and i thank you for your service, and i'm just -- i'm very supportsiive of both of these candidates. i'm looking forward to talking to you about sterling park, and cleanpowersf, which i'm really looking forward to a big push in district two. thank you for taking the time to speak with me about your candidacy, and i'm very excited to support you today. >> supervisor safai: i'm also very excited two support these commissioners. i think they work in partnership with the agency. i think i would like to echo the comments that supervisor stefani made, having people that fundamentally understand the delivery system and the entire utility delivery system is extremely important, so i'm in full support of these two commissioners being reappointed. commissioner yee? >> supervisor yee: my silence

is positive. >> supervisor safai: okay. so can we move this forward to the full board with a positive recommendation, these two commissioners? okay. great. without objection. congratulations. [applause] >> supervisor safai: please call the next item. >> clerk: next on the agenda is item number six is a hearing to appointing four members term ending june 1, 2020 to the reentry council. there are four seats, nine applicants. >> supervisor safai: okay. call -- get it going. call the first applicant, please. >> clerk: norma ruiz. >> supervisor safai: ruiz. >> clerk: ruiz. >> good morning, supervisors.

first of all, i want to clarify that i'm running for seats one, two, and four, i didn't know you could run for multiple seats, and i'm qualified under those three. thank you for this opportunity. i come before you to ask for your full support in my appointment for s.f. reentry council. my name is norma ruiz. i'm a resident of district six, and currently live on treasure island and grew up in the mission. i was only 14 when confronted with a gang enhancement and for years i was stuck in the resolving door that the criminal justice strongly holds. it wasn't until i was 27 when i was able to exit the adult justice system? being personally impacted i am aware of some of the barriers that exist when reentering society. i know what it's like -- i know

what it's like to be cutoff of ca cal works benefits and denied housing. in all honesty, i'm still paying the city -- the city money that was given to me as a single mother to help pay myself through college, and i do not want others to go through some of the obstacles that i faced. at the age of 27 i was able to exit the criminal justice system. i enrolled in school and did not reoffend there after. with the support and guidance of educational programs such as project rebound at san francisco state university, young women's freedom center, i was able to breakdown some of those barriers and eventually went off to san francisco state university. i recently graduated with a degree in health education and community health. if i were to serve on the council, there are a variety of issues that i would like to tackle. issues such as homelessness, immigration status, educational

health and equity among others. although there has been strides in creating opportunities through educational and workforce development, there is more work to do. i would like to offer my perspective to offer more opportunities. i would also like to continue to push to end gang injunctions in san francisco as i see them stifling and hindering our community from successful reentry. i believe in elevating those voices directly impacted by the criminal justice system. currently i work as a case worker of neighborhood girls. i have more than 15 years experience community organizing and working in s.f. at a variety of nonprofits such as the hospitality house, and the mission resource center. i have provided services to a

diverse group of people whose most of the time issues intersect with incarceration. i not only have experience to serve on a council such as reentry, i have the heart and commitment to be a voice for justice involved folks in s.f. thank you. >> supervisor yee: okay. can you -- i want to ask the same question of pima plying for this position -- these positions, and i think you partially answered. my question is really, what are your ideas on how to better support formerly incarcerated individuals when reentering society, especially around -- when it comes to workforce and housing? >> well, i think that first and foremost, we have to include those voices, and meet folks where they're at, but i think

in san francisco, one of the big issues faced by folks reentering is gentrification and homelessness. when folks are homelessness, other issues follow like mental issues and social well-being. i think by focusing on programs that helped me, i think folks can successfully reenter and help them in workforce development and equity among health insurance and all areas that affect them. >> supervisor yee: thank you. >> supervisor safai: if we have any other questions, we'll call you back up. >> thank you. >> supervisor safai: please call the next person. >> clerk: jose bernal.

>> my name's jose bernal. i'm seeking reappointment to the reentry council. i want to up lift the folks that are coming up here. it's not easy to speak about yourself. just to give you a little bit of history, me, my journey, what has brought me here today. i grew up in san francisco's tenderloin district. you know, growing up as a child, we moved around a lot, s.r.o. to s.r.o., relative's house to relative's house, and i grew up to a single mother. and most people will think, you grew up in the tenderloin, you grew up moving around a lot. most people would think you grew up under privileged and poor, but i would say i grew up

privileged, very loving mother who worked hard to ensure that i grew up right. as a youth in the tenderloin, i did the best i could to stay out of trouble. inevitably, life happens, and i can tell you i made several mistakes. one day, i made a mistake, and i ended up getting incarcerated, and while incarcerated, i really went through it, i reallyy experienced a lot, was unsure what i was going to do with my life, what am i doing here? and i am a going to tell you a story, because this was a defining moment in my life. if i could go back, not too far here from bryant street, where our county jail is, i was in krsh-pod, charlie pod, and

that's where they put people where they consider a danger to themselves or a danger to others, and i was a danger to myself. i shoulder a lot of emotions. i remember being stripped of my clothes, and i was given a green garment. and i get what it's for, so you don't hurt yourself. i remember them kind of feeding me food without a spoon because the theory is you're going to hurt yourself if you have a spoon. i remember jail psychiatric services would come around, and there's a little opening -- big plexiglass, and brite lights everywhere, and they would come around, mr. bernal, are you okay? mr. bernal, do you want to hurt yourself, and that's the way it was dealt with. someone who maybe wants to hurt themselves that wasn't very helpful. so i remember not feeling like a human being, i remember not feeling human dignity, but i'll always remember this.

this was someone who was housed next to me, and i was housed in isolation. i was up there for 1.5 years, and there was a young man housed next to me, and every night, i heard him screaming and yell, get out, get out. i'd hear him every night, and thinking this man is tormented, and he doesn't belong in a cage. one day, there were two guards, and i remember, i woke up to it, and i could hear them mocking him. i can hear them poking fun at him, and i remember that -- i'll always remember vividly, they were throwing hot cheetos at him, and they were saying, are you hungry, are you hungry? are you going to cry? and i remember every other prisoners that were there, we all stood up, and there was a big plexiglass, and i remember standing up, and i remember wanting to say something. i remember wanting to do

something, and i didn't do anything. one, because i didn't feel like a human being. two, because i was afraid of what would happen to me if i spoke up. and in my life journey, i think about it now, where i no longer have the plexiglass in front of me, where i no longer have the green garment on me, where i no longer have the chains and shackles on me, where i should say something, i should do something, and i'm no longer afraid. but at the same time i think about the hundreds -- hundreds and thousands of people who are in our city right now, who even though they don't have a physical plexiglass in front of them or chains in front of them, they do have them invisibly, and we see them every day on the streets. so my mission is to empower those people and break those chains in front of them and that plexiglass in front of them, and tell them you are a

human being, you do have a voice, you are important. so when i got out of incarceration, i came back to the very same neighborhood where i grew up in. i went back to tenderloin, worked for a wonderful organization, hospitality house. really helped me grow as a leader. came in as a pieer advocate, worked my way up to running the shelter program. i worked with people experiencing homelessness to empower them. i was always very passionate about this line of work. i went onto, you know, go to the reentry council, went onto the subcommittee, and i eventually worked my way up to the chair of the legislation policy subcommittee. had a wonderful opportunity to go to stanford through project remade, where i had wonderful mentorship down there, as well. today i'm a senior organizer and advocate for the ellen baker center for human rights

where i work with folks to move resources away from punishment and prisons and reinvest them back into community. i am reapplying for a seat, my seat because there's still a lot of work to do. while on the council i took on the issue of private reentry services and also i took on the issue of gang injurngss, ancti we've made some strides, but there's still work to do. the other thing i'd like to do is civic engagement. i just got back from a conference down in florida. they have a constitutional amendment that they're trying to get through, amendment four. it's voter disenfranchisement, people with former -- they

can't -- here, we're fortunate enough where we're not in that situation, but i would like to see more people ampowerempower vote. >> supervisor safai: great job. i don't have any questions. i think you would make a phenomenal appointment. i think the story you shared was so moving. i think to have someone that can speak from the heart and has leadership abilities and ability to guide on these policy issues. we look forward to working with you. >> absolutely thank you. >> supervisor safai: and i'm happy to have you as a constituent in my district. >> yeah, i just moved to the excelsior. >> supervisor safai: sorry. all the best are coming our way. next person, please. >> clerk: victoria westbrook.

>> good morning. thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you this morning. my name is victoria westbrook, and i'm applying for seats, one, two, or three. just to qualify, i was released from federal prison on september 6, 2017 -- i mean, 2016, to the halfway house at 111 taylor. i'm a survivor of domestic violence and incest. i have assisted numerous justice involved individuals in their successful reentry through extensive job training, job readiness and job placement. i didn't plan on being justice involved. it wasn't something that i expected for my life. and although i experienced trauma as a youth, i was able

to do well in school, go to college, and graduate from georgia tech with an engineering degree on the dean's list. i had a successful career for many years, but my occasional partiying turned into daily methamphetamine use after my twin died. after losing my job and starting to sell drugs, my 20 plus year addiction culminated in my getting indicted by the federal government on drug and conspiracy charges. although i don't recommend it as a way of getting your life together, it was the best thing that could have happen to me. i began the journey back to me. i made a commitment to myself before going in to be a better woman on the other side, and that's what i did. and even though i worked on myself inside by taking all the psychology classes offered, becoming a leader and graduating from the challenging residential drug abuse program,

and participating in weekly one-on-one counseling sessions, i had very little hope for my future. you see anyone that comes back to prison tells you that there's nothing out there for you, that you're not wanted, that you're not going to get a job and that there's no support for you. i should have been in a position to fluorish upon my release. i was the strongest internally i had been in my entire adult life, and i was getting out of prison at 50. i dealt with my trauma related to incest and domestic violence. i addressed my substance abuse issues, and i had gained a real sense of self-worth, but instead of feeling confident and grateful, i felt scared and hopeless about getting out of prison. i would like to tell you that my fears were unwarranted but i can't, and unfortunately, my experience returning home is not unusual. my passion is empowerment and

helping others coming out of jails and prisons and creating a more inclusive system for people coming out of jail and prison like me. i want to become a member of the reentry council to further assist in making systemic changes in order to better support justice involved individuals reentering our communities. san francisco is far and ahead many cities, but there's still a lot of work to do. i hope to help and lead initiatives for more reentry navigation, and once i'm off paper, i want to go into the jails and prisons and work on actually what i heard when i first landed in federal prison, that reentry starts the day you're incarcerated, but that wasn't my experience, either. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you very much. any questions?

nope? okay. next person -- no, it's okay. >> clerk: theodore tolliver. >> good day, chair safai, supervisor stefani, supervisor yee. my name is theodore tolliver, but i prefer to be called ted, and i have a miraculous life, and it's only the beginning of it. i was born in the turkmore projects in the western addition, and at the age of eight years old, i had to end up in -- in board member's safai's lakeview district. you know, that district, you know? when i was 11 years old, i was

sold by my friend who was younger than i was that i could sell drugs, i could sell these little rocks in my hand, and i could get $100 for this. when i went to my guardian, my aunt, i told her what my friend proposed to me, and she gave me some money even though we were poor to flip the money, make some money with the money that she gave me, so selling drugs and committing crime never was a problem for me because the people that i trusted raising me right gave me information, my mom, my dad, and my aunt, gave me this information that they were good, so it was never wrong to me. so now that -- before i even got to that point in my life, at, like, five years old, i wanted to be a police officer or a firearm. so i'm going through -- fireman, so i'm going through life, and i'm learning these things that's on the other side of the law.

but i got to a point in my life where this isn't what i wanted to do. i didn't want to go to prison no more, i didn't want to do no jail time, i didn't want to keep starting over. so when i went back to that thought when i was five years old -- i was 41 at this time, and i went back to five years old, and i said okay, i've got to do something different. so i entered treatment. and by -- when i entered treatment, i was open to a whole bunch of other stuff. and -- and to give you an example of how cloudy my mind was, i didn't know -- my son was born on buchanan and grove. i didn't know right up the street, around the corner, which is where the program i was at, health rigealthright 3 mansions and victorian homes. i'm so cloudy and whacked out

of my mind, i didn't know that these beautiful things existed in my city. so as i'm going through life since treatment, and i'm learning all these beautiful new things, you know, i'm advocating for people, you know, for change. you know, there's a lot of people that's given the wrong information like me. the information i was given me helped land me in prison, you know, but it doesn't -- i don't hold any bad thoughts up against my parents or anybody else. what i learned is that you know, i've just got to give back to the people that helped me or extend my hand. so by me doing these, having my thoughts in the head, i was given the aspiring change in word by the san francisco adult protection department and the senior ex-offender program. and it kind of threw me for a loop because i wasn't doing this to get a reward, i was just doing this to be doing

what i'm doing. i also became the face of the free city initiative. they have my face on bill boards everywhere, and in the city, it gave people hope, like, i know tedi. he was out there with us, he was living in a tent. look at him. he's doing something different. maybe i can do that. i'm also a member of m-3, and also a survivor for safety and justice member. i've been doing all these things, going into the jails, mentoring, you know, just really preaching change. and people are buying into this change. and i'm so -- you know, i'm so avid about this change because i remember when i was in jail about 18 to 20 years old, and positive direction equals change used to come do groups in there, and i was not trying

to do none of that what they were talking about. i was like i'm not doing that, i'm about to use drugs and commit crime, but those were the same people that my mentor is today. and i know, like, no matter what i go through with people that wasn't some help or trying to -- want some help or trying to change, i've got to extend my handout to someone that needs a pull up, and that's what my life is about today. i'm currently working at golden gat gate for seniors. we have a 94% success rate, people 55 and older going to treatment and getting out and doing something different. the reason i hold it so dear, i went to the power house, healthright 360, and out of all the people i was in the house with, only five of us today are not actively using, so i'm glad

to be a part of that. i was born and raised in san francisco. i was part of the problem for so many years. now i'm thankful i can be part of the solution, and by me being on the reentry council, i'll be able to help -- not help, but put my 'emphasis on some policies to help people transition out of the jails prisons, and institutions different. so, you know, i'm down for that. i want to do that. i appreciate being given the honor, and i just want to do something different and continue to life my life on this great path that i'm going on. i also graduated from city college, and i'm on my way -- well, i'm at san francisco state now to get my health ed degree. and i'm just, like, i can't believe it. i want to well up every day because i can't believe the lifestyle i'm living. >> supervisor safai: thank you so much. congratulations.

>> yes. >> supervisor safai: we'll call you back up if we have any questions. please call the next person. >> clerk: nathaniel williams. >> supervisor safai: not here. next person. >> clerk: next person is william dearmund. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is william dearmund. after receiving your e-mails, and the qualifications for this position, i was reluctant at coming first because i really don't have much in the past because of doing this, but then, i've got 12 prison commitments in five separate states. i was a heroin addict for 40

years, crack addict for 20 years. when i came to san francisco in 2007, i was in -- i was in a shelter, and then, i was -- went to the tenderloin, to the cadillac hotel. and while i was there, as i was going to my room, i would see people on the sidewalk, snorting up dope, smoking crack, and i would go to my room, do the same. and i thought if i keep doing that, i'm going to be down there with them. but i've been in prison for all of my life. from 1996 to 2006, i was heert on parole, in prison or either on the run. i was probably on the streets for one year during all that time at the time. i always had confidence in

myself, i always knew i could do something different, but the streets was my life. the streets was my home. i left home when i was 14, got married when i was 16. i was a member of the b.r.p., the black revolutionary party, but after disenchantment, i became a criminal. after 18 years in prison, i was offered felony offense of forgeries. however i went to the law library and became a paralegal, and i ended up doing 18 months because i filed my own motions and learned how to fight for myself. and as a result, i want to continue to work with youngsters to stop them from doing what i had done. and it's -- it's an opportunity that i look forward to and something that i'm going to do, whether i do it here, i'm going

to do it somewhere because i think that our system now is -- is, like -- it's like the new jim crow, especially for people that's black. young black people are -- they've been raised up to go to prison. that's exactly what it is. and our system is made in such a way that if they're not turned around at an early age, that's exactly how it's going to be. and it's going to be like me or those like me to keep them from doing that. and i hope that i get the opportunity to do that here. >> supervisor safai: thank you so much. we'll call you back up if we have any questions. call the next person. >> clerk: angela coleman. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is angela coleman, and i'm seeking reappointment to seat number two. this will be my third term.

i am a native of san francisco, although i reside in oakland now. i am also a survivor of sexual child abuse, domestic violence. i used drugs since i was 14. 30 years on heroin and other drugs. i went to prison in '79 and got out in '81, and resorted back to my old behavior. there was no recovery support while i was in prison. a few -- a few years later, i was arrested and went to county jail, got eight years -- i

mean, excuse me. i did a year, but i was looking at 25 to life because i was a third-striker, but by the grace of god, i got a year in county jail and a year in walden house. i was through with that type of lifestyle, and i took every class that was available to me, and i haven't looked back since. i've been clean for 14 years now. i've been working at glide for 13 years, as a case manager for five. i went to city college, and i got my certificate as a drug and alcohol counselor. during my last appointment, i became a member of the subcommittee for the reentry council on direct services, and

we're breaking down our work groups, and i have children -- the alternatives to our incarceration. and i'm also a member of the policy committee for l.e.a.d., law enforcement assistance diversion program. i was appointed by the reentry council, representing the reentry council. this has been a great opportunity for me learning about the criminal justice system regarding changes needed inside the jails. i've been going inside county jail number two for approximately five years, supporting the women that are existing soon, up to 45 days of supporting them and give them resources and a place to come when they exit.

being on the reentry council has been a great opportunity for me to learn about the criminal justice system regarding changes needed inside the jails, women's reentry services, for them having somewhere to go, and the -- to change the release hours, so most -- especially the women that release at midnight, they don't have anywhere to go. i know at glide, we are a reservation station, but we do close at 9:00, and we need for the women couto have somewhere go when exiting jail at night. i remember when i was being released at night, and i'd have

a few dollars in my pocket, and nowhere to go, and being involved with drugs, i'd go and buy drugs and use 'cause there was nowhere for me to go. during my appointment, we have been discussing the mental illness issues inside and outside of the jail and what resources are available to people that are dealing with mental illness with the department of public health. i have been prior involved in facilitating meetings in african american communities, working with the protection department, the reentry division. i've been learning how the criminal justice system works and doesn't work for the incarcerated population, barriers that people face and

just disparities that plague our communities and ways that we can be instrumental in resolving these issues. the position is not always comfortable. it gives me a path to heal, learn, and grow. the experience and appointment has empowered me, while in the past i have been a facilitator of the emotional emancipation services. the e.e. circle process was originated by community healing network and the association of black psychologists in collaboration with california institution for behavioral health solutions.

for the following two years, i would like the reentry council to focus on ways that we can support our communities with more employment opportunities and services, especially transitional housing for our returning citizens and ways to be instrumental in parole plans inside prisons and county jails. i guess many letters -- it's my passion to work with the reentry populations, and i get many letters from folks in prisons all over california, and i try to give them hope and have somewhere to go, but part of their parole plan is to have an address, and there's -- there's -- almost impossible

for that to happen. so i wanted that to be worked on. also, i would like to see people that are homeless and in shelters and that are working, that they have somewhere to get some rest during the day. once they have the work and people that are seeking job opportunities. thank you for this great opportunity to give back to my community and the city and country of san francisco. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you so much. we'll call you up if we have any questions. and the last applicant? >> clerk: there's two additional, but i do not believe they will be in attendance today. that's shannon wise. she has informed us that she was unable to attend, and shelley winter. also, she has informed us she

is unable to attend today. >> supervisor safai: turn in information -- i mean, i know, shannon did, but the other individual, did they turn their information in in a timely manner? >> clerk: oh, yes. they were notified of the hearing date. however, they informed that they had conflict of schedule. >> supervisor safai: oh, shelley, i see it. okay. great. so any questions -- thank you very much. >> clerk: we have not had public comment yet. >> supervisor safai: any members of the public wishing to comment on this item, please come forward. please proceed. >> hi, supervisor yee, supervisor safai, and supervisor stefani. i am the reentry council planner and analyst that

oversees the facilitation of the reentry council. i just wanted to bring a correction for the record because i see residency required, residency waiver required. >> supervisor safai: yeah, that's a mistake. >> okay. >> supervisor safai: okay. so you can move past that. >> okay. and also just to say presently, we have two reentry subcommittee, which is the policy subcommittee that will be meeting actually today. it meets bimonthly, the third wednesday at 2:30, and then, we have the direct services subcommittee. i understand we have six applicants here and four seats. even though those that are not chosen can join the committees as an alternative. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> my name is karen shane.

i am the prior reentry policy planner for san francisco adult probation and served the reentry council for about 3.5 years. i wanted to speak on behalf of three people who have come before you today. the first is jose bernal. jose -- well, i've known all of these people for pretty much the entire time that i -- either i have been here and working for the city or they have been out of incarceration. so starting with jose, you've seen he is a phenomenal speaker. i have so say there was no one during the time that i was working at the reentry council that had the impact that jose has. he is a good listener, he has an enormous amount of patience, and he's an idea generator, and he knows how to build community consensus. but most important, he's not

someone who's afraid to speak truth to power, and will not be intimidated but will always listen and change as things happen as if he needs to change, he will. i can't think of anyone who would be more qualified than jose to -- for -- and i think it's important that someone who's had one chance at the reentry council get another -- another bite at it because they -- it just takes some time to learn how -- how the whole thing operates. quickly, because i'm running out of time, i wanted to talk briefly about victoria, who came to the reentry council subcommittees immediately after being released from incarceration, and i've never seen anyone hit the ground running as quickly as she has and has been active in the reentry council subcommittees. and finally angela coleman who is on the reentry council and

is known as the mayor of the tenderloin and has also made just a wonderful contribution to the reentry council. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you so much. thank you. >> hello. i'm the financial manager at hospitality house. i wanted to thank you guys for -- well, thank you for listening to us. i'm here to show my support for jose bernal. i met him two years ago when he worked at hospitality house. i've always been impressed with his passion for social justice, his policy advocacy skills, and his personal and professional ethics. when geogroup, a billion dollar private prison company attempted to open a new halfway house along the sixth street, mr. bernal raised concerns with

geogroup's records of system abuse. his advocacy led to real action to hold geogroup accountable and increased awareness of the apaul conditions in geogroup facilities. he's a voice for the formerly incarcerated, for immigrants and other marginized populations. i support his reappointment to the reentry council, and i encourage you to do the same. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors, and thank you again for the -- this opportunity. my name is allen sampson. i'm the development director over at hospitality house, and i have actually prepared a one minute and 52 second speech about jose's accomplishments, but after hearing jose speak, you can see that it's very important to speak from the heart, and reminded me why it was important to wade through a

long list of muni points to get to this point. i can talk about jose's accomplishments at hospitality house, to working his way to becoming a shelter manager. i can talk about how he inspired the shelter residents, how he built a rooftop garden, how he organized the immigrants during the time when all the fear of i.c.e. from the buffoons of washington came upon us. i can talk about his fight against the industrial prison complex and geocare, but i'm going to talk about something that i think is very important that you might not hear about jose is that he is a phenomenal salsa dancer. and the reason why i bring that up is to become a phenomenal salsa dancer, you have to have certain characteristics and elements, and one is precision and skill, which jose has. you have to have a sense of

attention to detail. he can think on his feet. he has that kind of compassion for his humanity, to be able to drive it, and that is the third part. compassion. as you can tell, he speaks from the heart, and he sees everybody as human beings, and i think that's very important for someone who's going to be sitting on the reentry council, so again, i'm here to support jose bernal, and i hope that you will consider his seat again and his renewal of his seat. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is michael thailor. i'm the program director of golden gate for seniors, as mr. ted tolliver mentioned. i'm here on his behalf. i'm here to tell you shortly why i believe he would be a key

player for the reentry council. golden gate for seniors is a seniors program, 55 and older, substance abuse residential program located in the city of san francisco, california. mr. tolliver has been with us for approximately two years. he started out as an intern counseling with our residents, and from there, i immediately hired him on as a counselor for us. since then, i've gained a lot of background and background knowledge of mr. tolliver's experience, and you know, even though he'll give you a list of those experiences, i have to add that i've been quite impressed with those experiences. him coming from the streets of

fillmore and going through the lifestyle and accomplish all that he's accomplished now is quite the statement, and i'm proud -- more than proud to not only recommend but support and endorse his bid for the reentry council, and i do hope that you do, as well. and by the way, he's a terrible salsa dancer. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, chair safai and supervisor yee, supervisor stefani. my name's ian fragosi. i'm a legislative aide to supervisor sandra fewer. supervisor fewer wanted to be here in support of jose bernal for reentry council

reappointment, but she's tied up in another hearing. i'm going to read a statement. i'm excited to hear that mr. bernal is a salsa dancer, but supervisor fewer is also a salsa dancer, so perhaps we should have a competition to see who should wear the crown. i'm going to read a statement. i write to you today to express my enthusiastic support for jose bernal and his appointment to the reentry council. as a member of the reentry council representing the board of supervisors, i've witnessed firsthand the passion and commitment to social justice that jose brings to this body. jose serves as cochair, and he has stood out as a leader on the council in advocating for restoreative justice policies. he has demonstrated that he has the courage to speak truth to

power and always fight for what is right. i believe it is critical to appoint jose bernal to the reenter row council so that he can continue to provide the perspective and leadership that has made this body so successful in its advocacy efforts. jose takes his membership seriously, attends every meeting and as someone who was formerly incars cars rated, is not afraid to bring that voice to the table. i urge you to reappoint him to another term. thank you so much. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> thank you. my name is donna mandel. i'm here representing public defender jeff adaci in support of reappointing jose bernal to the council. the public defender's office serves over 20,000 client each here who are too poor to afford

an attorney. at least 20% of our clients are homeless. many of our clients have drug or substance abuse issues. people's experience with the justice system is traumatic. our clients exiting the system need support and service and help over coming the many barriers that exist for justice impacted people. the reentry council was formed as a partnership between city government agencies to facilitate this reentry process. jose bernal is actively involved with the reentry community and works tirelessly every day to organize and empower justice impacted people. he always comes in prepared, having thoroughly researched every issue. he stood out as a leader on the council on the issue of for profit contractors on the issue

of gang injunctions and as cochair of the policy subcommittee. the board of supervisors has benefited from his leadership on these issues and has followed through on his recommendations. thank you -- although every member of the council may not agree with jose on every point, no one could fail to be impressed by his passion, by his commitment to the reentry community, by his intelligence and knowledge of the issues and his consistent follow through on the proposals. he makes the reentry council better, and we support him. thank you so much. >> supervisor safai: thank you. is there any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. [ gavel ]. >> supervisor safai: we're always faced with a difficult decision when we're faced with many applicants for a limited number of seats, but i think there's different ways to be active and engaged about this body.

i'm very inclined to reappoint the two sitting members of the advisory council, and i think we have a lot of wonderful applicants that i applicants, but i'd like to hear from the committee members, as well. >> supervisor yee: i agree. i think i've been sitting on rules committee -- it's my fourth year or something like that, and every time we have to select people for the reentry council, it's -- it teseems to always have a lot more candidates than positions and a lot more people. i feel like we should open it up to all the people. tough decision for me, but i want to thank each one of you for applying and wanting to serve, and i want to thank the public for coming out and showing your support for individuals.

i will agree that the -- at least the two that are reapplying, jose bernal and angela coleman, i would strongly support, although i don't know -- i don't want any competition in this salsa scene with jose. and i -- the others, i'm -- i'm having a hard time deciding which ones really would be great. i think they would be all great, so i'll just leave it up to you guys. >> supervisor safai: okay. well, i certainly would want to support theodore tolliver -- all of you, in fact, and victoria westbrook. those would be the ones that i would support now. i think norma presents a strong

candidacy, and i think there's an opportunity that the mayor's office wants to work with you. i believe they're very inclined to support you. mr. dearmund, i believe there's opportunities for you to be involved again, and i would speak to the folks at the reentry council, but those are the four that i would put forward. any of you would do a great job, but i appreciate all of you coming out and speaking on behalf of folks, but those would be the four that i would support today. supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: yeah. i just want to add to that. i'm so impressed by everyone today, and i was thinking, you know, for me, the strength of people in recovery and those that are facing their addictions on a daily basis

just absolutely astounds me. i am just so in awe of people who over come that and face that on a daily basis. i just want to say much props to you who expressed that to us today. i was just thinking, i don't know if you've read that book by brian stevens, "just mercy," and there's that one quote, each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. i think it's an amaze be -- i just was thinking about that as everybody was telling their stories, their personal stories, which i thank you for doing. and i want -- i want to get to know all of you better, and i would love the chance to meet with all of you individually and really work on a lot of the issues that you discussed at the reentry council. i was a former prosecutor, started my career that way, and

one of the things that i enjoy doing most in that job was working with the public defenders to really decide what was best for the individual involved, and whether that be a recovery house or a way to deal with a sentence that helped the individual, that was always at the foremost of my mind. so i just want to thank you all for coming out today. i'm impressed by everyone, and i did go along with what you suggested, supervisor safai. >> supervisor safai: can we do that without objection? >> supervisor yee: residency?

>> supervisor safai: no, i think that was a mistake. >> clerk: it's not required in this case. >> supervisor safai: can we do that without objection? okay. great. and thank you, everyone for coming out and sharing your story today. [ gavel ]. >> supervisor safai: please call the next item. >> clerk: next on the agenda is item number seven, hearing to consider appointing one member term ending february 1, 2020 and one member term ending february 1, 2020 to the park recreation and open space advisory committee. we have two seats, two applicants. >> supervisor safai: okay. great. are they here? i think these are -- these are both district appointees. is -- is -- huh? oh, are you miss pfeiffenberger? okay. if you could just make very brief remarks, thank you for staying and participating and waiting out this long meeting.

>> absolutely. thank you, supervisor safai, yee, and stefani. i'm excited to be here, and i hope that you will consider approving my nomination for the parks and recs open space commission? i'd like to tell you what i hope to accomplish through think participation. first a little bit about me. i grew up here in san francisco? my family emigrated here when i was three years old? i was a customer of public playgrounds and parks and attended summer camps as well before going onto attend and graduate ucla. today my family lives in the park side district of san francisco where my husband frequent parks and playgrounds many times a week with our daughter. my background is in qualitative research. i've spent the last six years planning and conducting research studies, and i look forward to this opportunity to

apply my research skills to aassist parks and recs in did i vising effective -- divising effective ways -- [inaudible] >> -- to be a voice for the constituents of district four? and to improve the city's offerings for all san franciscans. i've already begun to attend meetings and participate in the important discussions taking place there? and i look forward to answering any questions you might have about my candidacy and aspirations. thank you so much for having me today. >> supervisor safai: thank you. is the other individual here? cle>> clerk: that would be

kenneth maley. >> supervisor safai: supervisor yee? >> supervisor yee: can you share your proposal to close down golden gate park to cars? >> i'm not familiar with that proposal, unfortunately, so i can't speak to it in an "au" authoritative way, but i look forward to reading about that and developing a more opinionated point of view. >> supervisor yee: it's just pretty straightforward. they're thinking of closing it down to cars, basically. >> so not just for sundays, but for the whole week. >> supervisor yee: right, so do you have any thoughts about that? >> as a researcher, the way that i would approach this question is to undertake a more holistic analysis of what that would mean. what would that mean for traffic in the city of san francisco? what would that mean for kind of transportation in the city of san francisco? i think i would need to understand what the impact of that would be and then weigh