>> a good afternoon, board of supervisors. i'm a member of the marijuana oversight committee as well as -- i have several members with military backgrounds, including one uncle that committed suicide because of posttraumatic stress. it distresses me that our own task force cannot support this letter for our veterans because the need is great. the voices may be a minority here in san francisco, but believe me, our veterans have fought hard for the rights that they deserve and i hope you family members -- i look at these seats here and most of you guys are part of my family, i hope you can find to get your

hard to make sure these that gets the benefits they deserve. medically as well as modestly. thank you. president chiu>> my name is thad i'm a disabled veteran. we are not allowed to go to federal court. we cannot sue the navy or the va. the bureaucrats at the v.a. are total tyrants and their words is the final answer. in 1950, a veteran at the wrong way it -- the wrong leg chopped off and the supreme court ruled they did not have jurisdiction. therefore, for the last 200 years from the beginning of the va when you had over 100 men, women, and children shot in front of the white house because

they were complaining about their disability what they wanted compensation, their blood spurred on the veterans administration because of the public outrage they created. in 1996, congress passed a law setting the veterans administration has to help veterans. they have not done that yet. now, what you have is 40% of the homeless people are veterans. you have more veterans dying on the streets than in actual combat. you have veterans coming back that our pilots from the air force that were given pharmaceutical speed to keep them awake for the long runs because they were doing so many tours. you have all these disabilities and you have atrocities happening at the v.a. hospital and these people are totally unaccountable. i want to quote the chairman of the senate oversight committee of the veterans administration -- he said these people need to

go to prison. ok? that's where we are at with veterans and that's why you have them dying on the street. any break you can give us would be greatly appreciated. hopefully you can recognize us as human beings. thank you. [tone] president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> hello, board of supervisors. i'm a member of access of love and black brown canada's policy. i'm a little perturbed and upset at the medical campus task force. the reason being is i know medical where bridget medical marijuana is a nonprofit the initiative -- i a no medical marijuana is a non-profit initiative. if they break the law, they're breaking the law. part of my problem is people are not putting patients in front of business pertaining to medical

marijuana. recently, i would say less than a quarter of the members on the medical marijuana task force are veterans. they are making decisions and this letter, i don't get. why are couple of bad actors on a medical marijuana task force going to stop this letter from going to the board of supervisors as the veterans road it? i don't want stuff sugarcoated if it comes to you from some task force. there are some bad actors on this task force. i've been here for over year watching it every session. these are serious issues. i come from a war family. my father made me and my brother promised we would never go to war. he should have made that same promise to my sister. she died as a veteran overseas. i remember my father, the

lesions on his leg when he is put in agent orange as a prisoner of war. these are my memories as a child. i should have fought harder because i.t. -- i became a victim of the drug war. i have served several sentences over these issues, the same issues i'm standing here -- are not a criminal. [tone] president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i am a medicinal marijuana patient, activists and a member of axis of love. and i am a concerned citizen. i speak as a bewildered and confused citizen. i don't understand why the issues keep getting tabled it

seems unjust and unfair. they have the same benefits as all other medical marijuana patients. all suffer due to illness is and what seems to be, instead of making access safe and easy, it seems like it's getting harder and harder with clubs closing. i would just like to ask if we could please get some type of relief. i would really appreciate it. thank you. >> good afternoon members of the board. i'm the current chair of the medical cannabis task force. i want to let the city family know that first off on the agenda will be the seating of the veterans who have been awaiting their seating for some

up to five or six months. we have members of the legal community waiting to sit on our legal committee. i want to state that we need to all be working on the issue of equity and safe access. we are falling behind. we are one of two sanctuary cities in the world for medical cannabis. yes, the district columbia is ahead of us in legislation and has made provisions for low- income patients which i assume would include low-income veterans. we all need to get up to speed on that issue. i did reach out to my district supervisor, supervisor kim in helping us navigate some of the issue for veterans and making a match with the veterans commission and finding out how we can address some of the more serious issues like denying

psychiatric medicine at to medicinal cannabis patients and i also one to state that i will be putting forth a motion to condemn the current administration's memorial day slap in the face to the united states canada's veterans and i hope most of the supervisors here would sign on to this letter. thank you for your time. [applause] president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i'm a member of the immigrants' rights commission. i'm here today because the commission sent you each a letter about our language access report and i'm sure you have copies. about the importance of making sure there is enough money for departments to continue access.

every year at this time, you are laden down with the budget any may not have had time to read this letter so i wanted to pass it out again and make two points of my own. three points. one is you can't find a sign in city hall anywhere the tin spanish or chinese. i would very much like to know about it. city hall is not doing well and language access. i would like to point out everybody pays taxes. even if you don't fill out a federal 1040 form because you are to pour, you still pay taxes. you pay taxes through your sales tax and pay taxes three or rent.

renters' help the landlord's property taxes. you are paying state and local funds. everybody should be entitled to speak to get language access. and get any needed government services. you don't have to be a citizen or speaking wish to pay taxes. we hope you will retain the money that is needed to make that possible. the other point i would like to make is i hope in the next budget revision that we will conform -- [tone] president chiu: thank you very much. next speaker. >> ims native san franciscan, born and raised here in san francisco and paid taxes and voted since i was 18.

i'm here to discuss two issues -- one as mental health rights. there have been a lot of cutbacks for mental health outpatient clinics. of vouchers for food, clothes, toiletries. with a low income we have, you only get enough for rent and food and that is it. it doesn't leave much room for clothes or anything else. if you want to get back to work, you can i get the clothes you need for interviews. it's difficult to get help with resumes. commission hours have been cut and staff members have less hours for service on that. the other issue of want to discuss is going back to the first one, we need those services reinstated or we will have a protest in front of city hall at every mental health patient protesting with their families. it is ridiculous we are getting cutbacks affecting our lives. it is just ridiculous. homelessness is a big issue because mental health patients

are often homeless and we're getting flooded from other cities. new york, manhattan, chicago, all giving you one way ticket to san francisco. they are flooding our system. it's not right for people not to apply because it is flooded and they have to wait a few months because someone from new york just got it. that needs to stop at the next mayors summit. we need to pressure the mayor to put a stop to those cities bringing their homeless here. we're not going to take on the homeless of the whole country. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> members of the board of supervisors, and the director of san francisco open government, and i will be submitting a 150 word statement. i'm beginning to wonder how bright the board of supervisors is. the recent action regarding the sunshine ordinance is evident in

one simple fact -- they're replacing every last member of the task force. supervisors wiener and farrell would argue we have not replace them all and to that i would say not yet. the new members are compromised. if they decide against a citizen, it's because a citizen -- is it because the office and failed to make their case or because the members know their fate if the fight against the board of supervisors? the board of supervisors has compromised its own when says a questionable -- as the question will arise today when or did they intimidate the jury? in fact, i'm certain that message has reached all boards and commissions. here is your fate should you decide the case against us. i have to wonder if the ethics commission case regarding the sheriff is also compromised. after all, the members of the ethics commission must now understand the repercussions of finding other than what they are told to find.

the bottom line is boards and commissions in this city work at your beck and call or the mayors back and call and if they make a decision like the task force did and it is something they side with the citizen against you, the justice and retribution will be swift and sure. every single member of the task force is being replaced because they decided cases against you. if you want to dress up in some other language and say it was because they did something a year ago about which we said nothing during that entire year, you have to think we are a bunch of idiots. as far as the previous speakers -- [tone] president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> mind name isace ace washingt

just to show how silly the city government is what i have never seen it as low as it is here. i see intelligent white men come up here and you still pay no attention. one thing we must do is collaborate and ask the federal government, the state, somebody to come here to san francisco to see how corrupt the department heads are, to see how corrupt the commissioners are. to see how our city government has been running in the last 10 or 15 years. the morale is going down even more. ladies and gentleman, yours truly, h washington is here to protect my people. i go to sleep black and make-up black. we have a state of emergency for the black african-americans here. we just have one black supervisor here all by herself. i'm not going to blame

everything on her. the box tops at the mayor's office. supervisors, let me go down the line of all the corrupt agencies in which i have been doing a study of. the human rights commission, the commission that handles the communications, the african- american community has been slaughtered and we have nothing to do with the cameras that goes on here. when i'm the creator of the government channel. ladies and gentleman, and going to file a federal government to have this whole city investigated. all these department heads and of war -- and of the board of stupak advisers. i'm convinced without a doubt this city is the most corrupt, racist city in the united states. you know how to get rid of negros. you can do that through urban renewal, but dammit, we are still here.

something is going to happen to this city. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i have been living in a san francisco for 28 years and driving a cab for more than 20 years and the policies are hurting drivers like me. we are already suffering from the pilot program and on top of that, they are -- they are bypassing [unintelligible] as long as they have been evaluating this, the qualified

drivers on the waiting list. i am asking for your help. i need my medallion. not 10 or 15 years from now. i need my medallion now. not 10 or 15 years from now when i will be retired. supervisors, since the taxicab commission is changing all the rules set by the people of san francisco several years ago before the previous board of supervisors -- the former president of the board asked the former executive director to you intend to change and the executive director said no and look what happens. the actions of the mta jeopardize the integrity of this board. therefore, i urge you to put everything back the way it was before the mta took over the texas commission.

-- the taxi commission. 3.5% the cab drivers have to pay credit cards feet. [tone] -- credit-card fee. president chiu: next speaker. >> good afternoon. i came down today because i support the legislation you had before you, item number 23. but i do have concerns. it do not take a year for business to be taken care of dealing with this small issue. number one, i was thinking if you hire me as your consultant, i will have it done for you in less than six weeks. you can laugh, but i'm telling the truth.

number one -- you need an eight seat here to be on the committee which is the comptroller's office. i didn't even see the group that called workforce sitting on the committee. number one, if you continue at the rate for one-year, the people are still going to be ripped off. it's been done every day. especially with latinos because they cannot speak english. i'm quite sure some of you was not here when we had to deal with amoco that was it in hunters point and how they was taken as people's money and not paying them the way that they should. i will have a professional to come and give a workshop. this is what is needed all the city agency. i tried to talk to them during

the time when we was doing the hiring for construction. they will not listen. it seems as though when i make suggestions, it's blacklisted with the people back into a job for the city. they don't want the job is what i'm saying. don't take a year, it down even take three months. for transparent, it should be open where everyone can see what people are doing. some of these things on here, these people have been doing crap for the last 15 years and it needs to stop. i want you to hire me. [applause] [tone] president chiu: thank you. are there any other members of the public who wish to speak in public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. why don't we go to our 3:30 special order? and a supervisor elsbernd has a

few items you would like to present before >> thank you, mr. president. and thank you to my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to present on these two. later, we will be voting on the stay in san francisco. we reducing that because of after 34 years of service -- we were doing that because of after 34 years of service, and that is leaving us. i think about the things i wanted to say about you, annette, it does not matter what time of day it is or what day of the week is, you never have a bad day. you always have that smile on your face. i do not think i have ever seen you just walk in the hallway.

you always seem to be so happy that you are skipping down the hallway. you are such a fresh breath of fresh air. i feel better when i see you. you bring a light into what ever room you are in wherever you are and i will definitely miss that. and of course, there's the great work that you have done for us in the clerk's office. i think we all would agree that whatever successes that we have, there is no question that a lot of supervisors have benefited from your great work. it on behalf of that, we thank you for your great work. [applause]

>> thank you, mr. president. if i could also just say a few a fewannette. please, stand near the podium. you have always been the person at the clerk's office -- you hold a rarity. you started your career here at the board of supervisors and tour ending your career here at the board. you assisted staff in the multiple committees and being at the sergeant at -- being the sergeant at arms at the meetings. you have been invaluable to us. but your principal duty has been treating the board agenda, and that is, creating -- communicating the board's business to the public. i think even you would agree that in this age of technology, our agendize are not easy to create. but you hustle every week and

thank you for not leaving many items off the agenda, you know, for any serious issues. thank you very much. i think it bears mentioning that the agenda is the document that many aids and legislators and members of the public have relied on to see what is going on with the board. and we appreciate your many years of creating that agenda. it has been a pleasure to work with you and congratulations on your retirement. >> i just want to say thank you, everybody. that is it. [laughter] [applause] president chiu: our next honoree

is the person that our former colleague, the state assemblymen often referred to as the diva of the clerk of the board of supervisors office. gail johnson is leading us after 36 years of service. i cannot tell you after -- the number of committee hearings that i sat through, particularly budget committee, where i needed to go for a walk and a breath of fresh air, but they'll never moved. the strength that you show and your dedication to the work, it always struck me how committed you were to us and helping us work our way through the process. my favorite memory of you was about 10 years ago, a black and white ball out in front of city hall. there was a tent and kool & the gang was performing.

and there was gail in the most beautiful black sequined gown with a drinking your hand and tapping your foot and having the best time. i've never gotten an image out of my mind when i marquee with you. it helped me understand -- when i am working with you. it helped me understand that you worry to the wonderful human being. you really are the backbone of the work back there. the board of supervisors are so much better off for all of your work. thank you for all that you have done for us. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president. gail johnson, you have always been the calm in the storm.

your level had in this has always made you reliable and dependable in every -- a level headed ness is what has made you reliable and dependable in every situation. many who have watched you over the years know this about you. i have received phone calls from individuals feeling the same seismic shift that we are feeling with the sense that you are retiring. it is felt throughout the city. because of your extensive knowledge and experience that the colleagues in the room who are here have always looked to you for guidance to resolve some of their problems. you have played the starring role in all of the committees that you have clerk that have ever been treated by the board of supervisors. you have clerked many of them

over the last 36 years. you are being honored for your dedication to the office of the clerk of the board and to your read -- to the residence for your public service here. it has been a gift for me since 1995. and now for you and mrs. launch . lonnich, we would like you to enter into your retirement with the knowledge that you have conducted your careers professionally and serve your city well. we very much appreciate that and want to send you on to your retirement with the same vigor. thank you both. [applause] >>