immigrant community must go through are to access any resource, be it medical, driver's license, general items that the average american -- to whom the average american might seem normal, but these are hurdles to my community members. through my work with the commission, i would like to ensure we have advocacy for persons who may not be able to access any of these. through the immigrant rights commission, i can advocate for access, interpretation, or translation of documents. i can assist the community in overcoming these hurdles. i understand the needs of the community and i also feel like i'm just beginning in my advocacy. thank you for your time. >> acting chair: thank you.

then we have for seat 5 amro radwan. >> hello. thank you, vice-chair mandelman and supervisor chan for your consideration. i will also keep my comments brief. my name is amro radwan, pronouns he/him and i am [indiscernible] holding seat 5 on the immigrant rights commission. i have now served in my role since 2017 and on the executive committee since 2019. i'm reapplying to continue my service in this great city, where we are representing our various immigrant communities. today i plan to tell you a little bit about myself, my accomplishments, and goals should i become reappointed to

this commission. as a muslim-american immigrant and father of two beautiful daughters, i see the challenges faced. the last year was extremely challenging for all of us, especially for the immigrant communities. during my tenure as a commissioner, i'm proud to have held several hearings, including a joint hearing on the economic recovery task force. or on important things like daca where we listen to many individuals from the immigrant communities. i was proud to work on a resolution condemning the powers of i.c.e. i currently operate a small business in the city where my team and i provide data organizing and technology

services to social justice organizations. i would like to continue to find ways in which the immigrant voices can be heard. the communities are growing and i want to ensure their voices are heard. i want to promote programs for newcomers in need of housing and other services. i would also like to become a stronger voice for our immigrant small business community as well as ensure safety of our communities especially addressing the rise in hate crimes. representation, inclusion, and social justice is what drives me. i look forward to working with each of you to continue this important work. of course i welcome any questions or comments. >> acting chair: thank you, mr. radwan. i think we will move on to our

next speaker. i think although we did not think ryan khojasteh would join us, he is here. >> yes, supervisor, i'm here. >> acting chair: go ahead. take it away. >> thank you. i'm glad i was able to make it here and i finished court just on time. my name is ryan khojasteh. i am seeking reappointment to seat 3 on the san francisco immigrant rights commission. i have had the honor of serving two terms. i was first appointed in my first semester of my first year of law school right after the 2016 election when there was so much divisive rhetoric against the immigrant community and it has been an absolute honor of mine to serve on this body with so many amazing commissioners and employees of o.c.i.a.

i have been a member of the executive committee where i have worked with the vice chair, the chair, the director, on helping shape the commission's agenda, organizing hearings, pitching ideas. it's so great to be in that active and engaged role. i've also been the chair of the racial equity working group where we've been working with director simli in the human rights commission, a number of other city directors about how better we can advance racial equity in city and county commissions. i've also been the co-chair of our immigration policy ad hoc committee with we've done work around the future of the i.c.e. agency, the muslim ban, the impact of covid on our immigrant communities. i hope i have the honor of being reappointed again. there is so much work to be done. i've learned about myself and the city and grown personally

and professionally in this role. a lot of incredible people here. everyone is so great and i hope i can earn another two years on this body. thank you. >> acting chair: thank you. let's move on to seat 9, i think we have that person here. uh-uh, maybe we don't. >> well, okay, i just was unsuccessful in unmuting myself. >> acting chair: hello? but now you're muted again. >> can you hear me now? >> acting chair: yes.

>> fantastic. so my name is elahe enssani. i want to thank you, supervisor mandelman and chan and the director for the tireless work in the immigrant community. i am an immigrant. i was born in tehran, iran. i came here to go to school and to build the next generation of the iranians and take the country that was quickly developing into the next generation of technology, this amazing technological changes and revolution that we are at the cusp of. when history intervenes, i am limited as a muslim woman and my human rights were taken away and i have nothing to do there. the most basic right was the

right to leave the country without the consent of your husband and the right to dress freely whatever you want. also the custody rights for the children. so there was no option for me and i decided to stay an immigrant, which is the hardest thing i've ever done in my life. a very daring act. you leave everyone behind and everyone who knew who you were and you need to build new connections. i understand the pain and the loss that immigrants carry. i've been a member of the commission. my community is still an immigrant community because of everything that is happening having people coming in. unfortunately in the last four

years because of the muslim ban and the family sanctions, families have not been able to be united. so what is really dear to my heart is the rights of women, especially muslim women. a bit about me, i'm an educator. i'm a professional of engineering at san francisco state university. i strongly believe that education is the ladder to mobility. the majority of my students are immigrants and the majority of them are the first-generation college attendees. they come to me in the beginning and say they want to make a lot of money and then in the end they say, professor, i want to build bridges and dams and change the role in climate. thank you so much and if you have any questions, i am here to

answer. >> acting chair: thank you, commissioner enssani. we will go on to seat 10 and our first applicant for this seat is lucia obregon matzer. >> hi, can you hear me? >> acting chair: yes, hello. >> good afternoon, supervisors. it is my greatest honor to have the opportunity to be appointed to the immigrant rights commission, seat 10. my name is lucia obregon enssani. i immigrated 10 years ago with my mother. as a community organizer, i focus on a wide range of topics from housing to education, from civic engagement to police brutality. today i come to you as an immigrant rights activist where

my work has focused on organizing towards the inclusion of immigrants [indiscernible] democracy such as the inclusion of parents to vote for school boards [indiscernible] and most recently responding to the brutal and inhumane treatment of families at the border. i bring a strong vision working daily with immigrant families. i want to continue [indiscernible] -- and continue to incorporate them into the important community processes we have in our city. i intend to focus on increasing education and accessibility to help services and covid recovery through a lens of cultural equity. now more than ever people need to have a voice in their workplace and in the way there

is an access to housing. finally, something i consider pivotal to immigrant rights work is to fight against xenophobia. part of creating a strong immigrant reform is to continue to shift cultural norms by having difficult conversations with our communities and policymakers to create a city that welcomes immigrants in daily practices as well as in policy. thank you once again for your consideration and it would mean a lot for that 11-year-old girl who didn't know what opportunities this country would have for her. what i have accomplished has exceeded my imagination and one of the things i'm proud to have an opportunity to do. >> acting chair: our next

applicant also for seat 10 is sarah souza. uh-uh. >> can you hear me? >> acting chair: yes. >> great. thank you. i'm here today seeking to get appointed to seat 10. first and foremost, thank you, supervisor mandelman and supervisor chan. also, i'd like to share my gratitude to all san franciscans for their passage of proposition c which made it possible for me to even dream to be here today and to ask for your consideration for my appointment. i'm asking you to consider my appointment for the immigrant rights commission because i deserve a seat at the table to speak on behalf of the un documented community who has

been left out of the table and to public service. rights are won only by those who make their voices heard. everyone on -- serving on this body is important for me as a daca immigrant. i am an immigrant from brazil and have been undocumented for almost 20 years. it is time that we appoint real leaders that actually are living an experience every day the challenges of being undocumented. i myself have survived the challenges of dealing with xenophobia during trump era and have fought so that all san franciscans have a seat at the table.

i have a background in economic justice and racial equity. i bring my lived experience and years of [indiscernible] experience advocating for a myriad of issues affecting millions of immigrants across california and san francisco, who historically have been again left out of the table. the trump administration ordered the dehumanization of immigrants. as we witnessed, immigrant seniors are being attacked for the only fact of being immigrants. if appointed, i will work tirelessly to address issues in our immigrant community and bridge collaboration among the communities to improve dismantling of the systemic racism. we remain under-represented in

places where we are living. immigrants like myself need to participate and see ourselves as part of the city's leadership. to conclude my comments, it will create an opportunity for a broader dialog and how we collaborate with the most marginalized communities to unprecedented barriers the pandemic has imposed upon us. so i hope you consider my appointment. i would be honored to serve in seat 10 and work with you to advance immigration justice for all san franciscans. thank you. >> acting chair: thank you, ms. souza. finally, last but not least for set 11, we have luis zamora.

>> hi, everybody. thank you, supervisor mandelman and chan and peskined. my name is luis zamora. i am a member of the lgbtq community. i care deeply about my communities and believe that my intersectionality is one that we need on the immigrant rights commission. my experience includes volunteering for the non-profit spectra program that works with orum, an organization with the help of my efforts housed hundreds of lgbtq refugees in the middle east and provided them with basic life necessities such as food and clothing. as a leader working in the california democratic party, specifically with the young democrats, they changed the rules to allow undocumented

individuals to have a voice and to join our caucuses. as a member of the largest democratic club in san francisco, the san francisco young democrats, i championed such efforts such as the 2020 census, something that was very important to include our undocumented citizens in. i also support fellow applicant sarah souza in supports sb-288 that would have allowed immigrants to run and serve on our country central committee because i believe everyone deserves a seat at the table. having been a frequent attendee, i applaud the work of this commission. if appointed, i hope to work with them on expanding waivers to immigrants to access services. i look forward to working with them on awareness and access to

the covid-19 vaccine for our community. i look forward to continuing the language access efforts that they have championed. i actually look forward to starting some data-collection gathering for our immigrant-owned businesses because that is an area immigrants need assistance in. finally, in supporting these concepts and values, i hope that we enable all residents to represent their communities and i hope to continue the commission's mission that upholds the dignity of san francisco's immigrant community. i'm proud to be served by the lgbtq democratic club, san francisco young democrats, the latino democratic club, the latinx young dems and the golden gate association. i thank you for your consideration. >> acting chair: thank you,

mr. zamora. thank you to all of our commissioners and applicants. unless supervisor chan has any comments at this point, i will ask that we open this up for public comment. >> clerk: any members of the public wishing to provide public comment should call 415-655-0001, the meeting id is 187 606 3775. then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please press star 3 to line up to speak. the system prompt will indicate you raised your hand. please wait until the system indicates you are unmuted to begin your comments. we have 23 listeners and 18 in line to speak at this time. >> acting chair: let's give

each speaker 90 seconds. >> clerk: can we have the first caller, please. >> i'm doing that. hold on, please. i'm on the phone. can you hear me? >> clerk: yes, we can, please proceed. >> [indiscernible] -- resource center. i am calling in to support the candidacy of sarah souza to the

immigrant rights commission. supervisors and members of the clerk and whoever is listening, if we wholeheartedly support sarah because we know her work, we know her commitment, and we know that she is the right commissioner that we need at this time. i personally -- i have been a commissioner for at least four years. my term ended like three years ago and i have always had the most respect and solidarity with the commission if needed, especially we need sarah souza now since she has worked

tirelessly for the rights of undocumented immigrants to be able to join commissions. also because of her other work -- >> clerk: next caller, please. >> can you hear me? >> clerk: yes, we can. please proceed. >> i live in the mission district and i am supporting of lucia obregon matzer. i met her during our work with the mission communities, starting with proposition c 2 allowing our immigrant parents the opportunity to vote for the board of the school district.

she's shown so much love and caring and compassion. she just has so much love. she has taught our families that we -- as immigrants, we have a right and our right is to speak up and say what we think we need for our families. she's been so inspiring in our mission. and we need to show them that they do have a voice and they matter. thank you to her for all of her hard work, regardless of what race, ethnicity, gender they are and consider themselves. thank you so much for your time. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker, please.

>> hello. can you hear me? >> clerk: yes, we can. if you don't mind, can you turn off your radio, tv, or computer. >> got it. >> clerk: please proceed. >> i currently work with lucia obregon, who is standing for seat 10. i have witnessed her work with the community firsthand. as supervisor mar just happens to have a picture behind him that says red and roses that refers to the strike of 1912, a strike for human rights and dignity, arts, culture, education, or to thrive. that is what i have witnessed lucia obregon work.

what i believe she will bring to her seat, the expectation that immigrants living in san francisco deserve to thrive in this city and will in turn make it a greater place than we ever imagined. thank you. >> i've known lucia for over two years. i met her for organizing the actions around police brutality. she has raised thousands of dollars using her social media platform of which i'm a part of. lucia also volunteered her time to help us prepare for

description for aid for farm workers in sonoma. i can't think of a better candidate than lucia for this commission. i have worked closely with her and witnessed her commitment and advocacy for immigrants. she is a natural outspoken leader. she will help push her policy and systemic reforms that will help reduce the abuse and exploitation of immigrants as well as promote our health and well-being. >> can you hear me? >> clerk: we can. please proceed. >> i've known lucia for three years and only witnessed her working tireless for immigrants in the mission from transgender, latinx immigrants to make sure

they are included in the cultural district expansion. she works and offers a platform for artists to expand beyond borders. she's an incredible work for defensive. she's doing organizing with sacramento and california for immigrants and an ally for the movement of black lives matter. she is an incredible advocate. i cannot recommend her more for this position and i truly hope you all vote for her. thank you. >> clerk: next speaker, please.

>> this groundbreaking immigrant-led organization is speaking to reduce the disparities. i urge your support for lucia obregon for seat 10. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please? >> i would like to put forward

jessy -- jesse navarro. i do not want her thrown off this commission. seat 3, ryan khojasteh, is a good guy. seat 10, lucia obregon matzer, my mission family is supporting her and i'm supporting her as well. thank you very much. i yield my time. >> clerk: can we have the next caller, please.

[please stand by]

-- and immigrants have already waited far too long for a seat at the table and we're asking today that we don't continue to make them wait another week to follow procedures, but -- >> clerk: time has elapsed. >> caller: thank you. >> clerk: can we have the next caller, please? >> caller: hi, my name is carol, and i'm just speaking as co-president of the democrats of san francisco. i'm here to express full support for the appointment of the commission and the reappointment

of all other commissioners today. in regards to sarah's appointment, she's a fearless leader who represents the more marginalized families in san francisco and i have witnessed her work to fight for economic justice in our immigrant communities. sarah will be the first undocumented person to serve on a san francisco commission, and this will be historic and it's past due. sarah is an inspiration to us young leaders who care about social justice issues. sarah has broken the systemic barriers and opened up doors for immigrant families to make and to be part of the decisions that affect our health, families and future with self-determination. sarah's experiences allow her to empathize surrounding life as immigrants in san francisco. in and having people who readily understand and who are directly impacted -- excuse me -- is vital to ensuring actual progress. we need these community leaders

to be appointed today. with this i yield my time. thank you for your time and consideration. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please? >> caller: hi, my name is daka and thank you for all that you do. i have been undocumented for the past 17 years and i'm so grateful that the immigrant commission exists to represent the voices of people like me and my community. but let me be very real. and this may shock you all. again, there's currently no one in the commission who is undocumented. no one. for the commission that represents immigrants, there is zero commissioners who currently live that urgency, right, on a deep personal level to fight for people like me who don't know if i'll get to stay in this country that i grew up in next year. and now that finally

non-citizens can be appointed, we need leaders who lived through the struggle and have years of community work. i have worked with sarah and her years of experience with the immigrant community, and this is exactly what we need. she led prop c to this point and made history, right. we have enough allies and we have enough academics. i believe that she is and she has been the most authentic voice and thank you so much for your consideration. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please? >> caller: hi there, good afternoon. my name is vicky castro and i'm a first generation born and raised in the mission. i currently live and work in district 9. i'm calling in to give my support for seat 10 with the immigrant rights commission. i think that she is an

individual that can definitely lead the charge and be able to elevate and amplify the voices of the immigrant community. when you are considering who you would like as a great candidate, i think that she is the one, most importantly, not only because she has a beautiful compassion at heart and brilliant mind and deep integrity, and real deep roots in community and is a strong facilitator and convenor. hard working, accountable. and most important about accountability is that our community needs a lot, and she knew what happened when we have people at the seat who will be accountable to the community. i also wanted to describe her as something that has been described as is relentless. she is relentless in her pursuit of justice for immigrant rights. and pursuit of justice for black

lives and making sure that voices are elevated and making sure that affects the community is at the forefront. i wanted to end with a quote from mayor breed, that says basically where is san francisco and we stand up and we lead. and that we need to be the light that leads. i think that she is that light. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can i have the next caller, please. >> caller: good afternoon, supervisor chen and chair peskin. my name is céline pelley and i'm with the immigrant rights commission. for the past 24 years, the commission has fought for the right and dignity of immigrants and other underrepresented communities. from language rights to the ordinance, shining a light on the impact of covid-19 in our immigrant communities, to taking a lead role on racial equity. the immigrant rights commission

has worked with our community partners and fellow commissions and city departments to ensure inclusive fair policies and conditions that makes san francisco a safe and welcoming place for all people to thrive. it has not been an easy role for immigrants, particularly during the past four years, when we have seen a steady stream of anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric and attempts to diminish the contributions of hard-working law-abiding immigrants in communities of color. immigrants have reverted back into the shadows in an effort to stay safe and survive. the immigrant rights commission supported by the staff of the civic ep gamement and immigrant affairs has continued to be a safe space for our immigrant communities. making sure that their voices are heard and giving them an opportunity to be engaged. under this new administration, we look forward to continuing to champion our immigrant community, their successes, their achievements, while working to resolve their needs. we have been fortunate to have

had a diverse, engaged, skilled and hard-working commission who are committed to our immigrant communities. to language access and to racial equity. they bring a combination of personal and professional experience with an unwavering dedication to making the lives of immigrants better. i would like to voice my support for our incumbent commissioners, commissioner navarro, and the others and for the applicants. thank you for your time. >> your time is up. >> clerk: can we have the next caller, please. caller, you may proceed with your public comment.

can we have the next caller, and this speaker would like to try again later in the meeting they can press star 3. can we have the next caller, please. >> clerk: hello, please proceed. >> caller: [speaking spanish] >> clerk: yes, sorry, this is public comment for the rules committee. you can proceed with your comment. >> caller: [speaking spanish]

>> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please.

hello, caller, if you're on the line you may proceed with public comment. as this speaker is not commenting at this time, can we have the next caller. >> caller: hello? >> clerk: hi, please proceed with your public comment. >> caller: hello, i am christopher christianson, with the longshore and warehouse union the p.a.t. committee. i wanted to say that we are in full support of sarah for seat 10. sarah has been a champion for immigrant rights and we have had

the privilege to work with her and it's our proudest accomplishments to work on prop-c with her and various attributes of her immigrant rights reform. sarah is a true leader within the immigrant community. and hearing a quote that was just said, saying that san francisco is the light that leads, then let's be that light and appoint the first daka recipient to an immigrants right commission. let's lead this country in showing that we care about immigrants. and sarah is that leader. she's an undocumented leader who represents the voices of the most marginalized immigrant families in san francisco. and with that being said, my union, we are in full support of sarah souza being appointed to the seat 10 for the immigrant rights commission. thank you very much, i yield the rest of my time.

>> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> caller: good afternoon, supervisors. this is gabriel medina. i'm calling for commissioner sarah souza in district 10. i've had the pleasure and the privilege of working with sarah souza for more than seven years. you could get the points to sarah souza not just for what he represents, a master's degree from u.s.f., and has a daka recipient, yes, and someone who is currently undocumented for 10 years. but really i think that it's really more important about what she's done, because she's done so much in her time. she was instrumental for me to pass proposition n to give immigrant parents the right to

vote. which is a program that we have that is at the resource center where she's our board president and has been doing an excellent job. as our first dreamer board president. she's also been instrumental really in helping me with the campaign for proposition i, which was to prevent luxury condos from building in the mission. you know, that she's been the co-chair with me on proposition c to allow her to be before you today to fill out the application to apply to be a commissioner as a dreamer and not have to say she's a registered voter. she's making history and we're all proud and we need doers on our commissions. she's -- yes, she's been the president of latino democratic club, and instrumental in s.b.288 to give -- >> time is up. >> for non-citizens to run for the democratic -- >> clerk: thank you. speaker time has elapsed.

can we have the next caller, please. >> caller: hi, my name is namblo mara. and i'm an organizer on the political action committee and the black women caucus s.f. i've been appointed as a delegate to the california democratic party in district 17. i'm a first generation immigrant from south africa, a mom, an activist for racial equity and social justice, and an advocate for black immigrants and queer lives. today my esteemed colleague and friend sarah souza, i support her in being appointed to the immigrant rights commission. her appointment will facilitate pathways to assist immigrant families to integrate them into the system, and for jobs, housing, food and clothes and shelter and the right to vote. and a bill known as the civil

rights act. while it recognizes the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the constitution explicitly protects life and liberty, happiness goes unmentioned in the land. the right to pursue happiness as a fundamental right by the application and the concept in american jurisprudence is confined. and appointing her will ensure that we have the right candidate to represent the immigrant communities, especially reforms that threaten the political action... thank you for your time and your consideration. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. caller -- >> caller: my name is mallory ingle. hello? >> clerk: please proceed.

>> caller: hi, my name is mallory shingle and i'm supporting sarah souza. i had the pleasure to work with sarah when she was the president of the latino democratic club. and the san francisco commissions for all would not have been possible without sarah and her fierce leadership. as a a leader, sarah uplifts others to positions of power, despite the obstacles that she's faced as an undocumented individual. she's continued to uplift the community and i would like to echo earlier statements made that you make her appointment today. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> caller: hi, and i'm here to call for the appointment of the immigrant rights commission for sarah souza. i have known sarah at least for seven years she's been active and a leader and a voice for the

undocumented. she's been active in leadership roles at the latino democratic club. and she was also appointed to the san francisco democratic party. i've seen her and she's a fighter and she will represent the immigrant. and she has so much knowledge and experience. and i ask you today to make that appointment and have sarah in this seat. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you. just like to state that if you have not already done so, please press star, 3, to be added to the queue. for those already on hold, please continue to wait until the system indicates that you have been unmuted. we currently have approximately 25 people on the line with five waiting to speak. sorry for interrupting, speaker, you may proceed at this time.

hello, speaker? >> caller: sorry, what? >> clerk: please proceed. thank you. >> caller: thank you. i am communications director of s.f. (indiscernible) and i was recently appointed to the immigrant rights commission. and i am calling in support of sarah, she's been a leader for the immigrant community. and through the passing of prop-c, and he's also been a true and friend for the black community, including black immigrants such as myself. it would be really, really painful for me as an immigrant with undocumented family here in san francisco, and as a black woman, to see the board of supervisors (indiscernible) at this time. and so please appoint her. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller,

please. >> caller: here, okay. >> clerk: hello, caller, you may proceed with public comment. >> (indiscernible) >> clerk: hello, caller, this is public comment for the rules committee. you may proceed with public comment at this time. >> and, mr. clerk, after the speaker we'll take a break on public comment and go back to item 4. >> clerk: hello, caller? >> so for members of the public i apologize but we'll be -- the

chair of the committee has a land use committee at 1:30 and we need to go back to item 4, but to do that we need to take a little break on item 6. so we will come back to item 6 and public comment on item 6. but for now we're going to go back to item 4. and, chair peskin should be joining any minute. >> supervisor peskin: , i am here, vice chair mandelman. thank you for the hiatus. i have not been following this and i appreciation your accommodation as in six minutes i have to go to the land use committee of the board of supervisors. so i just wanted to circle back to item 4 and i believe that the city attorney is still working on this advice, but i would not put words in miss pearson's mouth, insofar as this matter does not seem to be resolved, i am prepared to make a motion to

continue item 4 to our next meeting a week from today. as the legal matters are being resolved with miss pearson. if i am missing something, please correct me. >> deputy city attorney ann pearson. i think that a continuance would be appropriate in this case. the proposal has been to modify the motion to approve an appointment to a seat that was not -- that the mayor did not actually appoint this nominee to. i appreciate that the mayor's office has said that they are open to this appointment but i do think that a continuance is appropriate here. >> thank you and i will note again for the record that there actually are no seats. but the record indicates that there are seats. albeit, they're not set forth in the charter and not set forth in the by-laws but they are set forth before the members of this

committee and the public. so with that, mr. vice-chair, member chan, i would like to make a motion to continue item 4 for one week. mr. clerk, can you please call the roll. >> clerk: yes, on the motion to continue for one week [roll call vote] this matter is continued to the next meeting of the rules committee which i believe will be march 21st. >> with that, mr. vice-chairman, the gavel is back to you and i will go over to land use and thank you for your recusal. >> thank you, chair peskin. as chair peskin leaves the virtual room, we can go back to item 6, public comment, where we are hearing from public commenters for up to 90 seconds

each. mr. young, how many folks do we have in the queue? >> clerk: at last count, probably two or three left in the queue. actually we have four people left in the queue to speak at this time. >> okay. >> clerk: can we have the next public commenter, please. coyle hello, my name is ina salumna and i'm asking that you appoint sarah souza for the immigrants right commission. sarah's reach is farther than just san francisco. she's a brave voice for the entire community. sarah was instrumental [broken audio] in napa county. and i have no doubt that sarah will be an amazing advocate for immigrants in san francisco, and her work is far reaching and setting an example for so many in our community to get civically engaged and thank,

sarah, for setting an example for the state and hopefully our country. we do need more leaders like sarah involved in local government. and i truly appreciate what you're doing. and i hope that you do appoint sarah souza for district 10. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> caller: i just spoke. >> clerk: yes -- can we have the next caller? >> caller: hello? >> clerk: hi, yes, we can hear you. please proceed with public comment. >> caller: thank you. my name is maria ladd and i work for the resource center.

and i am calling to support sarah souza in seat number 10 for the immigrant rights commission. i believe that this is a great opportunity to show the rest of our country how things are done in san francisco. and sarah is a daka recipient and she's one of the most working person they know, working for immigrants' rights. i think that she would be a beacon of hope for so many students and so many young people that can do what she's doing right now. which is history. i think that san francisco is well known for that. you know, to be the first ones to do the changes. and i believe that with sarah those changes will happen and it

will be an example for rest of the country. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> caller: hello, can you hear me? >> clerk: we can hear you. >> caller: hello. okay. i am dara garcia and i'm here to support sarah souza. i think that she is the most eligible for this position because she has worked so hard for the community. i have seen the work that she has done in proposition c. i was -- i mean, a witness of that. i worked with her and she worked so hard. and who is better to be a representative of the immigrant community, and she is an immigrant and she's a daka receiver. and we need to make history and that is why i ask that sarah is the one that will be appointed

to that seat. and also changing the way that the system works. we always have the same people running for the same things, and this is a time for change. and sarah is a person who can bring that change. and she is an immigrant who is waiting for her documentation. and who else would know better what to do than sarah? so, please consider that. and also i would like to express my support for luis zamora and hope that there's a seat on the board. thank you. >> clerk: next caller. >> caller: hi, good afternoon, can you hear me? >> clerk: yes, we can, please proceed. >> caller: hi, good afternoon. i am louis pavos, with the democrats of san francisco. i'm here to speak for my sole endorsement of sarah souza for

seat 10 and the other incumbent commissioners and i support each and every one of them. sarah souza has been a dear friend of mine for many years that i met when i was first appointed to the san francisco youth commission. we quickly became friends because we were both daka recipients and we both really understood the challenges and tribulations that go into being an immigrant despite having daka. there were still so many barriers for our community to face and many did not qualify for daka and sarah has always understood that. because of that she's always advocated for the rights and the right of happiness and prosperity. there's not a single doubt in my mind that she'll help so many people. if there's one thing that i always hear from sarah, is there anything that i can do to help. that's what she'll bring to the table, along with all of the merits that she's done with

prop-c and everything else that she's done as a leader. so, please, make history today and appoint sarah souza to the immigrants right commission. and it took four years of donald trump to send a message to the rest of the world. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. do we have any additional callers at this time? >> yes, two callers are still waiting to speak >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. hello, caller, if you're on the line you can proceed with public comment.

>> caller: [speaking spanish] >> clerk: hello, caller, you may not understand me, but if you would like to make public comment, you can do so at this time. >> caller: hello? >> clerk: hi. you can make your comment at this time. >> caller: hello... hello? >> hello. please continue. >> caller: [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> clerk:thank you. can we have the next caller, please.

>> caller: hello, i am the co-president of the san francisco young democrats and i'm calling in strong support of the appointment of luis zamora to the commission. as president of fyid, luis was instrumental in getting more young people involved in politics and for the lgbtq community. he rallied in sb-288. and during his time with the california young democrats, lgbtq caucus, he changed the caucus by-laws in order to open up the caucus to undocumented individuals. as a son of immigrants, a first-generation mexican american member of the lgbtq community and as advocate for young people, we believe that luis will bring a unique perceptive to the i.o.c. and i have worked closely with luis for several years and he's deeply dedicated to the mission of i.r.c., regularly attending meetings for years and has

shared a number of ideas with me personally. i have seen firsthand the results that followed when he is dedicated to an issue. thank you so much. >> clerk: thank you, mr. baretto, any additional callers at this time? >> no more callers in the cue. >> all right, thank you, public comment is now closed. i want to thank all of the folks who called in during public comment. if there's any additional comments, now would be the moment for those. and if not, i will -- i will move that we continue this item for one week to our next item on -- to our next meeting on monday, march 1st. mr. young, please call the roll.

>> clerk: yes, on the motion to continue the matter to march 1, 2021 [roll call vote] the motion passes with chair peskin being excused from the vote. >> supervisor mandelman: thank you. and do we have any other items today? >> clerk: that's the agenda for today. >> supervisor mandelman: all right, then we're adjourned. thank you.

>> mayor breed: good morning, everyone. thank you all so much for joining us here today! i can't tell you how excited i am to open this vaccination site right here musconi center. let me take us back a little bit. when this pandemic hit our city, our country about a year ago. in san francisco, we had to get ready. as much as dr. colfax and i fought over what was going on and whether or not we needed to close down the city because we understood the significant impacts on people's lives by making these hard decisions, we knew it was the right thing to

do. we knew it was the right thing to do because it was about saving lives. when you look at where san francisco is in terms of our death rate, even though every life lost is tragic, we are the second densest city in the country with the lowest death rate of any major city in the country. we've saves thousands of lives here in the city. it started here at moscone center. i want to thank the director of the department of emergency management mary allen carol for her hard work. [applause] >> mayor breed: and the people who came here to work not only the folks who work within her department but so many city employees, who signed up as disaster service workers, who answered the call, and who have been showing up to deal with

challenges around this pandemic. whether it's homelessness and encampments, testing and getting testing sites set up in the city, whether it's information because people were confused about what was going on, the people in moscone center showing up every day for the past year, the sheriff deputies, the fire and police department, the librarians, the department of public works, people from all over the city, they are the ones leading and managing this effort. we're grateful for their work. i know that no one is more excited than they are that we are finally at this place to deliver this vaccine at the same place we've been managing this crisis in san francisco. what i'm so appreciative about

is this consortium. led by kaiser permanente to open the vaccination site, where we will have the capacity to deliver 7,000 to 10,000 doses per day. san francisco has a goal to deliver at least minimum 10,000 a day. this one site on its own can basically do that. but we're not stopping there. we're opening a site in bayview. he have opened a site at ucsf. we have a small bayview site open now. we opened a pop-up now in the mission, one of the most impacted communities as it relates to this virus. you know how we're doing it? we're working together. the department of public health led by dr. colfax, the

healthcare providers that are a part of this consortium, we have all come together, because we know how important this is to reopening our city. we've saved lives, yes. but we know there are still challenges, not just our economy but around mental health. our children are not back in school. people are not back at work. folks have lost their job. we know how critical the rollout of this program is. and the reason why it's going to be a success, is because of each and every one of you. so i'm grateful that all of you are joining us here today. and i want to take an opportunity to recognize a few members of the consortium. because sites like this don't just open because we say we want them to open. they open because of people who helped to put together

refrigeration system, transport system, doctors, nurses, the clinicians, the people who are going to check folks in. there's so much that goes into setting up even a small site. and we have to make sure the logistics are just right, so that we do not waste one vaccine and so that we get these vaccines into the arms of the people who need it the most as quickly as possible. first of all, thank you to dr. colfax and the department of public health. in partnership with kaiser permanente, we are so grateful to kaiser and what they're going to be doing at this site. i want to reiterate, this site is not only for kaiser patients. they will be helping with people 65 and older at this site. and they'll talk more about how you sign up, because we wanted to make sure that we had an accessible site that was this

large city-wide to make it easy for people to get vaccinated. adventist health, thank you so much. thank you to dignity health. thank you to futureal health. the california medical oh and -- association and primary care association. all of these providers came together to make this available. it officially opened friday at 8:00 a.m. the normal hours will be 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. as long as we have the vaccines, we will have the places in which to distribute them quickly as possible. again, i want to thank all of you for joining us here today. we are looking forward to what the future holds in san francisco. we are getting the vaccine out as quickly as we possibly can.

nothing is more important. and this major site will play a significant role in getting our city to a better place. i don't know about you, but i'm ready to celebrate. not today. i'm ready to celebrate in a few months when we're able to say that the city is open. that the city is open for business. that we can do things in and outdoors. that we can finally eventually one day, dr. colfax, take our masks off and wave them in the air like we just don't care. [laughter] >> mayor breed: i don't know about you, but i'm looking forward to that day, and that day is coming. but let me also just say, i appreciate the people of the city so much, because you follow the health directives in most cases. you wore your mask. you kept your distance from

people. you didn't get a chance to visit your family and your friends the way we're used to doing. we sacrificed so much. and we're going to need to sacrifice just a little bit more. because we are almost there. i can feel it. today, the sun is shining. and i can feel the energy and the excitement about the future of the city. i can feel the energy of the conventions that will be returning to moscone center. the people who will be going to restaurants both in and outdoors. the folks who will be taking their children to school. the people who will show up to work and be able to congregate with one another in the lunchroom. some of the basic things that we miss so much, i feel it. it's going to happen. but we're going to need to sacrifice a little bit more. and in addition to sacrificing, we will do everything we can to

roll out these vaccination sites, advocate aggressively to get more vaccines quickly. get them to the people of san francisco. and open our city back up to celebrate again. thank you all so much for being here. and at this time, i want to turn it over to dr. colfax of the department of public health. [applause] >> good morning, everybody. this is an exciting day. a very exciting day. a good day. i have to say when i woke up early this morning, my husband said to me, you seem so happy today! what is going on? i said, this is a day that will make a difference in san francisco. this is a day of partnership, of collaboration, of pride what we can do together when we come together as a community, as a community of people of

clinicians. of people who work hard on the operations and logistics to get this done! i was here monday. i started seeing this going up! the progress has been amazing. look at this place. we're going to do 7,500 people of vaccines a day. i want to thank kaiser so much for your partnership. this conversation started awhile ago. thank you for your collaboration and partnership at the hospital council to make this happen. and of course, thank you, mayor, for your leadership during this incredibly challenging year. your courage, your fortitude, your leadership in helping us slow the virus. our partnerships with healthcare providers are critical meeting our goal of vaccinating everyone who lives or works in san francisco in order to bring an end to this pandemic as quickly as possible. these high-volume sites will

help us serve people that -- and would not be possible without these key partnerships. and as you know, although vaccines remain in limited supply, we are building the partnerships and the infrastructure so that when vaccine is readily available, we are ready to go. 10,000 vaccines a day in san francisco. we can do that now. we can do more than now soon. we are building a comprehensive vaccination network with a variety of options for all those who live and work in san francisco. and this system is focused on equity. equity, speed, and access. the department of public health, its community partners, also will continue to vaccinate people through community clinics in western additions, china

down, bayview, outer sunset, where we know the virus continues to spread. we're working to expand our neighborhood access sites to the bayview, excelsior and visitation valley with the highest numbers of covid-19. we're working with our pharmacy partners to bring vaccinations throughout the city. it's all of the above approach to focus on the speed, the access, and most importantly as we've seen during this covid pandemic, equity. our work with community and healthcare providers have been an integral part of our covid-19 response. today's announcement highlights that part. i'm glad i can be with you today and recognize that work. with that, i'd like to hand this

off to the kaiser permanente. secondly, as a kaiser patient myself, thank you. >> thank you. thank you mayor breed and dr. colfax. i was thinking this morning about how february 2020, a year ago, kaiser permanente was preparing for greeting the very first covid-19 patient into california that were coming from the princess cruise ship. and it has been quite a year for all of us. and throughout this year, we have constantly asked ourselves how can we do more. and this site, this hub, is an example of coming together,

doing more together to create something that would not have been possible without all of us working together. this is the largest vaccination, mass vaccination site in the state of california with the 10,000 a day capacity. only limited by vaccine supply. and i want to thank so many people here who helped. and of course, the city. and the city leadership for offering moscone city, which is the perfect location and type of venue for this mass vaccination. i'd like to thank the state leadership, governor's office and department of public health for believing in the vision of the consortium to provide the vaccines so we could help vaccinate the general public. and i'd like to of course -- you're going to hear later today

the consortium partners, adventist health, dignity heath and our planning partners, who are here today, california medical association, primary care association and the red cross. the red cross lent their experience to us in terms of mass vaccination planning. it's really together that we are so pleased to bring the hubs to the public. these hubs answer the public's call for immediate and meaningful vaccination. the hubs represent the consortium's values. the mission to vaccinate the most diverse and broadly-reached populations. it was important to us that in our planning, that no one is left behind. the surrounding areas of the moscone center, we've reached out to community health clinics,

such as the mission neighborhood center and health 360. we've reached out to senior centers. and we've reached out to homeless service providers, such as the provider resource center to ensure again that no one gets left behind. now, moscone center is the first hub. but i'm excited to say that tomorrow, our second hub opens serving with the same mission. and serving the same need to vaccinate efficiently and equitably across our different markets. and these hubs use the state's my turn scheduling and appointment system. so i want to thank the state for quickly putting that together in order to make it possible for the general public to get vaccinated. and we -- and all the sites

are -- eligibility defaults to county eligibility requirements. i want to say our hope, our aspirations, is that we can get to as many 75 year-old and up individuals as possible. 75 year-old up just represents a subpopulation of the 65 and older at most risk for impact -- long-term impacts from covid. again, these hubs are the largest in california. and we plan to be ready for when vaccine is available. you know, some day soon, there will be much more vaccine. and it's really important that the state of california is ready with efficient ways to vaccinate the public. so we are actively working beyond these two sites to explore additional locations throughout the state of california. and we're doing our part to do more on behalf of saving lives

of the people of california. thank you very much for being here today. [applause] >> and i think -- i don't recall -- oh, keisha from dignity health, please come up. thank you. >> thank you, janet. on behalf of dignity, it's an honor to be able to be part of this incredibly important initiative to be able to improve the health of our community. we're very grateful. it is a wonderful day. and we are so proud to be representing the consortium of healthcare organizations. coming together for a common cause. and that is to make our communities more healthy and get them on the other side of this pandemic. what an absolute honor to be a part of this. the goals for this unique partnership, among the consortium of state-wide health organizations is eventually stand up a network of hubs

across the state, which will serve as a model for similar efforts in other states as well. i'm just excited personally to be part of this in helping to make history. locations will be chosen to maximize access. especially for communities where populations who are historically have experienced challenges with respect to health and healthcare access. dignity health, we always talking about reaching the disenfranchised and the poor. this is directly in line with the mission of our organization. the moscone location is part of a network of high value vaccination sites organized by the city and county of san francisco and healthcare providers. this consortium will enable partnering healthcare organizations such as ours, dignity, to leverage resources and staff, align operations for efficient and safe vaccine delivery and offer convenient parking for patients, if needed. as part of this collaboration, we will remain committed to

getting the covid-19 vaccine to the community in accordance with state guidelines equitably and as vaccine guidelines allow. at this time, i'd like to hand it off to andrew, president of care delivery at adventist health. [applause] >> thank you, keisha, thank you, janet. and thank you, mayor london breed. what an inspiration and privilege to be part of this. i'm andrew john, president of care delivery at adventist health. on behalf of adventist health and the 80 different communities that we serve, thank you to healthcare workers across this state for your continued heroic response to care for californians in this unprecedented pandemic. thank you, mayor london breed, and our consortium partners, for the heavy lifting, the coordination, and the investment that has made today's model

possible. and i want to say a special thanks to my colleagues at kaiser permanente, for taking an early and leading role in organizing this consortium. somebody needed to step up. kaiser was there, and i'm proud to be a part of that, as well as adventist health is proud to be a part of that. thank you for bringing us together, because it's together that we're going to beat this pandemic. today's mass vaccination hub serves as a road map and as a model for how we're going to eradicate covid-19 from the face of this earth. it's a model for restoring health. a model for restoring wholeness, and a model for hope. i'm going to turn it over to my friend and colleague -- my new friend and colleague, who is the

c.e.o. of ventura health. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you so much. ventura health is delighted to be standing with this consortium and mayor breed for the important work. we see the vaccination as an essential step in the recovery of the nation and the state. in addition, we see this as an opportunity for students, who are in allied health and nursing programs across the state to gain patient care experience, so important for them to getting their licensure. in this state alone, california needs an estimated 500,000 new allied health workers to be on the frontline of caring for the growing and graying of california. so this is such an important experience for them. and we invite you to help us get the word out to colleges that they can participate in in this opportunity. thank you. and now, i'd like to introduce

the physical and chief of kaiser permanente of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you. i am privileged to serve as the physician and chief of kaiser permanente of san francisco. on behalf of our physicians, nurses and healthcare team, i'd like to welcome you to this mass vaccination hub. we've seen firsthand and up close the impact of covid-19 and the toll it's taken on our community, particularly affecting and disproportionately affecting our communities of color. i want to take a moment and sincerely thank mayor breed and dr. colfax on their work. their actions saved lives. their actions preserved i.c.u. capacity. their decisions made it so we never run out of ventilators in

our i.c.u. i'm so lucky. and our colleagues across this city feel indebted to you. you have made a difference here. finally, through the miracle of science, we have some hope. the advent of a safe and effective vaccine to end this pandemic. and it's just a delight to be able to talk about building immunity in this great city. so let this vaccine hub be a hub and beacon of light and hope for the future. today, is a day to celebrate. kaiser permanente has a long history in prevention and in vaccine delivery. and together, with this consortium, we're going to build on that expertise with this partnership and really expand, broaden our delivery of vaccines across this great city. we will -- and we are committed to an equitable distribution of vaccines to our community. we will be focusing on the highest risk for complications

from covid-19, specifically in our elderly and in our communities of color. let's not forget, though, that until we build full immunity, we'll continue to wear masks, keep our distance and wash our hands until we've eradicated this disease. that's why it's important we do this efficiently and broadly starting with our most vulnerable populations at risk. since we started vaccinating a few weeks ago at our medical center, i've had the pleasure of seeing my colleagues in healthcare and our elderly get vaccinated. when i ask our doctors and nurses if they've had any side effects from the vaccine, what they usually tell me is nothing but pure joy and overwhelming relief. that gives them strength to carry on during this continued ravaging disease, and fight this final surge, hopefully. i'm also meeting with seniors in our community who are coming out

of their homes for the first time in nine or 10 months. they tell me about their hope to see their families again and to hold grandchildren, some of them for the first time. today, marks the end of the beginning -- sorry. today, marks the end of social isolation. it's the beginning of the end. it's the end of a raging pandemic, and the beginning of restoring health and healing to this great city. thank you for this opportunity to deliver an injection of hope into our community.

. >> president yee: of the 26 neighborhoods we have in west portal, it's probably the most unique in terms of a small little town. you can walk around here, and it feels different from the rest of san francisco. people know each other. they shop here, they drink wine here. what makes it different is not only the people that live here,

but the businesses, and without all these establishments, you wouldn't know one neighborhood from the other. el toreador is a unique restaurant. it's my favorite restaurant in san francisco, but when you look around, there's nowhere else that you'll see decorations like this, and it makes you feel like you're in a different world, which is very symbolic of west portal itself. >> well, the restaurant has been here since 1957, so we're going on 63 years in the neighborhood. my family came into it in 1987, with me coming in in 1988. >> my husband was a designer, and he knew a lot about art, and he loved color, so that's what inspired him to do the

decorations. the few times we went to mexico, we tried to get as many things as we can, and we'd bring it in. even though we don't have no space, we try to make more space for everything else. >> president yee: juan of the reasons we came up with the legacy business concept, man eel businesses were closing down for a variety of reasons. it was a reaction to trying to keep our older businesses continuing in the city, and i think we've had some success, and i think this restaurant itself is probably proof that it works. >> having the legacy business experience has helped us a lot, too because it makes it good

for us because we have been in business so long and stayed here so long. >> we get to know people by name, and they bring their children, so we get to know them, also. it's a great experience to get to know them. supervisor yee comes to eat at the restaurant, so he's a wonderful customer, and he's very loyal to us. >> president yee: my favorite dish is the chile rellenos. i almost never from the same things. my owner's son comes out, you want the same thing again? >> well, we are known for our mole, and we do three different types of mole. in the beginning, i wasn't too familiar with the whole legacy

program, but san francisco, being committed to preserve a lot of the old-time businesses, it's important to preserve a lot of the old time flavor of these neighborhoods, and in that capacity, it was great to be recognized by the city and county of san francisco. >> i've been here 40 years, and i hope it will be another 40 yeararararararararararararararr