supervisor campos: good morning, everyone, and welcome to the november 18, 2010 meeting of the board of supervisors rules committee. i'm the chair of this committee. i'm joined to my left by vice chair supervisor alioto-pier. supervisor mar is absent today, and i wonder if we could have a motion to excuse him. motion to excuse on the table. any comment on that? seeing none, if we could take that without objection. i also want to thank sfgtv staff for covering the meeting today.

thank you to all of you for being here today and those of you watching. >> the items presented today that are recommended will go before the full board on tuesday december 7 unless otherwise stated. item one, hearing to consider appointing one member, a term ending november 19, 2012, to the bicycle advisory committee. there is one seat and one applicant. supervisor campos: great. the one applicant is edward nicolson. if you could come up, we want to provide you an opportunity to speak to the committee and take any questions that members may have. good morning, and welcome to the rules committee. >> i heard about this committee through a friend. i applied. i have been a long time bicyclist. i commute by bicycle five times a week. i think that bicycling is

important to san francisco. when i talk to people about why they do not ride a bike, usually, the first thing they mention is safety and interaction with cars, so that is something we need to work on. when i look at the city, it is a great environment for bicycling, weather-wise. the streets are usually pretty wide. when i take a trip to europe, i'm always amazed how people ride their bikes in the snow and the rain, and we have this great weather. that is about it. i have three kids. my wife also commutes by bicycle. we live out in the sunset. we have been there since 1994. i hope to continue cycling and improving san francisco. supervisor campos: great. thank you very much. colleagues, and the questions?

no questions? i want to thank you again for serving the city and county of san francisco. is there any member of the public who would like to speak on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. can we have a motion? great. if we could take that without objection. thank you very much and congratulations. madam clerk, please call item two. >> hearing to consider appointing three members, for indefinite terms, to the food security task force. there are three seats and three applicants. supervisor campos: great. if we could begin by calling each of the applicants. karen gruneisen, good morning. >> time associate director at the episcopal community services of san francisco -- i am associate director. we are applying for the nonprofit organizations seek, and there are two primary reasons we would be a good fit.

the first is the food services we provide as an organization. we operate two shelters in the city and provide meals through that. we also provide supportive services in nine different permanent supportive housing complexes. three of those we developed ourselves. five of them are healthy first programs. we attend to the food and nutritional needs of the folks who live there. we also operate 800 get meals program in our senior center, and the program is also for young adults with disabilities. our vocational training program is called c.h.e.f., and we teach people to cook. we bring experience to the table, and we are also a member of a number of networks in which other providers of like services are members, so we can share

their experiences and glean information from them to bring to the table as well. supervisor campos: thank you very much. now, let me call on zetta reicker. >> i am here to represent the san francisco unified school district food and nutrition services. i am the assistant director for the program. i feel like i would serve the committee well because the student nutritional services is one of the largest public feeding programs in san francisco. we serve over 30,000 meals a day, and it is a cornerstone feeding program in san francisco. many of our meals we serve to our children are the only meal

they received that day, so it is a very critical service. we have seen an increase in the need of services, especially since this last year, and i think the food security task force would be an important part of building on the partnerships in the city and working with other groups. as i said earlier, we have seen an increase in the need. we had our highest number of directly certified students in the program, which means families are accessing more of the programs than ever. that is why we feel we would like to participate in the city 's efforts. supervisor campos: thank you. if we could now call on deloris mcgee. good morning.

welcome to the committee. >> i am -- we are a nonprofit organization -- supervisor campos: speak into the microphone, please. >> i'm here to represent the community living campaign. i am a community connector for the omi, which is ocean view, merced heights, and ingleside. we provide services for people who are not able to get out into the community to get the services they need. we provide those services for them. we are a community that does not have a supermarket, and i found that most of the seniors are not able to get food, so i developed a program where we have 35 volunteers who take boxes of food to seniors twice a month.

we have 51 seniors that we serve, and the age requirement is eight to -- 18 -- 80 to 100. we also work with other service providers in the community to make sure that all services available for seniors and the community are address. we also started a breast cancer support group. this is to work with the community because we do not have that service in our community, and we are working with the lyons group. they are providing 400 meals for the thanksgiving holiday, and we are also working with them to provide the services -- provide that service for the whole community aware -- provide that

service for the whole community. supervisor campos: thank you, and thank you for all you do. >> i should have said before, hot off the press, the food security task force has its annual report, hundred and security -- hundred and food security on the rise --hunger and food and security on the rise in san francisco. supervisor campos: is there any member of the public who would like to speak on this item? for fear that we might lose a quorum, i want to limit public comment to two minutes. >> [inaudible] does not reflect what you are discussing. supervisor campos: yes, thank you very much. that is correct. we do need to make sure that the title reflects the item that is on the agenda. i know that our clerk and our friends from sfgtv will be doing

that. any other member on the public who would like to speak on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. supervisor alioto-pier? supervisor alioto-pier: [inaudible] supervisor campos: great, we have a motion. if we could take that without objection. thank you to all three of you, and thank you for the work you do. madam clerk, please call item 3. >> motion confirming the appointment of agnes briones ubalde to beat san francisco redevelopment agency for a four- year term ending september 3, 2014. supervisor campos: thank you, and as noted, the television does not reflect the correct item. it is not wireless facilities, it is confirming appointment, san francisco redevelopment agency-agnes briones ubalde. with that, if i may please ask the applicant to come forward.

thank you. welcome to the rules committee. i see that you brought your lovely family with you. >> thank you. good morning, supervisors. my name is agnes briones ubalde, and i am really happy to be here this morning to speak on my background and experience and why i feel like this position on a commission would be ideal. as you may or may not know, i have worked in the past with the city and county of san francisco as a small business director for the small business commission, and i have worked in various departments within the city focusing on various department needs. i believe this commission is critical at this time, and it has always been an important and passionate part of what i believe in in terms of

neighborhood transformation and change. i look back at the reasons why i feel like this position is bringing me back home in terms of my interest and passion. i have a background as a community organizer, first-time organizer trained working in the south of market community in san francisco. through that work, i had a great opportunity to work closely with neighborhood residents and business owners and the redevelopment agency developing the yerba buena community, and i'm thankful i had the opportunity to serve on many task forces at the time to bring together residents and people that do not have a voice, and we were able to transform that community into a wonderful community at this time, so i look forward to the opportunity to be able to bring that background, along with my background in public policy and management, and my private sector experience and being able to look at alternative resources

to transform communities in our city that cannot typically get that voice -- that do not typically get that voice, either at the table or in access to resources. i look forward to working with the city and county of san francisco in this capacity, and i look forward to working with you on the board to be able to advance some of the things we need to be advancing. thank you very much. supervisor campos: before you go, and the questions? i do have a couple of questions i wanted to ask you. what do you see are the challenges facing the redevelopment agency going forward? >> obviously, in our economy right now, there is a lot of resources that are required to be able to implement change, and when you look at affordable housing development in the city, particularly near redevelopment project areas,

financing to be able to bring projects to fruition are pretty difficult at this time, so i think being able to identify the needs of the community and being able to bring all the stakeholders together to determine what is the best need for that particular area, and identifying both the local, regional, and public sector resources and masking that with private sector resources to be able to make those projects happen. i say that particularly around affordable housing, but i think it is also pertinent to being able to look at developing commercial corridors and attract businesses in some of our most difficult neighborhoods in the city. supervisor campos: i'm glad you underscore the importance of bringing stakeholders together and making sure there is community involvement. i think your background as a community organizer coupled with the extensive background you

have in both the public and private sectors is something that is a very strong combination. i wonder if you have any thoughts about the involvement of the community and the diverse communities of san francisco. i especially want to make sure that communities that perhaps have been -- the level of involvement has not been as high as it should be, that those communities are also part of the equation. >> thank you for asking that. i'm very proud to say the i also am -- that i am also a filipino american. i think i might be the first filipino american woman to serve on this commission. that certainly is a constituency that is important to me and what i believe has not had a strong voice in terms of public policy decisions or being involved in the political process.

aside from that, i know there are many constituencies in the city, whether african-american, latino, asian, pacific islander -- communities that may not feel they have a representation in a public policy forum. my background as a community organizer and someone who has believed in having that access and bringing people together is going to be something i will bring to this commission, and hopefully, they will keep me accountable and also allow me to listen to all types of issues to be able to come up with the most sound policy decisions that impact their community. supervisor campos: any other questions? just a final question, if i may. is there a specific goal or objective or objectives that you would like to focus on if you were appointed?

>> no, i think coming from the background that i have, my goal is to be able to be that unique sounding board for the commission. because of my background as a former city employee he, i do understand the bureaucracy and the need to be able to make decisions in a public forum, but i also come from a background as a community organizer, and i think that what i would like to see is that we bridge the divide between those two communities and be able to come up with sound projects and sound decisions that impact all of our neighborhood communities, and for the redevelopment agency, there are some critical issues impacting the hunters point community as well as the south of market community that i have a very strong passion about, especially around intersections between public safety and

community development and economic development and community civic participation. hopefully, my role on the redevelopment commission cannot allow me to do the things that i feel like we should be doing as a city and hopefully advancing those efforts to make them successful. supervisor campos: thank you very much. why don't we open it up for public comment? if there is any member of the public who would like to speak on this item, please come forward. you each have two minutes. and we have been joined by the president of the commission. >> thank you. i'm president of the san francisco redevelopment agency commission. i'm here to speak to you in support of agnes briones ubalde 's appointment as one of our commissioners. she is the perfect puzzle for our commission. her background with small business, background as an organizer pretty much prescribe

what our priorities are for the next four years, along with the housing act transbay -- at transbay as well as the ongoing evolution of the neighborhood in mission bay. she has all those components. she is a perfect match for the need we have at the commission right now, which is why i support her appointment. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker please. good morning. welcome to the rules committee. >> i am the executive director for employment house south of market, and i'm here to support agnes. she has always been a good person, always called me and asked for my opinion. as the service provider for the job referrals, i think her addition to the commission would

be important. with the economy the way it is any need to get everything going as far as jobs are concerned, we need a really good, strong compliance program with redevelopment. they are the model for that compliance system, and i would like to be able to work with agnes on that, and i think she provides a unique perspective in the she balances out the membership. she will be the third woman in that commission. more importantly, filipino. we have had a long history in the south of market, and it is indicative that this is the only and first-time a member of that commission has come from that community. so i urge your support. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker please. >> good morning.

i came here also to speak in support of ms. briones ubalde's appointment. i found her to be a particularly strong advocate for the filipino community, particularly around access to jobs for the redevelopment that was going to be done, and concern about the displacement of that community, which, frankly, we development in this city and other cities does not always get right. she was a particularly strong voice for that. i most familiar with her through my work with homeless kids. not only did she support that program through her work and the mayor's office of criminal justice, but when she went on to become an employee of wachovia and wells fargo, funding these programs and getting other people to be aware of their programs, not just simply cutting a check, but showing up at our vigils, at job training

programs and helping advocate for young people, so she really brings a whole perspective of justice to her work and real sensitivity to young people and making sure that all people are brought to the table and all people and stakeholders are brought forth in the discussion. i also come here representing richard fuentes, my partner. he was the developer for mission economic development agency a few years ago, and he asked me to share with you that agnes was a leading proponent and one of the largest supporters of the program, so she really has her hand around the bay and in this city. her fingerprints are everywhere in advocating for the community and bringing resources together for the community, so i urge you to support her in his appointment. supervisor campos: thank you.

next speaker. >> supervisors, i submitted a speaker card, so i was not sure about the sequence. i'm a board member of several organizations, including the san francisco filipino cultural center and the filipino american foundation south of market. i'm supporting the confirmation of agnes today for two reasons, and i want to underscore these reasons. first, as a filipina and someone who grew up in san francisco, my family was one of those families who migrated to the south of market, and we are one of the few families who live in san francisco. we have seen so much development and so was gentrification, which have displaced many latino families. i have to believe that agnes, being organic to the south of market, is able to bridge all of those community gaps that are necessary in addressing

gentrification and displacement of our community. in particular, she has already shared with you her background in the south of market as a community organizer. she has the trust of our community. she can forge relationships as needed and bridge any riffs -- rifts that might occur over the course of discussion. she has that ability to perform as a redevelopment agency commissioner, particularly all the projects the redevelopment agency has -- particularly given all the projects that the redevelopment agency has right now. secondly, on a personal note, i would like to share with you an honor and distinction that agnes and i share. under mayor willie brown, i was the first filipina and only filipino department head as the executive director of the human rights commission, and under gavin newsom, agnes was the only

filipino and filipina department head. i urge you to continue that representation -- supervisor campos: thank you. thank you very much. next speaker please. >> good morning. i'm the president of the filipino women's network and also the president of the friends of sand and cisco commission and status of women. -- friends of san francisco commission and status of women. i am here as a resident of district 6, and certainly, i really think that agnes would bring that voice that is needed in the san francisco redevelopment agency commission. i'm glad the president is here because i have both shared the benefits and advantages of the rapid growth south of market. also, i want to share that my first job was in the south of market in 1981, so i have seen the growth of the area and have

been to several commission meetings in support or against many of the policy decisions that have been made to the redevelopment commission. agnes brings that needed voice and the change in the redevelopment agency, not just as a filipino woman, but also as a mother and a daughter and a resident of san francisco -- not just as a filipina woman. her work at the social responsibility group in a fortune 100 company is very important to bring to the table, but most important is her voice as community organizer, representing many neighborhoods and bringing different perspectives to the table i think is very important. bringing a diverse group of stakeholders and many perspectives is one of the key things and a key change in the commission. i urge you to support her appointment. supervisor campos: thank you

very much. next speaker please. >> good morning. my name is dennis normandy. i have served in the administration from the last five mayors of san francisco, and i'm currently president of the civil service commission. i'm here to add my voice in support of agnes ubalde and want to speak in particular to her character and competence. i have seen her operate most effectively as community organizer and leader. as a family member, she brings a core set of values that are wonderful and i think will serve the city very well. i urge your support for her appointment. thank you very much. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker please. >> good morning. i am the artistic director of the performing arts organization located in the south of market