entrepreneurial spirit. they own companies, but they love the city as well. they know the spirit of the city. it is one of innovation. one that invites people and their views enmeshes it up with old tradition to see if we can make an even better san francisco. my fellow collaborator, president david chiu, is here tonight. scott wiener. we have two other supervisors who may be coming later. supervisor jane kim and supervisor mar farrell, who might join us later. we're all part of the initial group of policy makers at city hall who want to hear ideas and views of this new economy, this collaborative consumption economy, a shared economy, one that we are very interested in because it has assets that have already peaked our interest. about our -- piqued our interest. about our environment, about how to do less with more, how to make an expensive city more affordable to more people.

how to utilize the strength of the city as a great tourist city that maybe not that affordable to too many people and how we can get more folks to come and experience the wonder of the city. and then hopefully they make their stake here. these panel members of decided to make their stake here. they risk reputation, may be small amounts of money, because of the had a lot of money, they may not have had to start this. but they have also, i think, done it for the right reasons. they want to experience this city in a very different way, but one that i think is in the tradition of san francisco and is reflective of mind, welcoming more people here to share in this economy. and hopefully for the right reasons, we create more jobs, get more entrepreneurs involved in the success and richness of this city. i have often said this city can be the city for the 100%. that is, everybody can have a

chance to fulfil their dreams and make sure they can have a stable economy for themselves and for their families. i think we're on the verge of discussing things that would invite other members of our city family, our department heads of that work in the tax section or in planning or in land use, to be involved with a discussion, an ongoing discussion that would potentially invite an open up our economy and modernize it even further. i think we're at a task where, quite frankly, a year ago, for example, david chiu and i do not know the outcome might be except that we were in fear that a company called twitter might leave our city and that thousands of jobs will leave us behind. so we took a little risk and suggested that we might be able to revamp our tax code for the benefit of job creation. and little did we know a year later that that invitation has caused over 125 companies to

locate themselves in our city, creating thousands of more jobs, creating an ad as mayor -- an atmosphere and environment that will welcome the new technology and innovation. to reinforce what we have been saying, and i think it is real. we are the innovation capital of the world. with your help and with your involvement. we would like to have the rest of the city catch up and be part of it as well. and we think we can have that conversation at city hall, but we will need your help. we will need you to represent the new industries as these companies are here today to keep the dialogue and that collaboration at a high level. it is the ongoing dialogue, just like the one we are leading already about a new tax structure for this city that does not punish the inventiveness that we want to have in the city. so i would like to just open with that introduction. welcome all of you here.

i think you are going to see and hear an exciting introduction of all these new companies in the discussions we have. but they are going to raise questions that we do not have the answers yet. but i do believe we have the spirit in this city to welcome solutions with your involvement. we will have the ability to do this online as well as in these forums, and i will be part of this ongoing discussion. because i want to see all of you interact with the city and make sure to is reflective of what you believe the city to be. an open society, one that is inviting to new ideas, and one that our of policy-makers along with the mayor can engage with you. thank you for being here. and thank you to spur again. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor. i think we're going to hear from supervisors scott wiener. >> thank you.

this turnout, i think, shows a significant this is to the future of the city. we were with a smaller group right before this. one thing that i stress and i will stress to you is that san francisco is a city that -- sort of, we haven't economy going on where we are in many ways to cut -- we have a dichotomy going on. in many ways, we are cutting edge technology and are really ahead of the curve. we attract a lot of people here, like you, in think our forward- thinking and want to try to do things in a different and more innovative way. we're also a really old school city. and change here is really challenging. for those of us at city hall, and david chiu and i talked about this a lot, when we're trying to do things differently, you can get a lot of reflexive push back, whether you're talking about putting cars

sharing on the streets or whether you're talking about changing the zoning to be able to create new types of housing to make the city a little bit more affordable and inclusive. you have those kinds of difficult conversations. so much of this is about really educating the city as a whole, from all generations, from all perspectives, that where we are going right now in san francisco, in a lot of ways in terms of our transportation system and housing policies, is not always very sustainable. and if we want is to be sustainable, if we want to remain a cutting edge and diverse city that draws all sorts of people here, we're going to have to change. we are going to have to consider new ways of doing things that maybe a year or two ago we were not even comfortable thinking about. so there is a big education process that has to occur, and i know we're all going to work together to make sure that that happens. i know we can move in the right direction. i look forward to that work.

thank you. [applause] >> in rounding out our trifecta, which underscores the importance of what we are talking about, is our very own board of supervisors president, david chiu. [applause] >> good evening. if you are like me, you did not come here tonight to hear from elected officials. i look forward to hearing from these innovators in a moment. i wanted to join my colleagues in ensuring all of you, our current generation of entrepreneurs, that we're looking forward to working with your hand-in-hand to figure out how we create san francisco not just as the capital of innovation that the capital of a sharing economy. i say this as someone who, for nine years before i joined the board of supervisors, i actually started what was a web 1.0 company. what makes our city special is everyone of you have ideas that will not only change our city

but will truly change our world. our mayor is responsible for managing the 50 + executive- branch departments that will be interfacing with many of the substantive policy areas that you and i. my colleague scott and i along with my nine other colleagues, we are responsible for legislating and figuring out how we, as a city, addax -- adapt to the new technologies are coming out with. changing the way we all live, as "time" magazine said recently. one thing we say is city hall, as those san francisco, often times so goes the rest of the country. and as goes the rest of the country, so goes the world. and i really believe we're starting sending very special today that is going to do that for our entire planet. thank you very much for being here. looking forward to working with you. [applause] ♪

hi

>> welcome. congratulations. it is a beautiful san francisco morning. thank you for joining us today to mark the centennial of a san francisco institution -- your muni system. [applause] it is actually quite appropriate that i am here today because we're talking about muni, moving people from one place to another, and i just moved from 1013 to 1 037. i am trying to move about 1 million people of the dial, so i have come to learn about doing just the sort of thing. i want to extend a special welcome to the members of the chu -- muni centennial and honorary committee that dianne feinstein has graciously agreed to share. i will be introducing and

recognizing members of the committee shortly along with the lady with two hats right here. nice to have you here. absolutely. always part of the day. we also have some very special guests and extend them greetings. from district four, supervisor carmen chu. [applause] district 8, supervisors got wiener -- supervisor scott wiener. district 10 supervisor malia cohen. district 11 supervisor john avalos, and city treasurer jose cisneros. [applause] front and center. well done. very happy 100th to muni. since its first days of operation on december 28, 1912,

this unique public transportation system has attracted and intrigue and amazed and served people from the city and untold visitors from all around the world. at to was the first major publicly owned transportation system in the nation and today is the seventh largest, carrying more than 200 million people a year. muni was part of the rebuilding after the 1900 sixth earthquake and served as a dynamic catalyst as the city expanded over the sand dunes and down the peninsula. songs and movies often have featured muni. i don't know if you have heard this one -- ♪ to be where little cable cars ♪ [laughter] actually, tony bennett in town a couple of weeks ago to do that song. he did a wonderful job. muni is also a system constantly position to realize its position and step forward in the new

strategic plan, which is -- san francisco, a great city, and excellent transportation choices. who better to waive that flag and our new mayor? although he has only been chief executive for a brief time, he, too, has a vision, which is to make san francisco the innovative capital of the world. he served two terms as city administrator and advanced the city's move to a cleaner environment, most notably by leading the way for green, electric vehicle, and tuesday, his new office of innovation launched improve sf, a new web site to provide a platform for rethinking the role that government and citizens will play. he embraces technology, although, like a lot of us, he was a little slow to grab on sometimes initially as a city administrator. in the day one day, he is standing in front of the shredder, holding a document, frustrated and asks for someone to help them with this thing.

an assistant comes over, pushes the button, takes the document, sticks it in. he says, "thank you so much. now can you make me two copies of that." [laughter] ladies gentlemen, the 43rd mayor of san francisco, ed lee. [applause] mayor lee: thank you. actually, i asked for three copies. welcome, everyone, to the beginning of the celebration of 100 years, the centennial of our municipal transportation system. i am so proud of this system. by thousand dedicated people serving all of our citizens and visitors -- 5000 dedicated people. i want to thank former mayor brown for being here as well. [applause] archie protocol officer -- our chief protocol officer, thank you for being here as well.

[applause] someone i learned a lot from being city administrator, our previous city administrator. thank you for being here. i am so thrilled to share the stage with so many of our elected officials, our mta board, our supervisors, but certainly, foremost in my mind has been our wonderful senator dianne feinstein, who really have the compassion for this system. before i introduce her, i just wanted to just let you know again how valuable this system is to us and what it means to us today, but in recognition of that, before we do that, it still is -- i mean, we've got 63 bus routes that are managed by our mta. seven light rail lines. the historic f line streetcars, of course.

700,000 daily borders of our mta -- daily boarders of our mta. of course, senator, as you so well articulated just moments ago, no mayor can ever escape a comment on a daily basis about somebody's quality of ride in the city. because it is so much part of our daily lives, but it is also a reflection early generations of innovation. because we go back many, many years ago when the system was created, and, you know, you cannot avoid acknowledgment of history.

they used mining technology to create the first cable cars in our system, and today, they have become the iconic representation of our muni system, that was innovation 100 years ago. and to understand that the mayor in 1912 drove the very streetcar we are about to ride in in 1912 , to yet again represent innovation. we will have not only our ride, but we will also have on board the newest generation of innovators, these technology companies here today that locating themselves on our markets st. riding with us as well because they represent the newest generation of technology that will help muni come into

the new generations for many years to come. december 28 of this year, we will be celebrating that 100 years, but we are going to have a lot of events leading up to that time, and also, to thank the 5000 dedicated people who are here today. i need to thank the chancellor's workers union because they are giving me a driver's pass today. [applause] mr. williams, thank you because a brief drivers has to drive the historic heart is absolutely necessary, one that will represent that i will be as safe as i can be but also as enthusiastic about the system as you and the workers and men and women who are represented here will always be on a daily basis as we transport these 700,000 riders on a daily basis. one of the nice things about

sharing the stage with senator feinstein is we can look back at her enthusiasm when she was a supervisor in those years in the 1970's when she declared the city to be a transit-first city. that was a wonderful thing because that has guided us for so many generations, and it has guided me to today that we are still a transit-first system. this is why we invest in our chances system. while we are going to make sure it is not only serving all of us, but that it welcomes in the new route we are creating that mayer brown has worked so hard to get established. now, with the help of senator feinstein and the help of so many of our delegation and state representatives, we will start and finish that central subway that will also be the complement of the third street light rail. that will be another admission

that we look forward to our transit system representing, to connect up eventually to what we have already started at the transbay terminal so that all of our muni transit system can connect up to the wonderful world of high-speed rail. that will be in our lifetime. not just a wish. we are taking steps to make sure that is a reality. that is our future. we cannot risk the inability to have our transit system connected up to all of our areas. and then, to help muni establish the bus rapid transit systems along geary, venice, that will be done in a very short time, and we got some help because today we announced the rebuild of our hospitals, and they are contributing to the rapid transit systems. senator, with your leadership, for so many years, and your help and such wonderful

leadership, i also want to acknowledge -- this transit system runs on hydroelectric power from our hetch hetchy dam, and we know that. we have felt that. we have used that. in addition to the wonderful water system it has, our our shaughnessy dan generates this power -- our shaughnessy dam. for anyone to suggest that we should tared that down and be irresponsible to generations of people who are dependent on this innovation that occurred hundreds of years ago is to be irresponsible to our whole city. [applause] so i will tell you today, we will protect that dam. we will protect that innovation, and we will do it in the spirit that all of our and the raiders are today, that our spirit is rich enough to help everybody to make sure that we reflect everybody's lives.

this trends assistant touches all of people's lives, whether you are a struggling immigrant, a small business, or the largest business in san francisco. it touches everybody's lives, and she knew it when she was supervisor when she declared transit first. she continues to help us in so many ways. she has been my mentor, and she has been a continuing to be a great representative of our city. if i may welcome to the podium, our senator, senator feinstein. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. well, it is always nice to come home and get one good round of applause. kind of my morale boost for the week.

this is a trip down memory lane for me. as a 6-year-old, i used to ride the f3 car from where we lived around beach st.. i could not read, so i would have to ask the operator to tell me when this streak came up, and, of course, he did, and i am still here. it really developed a tremendous fondness in me for these mechanical giants. then, as willie will know and rudy will no -- rudi was deputy mayor for willie, deputy mayor for me, we're joined by a distinguished public utilities commission of that i had the honor of nominating and putting on the commission, dr. flynn, if

you would give him a round of applause. [applause] as rudy knows well, the problems are either how you fix it when something goes wrong or how you fund it because public transit systems are expensive. when i became mayor, one of the first things we found was that there was not a staggered bus line. do you remember that? one half of the fleet, which was around 300 cars, was breaking down continually. that got my attention very quickly. i think we did do the first staggering purchases for the muni railway so it would never happen again. thanks to the good stewardship of mayer brown and others and the good stewardship of ed lee, it never is going to happen

again. then, in around 1983, into my office what gordon swanson, then the head of the chamber of commerce, and rick, who suggested doing and historic trolley festival, and that historic trolleys festival was set to just operate during the tourist season from fisherman's wharf down to castro just for four months. the next year, 1984, was the democratic convention, it was easy for me to convince him to continue that that year. then, it was expanded to a five- year plan, and it existed for five years. well, it has been a few decades since then, and the historic trolley festival is still going on. [applause]

now, i understand the route is going to be extended. one of the great things about this city is you have people who really do care, not a year in and year out, but decade after decade after decade. rick is one of those people, so you would do me a great honor if you would give him a big round of applause. [applause] i will tell you a little story -- we were standing in this little museum, which you all have to go in and see. i asked him if it was his idea, and he said, "no, it was your idea. [laughter] really not so. another great event during my

tenure was the cable car refurbishment. cable cars are amazing. the last remaining cable system in the world, and the cable itself is very complicated because it is still with -- steel with hemp in the middle, and as you know, it is of the marijuana family and there are not a lot of legal producers. we had to find hemp to redo the cable and also restore those cable cars. we went out and we ask the business community if they could raise $10 million, which was our match, for the federal money of, i think, $42 million. i will never forget, in walks

ken of chevron with a million- dollar check. not ask, just walked in, believe it or not. those were really the good old days. i asked if he would lead the effort, and he did. that raised the $10 million. the federal grant was forthcoming, and the cable grant system was restored. today, it is the significant symbol of our city. today, you have not only the millions of riders that were mentioned, but i guess you have at least 700,000 a day on this system. it is incredible. it is special. it needs care, concern, funding, fixing, and that is really what all of this is about. for all of you that are here today to say happy birthday, but also we want to be part of

the solution, not part of the problem, i want to thank you. what makes city's great are people who care. never forget that. so in this room, you have a heritage, and you have a legacy, and that is, i think, the finest and most unusual public transportation system in the united states of america. let's keep it going, strong, fixed, and funded, for the next 100 years. thank you for letting me be part of it. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much, senator, for being here. if you and the mayor would come over please, we would like you to unveil the logo here. this is the muni