the meeting will come to order. welcome to the april 8, 2019, meeting of the rules committee. i supervisor hillary ronen. and sha shamann walton will be here shortly. and seated to my left is

gordon mar. our clerk is victor young. and i would like to thank kaleena for staffing this meeting. >> please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. documents are to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. items acted upon today, will be on the april 16, 2019, board of supervisors' agenda, unless otherwise stated. >> chairwoman: thank you. can you please read item number one. >> it is a hearing to appoint one member, february 1st, 2020, to the parks recreation and open space advisory committee. one seat. one applicant. >> chairwoman: is ms. ramiro here? don't be nervous. >> good morning. nervousness is an understatement. [laughter] >> thank you. and it gets worse.

should i speak? >> chairwoman: yes, please. >> good morning. as you know, my name is aisha meadow, and i'm a filipino woman, who has been here for over 25 years. and throughout my journey here, i have a been a strong community activist within the city. i have provided countless hours in addressing major issues, not only within my current place, but also around san francisco and outside of the bay. i am a single mother of three children. who have been many parts of parks and rec, multiple different levels, different age grooms. groups. i'm highly involved, and very active. the podiums are nerve-wracking. i don't know about you back there. [laughter] >> chairwoman: you're a single mom of three. you can do this. >> i don't really like the

term single mother, but by any means, it is hard work, and i'm very dedicated. and being a product of multiple different environments, i'm coming from different places, and being able to speak for the masses and the majority. this here alone, being in a room, being at a podium, pushing beyond the limits is basically a test to what i set to prove and to be an example for and leading by example, as a mother, as a woman, as a woman of color, and a strong community activist. the skills i'll be able to bring, being that there be will multiple different challenges or issues coming to face, i am going to graduate with my master's in business in may. and i have a strong background in mental health, not only workinguitworkingwithin the juse committee, but things i will be able to bring to the committee. i am very strong with business development. i have strong finance, the ability to write and

implement policy. but, more importantly, is being a strong community activist and building the partnerships with all and every entity throughout san francisco. my biggest focus to why i'm choosing this particular seat is we're starting somewhere. i have no idea how policy goes, and i'm learning it from this perspective, and it is a little intimidating, but i'm going to fight through it because that's just who i am. i personally would like to focus a lot of my energy and efforts towards the bay view hunters point community specifically to address a lot the of parks, and lack thereof, and increase the safety for not only tfe youth, me having the youngest of four and the oldest of 16, and the middle 11, that i would want to feel comfortable, even though i have grown up in this neighborhood my entire life, to send my children out and not worry about any challenges. instead, i have to drive away from my own community to go to other parks and places for us to feel that

bit of safety. and i want to address it because i know i'm notley onlnot theonly one, and i know i will not be the last. and i want to be a suitable voice to make this change. i want to put in whatever work is necessary, and i will never give up. >> chairwoman: thank you. >> and i did it! [laughter] >> chairwoman: supervisor walton, any comments about your incredible nominee to the park and recs open spaces advisory commission? >> definitely. i was excited to nominate ms. ramiro. as you heard, not just in terms of her qualifications, but in terms of education, and she is native to the community, she has children, and she utilizes the parks, and she is going to be a fighter for equity. and as we look at all of our magnificent parks, we need to make sure that the southeast sector is not

forgotten, and also the services that are offered in our parks. i'm excited to have ms. ramiro be ready and willing to serve, and i look forward to moving her forward. >> chairwoman: opening comments? i'm going to open up this item for public comment. any member of the public wish to speak on this appointment? seeing none, public comment is closed. do you want to make the motion, supervisor walton. >> i would love to nominate ms. ramiro to seat 11 without objection. >> chairwoman: without objection, that motions motion passes. congratulations. [cheering] ch. >> chairwoman>> chairwoman: that the room cheers for an item they haven't come here for, so congratulations, you've made quite an impression. mr. clerk, can you please read item number

two. >> the hearing to serve .0point five members, to the immigrant rights commission. >> chairwoman: wonderful, and i believe adrian pon is here and wants to make some opening remarks. ms. pon is the director of the office of civic engagement and civic affairs. adrienne pon, and i'll just be very brief. we have a wonderful commission, and we're super excited your going to be appointing and considering other names to add to our commission of the work right now is at an all-time high with daily attacks on our immigrant population and our vulnerable community. so we need commissioners who are going to be active, show up for meetings, and help the city develop policy that

is good for all of our communities of color, but particularly our most vulnerable members, our immigrant community. we have a lot of commissioners who want to make statements, so i'm just going to leave it at that. that we've been lucky, for the last few years, that the board has supported appointments and the mayor's office. appointments of honorable, great commissioners, and we ask that you reappoint the four incumbents, and there are several individuals that we would like to see added to the commission. we do summer the voice of youth. and we need that on our commission. and we do not have a member of the trans community on the commission. so those are the gaps that we currently have. i appreciate your consideration. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. i appreciate it. so i am going to now call each of the applicants as they're listed on the agenda.

if you could try to limit your remarks to three minutes, we're going to give three minutes for every applicant. i will call you up in order. first we have ala chisti. good morning. goochisti.>> i'm going to put a timer on so i know -- >> chairwoman: there is a timer. >> cool. good morning, supervisor walton, supervisor ronan, and supervisor mar. my name is aldan. and i have been a community organizer, as a teacher for almost five years. i've taught in san francisco public schools, and i've also taught in d.c. public schools, and for many, many summers, i also taught in a program

called "aim high," for summer school, which, also, i was a graduate of. the other piece is my personal background. i am a woman of muslim/indian descent. my dad came to the states in the '60s, which was a long time ago, and he has a bunch of stories he could share, also. he eventually went back and got married to my mom, and all of my siblings and i were born at s.f.general. me, personally, i went to the university of san francisco. i doubled majored, and triple minored, and i got a master's in education, which is how i ended up teaching. but i also ended up going to u.c. hastings, and i went to d.c. to teach and got my master's in public policy. so i have a huge, huge

knowledge of policy, and how policy is important to legislation because it needs to be based on numbers because you cannot refute numbers. you cannot refute numbers, unless you're trump. and so that's one thing, just my qualifications, and it is a stepping ground as to why i would be appointed because -- one of the reasons why is because i, um -- like, i continue to believe in san francisco's policies for safe and i in inclusivity for all people. i refute the rescission to daca, and refute the continue raids and the separation of families. and that also kind of is a stepping point to the other piece, which is, it

is also important -- that's one of the reasons why i think being being appointed is important because it is to educate new people moving to san francisco, who are born in the u.s., so there is an ununderstanding why immigration rights are so important. that helps send a message. lastly, families are diverse, and they add to the social diversitiy, and they add to the economy locally. and in five seconds, i want to say that 9/11 changed the air, especially for muslims. and it changed the air for muslims around the world and in san francisco, and it became a free-for-all. but that's why it is important to protect families and provide them stability, for those who are seeking responsibilities. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? >> no. >> chairwoman: no questions. thank you so much. [applause] >> chairwoman: next, i wanted to call up hadagu,

and i so sorry if i'm messing up your name. and your first name, can you pronounce it? >> hadagoo. thank you for having me. i am raised in san francisco. i went to school locally, and i've been on the commission for several years now, and the reason that i think that this commission is important, and that being in this commission is very important, is that at a time like today, when there is so much hopelessness, this commission gives the community hope. and the most important thing that i've seen this commission do is allow space for im grapt immigrants to feel like they're welcome. our duty as americans, and specifically sa san franciscans, and as a san franciscan who has been welcomed here as a refugee from sudan in 1986, i think it is very important to have a space when the whole country seems like it is saying, you are not

welcome. we want people to know that we, immigrants, are welcome. this is our home. this is where we belong. this commission has sessions where community members can come here and say, we are a member of this community. most recently with the yemeni community that we had last month. they were here, able to express through grievances, and i think that is very important. i think we learned just as much from them as they take from us. in fact, much more because they expose us to what is going on. i would like to continue to serve on this commission, to be able to say, you are welcome in this city. and that is a space that -- a communication that i think should continue on. i am from there -- the original community is in san francisco, but i feel like i'm just a part of the san francisco community. and that's all i have to say. and i thank you for allowing me to be able to speak today. thank you very much.

actually, i will add one more thing that we were talking about earlier. right now as an immigration attorney, i do a lot of work with persons detained, people at the border, and in el centro, and part of the reason i said people should feel welcome is because when people enter the borders, they are not aware what america is going to look like. they are shocked by what they see. they are shocked by how we receive them as citizens because their perception coming in is that america will be a welcoming space. and i think that idea should continue to be sent and submitted. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no. thank you, and thank you for all of your service so far. we really appreciate. next i wanted to call up ryan cudaste. hi. >> good morning. good morning supervisors.

good morning supervisor walton, ronan, and mar. it is a pleasure to be with you all this morning. my name is ryan, and i'm here before you all today seeking reappointment to seat number three on the immigrant rights commission. i'll first speak to my background, my qualifications, and then the work that i've done on the commission. and then, third, some future plans that i have for the commission, and then i'm happy to answer any and all questions that you have. i was born and raised here in the san francisco bay area to two immigrant parents who fled the revolution of iran in 1979. they came to this country fleeing the weaponization of religion, so that myself and my sister could believe in what we wanted, we can be what we wanted, and going up, i developed a great sense of respect for the immigrant story. i grew up without my grandparents, my cousins, my uncles and aunts because they're from iran, and now we have this travel ban. i haven't seen them for 13 years, and that is more

than half my life. so i spent a lot of time giving back to that community, teaching english as a second language, helping immigrants fill out their n-400 forms, filling out resumes. i was a volunteer in the santa clara county for the work i had done. i was a kindergarten english teacher, helping folks learn english because english was a way for them to have a better life. i went to law school at u.c. hastings, and during the 2016 election, with the elevation of vitrial, i felt like i needed to do more. and i'm honored to be elected to this commission. i've got a lot of great work, and i hope my colleagues can attest to that as well. i was appointed to the executive committee. i'm the co-chair of the immigration policy taskforce. i've taken a large lead in helping set the agenda and plan for our special hearings. i got hastings students

involved to volunteer during the emergency daca renewal. i was a big advocate for the creation of the immigration defense unit in the public defenders' office. i testified before the board of supervisors for instance and sub commit, i brought jeff adochi to hastings. right now i graduated law school, took the bar exam, and i started working at the public defenders' office three weeks ago. my whole life has been in service to marginalized individuals because i know what my parents went through. i know we need to look out for each other. some future plans i have going forward, we were honored to have supervisor ronan host one of our special meetings in the commission. i would love to partner with you, supervisor mar and supervisor walton to hold these community townhall meetings. i know we're more focused on federal legislation, but i would love for our

townhalls to focus more on what the city can do legislation-wise to help uplift our immigrant communities. i think that's it. and i'm happy to answer any questions that you all have. >> chairwoman: than thank you so much. thank you for your service thus far. >> one last comment -- >> chairwoman: sure. >> i would like to give my personal recommendation to jesse ruiz, who would bring a special per perspective. because i can't stay for public comment because i have to go to work, i want to recommend the s.r.o o. slate for agenda item number three. >> chairwoman: way to take advantage of the mic. thank you ochthank you so much. next we'll hear from paul munihe. >> good morning,

supervisors, it is a pleasure to be here before you today. i've had the privilege of working with you all over the course of several years, but i want to offer a little more about my background. when my parents fled civil war in el salvador in the early 1980s, they gave up everything they knew and had in hopes of finding safety and sanctuary in the united states. my parents were able to find that sanctuary right here in san francisco, we churches that were willing to house them, with schools that were willing to teach them, and with a community that was willing to take them in as one of their own. for generations, san francisco has offered sanctuary to thousands of immigrant families like mean. but sadly, as you all well know, we're in the midst of the worst housing and homelessness crisis that our city has ever known. and immigrant families across san francisco are being forced out of their homes and displaced from their neighborhoods. like the immigrants rights commission, i'm committed to making sure we're doing everything within our power to make sure that our city remains a sanctuary for generations to come. as a part of the

immigrants rights commissioner, what i hope to accomplish is to develop develop a razor-sharp focus on how the housing and homelessness crisis uniquely impacts our communities, and to work alongside our city departments to remove barriers to issues around housing and homelessness. i believe i have the personal and professional experience to accomplish this and more as a member of the i.r.c. i returnly serve as the policy director at compas services. many of our clients are immigrant families in high need. i previously have worked with legal services departments, and agencies like the defense collaborative, and helping families who are fighting unfair and unjust evictions throughout our city. and i served on the san

francisco youth commission, where we initially work on compaigns for the youth, and working with the school district. and finally, personally, i hope to rely, as a member of the commission, on my personal experience growing up in a low income household, as a queer person of color, to make sure the commission provides care and attention to the immigrant families that call san francisco home. with that, i welcome any questions, and look forward to your consideration. thank you. ( buzzer ) >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next we'll here from omro radwa. sorry. >> good morning, chair. good morning, supervisors. my name is amro radwan. i was appointed to the immigrant rights commission in 2017. i'm a person of color, who is muslim, and one of

seven children of immigrants of egypt. my wife is also an immigrant who was recently naturalized. i served on the immigrant rights commission since september of 2017, and i filled in someone else's seat, i think it was seat five. during my e tenure, i've worked to hold various public hearings, some which were very near and dear to my heart, specifically the hearing on the daca and deferred action, as well as the travel ban. i've also volunteered on many occasions in terms of the citizenship workshops that we have throughout the city. and most recently, as commissioner giam

referred, the yemeni community hearing, where we held a public hearing regarding the civil war in yemen and the affect on the community here in san francisco. as far as my career, i've dedicated the last 18 years primarily here in san francisco, serving social justice non-profits, and helping them leverage technology. i currently work with glide, and we're helping implement a volunteer management system for them, as well as young women freedom center, who does a lot of work with young women of color, who are both on the ins, and on the outs. let's see. and then finally, in terms of career-wise, i'm working with good samaritan family resource center here in san francisco. i've had a lot of time to sort of ruminant and think about what my position is,

and, you know, what i've done over the past year or so in holding someone else's seat. and, you know, i think, at this point i really did want to apply for my own seat in terms of moving forward with the immigrants rights commission. my focus, frankly, is trying to make san francisco a safer place for aum immigrants in general, but i want to give voice to my community, the muslim/arabic-speaking community. and i have this vision of bridging the gap between the different states. and given the islamophobia and anti-semitic rhetoric -- my hope is to bridge that over the next couple of years. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions?

thank you for your service thus far. >> thank you. >> chairwoman: next we will hear from larry sexon. is larry here? yes. hi. good morning. >> my nam i name is larry saxon, and i'm the chief operating officer for the african advocacy foundation. i'm the first generation -- the second generation in my family that came out of the fields as share croppers. we started as slaves, and we became share croppers thereafter. i get it. i've been there. i appreciate it when i pick every peach, when i

eat every bean. i know what went into that labor. my mother said, always remember the red clay in the folds of your knees no matter how high you get. to me, it is important that the african-american community be afforded to reach out to the african community in particular, because the department has the assumption that you simply plop black people among black people and they will get along. and that's simply not the case. i live in district five, which is the highest population of african and ethiopian population. but there is no ability to have an ethnic relationship between the two of us, and it is problematic. and i work with a lot of north africans, who have blonde hair and blue eyes, who identify strictly as

african first. and i'm seeing what they're having to deal with on a firsthand basis, with the new policies that our prison has implemented. i'm a senior. i'm gay-identified, i am disabled, and i have served my city as well as i can for many, many years. i've lived in the western additions for 40 years. i've seen some radical changes. i'm the last black man standing on my block. and i always say they'll take me out feet first. my concern is immigration is not immigration. it is a civil rights issue. it is about making america live up to its credence in the constitution as the bill of rights. we do wonderful things on paper, but in terms of how we treat people, that's where the cognitive difference occurs in america. i think each one of us has a responsibility as citizens to do what we

can. so i humbly submit my name for your concern. thank you so much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. >> thank you for your time. >> chairwoman: thank you. next we'll here from roxanna shacota. >> good morning, supervisors. i'm a first generation immigrant who has worked in social justice and philanthropy in san francisco for over 10 years. i'll briefly lay out what i do, how i do it, and how i feel i can contribute to this body. i listen to problems, and i bring together the right people to solve them. currently i work besides a progressive advocacy non-profit, when i facilitate immigration non-profits and philanthropy leaders. i work for the immigrants in detention, who's cases are often heard in the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco. we discuss the fact that

attorneys across california lack the resources they need to represent these vulnerable individuals. so i recently raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to pair non-profits with teams of experts to tackle these challenges. we're developing solutions that could support the over 450,000 immigrants in detention across the u.s. annually. at the end of this month, i'm visiting a detention facility, as well as migrant quarters. i convene people around shared purpose. i help centers connecting individuals with asylum-seekers. last year i hoste hosted dinners across the commission at the new tenderloin, and new friendships are develops. in two weeks, i'm hosting another dinner in the tendetenderloin, the first sudanese restaurant run by refugees, and i invite you all to join me.

i want to impact one person at a time. i volunteer with a citizenship initiative, where i support individuals and immigrants through their t.d. s. naturalization process. i recently spent three hours sitting across from an older iranian couple, translating, and filling out a document with over 175 questions. having experience in this space and reviewed the phenomenal accomplishments of my current commissioners, i would be the only person sitting at the philanthropy, as well as non-profit advocacy. i have witnessed the important work this group brings to the city. if selected for the role, i would build on the body's current areas including daca, family separation, and the census, while raising attention to critical areas, including youth mental health, domestic workers' rights, and

access to legal representation. i propose partnerships to amplify the role this committee place in this city. to address youth mental health issues who fear their families will be deported. i hold forums on the safety of immigrant and domestic workers. i'm a microphone for those without a voice, and a stage for those with conviction. i know how to build trust, community, and power. and i appreciate your time today for consideration on this board, and i'm happy to share more details. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker, bryant davinisia. >> it is my understanding he has moved out of the area and is no longer interested. >> chairwoman: thank you. next we will hear from alahi en suni. ensuni.

>> hi, supervisors. professor alahi teaches a class at university, and she left her class at 10:00, and is on her way here. >> chairwoman: okay. >> and i forgot to mention that the commission, in the last year and a half, has been really productive, so they worked me on the african immigrant and black americans first time convening with the aston institute. it is commissioners who called for a daca hearing, for a hearing on the travel ban, hearing with the yemeni community, where 70 members of the community were testifying, and they were all organized and invited to the commission by one of our commissioners. also, tonight -- and we

invite the public to come tonight. we're going to hear from survivors of world war ii concentration camps, japanese-americans who took a recent trip to the daily detention center in texas, and met with some of our central american detainees. so this is important work that the incumbents on our commission has driven. and i also did want to voice my support for jesse navaro and paul monge because they represent some of the gaps we have currently on our commission. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you. next we'll hear from sharaask mar. hi, good morning. >> good morning, honorable supervisors, fellow applicants, and very

importantly, victor young, who has been very helpful explaining the processes. thank you, victor. i'm seeing him for the first time. i'm here to briefly share who i am, why i am here, and how i am here. having been to one of the commission meetings, what i find that i'm a slightly different kind of applicant, who has bee had a slightly different path to immigration. i came to u.s. to get my master's degree from texas university in 2003. it took me 15 years to become a u.s. citizen. now i'm a proud u.s. citizen for one year and 15 days. although i cannot represent myself as having some huge problems in this 15 years -- i was never subject to any deportation or some serious, huge problems. however, there are some dreams and some, you know,

processes which get broken if you're on a legal path to citizenship for half of your work life. for me, being born in india, which is one of the three countries where currently the citizenship time or the green card time is expected to take 20, 30, 40 years. that's how i see myself as a different kind of applicant. so coming back to who i am, me and my wife came from india for my master's degree here. i later completed the course work from u.c. santa cruz. and i work at uber currently, although my full-time job is an engineering job related to credit card security, but at uber, we help other employees who are having anxieties or delays related to visas. sometimes the problems or formal, and sometimes not formal. sometimes their family or

spouse is having some immigration problem. they need an informative, helping group. i started this group with the help of a few other employees before i became a u.s. citizen. so that's what made me interested in this job. and i've travelled to 27 countries. i have lived in three countries. and what i found that is amazingly easy, or easier, to travel the world on a u.s. passport. so now, obviously, i'm here to represent the voices of legal immigrants who are here through green card processes, which is, unfortunately, exceeding their expected work life. people are very upset about it. they want immigration reforms, and i do have some limited experience because it was never my full-time job. interesting story on how i am here. the day i took the oath of

citizenship, saline kennedy, the chair of the commission, she was the invited guest speaker. otherwise i would never know that something like this would ever exist. today is my first day in this building. through the speech of saline kennedy, i got inspired, and i contacted her and put up the application. apart from immigration, i'm also passionate about education, education issues. i'm a visiting professor at san jose state university. and i enjoy teaching and mentoring young people through their career and visa issues. i've been a soccer coach for many years. in the last five, six years. and, also, i've served as -- i've served where i've lived, as a director, which gave me different prospectives on helping others. so to conclude, my plan is to stay humble and learn

because a lot of people who have a more serious background or many times on the commission themselves, and through that learning, i wish to highlight the voices -- although this is not like a very sad story, but in a way, it is sad that if you come to this country -- i'm 42 years old, and i consider myself too old. i've reading an article that in silicon valley to start a company, if you're over 36, you're old. the point is i spent 15 best years of my life waiting to be eligible to do anything, rather than my assigned regular job. so these are also important issues when i hope to highlight. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. i appreciate your time. >> chairwoman: any questions? no? thank you so much. next we'll call up jesse ruiz navado.

>> buenas días. [speaking through interpreter] good morning. my name is jesse ruiz navado. i migrated 18 years ago from my country. and i lived for about 16 years in north carolina. and i've been in san francisco for the past couple of years. and i have been working with trans latinos, an organization here. it's an entity that serves transgender women who are latino.

and i want to tell you a little bit more about me. i am a lyft driver. and i volunteer with ella about twice a week. where, for example, we go to different organizations and foundation, trying to fund raise money for the organization, to serve the community. >and the reason i am here and i would like to join the commission is, out on the streets, what we see is a lot of transgender latino women who don't have access to dignified housing.

and all of the members of the immigrant community have many needs, but we have particular vulnerability within the transgender community. me, for example, i'm standing here before you, and i don't have health insurance. and i am close to being kicked out from my home. and this is why i'm here, because there are many rights that we need, and i want to fight with all of you about that. for example, we have a lot of transgender women who live on the streets. and i am socialists part also pa small organization that does fundraising.

[speaking through interpreter] so sorry. i'm part of a co-parativtive where we sell things and pool things together. and what we use that money for is to send it to the women who are detained at the border, in the detention center. because they don't have any access to money. and they need that, even to have a quick phone call to communicate with others. so that's how we use that money for. and, you know, i know that everybody who stood up here before you has formal education, and i know i don't, but i know i can stand to work and fight for our communities.

and i am also open to learning. i just finished training on computers and technology. and i want to continue learning more so that i can serve my community better. and i want to thank everybody who is supporting me, too. thank you for letting me be here. >> chairwoman: gracias. is there any questions? no. muchos gracias. [applause] >> chairwoman: all right. i don't think the professor arrived yet. we will give her a chance if she arrives before the

end of the hearing. could this be here? no. so right now i want to open up this item for public comment. if there is any member of the public who would like to speak on this item, please go ahead and line up to my left, your right, and jordan, if you want to start us off. >> all right. >> chairwoman: thank you. >> my name is jordan davis. you know, it's funny, i'm actually up for reconfirmation on the next item, but i really love the immigrants rights commission, and all of the work they do. the work they do on the taskforce really intersects with immigrant rights. i think there are a lot of qualified applicants here. but i want to speak on three people. jesse -- i know we've never met in person, but you are my sister. there is representation on every dam commission in this city. and let me just say something, i've worked with a lot of her people

from alad, and even though i don't speak much spanish, and i know there are language barriers there, we manage work together, and we manage to make a great team, and, really, you're my sister, jesse. and i also want to speak in favor of paul monte. i know him from a lot of work we did around the "our city, our home," and homelessness rights. he's a great guy and someone i really trust. and also ryan, who i've met at the young democrats. let's just say i get around a lot. but, really, there are a lot of great people. and there are applicants for, like, six seats, but if you could fill three of those seats with jesse, paul, and ryan, that would be awesome. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker, please. >> hello. i've just requested that

someone from the h.r. c. attend tomorrow's board meeting as it also pertains to the issue of housing, immigrants' rights, and social equity. there is an absence of high-density housing in the heart of african-american communities. and there is the issue of denying african-americans to construct the high-density housing that would house them, not just in the mission, but throughout the state, from san diego to the oregon border. you also seek to deny achieving maximum utility values by undermining household operation when you hamper construction development. i wish you guys would set your narrow, parochial interests aside. >> chairwoman: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors.

i am monica bartlet. i'm here to speak in support of adla christy. she is a first generation immigrant herself. her parents were poor indian immigrants, muslim as well, and she is really focused on policy issues. she has a master's in public policy. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is julian marosa. i'm here to speak in support of adla christy, also. much like mo monica, i have gotten to know her, and based on her experience, and master's degrees, and as the daughter of muslim immigrants, she has a profound dedication and understanding of how our public policy works, particularly in the detriment of immigrant communities, and she is a

fierce voice for advancing equitable systems and policies. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. is there any other member of the public who wishes to provide testimony? seeing none, public comment is closed. here we are as usual with our impossible task of unbelievably qualified candidates for only a few seats. the good news -- because, again, we're in one of those situations where, you know, i'd feel comfortable appointing any of the applicants to this commission because you're all incredibly impressive, obviously dedicated, and bring very specific expertise to the table. the good news is that we are going to have some additional seats coming up at the immigrant rights commission, seats that expire on june 6th. so if you are not

recommended for appointment today and aren't approved from the board, i really encourage you to consider applying again on june 6th, when those seats come up. i am looking forward to hearing from my colleagues, but like many of you here today, i just want to express my excitement and my gratitude to you, jesse ruiz, navado, for submitting your application, that you've come here to speak to the committee. jesse would be the first transgender woman, person, to serve on this commission. and i believe would bring a very perspective and voice to this body. additionally, you're a limited english speaker, and believe it or not, on the immigrants rights commission, you would be

one of our first committee members that dominantly is in english, and i think that is really an important perspective to bring to the commission as one of the cities with the strongest language justice policies in the nation. we need your direct experience with being a limited english speaker on a body serving the immigrant community. so i really think those two historic firsts are incredibly important, and i'm very, very excited today to support your nomination. before i speak on other appointments, i wanted to see if either of my colleagues had any comments on motions. supervisor mar? >> yeah, well, i just wanted to thank all of the applicants who have come forward today for the

immigrants rights commission. thank you so much for all that you do, and for your willingness to serve our city and the immigrants rights commission and the immigrants communities. i think all of you really represent the diversitiy of our immigrant communities. so it is just really wonderful to see that. i would just echo supervisor -- or chair ronan's comments and point out that all of you are very qualified to be serving on the commission. and we look forward to seeing those of you that aren't appointed today at the next future opportunity, which will be soon. >> chairwoman: supervisor walton? >> i just want to echo the comments made by my colleagues in terms of really excited about seeing people who are willing to serve. the immigrants rights commission is a very important commission here in san francisco. and so see so many qualified folks interested in serving and supporting

our immigrant community is just -- it's a good thing to see. and so thank you for taking the time to come out. we do have hard decisions to make as we move forward with who we nominate for appointments, but i do want you to know that if for some reason you're not appointed today -- or not nominated today, please continue to come back. it is very important that we stay fired up to represent and support our immigrant community. with that said, i think i'll go ahead and move to first move forward a positive recommendation -- and i'm going to mess up these names, and i apologize. ragdu gimi for seat two, ryan castasi for seat three. ramino for seat five.

and [indiscernable] seat nine. which takes care of the incumbents. >> could you repeat the last one, please? >> alahi asuni -- >> i'm sorry, i'm trying to find it on my list. oh, yes, thank you. >> chairwoman: and i will second that motion. we'll do the appointments in two parts. i agree that especially given director pon's recommendation that we reappoint the incumbents to allow for continuity of the work, and i would just add that for seat two, that we add a residency waiver and seat five as well. do you have the motion? >> yes. >> chairwoman: okay. if we could take that without objection, that motion passes unanimously.

and i'm happy to make a motion for the remaining two seats. and i would move that we appoint jesse ruiz navado to seat one, and paul monte, who i've had the pleasure of working with for decades and just hold in the highest regard, to seat four. >> one moment, please. i'm trying to find the names. >> chairwoman: jesse, the last person listed, and paul, fourth down on the list, for seat four. >> found it. >> chairwoman: great. i'll take that without objection. without objection, that motion passes. thank you so much, everyone. i really appreciate it. [applause] >> chairwoman: i'm really hoping that the rest of you reapply in june. >> and i will be contacting you with the new seat descriptions, and ask