>> thank you everyone for being here. i am mayor of the city and county of san francisco, and i am so excited to be here today to swear in the next public defender for the city and county of san francisco.

[applause]. [cheers and applause]. >> i am also glad to be here at the community center. i grew up in the neighborhood and i have so many incredible memory is right here in this space. , in fact, there were a lot of challenges over the years big many of you member years ago when there were so many homicides, so many people have lost their lives, and sadly, so many folks who grew up in this community came in contact with the criminal justice system. we all know that jeff was such an amazing champion of this community and throughout san francisco, and in founding more magic, he created an opportunity for young people to grow and to thrive, and to have access to

amazing opportunities so that they never ever encounter the criminal justice system in the first place. we are so lucky for his legacy and the work he has done for the public defender his office in her community, and we know that we can never replace jeff. we also know that jeff would have been so proud that this person has been selected to take his place. [applause] so many people in the public defender his office are fighters , and he knows that so many people in the public defender touch office care about justice, care about defending the most vulnerable, and i know that he would have been proud that any member of the public

defender's office would have stepped up to succeed him in this particular position, and here we are with an incredible leader. someone who has not just fought the battle in the courtroom, but someone who has fought the battle in the community. someone who in the cases of so many of the clients he represented, especially when he represented african-american clients, he knew that there was an issue around inequity for so many people who were injury trials, and the challenges with making sure that there were african-americans on these juries so it truly was representative of a jury of your peers, a challenge that he continued -- and injustice that he continue to fight against, taking his advocacy all the way to the state capitol, continuing to support and be a voice for his clients, continuing to fight

for justice, continuing to do amazing things in the public defender's office, but also, earning the respect of so many of his colleagues that are here today. i want to take this opportunity to thank the deputy public defender, matt gonzalez, who is joining us here today as well. [applause]. >> for his leadership. for his leadership during this very challenging transition, and also, i know that so many of the friends and family members of jeff adachi, although we mourn him over this time period, and are still morning his loss, we all continued to roll up our sleeves and to move forward, and do the work, because we know that's what jeff would have wanted us to do. and so today, to cement this

occasion, before we do a swearing-in, it is definitely important that there are people from the community who are here to talk about this man and their experiences with him over the years. first i want to take this opportunity to just acknowledge some of the elected officials who are joining us today including your very own district five supervisor vallie brown. thank you so much for being with -- for being here today as well. we have our district attorney joining us. [applause]. >> era city our city attorney, dennis herrera. [applause]. >> our new fire chief. thank you janine nicholson for being here.

[applause] , and our assessor recorder, carmen chu. [applause] , and i see jack, an incredible advocate in the back. thank you so much, jack for being here today. [cheers and applause]. >> thank you to the community center, the more magic program, and this community for continuing to embrace opportunities like this to really highlight and showcase the amazing work that you continue to do to change and save lives. now i want to introduce -- okay, let's see who is next. i want to introduce, from the public defender's office, the deputy public defender, sandy finland. [applause]. [cheers and applause].

>> good afternoon, everybody. isn't it a good day today or what? [cheers and applause]. >> i would like to thank you, on behalf of my know and our office , and recognize and thank for their support, the other esteemed officials who are here, including mayor lyndon breed. [cheers and applause] -- mayor london breed. [cheers and applause]. >> and i think sheriff vicky hennessy is here. [applause]. >> and are achieve adult probation officer karen fletcher [applause] assistant juvenile probation chief, paul hernandez. [applause]. >> director of director of human resources, mickie callahan. [applause]. >> and police commissioner cindy elias.

[cheers and applause]. [laughter]. >> sixteen years ago, when jeff adachi was sworn in for his first term, i will never forget the words of legendary criminal defence attorney tony sarah. it went something like this. and idealist is the public defender. he was so excited about the possibilities, because only and idealist like jeff could have transformed our office into a national model, could have blazed the trail for criminal justice reform and lead the charge against racial bias in the system.

jeff is looking down smiling because today, once again, and idealist is the public defender. [cheers and applause] >> mano is an idealist in the practice of law. i worked side-by-side with mano in the trenches for years, and mano cared for and treated all his clients like his own family. he did everything he possibly could for people. in his trial work, we know it is off the charts. mano developed his craft over the years. he is a believer in the practice of law being a process of

growing and learning and developing, and i saw that. he slows down his fast talking. [laughter]. >> and he uses more than just his hands. have you seen him? he gets his whole body into it. he is -- his entire being displays the belief he has in his clients. and the results are miraculous. mano is also an idealist in his personal life. he wants to be fluent in spanish , he wants to be an accomplished drummer, he wants to be an enlightened meditator, and when he can actually sit still and has the precious time to do it, he works at it. he is also a man with strong

family values, and i know how dedicated he is to you, supervisor safai, and to both of your families. mano it strives for balance. is public defender, i know he will have our backs, and he will support his staff in our journeys professionally and personally. thank you, mayor for recognizing the importance of what we do. [applause] you did your research and you found the ideal person for the job. there is no replacing jeff, you said it well, but mano understands that better than anyone especially now he is close to it and sees all that jeff did, but you gave our

office, the city of san francisco, and tens of thousands of accused people the best person to take on this big responsibility, to carry the torch and carry on jeff's legacy who would have thought that when you called me on the phone 12 years ago, asking if you should take your talents from contra costa to san francisco, that i would be here introducing you, and you would be sworn in next public defender. [cheers and applause] congratulations to you and your family. thank you. [cheers and applause]. >> thank you, sandy. and now, i would like to introduce a former client of mano's sean george.

[applause]. >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm nervous, give me a second. i'm used to yelling at my kids at football, not talking in front of a whole bunch of grown people, i've got something written out, but first i just want to give my honor to god for putting us in this situation that we are in, and sending this great man that has helped a lot of people in san francisco. mr. brady, -- miss breed, i knew you were going to be a good mayor. [applause]. [applause]. >> my name is sean george, in 2007, mano was my public defender, it is an honor and my pleasure to say a few words about him today. mano deserves all recognition, good deeds and blessings coming his way.

he stands, excuse me, he is a true standup person with the focus of justice, paying attention to details and facts, in the fight for what is right. i grew up in a bad neighborhood, and with no father in the home, so i was forced to make decisions without guidance, including getting mixed up with the kids i grew up with who weren't making the right decisions. excuse me, and getting choked up all right. i'm sorry. okay, okay, i lost my place, i keep looking up at you guys, i'm so sorry about that. [laughter]. >> i'm so sorry. like i said with the kids when we are not doing the right things, but because of mano, i didn't become a statistic. i wasn't just another number or a thug, someone from the head, that no one cared about. mano looked at me as a person

that was in a bad situation, so i didn't trust him at first. [laughter] i didn't, but it wasn't because of him, it was because the things i went through from the ages of 18 to i don't know how old i was in 2007, like 28 or 29 or something like that, but he just, he stayed on me, and he he earned my trust, and he kept communicating with my wife and, you know, he just stayed on me. he called me every day when i was locked up and he would come see me every day, and i just didn't get that from other -- other public defenders. for me and my family, we felt that we got a paid attorney for free. that is how he was coming. he said, let's go to trial, and i said no, let's take the deal, he said no, let's go to trial, and i said, if we go to trial, and we lose, i'm looking at

eight years, he said right, let's go to trial, let's do it, you know, so long story short, my wife was seven months pregnant at the time, that child will be 12 on tuesday. i would have only have known her for four years if i lost and went to jail for eight years. i would know only know her for four years now, so i mano so much. i think about him every day, i finally got a new number and he called me. my number didn't change, so he got hold of me and called me, i was on the freeway when i answered the phone, when he told me that he was getting promoted, i couldn't be more happy, and i couldn't wait for today to come just so i could say these words to him. on behalf of my family and my wife and my kids, who are -- which are now three now, thank you, mano, you saved me, because

of you i just learned to do the right thing and make the right choices and kind of, you know, lead to my family the way they are supposed to be lead. i.o.u. a lot, we owe you a lot. thank you, bro. [cheers and applause]. >> very nice. thank you so much. [applause]. >> thank you, sean. that is what this work is all about. we're so happy for you, thank you so much for those words. now i'd like to introduce the next speaker, a community member , rachel jones. [applause]. >> this is such a thankful, blessed day. my god, i haven't been more proud to be a san francisco

native then i was when london breed was placed into office. i can tell you that this day, for me, speaks from my heart, not from my paper, but from my soul, and in the everyday fight of this freedom, as a revolutionary jack jack would say, this man right here is our freedom fighter. he is our leader. [applause]. >> i want to say, i know we lost our true champion. we lost a true champion in jeff, but god has a tendency of replacing one thing with another , and when we lost jeff, i made a phone call to my reverends. reverend brown, and i cried to him that morning, i said what are we going to do? what do we do now? what is going to happen to us? because as natives no the

progressive state that this city is in, and we know how much we are up against, not just socially, not just economically, emotionally, we are here every day, and we fought for our place , and this man here is fighting for our place, too. i can say, 12 years ago i met him in such a dramatic difference of the posture i am in now. i can say that he took a case in which my loved one was facing an astronomical amount of time, because we fell into certain brackets, and he looked at us, and he didn't see any form of boundary, any form of brackets. he saw justice, he saw what we needed him to see. he saw his face in the people, and he saw the walls that were being put up against us, and from 12 years ago to even now, he has followed us.

i can call him at the drop of the dime and he will be there. any sort of injustices, i even approach, or he sees, we are on the phone, we are texting each other, and he doesn't run from that, he faces that, he faces that full force, and that is what we need in this san francisco community because we face a lot of adversity. we are the home of the united states in diversity, in financial reconstructive nests, we are the device or -- diversity. they look to us. to have our mayor be a native and see that, and present mano with this great honor is such a humbling, i can't say anything else, but it is a humbling experience, and it shows just how much he has worked, he has worked at being, i can say, slow-paced, because no one could understand him in the first year

that he was in the public defender office, i had to actually write down, word for word, what he was saying at some points because i would have my family members say, what did he just say, and i would say, i don't know. [laughter]. >> but his tenacity, his vivacious nests, and i'm sorry, but am going to say brazenness in this promotion of values, social justice, and the fight every day that we face, he is your perfect model, and i don't want to say perfect because no one is perfect, but when you are facing a hard time, when you are facing hard choices, when you are facing those hard life lessons, he is who you want in this corner. he is who you want in san francisco's corner. he has never taken his position and said, look, this is the box i am in, i don't talk to the police, i don't talk to the district attorney's office.

he wants everyone's help. he wants to find answers to all of our problems, not just if you are on a case and i have seen that first hand. he has helped people find their way into clean slate programs, he has helped people find their way into jobs, he has helped find their way into housing, and he wants to do more. his poor wife, i'm so sorry that we are taking more of him from you, but i thank you every day, and i hope he tells you that when i call him and harass him about the things that are happening, and the things we need to pay attention to, they always end with, please tell your wife i'm sorry and i love her. [laughter]. >> i just want to say again that i think mayor breed, and i think mano for always being a believer in civil rights, being a believer in people, being an example of someone that can have not just intellectual passion,

but passion for the community, and passion for the way things are coming together, and wanting to do something, not just because you see it fits, but you see it fit for the whole pie. i could go on and on about how great we are to have him, and how he is to have us, but just like with my friend, i got choked up because he is a true vision of what this work is. thank you. [applause]. >> thank you so much, rachel, for those really nice remarks. and now the final speaker for today is someone whose work in the public defender's office with mano for many years, my pleasure to introduce michelle tong. [cheers and applause].

>> can you see me? [laughter]. >> i would like to recognize a few more individuals who we did not honor earlier. there are county developer who is in the house. [cheers and applause] , we also have judge harold tong [cheers and applause] , and i believe judge roger chen is here. [applause] , and if there is anyone else, we apologize on behalf of mano, but that will fall on him. [laughter]. >> the lap -- the soul of a public defender is to be a voice for those who are little too brown, a little too poor, ignored because they are too homeless, and a little bit too affected by their mental health on top of being charged with a crime. when our fearless late leader, jeff adachi, was snatched away

from us without fair notice or warning, every person in my office was devastated, and i practice this, i'm supposed to get this out of the way. in the days and weeks that followed, we were all like fish out of water, gasping for air, wondering what was going to happen to our family, what would happen now that we lost the captain of our ship, and i still feel that way. so it was only fitting that mano would bubble to the surface as the one takeover at the helm of what now we called ourselves his army. i have known him for over 11 years since he joined the office

, and he quickly became the resolute trial attorney in a courtroom -- and a courtroom force. all of his clients had, and have a supreme faith and confidence in him. if you have ever seen him in the tank in 22, which i saw for a moment once, he goes in there and he has like, similar conversation, we are going to trial, it is a one-way conversation, we are going to win, we will fight this case and you will go home, and then he walks out. [laughter]. >> the spirit of the public defender is also to strive for racial equality in the criminal justice system. and to check the government against overreaching abuses against our clients, who do not have the resources to protect themselves. mano embodies the spirit. it is his calling, and it is his passion. some years ago, i want to share this story.

he represented and went to trial representing a man named joe,