supervisor chiu: good afternoon. welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors meeting of tuesday, november 8, 2011. happy election day. hope everyone has voted. madam clerk, could you please call the roll? >> [roll call]

mr. president, all members are present. supervisor chiu: thank you. ladies and gentlemen, could you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? >> to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. supervisor chiu: madam clerk, are there any communications? >> i have no communications. supervisor chiu: our 2:00 p.m. special order will be scheduled until november 15, next week. could you please read items one through 11? >> items 1 through 11 constitute the consent agenda and will be acted upon by a single roll call vote. unless a member requests separate discussion of a matter. it shall be removed and discussed separately. supervisor chiu: would anyone

like to sever anything from the consent agenda? madam clerk, please call the roll. >> chiu aye. chu aye. cohen aye. farrell aye. kim aye. mar aye. mirkarimi aye. wiener aye. avalos aye. campos aye. there are 11 ayes. supervisor campos: those items are approved. could you please call item 12? >> item 12, motion reversing findings that a property located at 1171 sansome street is exempt from environmental review. supervisor chiu: i pass out

some paper work to more tightly defined the findings are around the slow percentages we have. with that, i would like to make the motion. supervisor campos: can we take that motion without objection? supervisor chiu: next item, please. >> on the item as amended? supervisor chiu: yes, the item as amended. without objection. >> item 13 is an ordinance be appropriating approximately $304 million in an existing water system improvement program project and every appropriating the funds to the revised wsip program budgets adopted by the san francisco public utilities commission. supervisor chiu: can we take this item same house, same call?

without objection, the ordinances passed on the first reading. >> item 14 is an ordinance de- appropriating approximately $17 million of 2008 clean and safe neighborhood parks bond proceeds and real appropriating -- re-up for treating other projects. supervisor chiu: same house, call? the project is approved. >> item 15 authorizes the office of economic and workforce development to retroactively accept and expend a grant in the amount of 5,000,724 $203. adam 16 is an organ is appropriating approximately $3.4 million of state revenue loss reserves and federal revenues for adult day care centers -- item 16 is an ordinance appropriating approximately $3.4 million. supervisor chu: the item came

before the budget and finance committee last week. generally, i am support of, in particular because we do see there will be potentially loss of funding as of december 1 and given the critical nature of some of the individuals who receive these services, i believe that bridge funding we would be providing with this money is something that would be beneficial. the one question we did have centered around the ongoing staffing at the department, in particular for intake and also for referrals, the department did clarify that the positions at the department would be funded with temporary salaries and that future your discussions about what continues on would be part of the budget conversation in the upcoming year, so i am comfortable voting for this and i urge my colleagues to do the same period supervisor chiu: -- to do the same. supervisor chiu: can we take the item same house, call? without objection, passed on the

first reading. >> item 17 is a resolution responding to the presiding judge of the superior court on the findings and recommendations contained in the 2010-2011 civil grand jury report. supervisor chiu: same house, call? resolution is passed. >> item 18, resolution responding to the presiding judge of the superior court on the findings and recommendations contained in the 2010-2011 civil grand jury report entitled "whistling in the dark: the san francisco whistleblower program." supervisor chiu: we do not have any 3:30 accommodations. if we could go to roll call. >> president chiu, your first. supervisor chiu: submit. supervisor campos: thank you. at the election day, colleagues. i am requesting it -- happy

election day, colleagues. i am requesting a hearing before it to the government and oversight committee on the ethics commission's handling for violations of the sunshine ordinance. the hearing should include consideration of the sunshine ordinance task force recommended changes for handling those complaints. the rest i submit. thank you. >> thank you, supervisor campos. supervisor avalos? supervisor mar? supervisor mar: thank you. i have a couple of items. a new coalition has come together of food access groups but also small and middle-size farmers to support a fair farm bill. every five years, congress goes through this process, but what we are worried about is the back room deal process going forward by a so-called super committee

of 12. we are working with advocacy groups, our food systems director, and others to challenge this back room process and to fight for a fair farm bill that hopefully will help move forward a san francisco's healthy and sustainable food act of 2009 and other policies past where it shows our strong city commitment to equitable access to affordable and nutritious food and a health-centered food system and a sustainable agriculture system with a vibrant and regional agriculture system as well. other legislation i have been working on has been moving us toward becoming an aging- friendly city that supports seniors as baby boomers become the senior boomers in the next 20 years like myself and a number of my colleagues. i am introducing a resolution to extend the bond maturity date for the senior housing project

by three months. as many of you know, the old theater was transformed into the senior campus of the institute on aging to create a more livable senior community with a wraparound services and strong aging in place programs. the project is a 100-50 -- 150- unit affordable housing project, and it has received capital financing from the mayor's office of housing and redevelopment agency among other sources. bridge, which is an amazing non- profit housing developer, is in the process of closing the california department of housing and community development loan, which was partially -- which will partially repay the bonds as a take out source, so bridge is concerned that permanent financing may not close in time to pay out the bonds due to no fault of the bridge, and the current maturity date is december 1, 2011, said the resolution simply provides a three-month extension, which

would avoid technical default on the bonds if they are not paid off by december 1, 2011. in the event that hcd does not close on time, the document would not be signed. because the document must be executed by november 30, 2011, and because there is no fiscal impact on the city, i am introducing it as a resolution for adoption without reference to the committee, and i urge you to vote in favor to help preserve this exemplary senior housing source. lastly, i will quickly give a heads up that next week, we will be hearing a resolution. i am introducing it today. one of the richmond pride restaurants is ave said. the chef is also an author, and

there is an incredible book that he has just written. a special meeting will happen on november 19 at green apple books on the bookstore, but the resolution will acknowledge his 10th anniversary in our neighborhood, and we hope they will stay forever in the richmond district but also acknowledging the chef's national and international awards and his book signing that is coming up as well. the rest i will submit. thank you. supervisor farrell: thank you. colleagues, have the election day as well -- happy election day as well. i am introducing an amendment that take away our right choice voting system in san francisco. it was an experiment that voters approved in 2002, and the unintended consequences continue to pile up election after election. it is time to stop that.

almost a decade later, massive numbers of san franciscans continue to be confused about our voting process in the city. your it talking with people on the street, and it is shown in poll after poll -- you hear it in talking with people on the street. i do not think people should be spending time thinking about how to vote. it is an interesting game. it has become a chess match between campaigns, but to me, this is not something we should be playing games with. our fundamental right to vote is something we should protect. i believe our leaders here should be elected with a majority vote, plain and simple. people want their vote to count. it is what governs our elections across the country and what governs our chambers here in the board of supervisors. candidates have to play with the rules that are given. those of us running today, those of us who have run in past elections -- we have to play the cards we are dealt, but at a certain point, we have to look

at the rules and challenge them and say these rules do not make sense anymore for san francisco. that time is now. i am introducing this charter amendment to be placed on next june's ballot. we will be having hearings about this over the course of the next two months, and i want to signal that i am not dogmatic about any part of this legislation. i have had conversations with a few of you about other systems where we have such as new york -- where we have the original election in september and the runoff in november. i think we need to have those conversations. some of those are good ideas. the only think i am dogmatic about is that right choice of what brigid voting does not work. -- rank choice of voting does not worke. supervisor avalos: i am actually stunned that the very day we have -- the very day of the election before we have even put

it to rest, you are talking about a charter amendment to limit any rank choice voting peer we had an election already with the mayor's race was in question in 2007. the establishment did not make any complaints whatsoever. this is -- i understand how you might want to have the discussion or possible charter amendment coming forward after there has been some kind of analysis about the election, how it got carried out, but to move forward with the elimination of it on the very day of the election before it has been put to rest, i think that is rather it -- rabit zealousness. to bring this forward on the very day of the election seems like a cheap publicity stunt. >> supervisor elsbernd. supervisor elsbernd: [inaudible]

roll call is typically not a time when we take shots at one another. the analysis about all the events that have transpired since 2004, and one little analysis that has been done is that nine of the 11 supervisors sitting here have been elected with less than a majority vote. it is not about this election. one fact that i guarantee you -- whoever is elected mayor today will be elected with less than a majority of the vote. should you come in second place today, i hope you are as dogmatic in your opposition. supervisor chiu: i just want to remind folks that roll call for introductions is actually for introductions, not to debate issues, and i asked that we keep it to that, and i appreciate everyone's comments. >> i see supervisor avalos' name

on the roster. supervisor avalos: i am introducing the city attorney that to draft a charter amendment that will be make different ways of doing ranked joyce voting. i will have one charter amendment that will be reestablishment of the current right choice voting. i also want to discuss another version that could consist of voting -- each voter would get three votes, and they could devote those to any candidate they want to, including one candidate. i will discuss this further with the city attorney and move it forward, but i do not think it makes a lot of sense on the very day of the election to start moving towards the elimination of rank choice of voting. there are a lot of unintended consequences. many of us sitting here are unintended consequences, perhaps, but there is also a way of going in with eyes wide open, knowing that we will not have a majority that is going to elect the next supervisor or the next mayor of san francisco, but it

will be a determination of the variables here i think a lot of people when they voted to have it knew that was in effect what was happening, and the voters -- the voting electorate is much smarter than we give them credit for today. thank you. supervisor wiener: thank you. i just want to thank supervisors elsbernd and farrell for raising the issue. as with a charter amendment, we are going to have a lengthy public discussion. it is not about any one election. i think there are a lot of positives. i supported it when it was instituted. i supported it over the years, but i, like many, have serious concerns about it, and i do not know that the complete repeal is the right way to go, but there are a lot of different ideas that can be discussed, and i think it is appropriate to discuss them. i do not think it is any kind

of inappropriate thing to raise that issue. and as a charter amendment, this will go through an enormous amount of process and discussion. supervisor chiu: thank you, college spirit i really would like to remind everyone that we will have many months to debate these issues. this is a time for introducing matters, not to debate them. supervisor kim: i would like to do an in memoriam request. i would like to adjourn in memory of jibari allah, and mentor, father figure, brother, and friend, and he touched the lives of hundreds of people in our community. in my short time as supervisor, he helped mediate relationships with neighbors and many of the sro buildings here.

he was truly a dedicated community activists and public servant, and we are sad to see him go. this thursday, we are welcoming the community to the seneca hotel from 4:30 to 7:34 memorial services -- to 7:30 for memorial services. he passed away on october 31 of this year. thank you. >> thank you, supervisor. seeing no other names on the roster, that concludes roll call for introduction. supervisor chiu: thank you. why don't we go to general public comment? >> the next item on the agenda is for members of the public to address the board on items within the jurisdiction of the board including -- speakers using translation assistance would be allowed twice the amount of time.

a member of the public would like a document to be displayed on the overhead projector, please clearly states such and remove the document when the screen should return to live coverage of the meeting. supervisor chiu: thank you. why don't we hear from our speakers today? first speaker. >> [speaking for language] what i said -- i said happy holiday for each muslim in the world. today is our holy day, and i would like to continue to use my arabian language. [speaking foreign language]