proposition d is also a disruptive force in city politics. there is a very strong special- interest group that has fought against any pension reform in san francisco. that is later. we hope that they will look at it in a positive way. >> opponents argue that it was done not in a collaborative lateway. that it was done unilaterally. how do you address concerns? >> the origin of proposition b and d was a civil grand jury investigation, a group of 19 residents of san francisco, who

had a very diversified group of people representing unions, representing retired people, representing middle-class and minority groups. the fact that this is a criticism is not valid and the collaboration of the opposition talked about who was a collaboration for special interest groups. >> opponents have alleged that even if it is passed, it will be held up in court and perhaps not even implemented. how do you respond to concerns about proposition d? >> i read about prop c, 8225 page document that was totally incomprehensible to me. i am familiar with legal documents. the d measure is 25 pages,

simple to understand. i fully expec tboth me -- expect both measures will be challenging. especially those that oppose proposition c, and there are many, it will be brought forward. >> up next, we will talk to an opponent of proposition d. i am here with the executive director of the san francisco labor council and an opponent of proposition d. why should voters voted against proposition d? >> i was telling people why they should vote yes on measure c. d is the opposite way of the way

people should be doing business. this is a scott walker wisconsin initiative. it was done with no input from the workers. it was financed by a key party republicans that have financed the this and got $5 a signature to put this on the ballot. none of the city workers were involved, it was unilaterally put on. it is the wisconsin way of doing things. it does not accomplish what is supposed to do. it is legally challengeable. i am asking everyone to vote because there will be legal challenges with what it purports to do. >> proponents say it will save $400 million more than a proposition c. why should they not go with a

measure that is going to save more money? >> the process was done without any input on those numbers. they are way over bloated in terms of the numbers, it probably does a little bit more money than what we did, but it was done by the same type of republicans that are attacking public workers and wisconsin, san jose, other areas around the country. it will not save that type of money. we worked with the city comptroller, we talked to workers, we had major analysis. everybody agrees, this is the way that the city will run better, it will save money and jobs. yes on c commonality. -- no on d. >> the increments they used to

determine a contribution are smaller >> is a bogus argument. people claymore during bad times and not so much in good times. it is sensitive to workers that make -- police and fire and up paying more. it was done with a thorough analysis of different employee organizations in the city. >> thank you so much, mr. paulson. for information about this and other ballot measures, go to the san francisco league of women voters website at sfvotes.com. early voting is available at city hall monday through friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

>> i'm melissa griffin, i write about city politics and a member of the league of women voters. i am here to discuss a proposition g, voters will be faced with on november's valid. -- ballot. proposition g would increase the sales tax rate by 0.5% for a total tax rate of 9%. this would only happen if the state does not increase the sales tax by either 1% before november 30, 2011 or 0.75% before january 1, 2015. the city would pass a tax increase to pay for public safety programs and the other half for programs for children

and seniors. the city will start collecting this additional sales tax on april 1, 2012. it would apply for 10 years. prior to july 1, san francisco had the sales tax rate of 9.5%. the city decreased by 1% when it allowed to expire. san francisco only gets a fraction of this 8.5% sales tax. 7.25% goes to this day, the city receiving about 1%. -- goes to the state, the city receiving about 1%. i'm here with -- thank you for being here. please tell us why you are in favor of proposition g.

>> i believe the low income children, seniors, firefighters, and police officers are worth half a cent. it will restore funding that was cut from these programs. proposition g " restore $30 million so the children will have a better start in life and a better chance of succeeding in high school and college. >> san francisco has one of the highest sales tax rates. are you concerned that the passage will affect our tourism or adversely affect the economics? >> i am not concerned with that at all. tourism accounts for 40% of the revenue. it will still be lower than the sales tax prior to july 1 of

this year. >> my understanding is that it will be eliminated if the state raise the sales tax within the next year. in light of that, palace of the city is able to plan, budget, and expect those revenues if it passes. >> that's a good question. it is about local control. they can decide where their tax dollars go, in light of lack of leadership of politicians in sacramento, but we are not counting on that type of leadership occurring any time soon. it would be helpful that the politicians will listen to the need of san franciscans and act accordingly when they enacted the next sales tax. up next, we will be talking with an opponent.

i'm here with howard, former chairman of the san francisco republican party. he is an opponent of proposition g. thank you for being here. why should voters vote against proposition g? >> in this age of high unemployment and high high unemployment -- of high unemployment, a regressive sales tax will hurt everyone. just to give you an idea, in 2000, the budget was $4.2 billion. in 2010, the 2011 budget is 6.8 $3 billion. that is more than the budget -- $6.83 billion. that is more than the budget of

any other states. if you look at the way city hall is, there is over 100 commissions, boards, advisory boards, so on and so forth that overlap. they can combine a lot of them and save a lot of money. >> in light of the fact that this tax has already been proposed, it recently expired. how can you see consequences as a result of increasing the sales tax just .5%. >> it takes money away from the people that needed them most. if you are an upper-middle-class person, it won't harm you. but on lower end, it does harm you. that is why we should not pass if. >> proponents say that we have

to do this to offset the tax at the state level. how do you propose that the city deal with the extraordinary budget cuts that i've come from the state? >> proponent to are mostly public employees and employees of nonprofits will have you believe the sky is falling if they don't get this raised. if they go back to 0 base budgeting, do good budgeting, good management, they have plenty of money to run the city. >> we hope that that was helpful. for information on ballot measures, visit the web site of the league of women voters at sfvotes.org. early voting is available at city hall monday through friday 8:00 a.m. to 8 5:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. to 8 5:00 p.m. if you don't vote early, vote on

>> about four years ago, [inaudible] look at how beautiful this was. there is our relationship to the planet. these regions are the wealthiest, the most powerful. that really has impacted the planet.

it is almost impossible now to go anywhere and had it really be completely dark. there are very few locations that you can find. that means our relationship to the sky, there is a way where we dominate the sky. we cannot see anything really. we are blinding ourselves in a way. >> you can look at the images, they are beautiful.

when i started four years ago, there was a conversation about environmental issues that was very different. this is not being talked about in the way it is now. . this has just been like an amazing growth. i anticipate the project to be something that opens a dialogue to public interest in these ideas. so the work is really made to be seen in this environment. it's been show in museum, in gallery, but never in a public setting. and it's kind of ideal for both myself and the works to have this real dialogue with the public not only in san francisco but people coming from all over the world. >> since the dawn of

electricity, that light is something that people feel connected to and inspired by. personally, there is space to keep that alive, just finding balance. the key is to find some balance. >> of the league of woms and sfg tv have brought to bring you statements by all four candidates for sheriff.

>> my name is chris cunnie and i'm running for san francisco share of. i grew up in san francisco and i have been working to keep san francisco unsafe for just about my whole life. we're facing a critical moment for safety right now because of the progress -- a process call realignment that the state plans to send hundreds and maybe even thousands of prison inmates back to our city. that means keeping san francisco safe right now is going to require a lot of diverse skills like experience running jails, experience treating inmates said it comeback to jail and experience at every level of law enforcement. i am proud to say i am the only candidate who can bring all of these skills together. i served as under share of of san francisco, the second-in- command under mike hennessey. i help him improve our jail programs so that prisoners learned job skills and get treatment. they're not just guaranteed to commit another crime when they are released. i served as chief of

investigations in the district attorney's office, helping to lower crime working with the community. i served as the emergency communications director under mayor gavin, bringing many branches of law enforcement together. i served as head of walden house, one of the most respected substance-abuse treatment centers, providing services to the incarcerate informally incarcerated to help rebuild their lives. i served as a member of the california narcotics authority, helping to divert at into treatment. i served as president of the san francisco police department association and as a san francisco police officer, i received two medals of valor for my work on the street. i patrolled just about every corner of san francisco. a safer city requires bringing all of these elements together. i'm proud to have burned the support of senator dianne feinstein, the attorney general

, lt. gov. gavin newsom and many, many others. i hope i can earn your support also. please join us on our web site. thank you. >> election day is november 8th, 2011. that is the last date to vote in person and a deadline for receipt of the vote by mail ballots. >> hello. my name is ross mirkarimi, i'm the supervisor of the fifth district of the board of supervisors of san francisco. i am running for sheriff because i want to improve public safety throughout san francisco. when i was elected supervisor in 2004, i inherited the district with many neighborhoods that notoriously had the second-highest violent crime rate throughout all of san francisco. i set out to make sure we take

back our streets from crime. i did so with the kind of innovative programs that had not been used because of a community that had been woefully underserved but making sure we were able to marry the power of redemption on one end to being smart on crime in the other. long story short, we have been able to reduce violent crime to the point where i now had the largest reduction in the murder rate and violent crime rates throughout all of the city in our district. as evidenced by the visit darrow, the fillmore west addition and surrounding neighborhoods. during this time, cultivated a relationship with sheriff mike hennessey, the longest serving sheriff in san francisco history. he has been our share for more than 30 years. sheriff hennessy has endorsed me to succeed him as sheriff. sheriff is much more than managing the jail system, which we have a population of about 1500 inmates a day, or

protecting government buildings and what share of tennessee did was add it to rehabilitation and re-enter programs for -- before their release from county jail. we need to build on the foundation of sheriff mike hennessey and demonstrate it want to improve public safety, we do so by tackling recidivism, received a -- repeat offender rates that occurred because we are not getting to the ability to correct people's lives and help him correct them themselves before they get out of jail and stay off -- stay out of the criminal past. for every four people the san francisco police department arrest and is prosecuted, almost three are repeat offenders. that statistic would literally be a lot worse if it were not for the innovations of mike hennessey, but we have to improve our game. i want to turn around the same people to turn back there live and return back to the bayview, sunnyvale and mission, tenderloin, and others because i

believe in those same neighborhoods where there is great economic distress, those are the neighborhoods that have the greatest public safety challenges. i will save taxpayers money and i will be able to help demonstrate, built on the tennessee foundation of what it means to reform our criminal- justice system through the eyes of the sheriff's department. i would be honored to have your support. please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. it has been an honor to serve you as a supervisor and i would be honored to be your sheriff. >> the league of women voters and sfgovtv have been honored to bring you statements by all four candidates for share of. >> my name is paul miyamoto and i make captain in the sheriff's department and i can't edit it for sheriff in this election. our department finds itself in a very neat situation on the eve

of a significant change in the criminal justice system. our share has decided to retire after close to 32 years. the best person to continue his legacy and build on his foundation is someone who has been a part of carrying out that vision. that is me. i have professional experience in the operations and management of this department. i have risen through the ranks of all positions in gaining that experience as a trusted manager and leader with share of tennessee. i have work to implement and support these programs throughout my entire career in public service. i love this department and i am completely, absolutely dedicated to continuing the surest vision and moving the department forward as we face new challenges in the public safety. i have the universal support of the two labour organizations in the department that represent the men and women carry out the shares vision. at the close, personal, emotional tie to the department. on my very first day on the job,

i was late in relieving a deputy. to make up for that, i married that deputy and we are now raising our five children in this community. my priorities as europe are as follows -- the realignment of the california state prison system will have a significant impact of the criminal justice system. our past and continued success in these programs and services for individuals and out of custody is especially important to ensure since convicted felons will now fall under county level oversight. i have been responsible for carrying out the surest vision for the last 15 years. as the sheriff, my goal is to ensure the effective integration from custody. reducing the chances of refunding means increasing public safety for us all. in regards to the secured communities program, the implementation of the program as it stands leads to the edification and deportation of undocumented residents with minimal or no prior criminal history. i feel our focus should not be

on these individuals. i feel our partnership with late -- with state and local agencies will focus on the program to apprehend violent, dangerous criminals that pose a direct threat to our community. my third platform is to reexamine the organizational structure of the department to ensure efficiency. my goal would be to position the department to facilitate public safety obligations that arise. i have a unique perspective to lead to a difficult economic times that require us to be able to do more with less. public safety should not be compromised. if experience, respect, and overwhelming support of the people who do the job is important to you, i'm the person for the job. i look forward to your support for me this november in becoming the first asian american share of in san francisco. thank you. >> election day is november 8th, 2011. that is the last date to vote in

person and last date for receipt of the vote by mail ballots. >> i am david wong, a 20-years the trend with the san francisco assurance department. i served eight years in the united states army reserves and national guard. i am actively involved with youth programs like community youth centers and others in san francisco. i live in sunset with my wife and two children. i'm running for the office of sheriff because i believe we must reduce the recidivism rate and in still crime preventive measures by investing in our youth. in the 20 years i served as a deputy sheriff for san francisco, i witnessed the department spent more money for fewer resources. as sheriff, i would implement job training for the

incarcerated to enable them to transition into productive citizens and contribute toward our society. i would encourage youth programs where debt easing cage with the community, offering opportunity to our youth, enabling them to lead productive lives instead of turning to crime. i would implement a rehabilitation process for the incarcerated. i would implement a performance evaluation system to ensure every individual in a drug rehab program is held accountable for their participation. in addition, with the new realignment sentencing program governor brown just enacted, i

would invite all city unions to offer a basic life skills training course which would teach people in our jail how to get a job. thereby, providing an alternative to crime. i will work with the public defender's office and apply the clean slate program for them. let's make a change. vote for me for sheriff. thank you. >> election day is november 8th, 2011. that is the last date to vote in person and a deadline for receipt of vote by mail ballots. for more information about the election, and visits