ms. bridges -- she has the ability, when i'm lost or there is something i need to consider, i can call and talk to her, and she gives me several different aspects to look at. she is not going to tell me what to do, but she is a wonderful adviser. when i grow up in the city, we had the best transportation in the city. it was affordable. we need to get back to that, and adding her on this commission will get us there -- at least it will be the start to get us there. i highly recommend, and i hope, as a former employee of the city for 35 years, that you will support her nomination, and you will not regretted. most importantly, the citizens of san francisco will not regret it. thank you. supervisor campos: 5 you very much -- thank you very much.

next speaker please. >> good afternoon. i speak in support leona bridges. i wanted to offer something that i found when i reached out and heard that she was nominated. i wanted to know where she stood on local hiring because at the time, the m.t.a. was actually in contrast to them.t.a. was a litn i asked mrs. bridges where she stood, she said we needed to enjoy local higher. i said, "this is music to my ears." as i continued to talk with her, i would say things like, "what about the bicycle plan? as the mta commissioner, you would want to be burst on the bicycle plan." a few hours later, she would forward me the resolution passed unanimously at the board in october, saying 20% bicycle

rider ships -- writer -- ridership by 2020. she learns like this. it is a testimony to her intelligence, her fiscal expertise. she is critical in dealing with the budget while having levels of service and like what went down on the 67. she learns quick. i think any issues can probably be resolved out in the hallway, to be honest with you. let us get her there. there is a lot of work to be done at mta. she gets so many aspects of this. she rides a 38 gear almost every day. mta is doing a lot of work. time is of the essence to get the local hiring language in all those contracts as well. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> my name is gregory reed.

i am the speaker with the randolph institute. the philip randolph institute is here to support the confirmation appointment of leona bridges. ms. bridges is a financial expert, as you already have heard, and muni needs her expertise, because at mta there is a $750 million agency with an anticipated budget shortfall to be balanced against community means and maintain consistent levels of muni service. on behalf of the local apri chapter and hundreds of working men and women from our community, it is without reservation that we wholeheartedly as could you support ms. bridges's nomination by supporting her

confirmation. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you, sir. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, chairman, supervisors. i am humbled and pleased i am standing as a witness. i work for the city and county of san francisco for 38 years, the health department. i retired as a complaint investigator. i have been at third baptist church for 35 years. i am one of the assistance to dr. amen brown, pastor. i stand witness because leona bridges is one i can say without hesitation has carried herself in a job, had a nation that worked in the banking industry. my niece often talked about leona bridges working in the back. i have witnessed her. i know a lot of for sisters. i know members of the family.

i recently experienced at the church the pastor had a little illness and he appointed a committee, a committee that would help with the discharging of the duties on sunday morning. and i just happened to be one of the creatures that received some calls from leona bridges, on time, regular. i am not really a cell phone person. i do not understand the cell phone. but she kept me on the cellphone, and i had an experience that i shall long remember. leona bridges is a well- qualified young woman, and i think it is an opportunity that she received disappointment. and i will be standing and supporting or rev. canon along with the pastor and the community. i beg of you that you consider supporting this appointment. thank you very much. supervisor campos: thank you

very much. next speaker, mr. paulson. happy new year to you. >> happy new year to you, rules committee. ♪ you found leona just-in-time you found her just-in-time your mta commission was running low your city bridges over crossed know where to go now here she is and i know just where you were going no more doubt and mta fear we found our way because leona bridges came just in time you found her just in time and made the mta better

better today ♪ [applause] supervisor campos: next speaker, please. [laughter] >> that is a hard act to follow, i tell you. but i will try. [laughter] first of all, keith jackson. i just want to say, supervisor dufty, thank you for your fairness and open questions and asking questions about things. you're going to be really missed on this board. i just want to thank you. i always thought there were two african-american supervisors on this board. you obviously are one of them. >> a man. -- amen. >> ms. bridges and everyone else here speaks to her commitment to the city and

county of san francisco. this is not a political issue, and we should not make this a political issue. i think we need to move this item forward, because the community has come out to support her. to continue this item does not make any sense. let us move this item forward. i encourage you to do so. with all your knowledge, thank you for serving on this board. it is complicated sometimes. but i think we also of -- i think we all have the responsibility when we have good folks that want to volunteer in this city. they could be using their energy for anything else, but they are using their energy to benefit the city. i just want to move this item forward and i encourage you to do so. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> floyd trowel, of the local

development corporation. i had the privilege of seeing an individual in the person of leona bridges and i want to say she is a bridge builder. how often can you find someone who can cross the sector of the financial world and a bridge into the community and do such a viable work? i think he would do great justice to this community to make sure to forward her name on and not pass turning by, but move forward with expediency. as has been stated, she comes qualified. and considering we do not want to make this a race issue -- as african-americans, we are only 5% of the population, and we do not serve in many capacities in politics. i would urge you to consider the fact that not many of us are on these boards or commissions. so as to start thinking about persons who come with qualities such as those which have been

already articulated, i hope you would see fit to pass her name on for consideration as a commissioner. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am douglas haynes. and i rise in support of this nomination for leona bridges. as a 24-year employee of muni, i think that she will be an asset to the mta board. her skills and her experiences are vast and cover the full gamut we have to encounter in the muni and mta community. she is a community worker in the church community, in the sorority community, in the financial community. she is a rare person, and it is our opportunity now to bring her into the city government so

that we can get the benefit of her skills and of her personality, and of all the experiences that she has. so i encourage you -- please do not continue this nomination, but give it your full support now that it might go forward. thank you so much for your consideration. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you. good afternoon to the board of supervisors. we are here on behalf of the confirmation of ms. leona bridges. will not go through a whole lot of rhetoric in terms of what others have said. ms. bridges is experienced. she is engaged. her ethics are just impeccable. and on behalf of the baptist ministers and ministers alliance

throughout the city of san francisco, i come out lawrence hart, of the paradise missionary baptist church, trust and hope you will confirm this recommendation of ms. leona bridges. the city of san francisco will be the better because of what you will do at your earliest convenience. thank you very much. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> happy new year's again, supervisors. mining is deidre smith, apri san francisco chapter. we and the community find it imperative to support ms. bridges for mta commissioner for many reasons. one is her finance background, well over 15 years. two, a regular rider of muni. 3, understanding local hire. four, being an african american woman role model for our youth. we have many challenges we

believe she will help overcome. for the record, we ask this board for your support for mr. -- for ms. bridges to be our next mta commissioner. supervisor campos: thank you very much. is there any other member of the public would like to speak on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. supervisor dufty: i want to thank you again for welcoming here -- welcoming me here today. a supervisor, and a speaking for something does not always necessarily happen. but i felt warm and comfortable here with my colleagues and want to reflect on a few things. first of all, there is going to be a new mayor. one of the important qualities we want in an mta director is independence. i think that is something that the restaurant doesn't that -- that director-designate bridges is able to bring. if she moves forward, it is going to be because of public participation and the board's

consideration today. i know both of my colleagues are committed to affirmative action, and we have the opportunity to act affirmatively to day and do something positive for our city. when i packed my boxes to leave city hall, one of the things i put in was an out migration task force report. i do not even know if people would necessarily know what an out migration means, but we have had to have a city working group define for us why we have lost black population in san francisco over the past two decades. it is really a tragedy. i can speak to each of you and know of her deep commitment to the black community, how your careers have involved empowerment, diversity, exclusivity, and seeing that we are all part of one movement toward justice. we are not singular communities seeking justice. we are working together. supervisor mar, i have seen the

you been courageous in taking on an issue for individuals in the justice system that no politician in their right mind would have touched. supervisor campos, you have stood up for people who are immigrant in this country and recognized the unjust treatment they have received. supervisor alioto-pier, i do not know that i have known a mayor more popular in the black community than your grandfather was. all of you have your own unique -- [applause] your own unique relationships and connections. we want to go forward. we want a stronger community in san francisco. of course we want a stronger muni. but we should not have an mta board that does not have a representative of ms. bridges' caliber and background. when people said there might be better people, i cannot imagine there is going to be a better person.

the individuals that serve in these positions are not allowed to be removed except for cause. you have to have someone in finance for this position. i would love a for a moment we could suspend the issues of the day and really recognize how important it is to keep safe. for those of you that continue in this role, i would hope to years or four years from now that we would see a renaissance, the san francisco is viewed as being more receptive and more capable in fostering and nurturing and developing our black community. we must never again have an out migration task force have to look at those types of issues. having stakeholders' like ms. bridges is one of the most important ways to insure we do things right. i hope you would consider the nomination and move it forward. [applause] supervisor campos: thank you. supervisor alioto-pier: thank you, supervisor capos, -- campos, supervisor dufty.

as eloquent and beautiful as always. i will miss seeing you every tuesday on my left. i would also like to say i am so impressed by ms. bridges, and as i said earlier, i will continue to support her. i would also like to add that as a seven member body, we have spent a lot of time today talking about the african- american population. i believe one of the speakers got up and said by% of san francisco is african-american. 21% of muni bus riders are african-american. the huge percentage really should tell us something, particularly when we have a seven-member body without an african-american member, and of the six current members there are only two of color, and might i add only one woman. we are looking at an mta where women deal with children going

to school. we are talking about looking at our school system. the fact that now, through san francisco unified, they are talking about cutting school buses and school bus routes, which means they are going to be looking toward our public transportation to take care of our children in a different way and i do want to stress the fact that when we are talking about transportation in this city which should have more than one or two female members for the mta. i will also ask my colleagues. i do think this is a particularly important position. i absolutely agree with supervisor dufty that we could not find a better candidate for this role, and i think we could move this particular candidate out today. supervisor campos: let me begin

by thanking all the members of the public who have come out and spoken on this item. it is always great to see involvement from members of the public. you saw that this has been a very interesting roles committee meeting in that there are large issues that go beyond the particular issues i will deal with. there are many issues that have to do with the authority of the board as to why some items were continued, and i stand by those continuances, because i think it is the right thing to do to protect the integrity of this institution. that said, when i look at what is happening with the mta, i have to say that i am really frustrated with the mta as an agency. it is nothing personal against the very dedicated people who work there and who on a daily basis try to serve the people of

the city and county of san francisco. but i think that you can tell a lot about a city by how it's public transportation system works, or does not work for that matter. and i do think that if you look at the performance of the mta in terms of addressing the needs of all san franciscans, that even though there has been progress a lot is left to be desired. and because of that i think that having the right people on the body, on the governing board, is really crucial. i think the right thing to do with this appointment given interest from the members of the board coming in would be to continue this item, but i have to say that you learn something new when you go through this process. and i was really struck by what i heard from the community in

terms of the need for that community -- for this community, the african-american community, but beyond that working people in san francisco, to have a voice on that board of directors. and i heard from the transit group that spoke, i appreciate the sincerity with which i think the individual expressed a need and an interest in hearing more from ms. bridges, and i hope that happens. but i do think that oftentimes transit advocates do not fully get the point that transit advocacy cannot work if the people who are involved in that movement and are not reflective of the diversity of our city. and as a person of color myself, i will tell you that time and time again i have been frustrated that when we have those kinds of policy discussions and conversations

that that diversity of our city is not reflected in terms of who is seated at the table. i think there are very reasonable minds that can disagree in terms of the approach and how continuance conservative -- can serve a purpose. i do think it is important to have an african-american representation on that body as soon as possible. notwithstanding the approach we have taken with respect to other appointments, i will be supportive of moving this forward today. [applause] supervisor mar? supervisor mar: one of the things i have learned is coming in with an open mind. here ms. bridges speak about her qualifications, and all of you speaking in a strong voice for better representation of african-americans and working- class people of color on commissions and in leadership of

this body -- i am learning as i go. i am a new supervisor. i also want to say a woman supervisor -- i will miss supervisors dufty and alioto- pier. we have to dialogue more, but in has to be from a position of equality. i would hope that ms. bridges and the transit advocates all sit down and think about how we work together and not have a one-way street, but a two-way street, as others have said. i also want to say that when you talk about taking three buses to lincoln or san francisco state, i can relate to that and my family can as well. but i think your experience as a lifelong writer is critical. some of my colleagues -- as a lifelong rider is critical. you bring a sense of what young -- of what muni means for young

people in our communities as well. the financial management experience to bring is something i was not looking at as significantly as i am now. i do think that is really needed, in addition to a strong watchdog for our communities on the mta board. like my colleagues, i am proud to stand with african american communities and many other communities in supporting your leadership on the mta board. i about to move it forward as well. [applause] supervisor alioto-pier: i would like to make a motion to send forward ms. leona bridges with recommendation to the full board. supervisor campos: and sending that as a committee report, i take that without objection. thank you. congratulations. [applause] colleagues, if i may, can we

take a two minute recess? thank you.supervisor campos: wek from our break. please call item 12. >> item 12, confirming the appointment of michael kim to the port commission. supervisor campos: mr. kim, please come forward. good afternoon. welcome to the rules committee. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. i live and work in san francisco. i moved here in 1997 from new york city. i worked for morgan stanley during the internet bubble. i ran a lot of complex transactions. i started a venture capital firm in 2000.

as part of a venture-capital firm, as an investor, we created thousands of jobs in the bay area and the city of california. i think a lot of those companies have flourished and are now part of a strong economy and help strengthen the economy. in 2009, i left my firm to start an investment management firm, based in san francisco specifically, and look forward to investing in other venture- capital funds with the fund i have created. while i was doing that, i was appointed by the mayor in 2004 to the position of the retirement board. i served five years, from 2004 to 2009. i served as the president, the vice president, the chairman of the investment committee. i led the effort around the succession, planning for the executive director, and served as chair of the finance

committee. so i was overseeing the budget process within the retirement board. i would also add that while i have lived here in san francisco i have become a lot more active in the community. my wife and i have been very active leaders within the san francisco symphony, having chaired a number of events from them, most recently the 2000 opening gala. also, the enterprise for high- school students, which is an effort to bring business experience to high school students through the san francisco antique show, where my wife and my chair. i am on the board of the art museum and have led efforts to bring younger trustees and develop a pipeline of people in the next generation of trustees. i have also spent time with their branding and their strategic long-term planning. i want to make a few points here. i do not want to take up too much of your time.

first, with regard to the port commission, i want to be clear that i did not seek it. it was presented to me by the mayor in early october. i have actually been on the schedule for a while. second thing i would say is that i think i bring a strong track record and reputation of integrity and transparency. i have people here who probably will talk to that element from the san francisco retirement system. third, especially with the complex issues around the different financial elements of the board, certainly the america's cup and other initiatives going on recently, i bring the relevant financial transactions fell set. i studied international politics and economics at georgetown, studied finance at wharton for my mta, spent 10 years working as a venture capitalist with strong companies trying to grow small

businesses, and spent time on the retirement board, which i think it is my second and final point. i will wrap it up. the time spent on the retirement board opened and eliminated a lot of issues for me, particularly in terms of having a fiduciary duty to the city and to the system that we oversaw. as a member of the board, i felt that really strengthened my understanding and recognition of the importance of the role of a fiduciary. i think that is an element that needs to be emphasized here. the second one would be good governance, understanding how keyboard works, working together to understand the public process. -- under an how -- understanding how a board works, working together to understand the public process. i would like to add a final point, which is i love san point, which is i love san francisco.