do not think they should make low-income versions of the passes. the reason for that is because a lot of kids can be cruel. like they said, you can put somebody into a low-income category and put somebody in to a higher category. [applause] supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon. i am a member of power, and i am a grandmother to three. sometimes, we do not have the money to pay for the fast passes. we want to ask you to please support us and support our families. please pass a resolution to support the fast pass. >> thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. >> feliz valentines. supervisor campos: next speaker, por favor. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon. my name is theresa molina. i am a member of power. i have five beautiful children and two grandchildren. sometimes, i do not have a lot

of work. i want to ask you support the implementation of the money so we can have these best passes, which are definitely needed. sometimes i have to choose between getting a fast pass or buying food. i do not think it is fair my children would have to miss school because the cannot afford a fast pass. thank you very much, and happy valentine's day. supervisor campos: gracias. siente, por favor. gracias. >> [speaking spanish] >> i am norah calderon, and i am a member of power. i am the mother of a high-school student right now. today is february 14, and it is very difficult for me. i have not been able to buy a

fast pass for my son for this month. the reason i have not been able to afford a fast pass is i live in public housing and have an older son who works. my rent right now is almost $1,300 a month.

when not to ask that you pass these free fast passes. we are tired of empty promises. it is really important that our actions speak louder than promises. i think it is important that we think about the students that are not just in public schools, but private schools. a lot of them are low income. they have gotten scholarships to attend these schools.

there are a lot of people who have more resources, and the cannot imagine what poverty is really like when you cannot even buy a gallon of milk. it is really important that we get these fast passes. our use of getting punished. police are ticketing them. they are causing students to miss school. they are ticket and parents. there is not that consciousness about what is making it so people cannot pay, so that students miss school, and what we can do to prevent these things from happening and to support low-income families.

it is really important that the word spread in different neighborhoods and low-income communities that we need at 10,000 to 12,000 fast passes. people are not able to get to school if the cannot eat and do not even have breakfast. i think the city has a lot of money. we need to make sure these are implemented. supervisor campos: next speaker.

i am going to read a few more names. pilar gonzales, who i think already spoke, emily lee, and others. >> if you do not mind, we have a presentation on behalf of more public transit the we are going to give. supervisor campos: the need any help with that? >> oh no.

supervisor campos: is the audio working? i don't think it is working. someone is coming. why don't we go to the next speaker while we figure this out?

next speaker, please. >> my name is carmen lee. i am a san francisco housing authority member in hunters point and a member of power. i urge you to support this, to pass this resolution calling for free fast passes. not only do i think that youth, low-income youth from all over the city, should get frites fast passes. i think all youth should get free fast passes, considering they already have enough stress getting to and from school. the kids do not need any more stress, getting citations and that kind of thing. i think all of them should have free fast passes and an easy way to get to school. i have two children of my own. they are 6 and 8 years old. they are on school buses every day. i know next year the school

buses are going to be cut quite a bit. i will be in the same boat as all of my members from power. i urge you to pass that. thank you. [applause] supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is michelle. i am with more public transit, and for operators and writers expanding public transit. we have been organizing. in this economic crisis, the use of the city, especially youth of color, are hit very hard. they represent some of the most honorable in our society. many public resources for youth have been cut. put together with their parent'' experience and economic hardship, the availability for youth to get to school and access public services such as after-school programs, library services, etc., have diminished.

some families have to choose between spending money for food and spending money for transit, as some women have already spoken about. more public transit things this is a crime. no one should have to make that choice. transportation is a right and should be free for all. the beginning of that is free youth passes. we would like to see free youth passes for all youth, not just low-income news. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is of his martina's -- is otiz martinez. all you see behind you is color and struggle. we have taken a chance for the youth. we have taken a dream and they hope. if they do not have a pass, they get fined.

they get sent to jail. this is opportunity. give them a chance. use that chance. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. i am going to read a few more names. ava benetra, hillar liang, gloria esteban. >> [speaking chinese]

>> my name is ho. i am from chinatown and am a pier or the buzzer. every month, a lot of our families have to pay for three or more test passes. it is a heavy burden, especially for new immigrant families. i hope supervisors will pass this resolution so they can have free fast passes. supervisor campos: are we ready? i think we are ready now. >> what is your full name? what school do you attend?

>> bling vista -- buena vista. >> do you like muni? >> yes. it takes a lot of time, and too many people, and it costs a lot of money. >> the you have something to say to these people that could make the money -- the newly free for you and your family? >> please. >> what is your full name? and what school do you attend? we are trying to push for free muni. do you use it often? do you like me? >> yes. [unintelligible] i can get to school. >> what do you use me for? -- muni for, and why you think

it should be free? >> because sometimes you do not have money and you cannot pay. >> what would your message be to the people who can make muni pretax -- free? >> sometimes you do not have money and cannot pay. >> my name is alicia pineras. >> where do you work? >> i work at buena vista as a custodian. >> why do you think of muni should be free? >> some of us have three or more kids. it is very hard to afford passes for everybody. >> what would your message be to the people who could make it free? what would you say?

>> i think the passes should be free for all kids, because we are paying a lot of money for our passes for kids. i think we should allow all of our kids passes to be freed. >> good morning. what is your name? what school do you attend? we are trying to push for free passes. do you use many of the index do you like manny? -- we -- do you use muni? do you like muni? class a friend was going to have a baby. she did not conceive of the money it would cost. >> there is no seat for you? >> if they are fall. >> what would your message be for the people who can make it free? >> i think it needs to be free.

it is supposed to be free, because you can go to places and know where the place is. [applause] supervisor campos: thank you. let me read a few more names. mrs. chen, yushon banks, marisol bivac, theresa neighbor. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon. my name is manuela, and i am a member of power. i ask that in honor of love and

valentine's day you open authorize the test passes for youth. i ask that we think about -- if we really love our youth, make this free for youth. make transit free poor youth. it should not just be provided to the more low-income children. that creates a stigma for them. that is a type of racism. i wish for this day that the test passes be implemented not just for the next three months, but the we can have free transit for youth for the future. i understand at this hearing that the implementation of the fast pass it is expensive, but we need to make it free for youth between the ages of 5 and 18 who ride the buses every day. they should not have to show a fast pass. they should just be able to get on a bus, just being used. i think about my own children,

who i give money to ride the buses sometimes. instead of buying their transfer, they end up buying candy, and they do not know the consequences of these decisions and what they could face as a result. we should think about the majority of the people who ride the buses. they are low-income poor people. i just want to say that i do contribute to the community here in san francisco. we deserve fast passes. my children deserve fast passes. happy valentine's day. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is hillary liang, a youth commissioner.

i go to school at all high school and worked at -- at lowell high school and work at noe valley. i live across the city. it is really hard and tough to get from my home to my school, even to work. not having to worry about bears is really relieving, even if it is only for three months. free transportation will benefit low-income youth. three months is a lot, especially for families who have more than one youth. it will be a lot better for children. i have a 10-year-old little brother. he came up to me one day and told me he did not like riding the bus because we did not have enough money to buy him and myself a fast pass every month. he would either go in the back with my grandpa, or the bus driver would give him looks, even though he is young so that

would let him pass. he told me he does not like to ride the bus. if we do have free passes or free fares, that would be really good for my family and other youth. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker. >> my name is eva venezra. while it might not be relevant to the vote or when to take this afternoon, in the same vein as supervisor elsbernd's point earlier, it is important to include private and parochial schools to make this available for all youth. /13 ups -- 1/3 of kids in this city attend private or parochial school, more than any other city in this country.

at my high school, 40% of students receive financial aid. the kids who need cheaper public transportation in the city are not limited to public schools. for this reason, i think it is integral that we keep private and parochial students in mind when structuring this legislation for the next fiscal year. supervisor campos: thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is jeff kaminski. i am a senior. i have to take the 29 cents at home. i hope to see this program be extended to private and rokita schools. it is important that we include all the students of the city in this program eventually. today, i would like to focus on urging the committee to pass this legislation along. it would do the students of san

francisco a great challenge by removing -- a great service by removing this from their daily lives. a solid education is really important. getting to and from school should not be part of everyday worries for san francisco students. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is herbert israel avaron. i am representing the clergy for justice and the restaurant workers union. even when you have budget meetings, i say that what we do with the resources of the city is a moral issue. it tells us where we allocate the resources we have. that is one reason why we support this. speaking on behalf of progress of religious leaders in our city that go to our mosques are churches, i feel like they

cannot go if they do not have these passes. it is in our interest to have this pass. more than that, it is a moral issue. i take the muni every time. on weekends, you go to nice places in the city, but you do not see low-income families because they do not have the money to take their children to see our beautiful parts of this city. i think that should not happen. i am happy that there are a lot of young people here today. it is also teaching them to pay it forward in the future, teaching them a lesson that we want to provide these resources so that in the future they can be kinder, gentler people, not like some people today in politics who would rather cut benefits for low-income families. as somebody working with the union, i took a spot for my union sister. we have done packed with workers

across the country. we can at least pay the children of these workers well by giving them access to public transportation. we are already under attack with health care and pensions. help them enjoy our city, the beautiful spots. the with the family, be mobile. i think we should do this for all young people. supervisor campos: thank you, reverend. next speaker, please. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon. my name is gloria estefan. i ask that you implement these fast passes immediately. we should think about all the rights that will be expanded through the fast passes. we think about the youth. they have a right to go to school and they have a right to try to get to recreational centers and different things the city offers without thinking about the fact that a lot of them have parents who work a lot but do not get paid very much. they do not get to reap the benefits of some oes