>> so first, i want to say good afternoon and thank you for joining me as i submit our balance to your budget to the board of supervisors here in city hall. i want to start today by bei

acknowledging all of the hard work that went into this. i want to thampg the members of the board of supervisors, i want to thank the departments that are here today and their staffs for all their hard work and the months of preparation that are here today. there are a few people that i want to call out. first, ben rosenfield. i also want to thank and acknowledge harvey rose. it has been a pleasure with the board of supervisors to working with him. and lastly, and i want to say most importantly, i want to thank my entire budget team. they're all sitting over here, and to keller kirkpatrick, our acting budget director, can we give her a round of plauz?

[applause] >> and i want to acknowledge my chief of staff, jason elliott, jason, thank you for everything. [applause] >> so before i dive into the specifics of the budget, i do want to acknowledge where we have been over the past seven months. i think we all remember where we were when we heard about mayor lee's passing and the shock that it felt. no one could have possibly anticipated that our mayor would have been taken from us in december, taken from the city that he loved. we all have endured a lot since that fateful night. many of us have cried, many of us have mourned, but we have come together as a city. we have definitely had our disagreements and debates over the past seven months, but we have stayed together, defending the values of san francisco. and while our local economy continues to thrive, san francisco faces real challenges every single day.

well, you all understand that a mother should not have to choose between paying her utility bill or paying rent, the potential of facing eviction or homelessness. we know that clean streets free of syringes and needles should be the norm, not the exception. that parking your car in san francisco should not induce a panic attack because you think it will be broken into. we all understand that residents in historically under served communities did he serve the resources and -- deserve the resources in a booming economy. they deserve it from san francisco. and as the trump administration attacks so many of our communities, our immigrant community, our lgbt community, our women in san francisco, and the rights of all san

franciscans, we must fight back. we are stewards of the greatest city in the world, and we will rise up to the challenges of today. thank you. [applause] >> now, homelessness has plagued our city for decades, but the situation has never been so dire as it is right now. we will not solve this epidemic with one single answer, and this budget takes a multifacet multifaceted approach to making a real dent in the issue, to help stem the tight of homelessness and push back on the challenges that have confronted us for years on our streets. i also understand the roots of this tragedy are complex, they are not simple, and they are also not unique to san francisco, which is why over the past few months, i have partnered with ten of the mayor's of the other largest

cities in california and advocated in sacramento, advocated with our governor, spent hours in sacramento together as mayors to ask for more than $1.5 billion in our state budget so that cities can address homelessness on our streets because we know the solutions that are working. and i want to say a special thanks to assembly man -- senator weiner, assembly men chiu, and this budget, as large as it is and as large as the investments are within homelessness does not reflect a single dollar of that ask, and we have had great results in sacramento in committees over the past few weeks, and we are hopeful that additional funding will be coming shortly from sacramento. this budget invests in measures that prevent people from

falling into the clutches of homelessness to begin with, while also supporting programs that ensure once they are housed, they will have the support and services that they need to avoid slipping back into homelessness on our streets. we will be compassion driven in our approach, but we will also take strategic common sense measures, measures such as our encampment resolution teams, because no one gets better by living on our streets at night. the first fiscal year of my budget will include $30 million in new initiatives for homelessness. that package includes an investment to double our home ward bound budget, a measure that reunites struggling families with their loved ones, and last year alone over 900 people were served by project home ward bound, and less than 10% of people returned to the

city of san francisco to access services. this is to prevent and divert people from a life on our streets here in san francisco. and when someone leaves the throes of homelessness, they will leave permanently with the resource necessary to make sure they get back on their own 2 feet. in the next fiscal year, this budget will create 200 new supportive housing units in san francisco. with these units, san francisco will have more than 7,900 permanent supportive housing units in the city of san francisco, the most percapita of any city in our entire country. along with our new units, i will be investing $1.5 million additional funds to support additional housing at our permanent housing sites. this includes $15 million to continue our nav fact center pipeline, helping to secure the

creation of four new facilities right here in our city, including the first one dedicated specifically to women and expectant mothers. these resource heavy centers are critical to breaking the cycle of homelessness, poverty and addiction on our streets. we will fund programs that support families, we will fund program that's support the youth that are homeless on our streets, and i will continue to support funding for operations that clear our streets of unsafe and unhealthy tent encampments. again, no one's life is getting better by sleeping in tents on our streets. we must also address the core roots of the issue of homelessness. we must offer help to those on our streets struggling with addiction, mental illness and other behavioral health challenges. last month, i announced the creation of a new street

medicine street which will deliver opioid treatments directly to people living on our streets. this dedicated unit under the direction of dr. barry zevin will offer medication to people living on our streets. it is a first in the nation program, and it will produce results here in san francisco. every day we are hearing more and more stories of people who have really inspired the rest of us by treating their addiction and making onto a better life. and for those -- for those that are on our streets that cannot help themselves with buprenorphrine, we have an obligation to step in and offer assistance. we are investing in conserveatorship beds to those suffering from mental illnesses and living on our streets. earlier this year, i announced

the opening of san francisco conserveatorship beds. and we will continue to invest in them and other programs that represent help for those struggling with addictions living on our streets. we will continue to operate under the premise of laura's law, who help family members who cannot help themselves. too often we have approached homelessness as an attractable issue and the residents experiencing these issues as lost causes. i refuse to accept that narrative. we will not solve this issue overnight, but we have made a dent over the past six months, and with this budget, we will make great strides in

addressing homelessness on our streets. not only in the immediate future but with an eye toward making a dent, and make a permanent lasting legacy of san francisco. we also are fortunate to live in the most beautiful city in the world. stunning vistas, we have the golden gate bridge, we have the castro district, we have livly commercial corridors. but too often, our picture perfect city is blighted with scenes of trash, litter, human waste, drug paraphernalia. we've seen it all. and that's why i'm adding 44 new street cleaners in this budget to be split up evenly between our city's 11 supervisor asorial districts.

we've asked the department of public works to work with our supervisors to make sure they are placed exactly in the areas that they are needed in our city. we are also funding a dedicated street pickup team in the soma district. five days a week, manual labor pickup to pick up the trash to make that neighborhood better. in addition, i'll be funding new pit stops, which are safe, monitored public toilets, and a proven model to reduce human waste and litter on our streets. no one should be confronted with feces or the smell of urine walking the streets of san francisco. we'll be adding five new pit stops in high volume corridors and expanding at other pit stops. they are win-win solutions for our communities. they offer struggling residents dignity and safety and keep our sidewalks and streets safe and clean. these additional investments will be paired with ongoing programs, including our

dedicated street medicine team, specifically, a team that was created for needle pick ups based on resident complaints, and our fix it team that does such great work in our neighborhoods, and with this budget, we will be expanding from 25 to 35 zones throughout the city of san francisco. we all know that a clean and vibrant city is an economically successful and healthy city. and just as our city needs to be clean to thrive, it also needs to be safe. last year, we reported 31,000 car break-ins in san francisco. that's about one break-in every three hours on our street. s that's unacceptable. to the credit to our police department, they're doubled our foot patrols, creating a dedicated unit within the central police department, and increasing the burglary and serial crime units.

year to date, car break-ins are down 20% in the city of san francisco, but we will not rest on our laurels here in approximate our city. this budget will reflect additional investments in our public safety departments. in particular, our police department to make sure we do not slip back. the center piece of this public safety goal is the addition of over 250 sworn police personnel over the next four years. i have often said that we have some of the best police officers in the country. we just need more of them. let me be even more specific. i believe we have incredible men and women of our police department. they put the lives on the line for us every single day, and they deserve our respect, and i am proud of them. but san francisco is a growing, changing city, and we need a police force that grows and changes with it. in the next fiscal year, 130

new officers will be in the police academy, setting the foundation for 250 more officers on our streets. i want to make it clear that these new officers will not be just focused on our property crime epidemic, they'll also be working within our communities to make sure our residents feel safe in the city we all love. these new officers will have the tools and training we have implemented under our current d.o.j. reforms, such as time and distance strategies, deescalation tactics, and most important, the policy and practice of sanctity of life. my budget contains additional investments that bolster our department of police accountability. we need our residents to trust our public safety officials, to believe that when they need help, they're going to get the services that they need.

our department of emergency management teams are now answering approximately 89% of their 911 calls within ten seconds. 90%'s the nshl standard. we are investing $9 million to bolster that department to make sure we exceed the national standard and make sure the residents know when they pick up the phone and dial 911, they're going to have a life person on the other end of the line. it can mean the difference between life and death, and san francisco can do better. we are also investing in significant new equipment for our firefighters to make sure that they are able to respond quickly and that they are able to do their jobs safely for our residents. we have also been a city that has opened our doors and right la lane -- welcomed the refugees of hate, bigotry an

and oppression. we make sure that every person understands they are an integral part of our city. regardless of where you were raised, no matter where you come from, no matter what neighborhood you are from, you are a part of san francisco. [applause] >> and i am well aware of the persistent disparities that exist in our city, and without these budget dollars, without accountability to out comes will not be successful in reducing widespread disparities. i'm also well aware that too many communities and populations are systematically stuck outside the prosperity of our city, particularly communities of color. this budget continues to invest in these communities that are marginalized and most vulnerable. our community's most impacted by the delusional policies of

the trump administration, and those communities that face persistent and widespread disparities. we're investing over $7 million over the next two years to provide representation for immigrants facing deportation among other legal and support programs. we will be providing our community-based organizations who are on the front line every single day with resources so they can support our own immigrant communities in san francisco. i'm here emphatically once again to say that we will not cower in fare to president trump and the federal administration, and we will never embrace their ideologies of bigotry and hatred ever. and if our city is to truly succeed, we need to lift up every single community and put the right support between everybody that calls our city

home. that is why this budget includes over $7 million for additional criminal justice reforms, including initiatives to expand pretrial monitoring and bail alternatives, ending onerous local fees, and supporting our street violence response team. we will continue to fund workforce programs so every san franciscan from every neighborhood can be a part of our growing economy. i want to thank our union partners who are collaborating with us to making sure the residents can call san francisco home can also be a place where they can work. we're ensuring that the next generation of san franciscans, which is who we are fighting for, have good paying jobs and good benefits. and thanks to the passage of the soda tax, we will now dedicate $10 million annually to address health inequities, with a specific focus on

communities, low-income communities and communities of concern that have disproportionately been affected by our health crisis. and we will provide support and resources for vulnerable communities when our city does not. as evidenced by the $4.2 million that we are investing for hiv and aids programs, backfilling local initiatives that were subject to federal funding cuts brought on by an administration that once again does not even respect our local communities and has no trace of empathy for compassion. in san francisco, we do it different. i am proud to make sustained investments in these communities, and i'm also proud to do it in a fiscally responsible manner. we need to maintain our long-term investments, and this budget includes nearly $450 mil

i don't kn -- million in reserves. i don't think anyone in here has forgotten the great recession, and it's not a question of if, but when the next town turn happens. in april, i issued an executive directive to expand our economically -- our economic resiliency plan so that our first in the nation policy will now have detailed and specific recession scenarios, allowing us to plan and then respond accordingly when signs of the next economic downturn arise. there is a reason that mooney's have upgraded our bond rating to the highest in approximate our city's history, and to the highest level possible. it's the result of responsible fiscal planning, an approach we mirror when dealing with our long-term investments and our

capital projects. and for the second consecutive year and the second year in our city's history, our capital plan will be fully funded. we are providing historic levels of investments in our parks, on our streets, and our seismic infrastructure. the capital budget will strengthen our seawall and repair, rebuild, and work on our critical infrastructure assets, such as the yslais creek bridge and our 911 call center. we are providing more than $100 million for street resurfacing projects, ensuring our roadways are smoother, safer, and easier to travel on because i don't believe anyone thinks the conditions of our streets today are acceptable. these are not just investments in our bridges, our streets, and our roads, and our waterfronts, these are investments in the very future

of the city of san francisco. [applause] >> and because i care very deeply in the future of this city, the city where i was lucky enough to be born, lucky enough to be raised, and where i have lived my entire adult life, i am honored that this budget fulfills many of the legacies of our late mayor ed lee. i truly believe this budget would make him proud. i believe in the greatness of our city, in our residents, our leaders, and i want to leave this office a place where the next mayor, whoever that may be, will have every opportunity to succeed. to that end, i do commitment to the next mayor my full support both personally and with my staff to make the transition before -- between our

administrations as smooth as possible because i believe that no matter who holds the office of mayor, as san franciscans, we will all have a vested interest in the next mayor's success, and i pledge my complete and full support to make that happen. the poe el dylan thomas said the following about our amazing city. he wouldn't think such as place as san francisco can exist. the wonderful sun light here, the hills, the great bridges, the pacific at your shoes. beautiful chinatown, every race in the world. the sardine fleets sailing out. the little cable cars whizzing down city hills, and the people are all friendly. that is a san francisco we all love and know. that is a san francisco we all

aspire to be, and that is a san francisco we will be. thank you, everyone, for being here, and thank you for your time. [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 city 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 a number of people up here as well. acknowledge the elected officials, alice randolph from art city officials board, carmen two, our assessor recorder, the woman of the hour, for sure. [cheers and applause] clair farley from our office of transgender services. [applause] london breed, our president of the board of supervisors. our treasured tax collector and 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, for our lgbtq community. we also acknowledge all the organizations that work 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, with what was a very narrow ruling out of the u.s. supreme court, but the rhetoric that comes with 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 city stand 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 with her 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 entire country. 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] it 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 comments 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 of the national centre for lesbian rights for 22 years. [applause] she has placed the ncl are at

the centre of the civil rights movement in our country. under her guidance, they want the landmark equality case in 2,008 and was later part of the team that secured national 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 lawsuit 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 microphone 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 was just 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, every day, and that is me i am speaking of, have my reach exceed my grasp in what i thought i was capable 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 be a bigger 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 and freely and feel supported for who we are and and hate and discrimination and white supremacy and racism. thank you so much for this and for your support. [cheers and applause] >> mayor farrell: thank you kate. up next, 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 leader outside of city hall and inside of city hall. and at this point, it is the

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 san francisco supervisor jeff sheehy. >> thank you kate i have a certificate from the board of supervisors for you as well. [applause] just a note, under her leadership, nclr has led on these national 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 you, kate. i salute nclr. the greatest. [applause] so, this is an interesting pride to kick off with a supreme court decision against our community. i recognize our acclaim this year and generations of pride and like kate, is passing down to new leadership and new activism in our community. the person who came up with that theme, larry nelson, the bonds that we need to create 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 strengthened and renewed. we are at war. 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 not just 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 california that we are going to be marching and walking 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 activist in me to see the supreme court decision, not that i 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 has been a challenging year, as we fight for basic human rights and lgbtq rights across the country. 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 stood up and fought ba 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 celebrate our 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. pride, san francisco is 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 strengths that came 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 and 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 i 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 to 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 able to 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 want to thank tom horn for making 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 the 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 she is here today as well. so, we are pleased to be here at 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 is clearly 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 got some work to do, however, 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 this point 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 grateful for that. our vice president is here. [applause]

our secretary is here. [applause] i'm not sure if our secretary, when -- secretary was able to make its. all right. 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 all the things that we love

about san francisco. this year, we are expecting 270 contingents in the parade. that is on par it was last year market street is going to be so filled with community groups, 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. for 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 ask for michelle's help. 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'm very honoured to be here again and thank you to tom horn. thank you to everybody. the leaders of san francisco for making this happen and to kick off pride month for a world 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 the supervisor was talking about as far as a community being under attack. in some ways, we are at war with

the supreme court voting against us as a community. it is not just one person. it is not 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 who are working 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 the 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. [laughter] from the little -- multilayer grassroots advocacy work that is being done in the bay area by the incredibly talented kinfol kinfolks, they are our community selected grand marshal. [cheers and applause] to the generations of? or 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 to the lgbtq community. they have litigated and continue to fight for our community through the court system. putting out lgbtq queer and nonconforming images, and visibility, voices out there. john haines, who many of you 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 and 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 and he wore a huge smile. he wore a lay around his neck and he were a t-shirt that read, i will never go back. we must never go back. while we have been enjoyed great 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 colleague and a friend on social media. sam singer. 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 will never go back. we are generations of strengths happy lesbian gay, bisexual, 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 proud to announce today this is lgbtq pride month in the city of san francisco. [cheers and applause]

all right, everyone. and droit the refreshments and happy pride, everybody. [cheers and applause] >> okay. we are all now?