-- i want to thank you for getting together, finally. and attempting to work out your differences. you need to focus again on what the goal you are seeking to date is and that is getting citizens the right to public records. citizens having the ability to participate in open meetings. i was not here for the entire discussion. there were a couple of points that were mentioned. first of all, i do not think anyone from the task force has ever suggested that you would not have the ability to hear issues. the problem has been, you have never had -- i am sure you have read your grand jury report. i am sure that was one of the

primary motivations of you having this joint meeting. no one is suggesting that you do not hear all the issues. what the public is asking the ethics commission to do is review the findings, the letters of determination by the task force, and determine if there is any merit. secondly, i heard a comment about the volume of cases. volume -- which should never be a criteria of whether or not you accept orders of determination for your trial. if you would began to hear some of the cases, i can assure you there would be less volume of cases and orders of determination by the task force. thank you very much.

>> good afternoon. this meeting was a reassuring and a big relief. i do not know why it had to happen. because of that document. that deviated from where everyone was going. i recall the civil grand jury report, pointed out the executive director had too much influence on the commissioners. i recall that 96% of the sunshine complaints gets dismissed. they probably never get to the commissioners. similarly, whistle-blower retaliation complaints. not one has been sustained since this commission was founded. all of the investigations, the

preparatory work is done by the staff. looking at the staff's proposal, you can see it the legal technicalities, the restrictions, the narrowing down of the intent. i think that is where the problem is. >> good afternoon, commissioners and staff and members of the public. my name -- i am a candidate for supervisor in district 7. 2012. this is all new to me. i have a case that was referred before you. i do not know if you will. . i did not know it would be

referred, but i am glad that it was a -- that it was. the case took a lot of time and the sunshine taskforce worked hard on that. one of the things i am concerned about is a lack of open government. i want to commend all of you for all the hard work that you do. some of the stories i have heard, i do not know, but one of the things i will say is that i am very appreciative of the numerous hours the sunshine taskforce has spent. we are beginning to work with other people to invite them to participate in open government. as a person of color, i am very concerned about the lack of diversity at some of these meetings because i am not the only one who has a grievance. i am sure that our residents who

are in hunters point or bayview or the mission district, they have reasons -- grievances as well. as the sunshine task force and the ethics commission, you have a lot of work to do. i'd to comprehend that everything political, even though we like to say it is not, it really is. some of these decisions to arrive that may not be something that you want to do because friends are involved, may be distant relatives, but you are here for the people. you are here for me. it is very difficult -- i hope that is not lost. you are here for all of san francisco. it is truly a very diverse city. until my case, people thought they were disenfranchised, they were in despair.

i had to do something to help my community. you are here on behalf of all san franciscans, nearly a million of us. i hope you keep that in mind. and not this side of that. thank you. -- and not lose sight of that. thank you. >> executive director of library users association. i am somewhat encouraged by today's meeting and there certainly appreciate the time and effort that all of you love put into this. i certainly hope this will result in some type of action fairly soon. that will be a positive. mr. grossman referred to a 2004 case.

that was my case against the library. even though the library did not even bother to show up for what they called an enforcement hearing, which the sunshine or dance task force held, even though they specifically said -- sunshine or dance task force held, even though they specifically said they would not show up at that hearing because they were unavailable, that kind of flouting of the law, including the finding of a violation, when this reached the ethics commission. in brief, there was no word of any kind from the ethics commission. i tried to contact someone from the ethics commission and say, despite all the possibly

confusing papers you were getting, including papers were a case i had filed a your previous was slipped in with the records so that it was quite confusing to sort out comment i said it was fairly simple and i would be very happy to cooperate. it was a simple case of a request for information that the library refuse to satisfy. i never heard anything from the sunshine taskforce. it was with the ethics commission. i never heard anything from the at this commission ever again about that case -- ethics commission ever again about that case. i did not hear about anything about their process, nothing about their procedure, what the hearings might be. hearings are no hearings, how it worked. absolutely nothing.

the way they've treated the way i found out about the ethics commission's dismissal was by chance when i visited a sunshine taskforce meeting and heard a passing reference to a letter that the ethics commission had sent. i certainly hope that all that you consider from here forward will include considerations of how you provide the justice to the public. thank you. >> this is a statement. as i read it come at bear in mind, please, that it was delivered to me verbally by telephone before this meeting began. shortly before this meeting began. "i was on the sunshine or dance task force for 7.5 years and was

a chair or vice chair of the ethics commission from 2002 to 2004. i am the only person ever to serve on both bodies. i filed various complaints with the sunshine or dance task force, all were upheld by the task force, either unanimously or by all but one vote. the sunshine ordinance task force agreed with me, it gets all of my complaints were dismissed by the ethics commission. ethics said the complaint would not stand up in court. the sunshine ordinance does not say that complaints must be court sustainable. ethics is formulating a requirement that has no basis in law and is on known to anyone. in regard to the 123-page memo from ethics, this shows an attempt to avoid dealing with

complaints by focusing on whether a violation was willful. there is an easier way to address this. there is a requirement of commissioners, department heads, and program managers, to take periodic training. people signed a declaration under penalty of perjury. thus, if an employee complaint against has signed that document, it is possible that they have been negligent in their retraining, and have committed perjury by signing it. its ethics simply looked at whether the sworn statements are filed, that is an easier way to establish whether there was negligence and culpability on the part of the respondent. ethics approach now is a hybrid legalistic and will discourage complaints from being filed. these observations are coming from the only person ever to

serve on both the sunshine or dance task force and the ethics commission. -- sunshine ordinance task force and the ethics commission." >> i would like to thank the task force before your assistance. the commission for their work. the staff of both bodies. mr. grossman and the public. i think we all have a goal of trying to faithfully enforced the ordnance and we appreciate your help in helping us get there. the meeting is adjourned.

>> the next time you take a muni bus or train, there could be new technology that could make it easier to get to your destination. many are taking a position of next bus technology now in use around the city. updated at regular intervals from the comfort of their home or workplace. next bus uses satellite technology and advanced computer modeling to track buses and trains, estimating are bought stocks with a high degree of accuracy. the bus and train our arrival

information can be accessed from your computer and even on your cellular phone or personal digital assistant. knowing their arrival time of the bus allows riders the choice of waiting for it or perhaps doing some shopping locally or getting a cup of coffee. it also gives a greater sense that they can count on you to get to their destination on time. the next bus our arrival information is also transmitted to bus shelters around the city equipped with the next bus sign. riders are updated strictly about arrival times. to make this information available, muni has tested push to talk buttons at trial shelters. rider when pushes the button, the text is displayed -- when a rider pushes the button. >> the success of these tests led to the expansion of the program to all stations on the

light rail and is part of the new shelter contract, push to talk will be installed. check out the new technology making your right easier every day >> 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