general manager and future department head for the public utilities commission, harlan kelly here as well. thank you so much for being he here. >> so what can i say about my bosses. well, it's really exciting time. i've been with the puc for nine years. and i tell you that the commissioners that we have in place is a great group of individuals. they work together. they have dialogue. they may not all be on the same page, but at the end of the day, we have a better product because of it. and i tell you, the three that's coming up, all bring a special flavor to the whole enterprise. ann caen, i can't say enough

about her. she's been with the department for such a long time. she has all the institutional knowledge. in fact sometimes she's actually pulled documents out of her filing system to sew what we did in the past. francesca was one that i actually facebooked her when the opportunity came, because i knew that she would be a great addition. and i've worked with her in the past. vince courtney is my brother in the unions, and he really has helped us roll out the water system improvement program, and reach out to labor. and so all three of them have been significant in the advancement of the puc. and i don't know if we can keep moving the way that we're moving without all three of them. so thank you. >> chair kim: thank you, mr. kelly. >> good afternoon, supervisors. phil ginsberg, general manager of the park and rec department.

the fact that he has so many people here, both from labor and management, from public power, and public parks, from the south side of the city and the north side of the city is a testament to who he is. he is someone who is able to really bring people together, and he is an incredibly giving public servant. i've had the pleasure of knowing him for well over 10 years in a variety of capacities and now i consider him -- and local 261, the closest of partners at the recreation and parks. vince is a fierce advocate for what is right, he's a fierce advocate for social justice, but he's also able to keep his eye on really the big picture. and vince is someone who is focused on accountability. he's focused on making sure that government delivers the services that we promise the public. and i very much respect him about that. and he brings that to every issue that we have at the

recreation and parks department together. he is innovative. through vince's leadership and 261's leadership we have the first statewide gardener apprenticeship program in california. he is very much focused on water conservation, and helping rec and park deal with a very antiquated aging, crumbling, irrigation system. he is a great partner and a great public servant. and has helped foster the hardest -- one of the hardest working staffs in city government. so i'm very proud to support him for this position. >> chair kim: thank you, mr. ginsberg. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm here for both vince courtney and francesca vietor. vince, i have had the opportunity to work with him for many years, and as you heard from phil, we created the gardener apprentice program. but prior to the gardening

apprentice program, we had a laborer journeyman program when we took many of the youth and young people from many parts of san francisco, and gave them an opportunity to become a journeyman. vince was very, very instrumental in making sure that we had the right agreements in place, and making sure that we were connected with oscar, to the larger union, and their training facilities. out of that program we've graduated over 200 young journeymen but i think the most important thing that vince has brought to the table is really about saving the lives of many of the young people in san francisco and giving them opportunity to become somebody, given opportunity to earn a wage and be able to afford for their families. in terms of his other work we have worked in many other areas and he always does his homework. he's in every community. and he does care a lot about san francisco. with francesca, i've worked with her for many, many years.

of course i think, if i remember, she was our first director of the department of the environment. i don't know if people remember that. but francesca is very sensitive to our city, especially with the environmental movement and making sure that we provide all the opportunities to san francisco. so i support both vince and francesca. >> chair kim: thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. art jensen, ceo bay area water conservation ceremony we represent your customers and their 1.7 million residents and businesses that rely on your water system. all of the commissioners up for reappointment today demonstrate, in our view, a serious approach to their duties and responsibilities, an openness and willingness to listen to different ideas, and differences of opinion, and all of that

results in considered decision-making. commissioner caen has had a clear understanding of rebuilding the water system for the last 15 years, well before the program was even adopted. she has a keen eye on the financial matters and the budget process, and that is a very important to us because there's a lot of money exchanging hands. i strongly support her reappointment. it's a pleasure to work with her. commissioner vietor has had a willingness to consider our input and recommendations and has incorporated those into the puc actions. and we appreciate her support of all of our interest in water supply reliability, efficiency, and the environment. and commissioner courtney has shown a consistent support of the construction projects to rebuild the system, and those provide not only regional construction jobs throughout the region, not just here in san francisco, but also the water supply reliability that the businesses outside san francisco and all of their

employees rely upon, on a reappointments. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you, mr. jensen. >> my name is al winerobe, coordinator of the clean energy alliance and one of the advocate organizations that organize the suggest on the letter of 25 signatories calling on clean power sf to be implemented, and specifically with an interest in the economic development and jobs that will come from this. so i just -- i want to speak specifically about francesca vietor and vince courtney because i know their work better but i want to preface this by saying that the contract that was just signed is for 30 megawatts. the city's load is something like 800 megawatts. when we talk about clean power s

we talk about that local build-out program, that economic development and jobs. and that's extremel extremely it for the people of san francisco, not only because it's the jobs and economic development, but local greenhouse gas reductions, certifiable, and it is actually the avenue for reducing electric bills. because when you own assets and do energy efficiency and when you build your own stuff and know its financials that's how you reduce the price of electricity for customers. what that means is it's not about the language. it's really about the message. so the message that we have to convey to the people of california, that the significance of clean power sf is in the things that i'm talking about. this is the avenue down the road for get all those benefits. so that's what we need to be messaging to people. and that's the reason they would buy into a proo program like ths because it's best for their

communities. francesca vietor is a very strong proponent of the local build out that i mentioned and will continue, based on her remarks, continue to do that. vince courtney, because the seat at the table of labor is extremely important, this is the basis for bringing in all the building trades and all the other union members in a way that really benefits them. this has got to be the agenda, very soon. >> chair kim: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm -- with san francisco recreation and parks department. i serve as the superintendent of parks and open spaces. i'm here to encourage the reappointment of mr. vince courtney, general manager of the -- did a fabulous job to explain to you the critical partnership that we have with local 261 for our ability to deliver green parks and safe parks to san franciscans. and this partnership truly is

much to the attributes of mr. courtney that he brings to the table. you know, in addition to doing a fantastic job in representing his membership, because i sit across the table from him, he equally is important. he brings value of integrity. and that same value of integrity, i can anticipate that he will continue to bring to the puc commission, in terms of social justice issues, and equally as important, issues of the management of natural resources. i often time have had very thoughtful discussions with mr. courtney about our ability to build capacity within our staff, to properly manage our natural resources. one of them, which is the most critical, is the management of water. and mr. courtney is very well versed on our challenges. he's very well versed in understanding and being able to bring about the membership to build that capacity, in terms of building a new skillset, and understanding that change

dynamics in how we -- those resources. i would like you to consider his reappointment. it will be a great attribute to our ability to continue delivering surfaces. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. next i will call up more speaker cards. i have eloise patton -- and then josh arce. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is jacqueline flynn, the executive director of the -- institute here in san francisco. and on behalf of the a. philip randolph san francisco as well as our national western regional director james bryant, i'm here to make some remarks on behalf of our two organizations. i'd like to ask your permission to also address items 2 and 3, although i only put item 4 on the comment card. but we are here today to support

the reappointment of all three commissioners, commissioner caen, commissioner vietor, and also commissioner courtney. i submitted a letter to the board of supervisors this morning, in support of vince courtney's appointment, and i'd like to ask if i could read that for the audience today. >> chair kim: could you just turn that in for the record. >> yes. >> chair kim: you can hand it to the clerk. >> thank you for your time. >> chair kim: thank you. i ask for it to go into the record. we have a lot of public comment before us today. you can summarize it surs. yourself. >> vince has been a supportive partner to our community based organization, and the families that we serve in san francisco and we really appreciate his work. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> tim paulson, executive director of the san francisco labor council, we represent over 100 unions here in

san francisco, including labor 261, one of our biggest unions. i know that both oscar de laatory and ramone hernandez, the leaderrers of the laibers, and san francisco statewide are also here. i want to acknowledge the 261 members that are here for vince in particular. we're very proud of the direction that the puc is taking. though i haven't been asked to speak for anybody else i believe you are going to approve and reapprove very good commissioners today. i want to talk about vince courtney. vince, and just to add to his ability to be in the public sector, he does many things. he negotiates contracts throughout the state. he's very active in the public sector. he's very active, along with the laborers politically, and i also want it for the record to be known he's one of the 30 members elected to be on the executive committee of the san francisco labor council. so he's very in touch with all

the labor pltsdz, not just the policies in park and rec. we recommend him highly at the san francisco labor council. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you, mr. paulson. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is tom harrison, member of local 261 retired. i've come here to support primarily vince courtney but i also support the other two candidates for reappointments. there's an old adage that says if it ain't broke don't fix it and these people have a camaraderie at this level and they should continue the work. vince has a particular talent in that he is a very good labor leader. i think with that, in that capacity, he understands the needs and what impacts the puc may have on the working people of san francisco. so with that experience, and his abilities that you've heard so much about already, i think he should be reappointed. thank you.

>> chair kim: thank you. my apologies for not reading your card correctly. >> good afternoon. my name is eloise patent from usc local 5. i'm a life long resident of bayview hunters point. i come in support of vince courtney's reappointment to the board for one of the main reasons with infrastructure at bayview hunters point in terms of the system. i believe he will look after the interest of the community as well of the interest of all the people that need to go to work within that community. he is an advocate of local hire, and he also loves the residents of san francisco. he has worked very hard, in the best interest of everyone that is involved. in terms of labor, he has definitely been a partner of all labor organizations, uscw was a service organization. he has supported us and he has supported our members. we strongly encourage you to approve his appointment. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> good afternoon,

commissioners. josh arce with bright line. we strongly support all three commissioners and the reappointment today three quick anecdotes why. first, with respect to commissioner cae in when we got involved bright lines in the community we got to work with an amazing set of individuals, starting with ms. espanola jackson, mr. brooks, a. philip randolph institute, sierra, that stopped the city from building power plants. commissioner caen used to say, i just think it's not right we're going to build these power plants and i wish that we didn't have to. and that theme really carried to the point that we did it and we didn't have to do that. she was the spiritual center of that, and that was great. commissioner vietor, a strong champion of the environment, solar power, has helped us to keep the gosolarsf program

afloat, despite budget cuts. we're going to need her help again. she is an advocate of energy efficiency, solar. we got another million for the gosolarsf tuesday, which is great. the program's run out of money again so we're definitely going to need commissioner vietor's leadership on solar to do that. commissioner courtney is my brother in labor local 261, have worked with him a lot. he has had the community's back for years, before even becoming a commissioner, has worked to make sure the local hire law is successful. i remember when we went to him to make the case that this local hire policy was something worthy of labor support, something that we could build community labor partnership around, and organize around. i remember commissioner courtney taking a big deep breath with ramona hernandez says it's going to be a long rocky road but it's the right thing to do, labor support local hire. thank you, mr. courtney. >> chair kim: thank you,

mr. arce. >> supervisors, good afternoon. it's with great pleasure i come to speak on behalf of mr. courtney's reappointment. i've known him in his capacity as a labor leader where i've had the opportunity and pleasure of sitting across the table from him as we dealt with labor management issues and also in bargaining. i've known him as a very fair person, a person with high integrity and he advocates vigorously on behalf of causes and people that he is representing. and he always has the bigger picture in mind. so i must tell you though, that when i first met mr. courtney about five or six years ago i thought what a big pain. but over time, i came to realize that this pain that i experienced from him was really his tenacity. his tenacity in representing and advocating for causes that are near and dear to him. but at the same time that he's very passionate he's open to

hearing different views. i think these are qualities that he will bring to his commission seat and i seek that you reappoint him. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> my name is -- kellen, an organizer of the san francisco bay chapter of the sierra club, representing 30,000 bay area members. i am here to express support for reappointment of francesca vietor to san francisco public utilities commission. francesca has shown many years of dedication to making san francisco a more sustainable city, and has been involved in many local environmental issues and organizations. we believe that her experience and leadership are needed on the commission to help carry out clean power sf to ensure that green jobs and renewable installation and -- energy and respectful of all city residents including those who are low income. her continued service to the sf puc is also critical to further

our city's efforts in water conversation and recycling so that the -- river is protected and can maintain healthy populations of fish and other wildlife. on behalf of the sierra club bay chapter please approve the reappointment of francesca vietor. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. eric brooks, representing san francisco green party and the local grassroots organization, our city. and just here to reiterate what a lot have said about keeping this entire team in place. and i'll focus primarily, since others have focused on other things, on clean power sf. this commissioner team is the commissioner team that successfully delivered clean power sf to us, after eight years of battling to get it off the ground. we need to keep that team in place because they know what they're doing, they know how this program works. commissioner moller caen is

going to be important because for her entire tenure she has had a laser focus on finances and getting them right and also on common sense. i talked to her on tuesday after the vote, and we agreed that we need to roll this program out in a sensible way and an economically sensible way so that it gets done right. and when it comes to the build-out francesca vietor was crucial to making sure that that was in the program. for many years, it was sort of an after thought and we had to fight and fight to get it in. and francesca tipped it over the top and made sure that it happened. and for a lot of other -- you know, it's absolutely vital to retain a solid environmental seat on the sf puc and she is clearly it. and then vince courtney, because of his deep experience with labor, and especially laborers that have worked on renewable energy jobs, he will get in his

bones the importance of getting clean power sf to the blocks correctly, and making sure that we get that build-out to actually happen. tuesday, show us the money on this local installation and local jobs. and these commissioners, especially commissioner courtney, are going to guarantee that that happens. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you, mr. brooks. >> supervisors, michael -- with the san francisco -- trades council. i want ta thank supervisor campos about his kind remarks earlier about neighbors on board. since some of the prior speakers called out their -- in san francisco i lived all but six of my 56 years within five blocks of mission street. i'm here to speak on behalf of brother vince courtney, and his reappointment. the laborers are an absolute critical part of the puc

efforts. it's the laborers who are digging the tunnels for the -- it's the laborers doing a grand part of the transmission pipeline work, and laborers have their hands in virtually everything in the wis inwith the exception of the water change out. it's altogether appropriate that laborers are represented on the puc commission. and i have a long and good working relationship with vince. we're free to speak our minds to each other, and do. so i'll be happy to see his reappointment. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. >> jason freid,i'm coming as a private citizen taking some unused furlough time from last year to speak to you today. i wanted to come today because i have a unique experience of having worked with all three of these commissioners for my day job although i'm here as a private citizen and san francisco resident.

vince courtney, any time i've talked to him, you've heard about what he's done for labor. when i talk to him he takes the seat as the public at large very seriously. any time i talk to him, he always is how is this going to impact the san francisco ratepayer who are the people who will be impacted by whatever it is i'm talking to him about. if it's water it is how the water rairpt will be impacted, about how the future cca ratepayer is going to be impacted. so he takes that role extremely seriously, and that's one of the reasons i decided to take time off to come speak for him. when it comes to commissioner vietor, she will figure out what the issue is, ask the question how to do it more environmentally smart, and i am surprised when they were talking about replacing the general manager they didn't figure out how to make it a more environmentally friendly but she seems to take the role as the environmental representative on the board extremely seriously. commissioner caei seen her pull

up stuff where she said didn't we do this several years ago and why are we talking about it again. she understands the history of the puc and understands where it's been approximate. i think it's important to take all three of these commissioners. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. is there any other public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is now closed. i know that there are a number of pbs of the public who are here that did not testify but came in support of the appointees. i wanted to give you an opportunity to stand so we can see all the individuals that are here in support of our appointees. if you'd like to. if you would like to. okay. thank you. i just wanted to recognize that and also thank you for being here, to show your support. colleagues, we do have three reappointments before us. just so you know, some house cleaning, we do have to make some minor amendments to item

no. 2. there was language that has been miswritten. and i've handed out copies before us. the motion is just to add that seat no. 3 must be a member with experience in project finance, and to delete water systems, power systems, or public utility management which was not actually part of the seat requirement. do we have a motion, and we do that without opposition. thank you. can we take a motion on items 2, 3, and 4. we can do them separately. we have to amend them before we send them to the full board. supervisor -- i'm sorry, supervisor campos. >> co-chair campos: thank you. i'm happy to make a motion to approve the mayor's reappointments of commissioner caen for seat no. 3, commissioner vietor for seat

no. 1, and commissioner courtney for seat no. 5. i'm happy to make the motion. very proud to do that. i just wanted to make a couple of points. first of all i'm disappointed that ms. courtney couldn't bring out more people to speak on his behalf. but i guess this will do for today. you know, i think that the word here is continuity, and i really believe that the work that has been done by the public utilities commission has been exemplary. and i think it was supervisor wiener who said this to me at some point, which i think is really true, which is that the puc has demonstrated how government can work. and when you look at the massive projects that they have taken on, whether it's the water improvement system, or talking about billions of dollars, it's

an agency that has, you know, perform better, that not only most government agencies but most private companies, and it's something that we should be very proud of. i think the makeup of this commission is a big part of it. i see commissioner moran who is the president of the commission right now. one of the things that is hard to do sometimes in this role is to admit when you make a mistake. i remember when commissioner moran was first nominated and i voted against his nomination, and i do think that was a mistake. and i think that it's important to recognize the good work that people do. and i think that keeping this team together is really important. but it's not just a commission. i think it's also the staff. and i see that we have our soon-to-be general manager here. and i think that some of the issues that have been raised around outreach to certain

communities, diverse communities, i can't think of someone who will do a better job on that than mr. kellie. but i also think that it's not just keeping this commission, but also the talent that ed harrington has been able to build over the years, whether it's the cfo, people like juliet ellis -- fox, you name it. so long as those people continue in those positions i think a lot of these things will be taken care of. and i'm just very excited. i think that we have -- it's a new day, in that sense. and i think that we, as a board of supervisors, working closely with the mayor, need to continue to support this agency, which i think, again, continues to be an example of how government should work. thank you. >> chair kim: thank you. supervisor farrell. >> supervisor farrell: thank you, chair kim. i've been relatively silent