at 52 years of age. julius started his career in law in private practice. he was an assistant united states attorney in the district of new jersey has worked for several firms as an employment litigator in san francisco. as we learned as his memorial he was a mentor for many people in the lgbtq community, african american community. he mentored many lawyers, and many law firms. he served on many commissions, and he was on this commission. he was an incredible human, and so i move to end this meeting in his,d i t send this to his family back in michigan, and do i have a second? >> second. >> commissioner mazzucco: all in favor? >> commissioner hirsch: and i thank you for doing that. >> commissioner mazzucco: we're adjourned.

[chanting] so i want to say first of all thank you all for being here today and i would like to start today to take a brief moment of

silence in respect of our former police commissioner julius turman who was a great champion of public safety and a true friend to the city. so if you would please firstjoi. >> oment of silence >> thank you. our thoughts and condolences are with his friends and family during this time. he's absolutely missed here in the city of san francisco. so i want to first do a round of thank yous. there's a number of individuals and organizations who helped lead us to where we are today. first ofll i want tohank our police chief bill scott. i want to thank our police commission, we have police commission president tip pi here. thank you. members of the board of supervisor, jeff seehey and

katheri katherine stefani here today. our city departments, our controllers office for tirelessly working to find t right amount of staffing that we need right here in our police department. you know, since taking public office i repeatedly stressed that i believe we have some of the best men and women in our police department here inside of san francisco. proud of all of you do who are here today in front of us. i am not afraid as the mayor of the city and county of san francisco to say how proud i am of the men and women of our police department. every day they are putting their lives on the line for us as san francisco residents, they deserve our respect and our gratitude. when we are so fortunate to have such dedicated men and women on our police department, we simply don't have enough of them today. san francisco is an ever

changing city with ever changing neighborhoods. we cannot be bound by antequated staffing levels that do not reflect tod reality in our streets and in our neighborhoods. that is why today i am very proud to announce that my budget plan this year will include the addition of 250 new officers being deployed on the streets of san francisco. -- san francisco from our business department. in the fiscal year alone we will graduate 80 officers in the current academy classes, add 50 new academy recruits. we will also increase opportunity for promotions and shift highly trained civilians into positions that are currently being staffed by sworn members to allow them to be out patrolling the neighborhoods of our city. these new officers will act as a catalyst and be the building blocks of our 250

officer plan. when these officers join the department they will be working on existing initiatives that have been undertaken to strengthen our police department. i have been proud to partner invative new publiafety on measures which include increasing our city wide foot patddils, a investigative teams at district stations and expanding our burglary and serial crime units. as we know last year was a very difficult year for property crimes here in san francisco. over 30,000 alone in our city. an absolutely unacceptable number. since undeing o initiatives we have seen property crimes decrease by over 17%. we will not rest on our morals in san francisco, we will not let that be the new standard.

we will continue to move forward and press ahead on reforms that make our streets and our neighborhoods safer for the residents of san francisco. it's also important to note that these increased officers will be more more than just a detrrent to property crimes. they will be reassuring presences in our neighborhoods fra ensuring that people feel safe and securing the communities they live in here in san francisco. they will have the tools and the training to work with our communities and within our neighborhoods here in san francisco. these new officers will also be supported by additional vesinents i our equipment and resources. my budget package will also include $7.5 million over the next 2 years to purchase over 130 new police cars that are needed in our department. it will include over $3 million

to equip our police officers with tasers. in addition my budget will include $1.7 million to help support police reform measures. we will continue to support and fund on going efforts within our police department to make sure all 272 recommendations offered by the obama department of justice are fulfilled. when i've talked about my priorities as mayor of the city and county of san francisco public safety has always come first. today's announcement is a reflection of my commitment and let me repeat, i am so incredibly proud as mayor of this city of the mnd women that serve us in our police department. these words are not empty, they are not a political game, they are the truth. they are what san francisco will follow. it's impacting the public safety

commitments reflects the needs of our entire city. we are pushing forward with a bold new vision for public safety in san francisco. i am honored to be here with all of you today to see these efforts through and to make sure that the future of san francisco is a safe and secure one for sile neighborhood in our city. so thank you for having me here today. again, i'mo bh all of you. with that i would like to introduce the chief of our police department, bill scott. >> good morning. let my start my comments by thanking mayor ferrell and his team. she is invested in fture of the city. recruits that we have in the team today represent our future. the budget presented today

represents a significant commitment by mayor ferrell towards their future and towards the future of their police dertnd t future of this city. the budget envisions the sfpd as a more responsive, more productive and better equipped police department to facehe challenges of modern policing and enables us to build our successes by creating the program tha programs that we know has a powerful and positive impact. the mayor talked about foot patrols and the increasing the foot patrols. we would like to sustain that. increasing the burglary and serial crimes seven day staffing, support 4 our healthy street centers which we see tremendous progress and addressing the many issues that face our city regardless homelessness. the expansion of our psychiatric emergency response team to help these experiencing mental

crisis. it also means thate can continue the important work of carrying out our usdoj recommendations for collaborative reform and improving our department to become even better than we've ever been. this plan allows us to bring in an additional 250 police officers and it will provide increased opportunity for promotions including 20 new sergeants and two new lieutenant positions. thegetud provided by mayorrrellllows us to shift highly trained civilians i positions that have been held by sworn members enabling us to redeploy those sworn members to the field and also provides as we stated badly needed resources including 130 new police vehicles to help our ageing fleet. we've been working really hard in the strategic frame work and it centers around safety with

respect for the public and our members. this budget will empower us to city andomunity partners with ress safety challenges, to improve our responsiveness to the public, to find the future that we want for the sfpd and more importantly for the safety of our city. we want to be a modern and inclusive police department that provides safety. i'd like to thank mayor ferrell and the people of san francisco for their support of our officers. with this commitment the har working men and women of our police department can continue to rise to meet the challenge of the growing needs of our city. thank you very much, mayor ferrell. now i would like to introduce the president of our police commission. >> [applause]

>> thank you chief and thank you mayor ferrell. this is not part of my prepared are -- remarks but if julius was here today he would take a look at this crowd and say he proud of you. in fact, we ask all of you to live up to his expectations. two weeks ago on wednesday night he stood in front of the police commission, barely was able to stand for the pledge of allegiance. then after when he was being honored he said something very important for you-all to hear. i'm very proud of the men and women of the san francisco police department. so behalf of julius i share that with you ght.ni i would like to thank mayor ferrell, the ser stefani and sheey for recognizing and addressing the crisis that we are facing with staffing. i've been on the police commission for a long time as both a state and federal prosecutors here in san francisco so i'm aware of the need for policing. given the current state of our

criminal justice and mental health systems, our officers can barely respond to the calls for service. they are busy dealing with repeat offenders and people in mental health crisis. by adding these police officers to our police department it will make the street safer for our citizens and those who visit our city. there's days when i walk from the parking garage to my office and i see the things that we all see, unsightly things of people in crisis, people shooting up. it's not acceptable and the only way we can address that is adding to our women power and men power of the san francisco police department. this is a great move. we as a commission thank the mor and the board of supervisors for putting this forward. with this it will give our officers more of an opportunity to be involved in community policing and, yes, proactive policing. so mayor ferrell, thank you on behalf of the citizens of san francisco. this is great and this is long over due. thank you very much.

>> [applause] >> thank you. with that i'd like to bring up two supervisors who have been talking about public safety since literally the day they came into office, jeff sheehey and supervisor katherine stefani. >> thank you, mayor ferrell. welcome to district 8. i'm so proud to have the academy in my district. it's a source of joy for me. i want to thank mayor ferrell for his leadership in putting this forward. so last year as i came into office one of the things that i identified almost immediately was a gap in public safety resources. i raised this with the budget and finance committee and was the voice in the wilderness. so i am so grateful that mayor ferrell has put this initiative

forward. i'm also grateful to chief scott. some of the innovations are tied to our need for additional officer. the tactics that have reduced police officer involved situons ha calmed down but those tactics require more boots on the ground. the second thing is foot patrols. so in my district we now have foot patrols on the castro. i know those guys, those folks. it's great the see them. people in the community know them we had an incident at twin peaks. four officers assigned to -- so after the incident at twin peaks before the -- before the incident at twin peaks, the murder, we had ten car break-ins a day. after officers were assigned there for the following month one. so presence is prevention. ores park we had an incident. the chief, other city

departments, officers have been assigned to dolores park. every single neighbor surrounding that park talks about how improved that situation is. this is by having forces there, people there. it makes our neighbor safer. every day i talk to people in my district saying when can we get a foot patrol, have officers we can see. this will make that possible, not just in my district but across the city. i wo give a shot out to folks here today. i have been to graduations of academy classes and i have so much respect for the work that you're going to be trained. it's amazing. you put in such hard work. i am so proud, i wanted to shake your hand when you get that badge pinned on you. i'm even prouder when i see people who had a badge pinned on them, whose hand i shook and see th walking the beet in my

neighborhood. thank you for stepping up and protecting the citizens of san francisco. you are outstanding. the more we graduate the prouder i'll be so thank you. i'd like to introduce my colleague, supervisor stefani. >> [lause >> good morning, everyone. i held my public safety forum in district 2 because the bottom line is people don't feel safe. whether it is because of our past crime epidemic, reports of a 7t grader being mugged on his way home from school or the ramped trueiram ramped drug use we see on our streets, we must do more to keep the people of san francisco safe. i believe that we have underinvested for years. today's announcement by mayor ferrell is a huge step in the

right direction. what i love about mayor ferrell's approach is it is thoughtful and designed to saturdays -- address san francisco's current needs, to help the homeless delivering help to the city's operation center and to equip our police force with the resources they need like working patrol cars to do their job and to help keep us safe. our focus should be on recruiting the best and the brightest by traing our officers with all of the reforms that we've all been trying to implement. i have been so incredibly lucky in my 12 years of public service in this city to work with some of sfpd's finest, captain dylan, commander manox, captain silverman, captain yep, officer matt loray and so many more. these individuals have truly

helped shape my view of how incredible our police department is and how much talent we have here. i just want to thank all of you for stepping up and doing your part. i've also been a prosecutors and i've worked with so many police officers that have always shaped my view that police officers are good and we need them d i can't thank you enough for your service. i want to thank the mayor,f scott and the command staff for their hard work and thoughtful analysis on the invests that we as a city need to make in the department. i just want tl one quick story in my direct. so many times we hear the negatives. the other day someone said i have to tell you what happened to me with a police officer. i got a pounding on my door at 7:00 in the morning and i went out there and i saw a police car and i was so nervous.

they open it had door and the police officer said -- opened the door and the police officer said, dpd is going to do some care and towed your car. they asked them to move their car and saved them $600. there's so many stories about how important your work is. it's my hope as we increase our force we also do so in a way that bridges any divides with our communities and that wek hero create an environment where everyone feels safe and cared for. that is what san francisco is all about and i absolutely thank you for your service to our city. thank you. >> [applause] >> thank you, vooup -- supervi supervisor. as mayor i want to thank you for your service. we are proud of you. we look forward to years of service ahead. so that's going to conclude our press

conference. we'll be in the side room if any media wants to talk to us after wards off camera. thank you all for being here today. >> [applause]

[laughter] >> get in there. >> mayor farrell: all right. there we go. [cheers and applause] >> mayor farrell: let us get started here. first of all, i want to welcome everyone to city hall to kick off san francisco's are judy -- lgbtq pride 2018. let's give a round of applause, everyone. [cheers and applause] >> mayor farrell: i want to thank, first of all, the incredible people that made this happen here today. not only outside of hall, but thank you to the volunteers who are making this month exactly what it is for the city of san francisco. special thanks to our own san francisco pride team and i want to acknowledge teddy witherington who is scheduled to

be here. teddy, if you are here, or he will be here soon enough. i want to acknowledge him as well for being here. i want to acknowledge, there are we.umber of people up here as acknowledge the elected officials, alice randolph from art city officials board, carmen two, our assessor recorder, e woman of the hour, for sure. [cheers and applause] clair farley from our office [alause]der services. london breed, our president of the board of supervisors.our trd our share of. [applause] so today, in san francisco, and throughout the month, we honour both individuals that have made a significant difference in the

past that are doing it now in the present and will in the future, forr lgbtq community. we also acknowledge all the organizations thwork with our community of san francisco on lgbtq issues that make san francisco who we are as a city. you know, as civil rights are under attack throughout our country, it is so important that san francisco stands tall above every other place in america. that we, as a city, recommit ourselves to reject the ideologies of bigotry and hatred that come out of the trump administration and others throughout our country, throughout the world, at times. san francisco needs to remain a beacon of hope for everybody. i am proud to be the mayor at the city and county of san francisco that stands exactly for those principles. [cheers and applause]

in san francisco, we stand up for our principles of diversity. we stand up for equality for every single person in our city, and we make sure that our city continues to be an example for the rest of our country to follow. you know,as mayor, and before then as member of the board of supervisors, i've been able to witness the strength of our lgbtq community here in san francisco. we have fought many battles over the years. today, wi what was a very narrow ruling out of the u.s. supreme court, but the rhetoric that comes that, and what our lgbtq community must do to combat that and stand proud and stand tall. it is so important at the rest of us, as a cistand with our

lgbtq community. that is who we are as san francisco. along those lines, i want to make sure i let everyone know today, and announce officially, san francisco is joining with the rca of california and banning all business practices with the state of oklahoma. [cheers and applause] we will not -- we will not, as a city, continue to tolerate other jurisdictions that discriminate upon our civil rights, and certainly wiher lgbtq community. we will continue to stand tall as a city, and stoned -- stand tall for exactly who we are as people and residents in our city. you know, i want to acknowledge the contributions of our late mayor ed lee and the things he did for the lgbtq community as well. he founded the federal mayors against lgbtq discrimination

organization. but he did so at the national level. he started the player. the first and its client in our en count. and it has been a great source of pride as mayor to continue this legacy. last week, the supervisors and i announced that the city of san francisco and i will be backfilling the four-point $2 million for hiv and aids funding that a federal government cut. [applause] together with claire farley, we have created a transgender advisory committee here in san francisco. and legislation that our board of supervisors was proud to pass through and i was proud to sign. creating all gender bathrooms in our sros across a city of san

francisco. and also signing legislation naming terminal one for harvey milk at our san francisco airport. [applause] is with great pride i stand here as your mayor to kick off this month. and to be part of some amazing celebrations yet to come. i would like to say a few commen about the next person who is going to be speaking. she is going to be the recipient of the teddy witherington award, which recognizes individuals for their long-standing, and lasting contributions to our lgbtq community in san francisco. kate kendall has served the executive director ofhe national centre for lesbian rights for 22 years. [applause] she has placed the ncl are at

the centre the civil rights movement in our country. under her guidance, they want the landmark equality case in secured nationaler part of the equality in 2015. [applause] they have done problematic work around asylum, immigration, around lgbtq people in prisons and transgender rights, poverty, issues for those that are part of our lgbtq community, and issues that matter for lgbtq people of colour. just last year, and clr -- nclr joined court people to file lawst challenging trump's transgender military band. it secured a nationwide injunction. that is what we can do when we stand together for our principles. [applause]

i've gone to meet kate a number of times to get to know her a little bit, but she is a symbol of standing for social justice in our city, and it is with great pride that i welcome up kate kendall to the microe and pronounced today, kate kendall day in the city of san francisco. [cheers and applause] the stage is yours. >> thank you. i was not prepared for that. i really thought i wasjust coming, just like all of you to a flag raising. i didn't realize that i was going to be acknowledged in this way. what i want to say is that when i came to san francisco, 24 years ago, to start as a legal director for the national centre for lesbian rights, i thought i

was coming to be the legal director at the national centre for lesbian rights. i never thought i would be the executive director, and i never imagined that a city could so transform a person and make them feel so embraced and so loved, and so welcome to, so supported that they could evy day, and that is me i am speaking of, have my reach exceed my grasp in wh ht i wasble of. this city, on the support of many people who are here, and many people who came before and who are no longer here launched me in so many ways, and i have often said, but it is so true, i get so much more than i gave and i am so grateful for this. grateful for the work i'm able to do. the fight will continue and someone else will lead nclr and they will begger badass than me. that is what we know we need to. it is time to know when to lead

and time to know when to step aside and let someone else lead and i'm excited for the next chapter for nclr and for this city, and for where we go as a country and taking our country back as a place where all of us can live fully an freely and feel supped for who we are and and hate and discrimination and white supremacy aci r. thank you so much for this and for your support. [cheers and applause] >> mayor farrell: thank you kate. up ne, i have the pleasure of introducing someone who is really a part of living history for lgbtq community in san francisco. someone who has been the forefront of this fight for civil rights, for decades in our city. someone who has had the opportunity to be a leadr outside of city hall and inside of city hall. and at this point, it is th

only person on the board of supervisors that is part of the lgbtq community. please join me in welcoming up the great lady -- leader for our city of sanrancisco supervisor jeff sheehy. >> thank you kate have a certificate from the board of supervisors for you as well. [applause] just a note, under her leadership, nclr has led on these natiol court battles, but one of the most moving things i experienced was i was with my husband in a small town in florida, a lesbian couple, the woman who had been previously married to a man was having trouble getting rights for her child and who was there? nclr.

small town, big towns, big issues, little issues, they have been there across this country. i salute yo k i te nc. the greatest. [applause] so, this is anteesting pride to kick off th apresu court decision against our community. i recognize our acclaim this year and generations of pride and like kate, is passing down to newrsp and new activism in our community. the person who came up with that theme, larry nelson, the bonds that we need toeate between those of us who are in the back of squad cars and lying down in streets, starting organizations in our community. those bonds need to be weare at war.and red. we are at war. when children are taken away from immigrant parents at the

border and separated, when our community, i would transgender rights have been under assault from the beginning of this administration, and now we can't even bake a cake. we can't even get a wedding cake. what is this? 7-2. we have to recognize the threat to our community is immortal, it is notst asked. we have to stand with every other community in unison as we've done over the years to fight back these threats from this administration. [applause] [cheering] >> and we all have to identify the congressional district in carniathat re going to be marching andinglk and fighting for with democrats this fall. we can take back the house and start to stop this, but we have to do the work. [applause] remember we one the briggs amendment way back in the day with harvey milk. we went to places, small towns

across california and showed them who we were, who we are, and show them our love. so, just to close out, i could go on and on, because that brought out the acvist in me to see the supreme court decision, not thati haven't been fired up since i came into office, i do want to give a special shout out to gilbert baker. i don't know how many of you know, this pride is the 40th anniversary of the creation of the rainbow flag. the first rainbow flag. [applause] the first rainbow flag flew 14 years ago, and now you can find it in every country in the wor world. that kind of creative, passionate activism is what we are here to celebrate and to continue. thank you all, and happy pride. [applause]

>> mayor farrell: i would also like to introduce claire farley. thank you. the office of transgender initiative, lgbtq initiative, sorry. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. good morning everyone. i'm so happy to be here to celebrate and kick off pride with you all today. [cheers and applause] i'll give it a minute. as we know, 2018 habeen a challenging year, as we fight for basic human rights and lgbtq rights acrossount t c. san francisco continues to be a leader in advancing the rights for transgender and lgbtq people. as our federal administration has it under constant attack.

furthermore, our diverse communities across san francisco bring us life and honour are under siege. with all of this, it can be difficult to remember what we are here to celebrate. although, when we look back at our history, we are reminded of the movement and the changemakers that never gave up. we have stoodup and fought bac back. we have fought back with our communities through our resiliency, our community power, working together across communities to develop comprehensive programs, policies and actions that make us stronger and ler differences. i'm so proud to work for a city where i can be out. and where i can be part of advancing the rights for trans and lgbtq people across our great city. whether it is spanning travel are contracting with states that past policies that allow discrimination, or assuring that we have benefits for everyone in

our city, or making sure that we have all gender facilities, or developing districts that honour our san francisco culture. or that celebrate the legacy of our lgbtq leaders like renaming terminal one after harvey milk. we still have so much more work to do and i look forward to being part of this change. i am grateful for the late mayor lee for appointing me and seeing the value in transgender leadership in our city. [applause] thank you to mayor farrell, city administrators, my team and everyone on the mayor's staff in the community for supporting me over my first six months. from constant to s.f. pre,san francisco a beacon of hope and will continue for generations to come. today, we celebrated the raising of the pride flag over san

francisco city hall, and it is a reminder of the generations of strengtat hs thme before us. harvey milk, julius truman, marcia p. johnson, and many more. and honouring the leaders of today, kate kendall, missed major, teddy witherington, cecelia chong, and many more. [applause] today i have the honour to recognize the changemaker of our future. with ten years of service for our community, he is a writer, a cultural icon, a policy strategist, she is currently the lgbtq policy advisor for the san francisco human rights commission. she was instrumental in the name and dignity act for incarcerated transgendered people. she is a policy of fellow alums for the women's foundation

policy institute and lead advocate on prioritizing safety for sex workers. she cofounded the constant cultural district, -- district the first transgender cultural district in the country. please join me in welcoming aria saiid. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone. i don't want to feel alone up here. i don't want to feel alone. [laughter] happy pride. my name is aria d i am so grateful for the acknowledgement today and this month. i've been doing this work for ten years and i'm definitely having a full circle moments. i moved to san francisco in 2010 with $60 in my bag and got off the greyhound bus and slaps on

the san francisco bar and i used to walk maiden lane, and dream about being more than i was at that time. so i am so grateful for this acknowledgement. i also want say that my work and in particular is about the promotion of the resiliency of black trans women. i feel like... [applause] it's because -- it's because of the work of black trans women that i feel like we are free. forty-eight years ago at stonewall, it was a black trans women who was a sex worker and he was homeless. marcia p. johnson who threw the brick at the police officers that started the riot. it is because a black trans women that we are ableto celebrate pride, and i am so grateful to be soaking in this moment. thank you so much. [cheers and applause]

>> aria, the supervisor has a certificate to give you as well. >> mayor farrell: i also have a certificate from the board of supervisors. thank you it so much for your years of work. thank you. [applause] >> we also wantto thank tom horn for makig this event possible. thank you tom. [applause] we would not be able to celebrate this annual event without your support. next, it is my honour to welcome leader behind pride and helps make pride happen every year. please join me in welcoming the executive director, jordan -- george ridley to help me kick off pride. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you mayor farrell and thank you supervisors. i've asked the board president to join me up here today. [applause] honestly, i couldn't do my job without the support of someone like michelle. this is her third year as our president. it's my fifth year at pride. it is quite a privilege to do this. we are quite the team. again, i need her by my side. i am glad e is here today as well. so, we are pleased to be hereat the beginning applied month and honoured to be part of this flag raising ceremony. san francisco is looking very proud. i don't know if you notice, but this past week we installed the rainbow flag along market street and the energy in the city clearl building to what i expect to be an enormous expression of resistance and hope and solidarity on june 23rd and 24th. i am lucky to work, yes.

[applause] i am lucky to work with some dedicated and tireless individuals. we are a small team we are a mighty team. not everyone in the office or working on the event could be here today, they've gotsome work to do,wev ho there are some people who could join us. i would love it if you would raise your hand if you are on the team, or on the staff, and volunteering. everyone give them a round of applause. [applause] i think, at poinis i would like to recognize our board of directors who has been incredibly supportive of me and of the organization and the vision that we have. as i mentioned, michelle is our board president. i know a lot of our board members are here today and i'm super ateful for that. our vice president is here. [applause]

our secretary is here. 'm not sure if our secretary, when -- secretary was able make its. alt.gh we have more members here with us today. [applause] dj grey. william walker. and other board members that were not able to make it, elizabeth, yeah, -- lanyon, manuel perez, justin taylor, please give them a round of applause as well. [cheers and applause] pride is a perfect portrait of out san francisco.t we lo

this ye ar, are expecting 270 contingents in the parade. that is on par it was last year lled with community groups, so activists, elders, children, companies, international and local, performers, celebrities and elected officials marching side-by-side down market street. is a massive organic expression of a million voices simultaneously erupting as we march down market street and gather at civic centre. all of those voices building to a crescendo that calls out in the name of strengths, solidarity, and unrelenting demand for equality. [cheers and applause] our theme this year is generations of strengths. as a supervisor pointed out earlier. i think you would agree that this years grand marshals and

honourees are wonderful examples of the strength that is found throughout our communities. this is where i will askfor michel first, i want to acknowledge that kate kendall has been an incredible inspiration for me. [cheers and applause] i also want to thank you for starting out by crying, because i normally do as well. this is perfect. thank you. [laughter] with that, i will give michelle some airtime. [laughter] >> oh,, i don't know anything about airtime, but i love it. thank you so much.i'mvery nouree again and thank you to tom horn. thank you to everybody. the leaders of san francisco for of pride month for a worldkick destination city like san francisco. in three weeks we will see a lot of people come to san francisco to celebrate pride and to support the lgbtq community. i want to piggyback off of what wa talking about as far as a community being under attack.

in some ways, we ar at war with the supreme court voting against us as a community. it is not just one person. it is just one organization that is going to make the equal rights movement happen. it takes all of us, and visibility as a backbone. i'm very proud to be part of a board that has made it their mission and their commitment to make sure we recognize the work of the leaders of our community are orking at the very grassroots level and changing hearts and minds. to introduce this year's grand marshals and honourees, and those being selected, keep that in mind. there are many of us who, just by attending e local churches, by being educators, by being out, that that is part of our due diligence and social responsibility, and making sure we do fight for equal rights. these are the people who are making and paving the way for

us. that was from my heart. now i will go on script. from the little -- multilayer grassroots advocacy work that is being done in the bay area by the incredibly talented kinfol kfos, they are our community selected grand marshal. [cheers and applause] artists that have been fostered by? or cultural centre and just honoured, steered with a loving hand by pam tennyson, from aria, founder of the queer culture initiative that is promoting cultural equity for trans women of colour, through social empowerment and cultural enrichment, to the work that community grand marshal really criticized on to develop safe spaces for lgbtq students, faculty, employees -- and employees at ucb berkeley, i could go on and on and on about the grand marshals and awardees.

they have contributed over 30 years tothe lgbtq community. they have litigated and continue to fight for our community tting out lgbtq queer and nonconforming images, and visibility, voices out there. john haines, who many of yo know at city hall, he works tirelessly and volunteers and advocates for everyone here in the city of san francisco. they paved the way for freedom and liberation. the fair education act implementation coalition with our family coalition, of course, a lesbian gate freedom been, we would not sound so amazing if not for the lesbian gate freedom

band. we thank each and every one of you for your service to our communities and i know many of you are here today and that was my script. thank you. i look forward to san francisco pride. [cheers and applause] >> thank you michelle. 2018 is a special year in san francisco for a number of reasons. as the supervisors pointed out, he was 40 years ago the rainbow flag was first unfurled and flown at the gate freedom day festivities. today it is an internationally recognized symbol of unity, love a acceptance. for two years ago, in 1978, we saw the first performance of the gay man's chorus, who during a dark and painful moment in this history, brought to the community comfort right here on the steps of city hall. forty years ago, in 1978, harvey milk sat triumphantly atop a car and rode down market street as a

first openly gay elected official in california. [applause] if you look at the film and look at the photos, it was clearly a victory lap an he wore a huge smile. he wore a lay around his neck he were a t-shirt that read, i will never go back. we must never go back.while we t civil rights and victories, there are those who will take those victories away, as was proven today. we must never stop fighting to defend what we have one, and simultaneously ensure that no one is left behind. we will never go back in the name of the community ancestors like sonny wolf who led the pride parade for over 40 years with dykes on bikes. we must keep moving forward. [applause] we will never go back. while we face great challenges,

we must also seize on great opportunities. the young people in our communities need support and they need mentorship and they need love. they keep us moving forward. we will never go back. the only way we can progress is together as one. take a chance at this june to celebrate alongside the million people we've invited to the city and other human beings, and unite your voices in a call for justice and equality. i want to share some words i saw this morning from a colleue and a friend on social media. sam siner. some of you in the room -- room may know it sam singer. he was reflecting on the assassination of bobby kennedy, 50 years ago, this week. i think it is quite poignant for what we are talking about today. it is our political, social and moral imperative to survive, and honour those who gave their lives to protest. [applause]

with that, i will say, once again, we ll never go back. we are generations of strengths happy lesbian gay, bisex, transgender pride. thank you for being here today. [cheers and applause] >> mayor farrell: thank you. george, stay here for a second. two quick things. first of all, i would like to recognize our district attorney he was here today as well, with us. was clause second, kate, celebrate, we named it kate kendall day in san francisco. but i'm prou to announce today this is lgbtq pride month in the [cers and apse]ncisco.

all right, everyone. and droit the refreshments and happy pride, everybody. [cheers and applause]

>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to the san francisco p.u.c. commission meeting here, tuesday, june 12, 2018. before we get started i just