who is an old friend and sonia is a small business woman and someone who is very engaged and engaging and has a lot of opinions and she will be amply expressing them on the immigrant rights commission. and art as well. art is an up and coming leader of the city and i really am honored that art is going to get involved in the political process as a member of the immigrant rights commission. so, i'm excited about that. beverly, the library, so much has been said about beverly. i got more calls from people i respect and admire like luis, rene and others saying you have to get beverly on the commission. member of the friends of the library body and has done great work and comes with a huge list of support and recommendation.

i think this turned out to be a great pick and great for our library system. and luis doing great work in the branch improvement. how many libraries are expanding hours in this economy on sundays and opening new branches? how many cities can lay claim to that. i think beverly will continue in that tradition. mark buhl, the best of the best, president of our commission. no one needs him more than the guy who is shaking his head, phil ginsberg, our director. you are lucky i'm reappointing mark, phil, who is doing a great job and i'm very excited about what mark has done already just in the few months he has been on this board. but no one is more familiar with city hall and no one with more respect, even from those that sometimes don't always respect what is happening on this side of the aisle and have come to respect greatly mark's leadership and stewardship. thank you for continuing to want to serve. >> kevin, p.u.c., revenue bond

oversight. this is where real jobs are being created. 27,000 jobs. regional project and we need to spend the money wisely and that is what kevin has been doing in other capacities and will be doing in it. and beca in be a -- in absentia she want as private swearing in. i know this was long-winded but i'm honored and proud of all of you and i will ask you all to raise your right hand. you can stand if you wish for the heck of it but you don't have to. but if you like to, it just adds to the formal occasion. i will ask you to repeat after me and what i will do, i will say i, then i will ask you to state your name. then when we come to the end i will during such time as i hold the position and you will each mention the appropriate body

that you are being appointed to. so, beyond that there are only two things you have to do. the rest i do and just repeat after me. raise your right hand and i say i. you say your name and we will get through this in one brief moment. >> i. [people saying their names] >> do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california. that i will bear true favorite and allegiance to the same. i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation, or purpose of evasion.

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