really enjoyed riding muni, and i would not want anybody to feel that they do not have that same opportunity. sometimes it can be frustrating, and sometimes it can be incredibly rewarding, and i think everyone should have the right to enjoy those rewards. supervisor alioto-pier: just something to throw out there, that our beautiful historic line down at the embarcadero, for example, is not particularly accessible. there are parts of our system that really are lacking, and i do not mean this in a flip way, but i do think that members of the mta, it would behoove them to take a wheelchair and spend a day in a wheelchair on san francisco public transportation system because it is a much different experience. it would be a learning one, as well. supervisor campos: thank you.

colleagues, any other questions? great, why don't we open up to public comment? we have a number of members of the public who have submitted a speaker cards. >> good morning, supervisors. i just wanted to say cheryl is outstanding. she has been an incredible board member. she has been an incredible president in terms of leading our organization and helping build it and tried to be responsive to all. she was our star volunteer for sunday streets here we really could not have put sunday streets together without her efforts. sunday streets and all, it really speaks to a lot of the issues we were talking about earlier. the equity, the close of this, and so on. what could be seen in one way as

a recreational event, with the leadership of cheryl, we really wanted to bring this event to communities that do not have a lot of outdoor recreational opportunities, so we really wanted to bring an environmental justice spin to it. we wanted to bring the opportunities to communities. much easier to do it on the beach, because there is no cross traffic, but that effort, even though it was hard and expensive to bring it into the heart of the city, i think it is very commendable. also local economic development. the idea that transportation and st. design can be an economic development strategy. these are all things cheryl is really aware of, and it is a perspective we really badly need on the mta. transportation is big enough, certainly a multi-modal agency.

i think her back on with little city and the pedestrian safety advisory chairmanship will bring a modal intelligence there. we're so focused on the city problems, but all the other pieces besides transit are very important, and need someone who is going to help sort out st. governance. supervisor alioto-pier, you made an excellent point about how fragmented street violence is. nobody knows quite who is in charge. that is certainly going to be a challenge for cheryl, but i think she will be an outstanding person to help bring that perspective, both accountability to citizens, but also helping design those great multi-modal streets. i'm sad to lose her as a board member and as a board president, by i do sincerely think that liveable cities' loss is going to be the city's gain, and i encourage you to support her

nomination. supervisor campos: thank you. we actually have been joined by commissioner bruce oka from the mta, and at some point, we will ask him to say a few words. >> i am cheryl's has been, and i want to come here today to say some kind words about my wife -- i am shall' -- i am cheryl's husband. she understands her dedication and experience with transit. everywhere we travel, everywhere we go, we take transit here we go to new orleans, we take the bus to the airport. she rides a bike and a lot as well, but we love transit. she lives and breathes it. we have seen systems all over the world. we have seen some of the creative things it can do with access. we have seen systems with virtually no access for the disabled. it is something she understands. i just want to say she is being very modest today, and i also

want to say by doing the laundry, the dishes, doing my share at home, making sure she can maintain a full-time job, she has the balance of knowing san francisco and the business sense of working at a fortune 500 company, so i think she would be perfect for the board, and i hope supervisor campos: you support that campos that is on the record. there is 80 you can get if you ever need to. . >> my name is renee rivera and i'm acting executive director of the bicycle coalition. i'm speaking to support cheryl's -- cheryl's support nomination. i have been working with cheryl on the sunday streets and really have been inspired by her leadership on that project. and have seen such tremendous effect on the city from that leadership. with sunday streets, tom spoke to them, i think it's something

that's changed the hearts and minds of san franciscos -- san francisco cans about how we can use our streets, what our streets are for. the potential that's there. and one of the challenges that i think san francisco faces as so many urban areas do is that our street system is limited as we continue to grow. as we economically grow. cars are options that there is not a lot of room for growth, which is one of the reasons that san francisco is a transit first city. and that we have to have a focus on the other systems and how they integrate to be able to with minimal investment move the city forward in terms of the growth that is coming in the coming here's. it really--speaking of cheryl as

a multimodal person is the direction we are going in. we are thinking about we are not seeing so much our modal identities anymore. i'm a cyclist. you're a driver a. transit user. we are using integrated systems. buses linking to biking, linging to -- linking to walking. once we get bike share for san francisco we are going to see more the ways we move from mode to mode as people move through their day. i see cheryl fulfilling that vision and being someone that will be very influential. thank you for consideration. supervisor campos: thank you very much. let me also call steve and any other member of the public who would like to speak. please come forward. >> my name is steve, producer of the labor video project in san francisco. i have a serious concern about this appointment not so much her personally although i'm not sure she's a regular rider of muni.

about the fact there aren't any latinos. in fact there is not even a driver who works at muni on the board. i find that rather strange. why wouldn't the -- there be a driver who represents the drivers on the m.t.a. board? i did cover the m.t.a. meeting and discovered that frankly this m.t.a. board is very isolated from the realities of the users of muni in san francisco. additionally, they were pinning the drivers against the community. under the leadership of mayor newsom. they were blaming the drivers if they raise the fairs for disabled, they raise the fairs for students, that they were responsible for this crisis. and i, frankly, as i said find that despicable. why should the drivers who are doing difficult work and difficult times be blamed for this economic crisis? but that's precisely what the m.t.a. board unanimously did.

i think it would be a mistake to appoint her. it would basically confirm the direction. we don't need corporate executives on the m.t.a. board. we need some community activists, users of the service, and drivers who really know what the situation is. there's been no, for example, effort by the board to say that these high-paid executives who make -- the director makes over $300,000 a year, they should cut their wages. instead they are attacking the workers who make the muni go. frankly that has to change and your confirmation of her would say let's continue with the same agenda that mayor newsom has which is attack the drivers and working people of san francisco. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. next 1350eker, please. >> my name is ray. -- next speaker, please. >> my name is ray. my concerns about the board, are there representatives on the board. there's a substantial amount of population of youth that uses

the services of muni for going to recreation but mainly to get to and from school safely. they have a voice. i don't mean a token youth. something that's equal to the population that they have in san francisco. so i would really advocate for that, supervisors, and for the chair to look into that and look into the community and young people to be on that. and also will the board support community youth training and employment through its systems throughout the city? will they also support community events with their manpower and also they are just coming out with their clout and helping us raise money. and also i think that i have known muni all my life, too. i took it to school. so the youth is needed and should be on that board. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. is there any other member of the public who would like to speak? why don't we hear from

commissioner oka. thank you for being here, commissioner. i do want to thank you for your tireless efforts to protect the ridership of the m.t.a. and for not being afraid to call it as you see it even if it is a little controversial at times. >> thank you very much for the comment. those who know me know that i do speak my mind. and frankly i am kind of knowing that people will say that the board does only what mayor newsom tells us to do. the mayor and i have agreed on very few issues when it comes to

muni or the riders of muni. i'm a person with disability. i ride wheelchair. i'm out there all shifts. i'm out there not just in the daytime. i'm out there at night and out there doing my job. i'm the only full-time director that they have. i know what's out there. i know from a rider perspective that we look out for people who work at night who are gone due to budgetary concerns. i want to put those back in place. and hopefully with the full board as soon as possible. i'm looking forward to working with cheryl. believe me we will get the job

done. we have to be independent in our thinking. we have to be looking out for the citizens of san francisco. mainly i want to say this, we want to make sure that each and every one of us is making sure that everybody who pays their $2 to ride muni is getting $2 worth of rides. because right now i don't believe they are. the disabled -- i agree with the speaker that said we are not paying attention enough to youth because the youth are the lifeblood of this city. we have to make sure that their voices are heard. i'm sure that miss brinkman and i will take heed.

we have to lower costs for use. i don't think the players are right in those three categories. i will fight and i'll keep fighting until we can get that right. i'm hoping that this committee will report miss brinkman's confirmation out of committee. supervisor campos: thank you very much, commissioner. thank you for being here and thank you for your words. is there any other member of the public who would like to speak? if so, please come forward. >> my name is nick, i have been a resident of the commission for 30 years. i have some serious concerns

about sunday streets. i'm an automobile owner. i park my automobile on the street. in june, for example, after sunday streets, i took some photographs which i would be glad to share with you, around 11:00 on the sunday of the sunday streets. the streets there were more employees of the city of san francisco there than there were public, nonemployees. i think at some point you are going to have to re-examine the impact of this program. i'm very concerned that it's part of mayor newsom's plan to privatize public spaces, namely the public streets. and i see no virtue on a completely blind-sided anti-automobile mentality. there are thousands of automobile owners in san

francisco. probably most of whom don't have a place to park but on the street. that's my situation. i would tend to agree with steve that if this nomination is headed in that direction, that it's better that you vote it down than approve it. thank you. >> thank you. any other member of the public who would like to seek? seeing none, public comment is known. commissioner sugaya: commissioner sugaya: -- supervisor alioto-pier. we have a motion by supervisor alioto-pier. any comments? supervisor mar? supervisor mar: before we support ms. brinkman, let me say i'm strongly supportive of her nomination an think she would be a tremendous progressive visionary on the m.t.a. board and i think it's one of mayor newsom's best appointments and i hope to see many more like it with tremendous background in improving our neighborhoods and

city. to the points, and i know ray from years from rap high school and working with low-income kids, and really turning their lives around, and mr. steve also from labor video project that informs so many of us of labor struggles not just here around the world. i totally agree that m.t.a. board needs to be restructured and governance needs to be changed. that's why supervisor campos and i work with many community social justice groups to put a valid measure on the ballot but didn't get there. i think split appointments and other reforms of governments are needed. hopefully if we move that forward with a movement of transit advocates and neighborhood groups, we could see more of a diverse m.t.a. board with youth and with immigrants and riders and t.w.u. having a voice as well. i'll just say i'm strongly supportive of ms. brinkman's

candidacy and know she will be a tremendous m.t.a. board member. supervisor campos: thank you super size visor mar. i agree. i think this is a very solid appointment. i do think that the experience that she brings is one that will be very youthful -- useful and i do hope that we, as a board, work closely with ms. brinkman and all the other commissioners to figure out how we can move this agency forward. i will be supporting the nomination but let me say that the problem that i have is not with the nomination itself. i think the nomination is a solid, as solid a nomination as we can have. the problem i have is with the structure that we currently have at the board of the m.t.a. i do believe that the current structure, notwithstanding some exceptions, i point to commissioner oka as one of those exceptions, the current structure does not, in my view,

provide for the level of accountability and independence that is needed. i think that until that structure changes, that we are going to continue to have some of the same problems. we are going to continue to have a lack of representation in certain communities. we are going to continue to have a lack of transparency on some issues. i think that's the reason why those of us who submitted a charter amendment for the ballot felt very strongly that that charter amendment neated to go forward because we do need comprehensive muni reform and reform that only includes the communities that we talked about, but along the lines that were discussed by members of the public, youth, seniors, disabled, and so many diverse communities in san francisco. i think that given the current structure we are not going to do better than this nomination. so i'm very happy to be supportive of that. we can take that without

objection. we can take that as a committee report. woid. -- without objection. thank you. madam clerk, please call item four. >> item number four, hearing to consider appointing one member term ending january 31, 2012, to the veterans affairs commission. supervisor campos: thank you very much. we have one seat and until recently we had two applicants. i have been informed that one of the applicants, matthew shea, has withdrawn his application. so if we can please call, and i apologize if i mispronounce the last name. anthony alfidi. >> good morning. supervisor campos: welcome to the rules committee. thank you for being here. >> good morning. i would like to thank the rules committee for allowing me the opportunity to speak. my name is tony alfidi. i have been a resident of san francisco since 2004 and i'm

applying for a soon-to-be vacant seat on the county veterans affairs commission. my experience in this regard is i'm a veteran myself. i'm currently serving as a major in the u.s. army reserve. i have a total time in service of about a years. eight have been active duty. the remainder in reserve. i'm currently assigned as the intelligence officer for fifth brigade, 75th division. at camp parks, california. short park ride away. i spent last year in combat. i was deployed to iraq to join base balad from march to december of 2009. i did not experience direct combat because i had a staff position there. but we did experience a significant number of mortar and rocket attacks on two occasions i felt the blast wave and saw the explosion, about 300 to 500 meters away of several attacks that we suffered at joint base balad. i feel fortunate in the fact i do not have any psychological or physical ailments as a result of my service. i don't have a purple heart.

but i do know a significant number of veterans who experienced it worse than i have. specifically in my unit right now there is one person who is an outpatient at the v.a. center in palo aalto for traumatic brain injury he received while he was in iraq. another officer who suffered partial hearing loss as a result of an ambushes he experienced in iraq. people like this need our help. they have problems. and part of the mandate of the veterans' affairs commission is to advise the mayor of the conditions affecting veterans in san francisco. i hope to fulfill that mandate as an active member of the commission. furthermore, i have attended several meetings of the commission as a member of the general public since february. i have been attempting and providing public comment when necessary and asked by other commission members and several of those commission members are present today. i believe they can speak on my behalf as to whether or not my input has been material to their discussions. and i'd like to entertain any requests that supervisors have

for me at this time. supervisor campos: great. thank you very much. colleagues, any questions? supervisor mar? supervisor mar: thank you for your willingness to serve. my father is an army vet. he passed away a few years ago but he was always very proud of his service and i appreciate yours. i just had a question. one of my constituents who grew up in the richmond district is now an author. he wrote a book, called "the work" washington's battle against america's veterans. one of the issues he deals with is many vets coming back from iraq like yourself come back with serious posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and yet the system is very hard to prove to the federal government that a vet has those symptoms. many of them lead to homelessness and other issues if they are not treated. i'm wondering do you have any thoughts about how we can break down the bureaucratic barriers

to that? many people that need mental health and other services get it not just at fort miley but other services within the city and the federal system? >> i think one way to help solve that is to have -- is to help the governor implement his operation welcome home project. he initiated that to co-locate veteran service support centers with other government programs that can help solve veterans problems. i think an excellent way to apply that is right in the veterans building in the memorial complex right across the street from city hall. the american legion war memorial commission is currently working a project business plan to propose full utilization of that building by organizations such as u.s.o., v.a., veterans job training resources to bring it into the underutilized sources of that building and have a one stop shopping center where any veteran can go there and fully utilize its intended role to

serve veterans. that would help and i believe the commission with its resources, member of the commission who are members of veterans organizations can marshal the support of those organizations to get publicity, get atngs from the mayor's office, and other agencies that can send traffic there. >> i look forward to working with you on that. that sounds great. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. open it up to public comment. we have a number of speaker cards. commissioner wallace levin, john caldera, steven, and if there is any other member of the public who would like to speak, please come up. thank you very much. >> good morning, supervisors. i'm wallace levin. immediate past president of the commission. long time member of the commission. i have had the honor during the history of the commission to hold seat number 3 and originally that seat was for korean war veterans. and i left that seat and it's interesting this is the 60th

anniversary of the start of the korean war, and i didn't leave the seat in honor of that, but i'm very happy that tony is going to, obviously, be appointed to this seat. this will be the first time anyone else has ever held this seat in the history of the commission, and i cannot think of a more qualified veteran to come on to the commission than tony. the reason that it's sort of ironic and important, as ulls old veterans move on, it's important to bring in new young veterans. he will be one of the, if not the youngest veteran on the commission. he will be the only iraq-afghanistan veteran on the commission. he will be the only member of the commission that is actively still involved with the military. so his ability to give needed input is extremely important.

and i wanted to also say there was one other point that -- about him. i was going to say he's going to be -- i know what it was. he has attended this year more meetings of the veterans' affairs commission than 1/ of the commissioners. which i think is -- 1/3 of the commissioners. which i think is interesting. he's attended more meetings of the commission as a noncommissioner than anyone i can ever remember. he is really going to be an a set. he's the future of the commission -- an asset. he's the future of the commission. i wanted to also say there is that expression about one person's freedom fighter is someone else's terrorist. well, one person's leadership may be looked upon as domineering and overbearing, but other people it may be just good leadership. i wanted to point out that no commission in san francisco is made up with more diversity than

the veterans' affairs commission. and it's always been made up with complete diversity a effects the total makeup of san francisco. and i want to also point out decades before don't-ask, don't-tell was enacted, i wrote and introduced and this commission passed this resolution decades ago, supporting the right of all americans to serve in the armed forces and that that service should be free of any discrimination and prejudice. so i'm proud of what the commission does. we are very limited. we only can advise. but it's a very, very important commission. i wanted to also -- thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. thank you. next speaker. good morning. >> good morning, supervisor mar, and chairman campos. i'm a san francisco commissioner as well-appointed by the board to the veterans affairs commission. for the record i have a 100% attendance since my appointment to this commission.

i'm very pleased to stand here in favor of this appointment. right now i believe this is about as important an appointment as you will be able to make. right now the returning afghanistan and iraq veterans have a suicide rate of five to one of their counterparts right now in our society. right now depending on which organization you speak to, 25% to 35% of the homeless on our streets are veterans. and we need veterans that are going to address these issues. within less than two years, all veterans that use, the veterans building, will be homeless. as in building goes through a seismic retrofit, every organization that uses the veterans building, 401 van ness, will have to do whatever it does in a different location. and currently there is no set plan for where these veterans are going to go. so with the support of the board of supervisors and this of supervisors and this commission and this appointment,