>> it is june 23, 2021. the time is 5:05. this meeting is being held via webex. during the covid-19 emergency, the fire commission's regular meeting room in city hall is closed and meetings will resume remotely. you can watch live at sfgov.org and to participate by public comment, please dial 415-655-0001: access code

146-453-9316. remembers of the public will have opportunities to participate during public comment. the public is asked to wait for the particular agenda item before making a comment on that item. comments will be addressed in the order they are received. when the moderator announces that the commission is taking public comment, members of the public can raise their hand by pressing star 3 and you will be queued. when prompted, callers can have three minutes to comment. speak clearly and turn off any tvs or radios around you. item one, roll call. president katherine feinstein. >> present. >> commissioner stephen a.

nakajo. >> present. >> commissioner francee covington. >> present. >> commissioner ken cleaveland. >> present. >> and chief of the department jeanine nicholson. >> present. >> and the president wanted to make an announcement. >> yes, i'm going to exercise my presidential prerogative. i tried to repair something and just couldn't do it today, or yesterday, or the day before. i just really want to acknowledge the contribution that commissioner rodriguez made to this commission and his passing was sudden. it was incredibly sad and for

those of us who worked with him, which i did, we're really going to miss him from this commission. he brought a perspective. he brought a work ethic. he was determined to figure things out. i had a several conversations with him. no violation of sunshine, no violation of the brown act, but if i can help you in any way, please let me know. don't hesitate to call. he never called. we had different conversations at different times and i really came to appreciate his perspective. he was a fine human being and he

was dedicated to doing his job to the best of his ability, which was absolutely in every way or in some ways more than others of us could do. i mean he brought a very special perspective. he has a lovely wife with whom i spoken and four daughters, two of whom i spoken to. i am going to thank the chief for the coordination that she has done with regards to friday's services and the length that the department has gone. i just really wanted to recognize that he wanted to do this job and he wanted to get it right. he was willing to do anything that he needed to learn.

you know, i apologize to my fellow commissioners for being somewhat obtuse along the way and that was at the request of the family and i wasn't going to violate that request. i will say i was maybe more surprised than many others that his passing came so quickly. i had no idea. so when this meeting adjourns, i plan to adjourn it or seek a motion to adjourn in honor of his memory. i just want everybody -- i think the command staff knows. maybe some do, some don't. anybody that is listening, i want them to know that we have lost a really fine colleague.

his shoes will be difficult to fill. he was a fine commissioner and fine human being and everything we should each aspire to be. so you know, when i looked at the agenda and his name was missing from the roll call i was just -- it's tough going. i know you have all been through it in worse circumstances, but it was a tough thing. it's a tough thing to see it written there in black and white. i just wanted to take that time to express our thanks to him, wherever he may be and condolences on behalf of the commission and i know even without asking, i speak for

everybody and the command staff, to his family and he'll always be part of all of us. i just wanted to share those thoughts. we can proceed at this point. >> very good. thank you for those comments. item two, general public comment. members of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes on any matter within the commission's jurisdiction that does not appear on the agenda. speakers shall address their remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or department personnel. commissioners are not to enter into debate or discussion with the speaker.

the lack of a response by the commissioners or department personnel does not necessarily constitute agreement with or support of the statements made during public comment. there is a speaker. did you want to make a public comment? >> i did. i just wanted to make sure i'm audible. >> yes, we can hear you. >> terrific. >> i'm going to set the clock now for three minutes. >> all righty. i'm appealing to you as a commission because i have a rather unusual position i'm in. one of your retired fire captains has done something unusual several times this year. he has called in to a county board of supervisors meeting and he has chosen to disparage an

imagine -- man who was a victim of the county sheriff's swat, that took place on good friday. the man that was the subject of the raid was mentally ill. he was mentally ill at a level that you know, essentially it was a handicap. he was disabled. it was a rather tortuous swat raid and it involved an enormous amount of bear spray, pepper spray, it was completely bizarre. i mean most of us who heard about it were really appalled, but your former employee has taken it upon himself prior to this man's -- this guy who was a victim of the swat raid is now in the county jail, facing some

absurd charge. your former fire captain has made a habit of disparaging this man and misstating the facts surrounding the events, both of the raid and leading up to the raid. this is creating a bit of a problem. it's basically tainting the jury pool. it really led me to wonder what sort of ethics training was available to that generation of sffd. i do not want to believe this gentleman is representative of your fire department as a whole and i'm preparing a letter to the chief regarding that. i wanted to bring it forward because it seems timely. it seems like something that you should really be checking right now. it really, it doesn't make sense to attempt to taint jury pools

in the county, in public meetings against a disabled individual. i didn't know this individual, but we all become very concerned, not only about what was done to him during the swat raid, but the fact that the sheriffs in the process of this swat raid, with all this pepper spray, and bean bag pellets ended up killing his dog. then they let the vessel that this guy was in, they let it catch on fire. the fire department wasn't able to put it out or didn't try. most of the evidence was burned -- >> your time is up caller. >> did you want to leave your name? >> i will in a letter to the chief. i will also provide newspaper articles regarding the incident. i do ask that you do check your ethics training, thank you. >> thank you.

there is no one else on the public comment line. >> all right. public comment will be closed at this time. again, i'm sorry. i'm just discombobulated a little bit today. i meant to say this before. i did want to welcome to the meetings, both chief brown at the airport and i'm looking at my -- i know chief brown -- ah ha, there you are. welcome chief brown and fire marshal? so i wanted to recognize both of them. welcome. it's our pleasure to have you join us. you will find these meetings

stimulating and we look forward to your participation. >> well thank you very much. >> welcome to the command staff. sorry. >> item three, approval of the minutes. discussion of possible action to approve the meeting minutes of the regular meeting on june 9, 2021. is there a motion? >> moved madam president. >> thank you, is there a second? >> i will second madam president. >> thank you commissioner nakajo and commissioner cleaveland. >> and there is no one on the public comment line. >> all right, public comment is

closed. >> president feinstein, how do you vote? >> to adopt the minutes. >> commissioner covington, how do you vote? >> vote to adopt. >> it's unanimous. >> thank you. >> approval of the special meeting minutes of june 16, 2021. >> move to approve madam president. >> thank you commissioner cleaveland. is there a second? >> move to adopt madam president, this is commissioner nakajo. >> thank you commissioner nakajo. >> and president feinstein, how do you vote? >> to adopt. >> and commissioner covington, how do you vote? >> yes. >> it's unanimous. item four, chief of department's

report. report from chief of department, jeanine nicholson. report on the current issues, activities, and events within the department since the fire commissioner meeting on june 9, 2021, including budget, academics, special events, communications, and outreach to other government agencies and the public. report from administration, deputy chief jose velo. >> this is jeanine nicholson. thank you for your comments about commissioner rodriguez president feinstein. yeah, it is really heartbreaking and what a good man.

i really enjoyed the conversations and the contact i had with him and hoped for more. you know, condolences from the entire department to his family and friends and to all commissioners as well. we will be attending his funeral this friday. unfortunately we can't put the truck display up in front because there is just not enough room on portland street, but we will have an engine there and presence there. i think it's very important to do so. i know he was very proud of being the fire commissioner and at the same time, a super humble man. >> yes. >> so, yes. there is that.

thank you commissioners who were present on june 15th when we honored our brother firefighter paramedic jason cortez at headquarters by unveiling his name on the line of duty death memorial wall. his wife and children were there. his station mates were there, as well as some other folks. i know that it was very meaningful to patty, his wife, and his boys, as well as to the members of station three. so, thank you for your participation in that and of course we had our mayor, mayor london breed there as well. hon friday, june 18th, we had the funeral of firefighter christopher who died after fighting a fire at san francisco

international airport. i had the opportunity to speak and give his son, his 13-year-old son his helmet and badge. you know, it's just -- it's been a lot. the fire department, we're always ready to stand up and handle things and this has been a lot, with commissioner rodriguez, with christopher, with steven brantley. it's been a lot for our members and we keep carrying on and doing the job we need to do and i am so appreciative of all the people in this department. today, june 23rd, commissioners thank you for being there at the station 49 ribbon cutting ceremony. the chief rocked the house with

her words, it was great. thank you. and thank you to the commissioners and our mayor and president of the board of supervisors walton for attending. since our last commission meeting, you know, a few things had been going on. we're in the process of hiring our next h2 class. i know the chief is working on the next class, as well as, whoops, sorry. there is a lot of work being done. in addition, my staff and i have been working on the budget. i would like to thank mark corso, olivia scandal -- scan

lin for getting us where we are at. we will be back tomorrow for a final hearing. i feel pretty confident that we will keep much of what the mayor's budget also included in the budget. i know that we're also working on additional medics for our ambulance division. we will continue those conversations. we're hopeful that it will result in additional f.t.e. for station 49. that is a work in progress. so with that, i would like to give a big thanks to assistant deputy chief mark johnson from s.f.o., whose last meeting this is. our fire commissioner, dan who

tried to skate out of this meeting and i think he has skated out of this meeting and is not here tonight. i just wanted to express my gratitude for stepping up and being part of the command staff and moving this department forward in such a positive way. as you stated earlier president feinstein, i'm really pleased to announce, to welcome our new fire marshal and dave as our new assistant deputy chief of the airport. if i may be so bold president feinstein to ask each of them to introduce themselves to you. >> that would be lovely. thank you. >> okay, ken, the fire marshal, can you introduce yourself please? >> yes, thank you chief

nicholson, president feinstein, commissioners nakajo, covington, and cleaveland. it's a great honor. i appreciate being able to serve as the fire marshal at san francisco. big shoes to fill and i hope to do what i can over the years to look out for the citizens of san francisco. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thanks very much. dave brown, can you please introduce yourself? >> good evening everyone. good evening madam president, madam secretary, commissioner covington, nakajo and commissioner cleaveland and chief of department nicholson and command staff. i would like to reiterate what he said, big shoes to fill, mark johnson. i want to thank him for his years of dedicated service, the

last few years being spent at the airport. he has been a big addition to our staff down there. like i said, big shoes to fill. i hope i can step up and do half as good of a job he did. thank you and i look forward to working with all of you. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. that concludes my report and i'm happy to take any questions. >> all right, commissioners, any questions for the chief of the department? i'm seeing no hands. chief -- actually, i have one question for you. with regards to the incoming academy class, is it smaller than normal because of issues that are related to covid or budget or what have you?

>> thank you president feinstein. the class that is graduating, we have a graduating class on friday of 23 recruits. that class was smaller due to covid limitations. this next class will be larger. most of the covid restrictions have been lifted and we can put more folks through. in addition, we're seeing a lot of retirements. we need the staffing, let's just put it that way. we need the staffing, so it will be a larger class. most likely around 40. i don't like to do classes as large as 54. i don't think people get as much hands on, but with 40, it is still manageable.

our training folks do a wonderful job getting these folks out. so i believe the class will be approximately, give or take a few 40 beginning in august. also, president feinstein i know that commissioner nakajo had his hand up. >> and commissioner nakajo, i'm going to introduce you one second because i'll forget otherwise if you don't mind. chief, can you tell us how many paramedics are we short? what do we need? what are we asking for? >> so, that's sort of a complicated question to answer because there are so many different things that play into it. so we have our community para medicine paramedics that we're getting staffing for in this

budget from the mayor. we will be getting some additional paramedics, i believe from the board of supervisors, likely in the add back process. what happened for us president feinstein is two years ago we began looking at all the data and trying to really drill down on everything from response time, to sick leave, to all sorts of things in terms of the staffing that we need. so then covid happened, right? everything got shifted. e.m.s. has always stepped up and filled in where they were needed with all sorts of different programs, the alcohol management, just all over the place. we saw our call volume drop. now the call volume is going

back up and we are again looking at our response times and all sorts of other data points, whether it's time at the hospitals, and we really need to drill down on all of that before i can give an absolute number of what we need. do i believe we need more staffing? yes. so, what we're doing is starting in july, we will be recommissioning our ambulance work group that we had back in 2014 or 2016 i believe it was. so we can really drill down on exactly what it is that we need moving forward. so i'm sorry, i don't have an exact number to give you. i know we should be getting some in the add back process and we absolutely welcome that.

so that was a wrong way of not really answering how many people, but there are a lot of different things that play into it. >> no, i understand chief. i appreciate it. i was just trying to get a sense of where we were with it and you gave me a bit more. if there is anything else we can do as a commission, you just need to let us know. again, i apologize commissioner nakajo, but i would like to turn it now over to you. >> thank you very much madam president. again, no problem at all. i just wanted to take advantage of this particular time and period with the chief report, with the chief being present. in terms of just chiming in on congratulations and what an honor and great job that chief tong did. i also wanted to throw out chief dewitt. i know there is much more behind

chief tong's and chief dewitt's, and d.p.w.'s relationship with the city and county. i made phrases with that with carmen today. it's an honor to see the mayor and i thought that as a commissioner that saw the e.m.s. come over from public health and try all of the levels of history of being in a station and out of a station and on the street, at what i call now 049 and to see this magnificent structure with all of the staff. it was just really nice. i wanted to take advance taming -- advantage of that and acknowledge the support of the commissioners. i will have some comments when it comes to the reports, so i'll

refrain. thank you for the comments as well. i wanted to call out paramedic carla babeyan. i wanted to acknowledge that and welcome chief brown in terms of the airport assignment. it's a great honor. i look forward to it. the fire marshal, again, through the years, it's really nice to see the elevation, what i call internally among the department. i'm looking forward to working with you as well. thank you madam president. i will refrain. >> thank you commissioner nakajo. you couldn't have said it better for any of us. thank you. i think we echo all of your sentiments. thank you very much. any further comments or

questions for the chief of the department? none. i see none. i am looking -- oh, there she is. sorry. >> there's no one on the public comment line. >> thank you. all right, public comment will be closed. >> chief, did you want to go on with your report? >> thank you. madam president, commissioners, chief of the department, command staff. i'm jose velo. i will share my presentation. can you see this? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. i'll be brief. i have some things to share. we talked about training, the graduation of the academy, again, it's at 9:30. some of the pictures of the

recruits from the final days and everything is put together. one of the final things we do, they put all the skills -- they learned that in the 20 weeks they do and they fight fire. this is the final week. i brought my training chief here, he is in the middle picture on the bottom. he is a structure for fire control and he likes to get dirty and show the recruits what we do. we couldn't be in a better place than with him during training. some of the things we are doing, we are doing the drills, the use of the facility at t.i. they learn of all the things we do. the water supply system and operations of loading the hose and using them for large fires. so this is good to see them again, getting hands on experience. they have a new academy that

started a month and a half ago. it's good to see that reserve grow again. this past month, we also had some rescue training and coastal i.c.s. so our folks were in the water and practicing their skills. it's a requirement they do every year. if you want to maintain your precision at the house we have, you have a short rescue precision, you need to maintain this every year and refresh every year. we have folks coming in to the training. we have refreshment trainings. i mentioned that we were able to get some funding for training classes because we have a good relationship with them. we are able to host some of these classes. this happened last week. the rescue systems three, it is a technical rescue class. they put many skills together. this one we used cranes, we used shoring. a lot of things for a structure collapse, we will be using.

some of our members, a large number of members were able to attend this class. being hosted here made it easier for our members to attend. it's good to get through all the agencies. we're able to provide free trainings. it's good to see that it's sharper than that too. as you recall, we also were able to get hands on training exercises. this is one of the days. our folks went out there to train. it's a life saving drill they do to practice for what is expected to be a very busy fire season. we're ready for that. the chief from health safety and wellness. may was our mental health awareness month. especially after covid had gone off the room and for us, our members showed support by wearing a green ribbon. we all had it on our uniform. we had a safety week where we

focused on mental health training for our members. our officers, all stations paused their training and made sure they focused on mental health initiatives and support. all the members were able to get that. we're really focusing on that and we want to make sure that our members are not left behind. they go through a lot, both in the e.m.s. and suppression, and we want to support them as much as we can and we increase our wellness through critical incidence response team. we want to have those resources too. another thing the chief was working on, we had 10 current firefighters. the purpose is to study the health effects of the fire fighting with them and cancer position. so we monitor frequently. for our current members, they also have a baseline of where

they are. they can see the levels of what they have in their system. it's good to have that always, the cancer foundation has been progressive in studying the effects of firefighters, the combustion, the gear we use and how that's affecting our firefighters. we're willing to participate in this study and our members are willing to participate in the studies. so some of the reports of vaccinations, we're up to 75%. we stalled on that. since march 1st, we had three cases of covid in the department. that is a significant decrease. all the members non-vaccinated, through community spread. our folks in the station are doing a good job when they prevent the spread of covid. we are waiting. we were publishing new guidelines for our members based on the city of the h.r. guidelines coming up in the next few days on who can remove their masks at the job site, stations, and offices, not on calls.

we stimhave to wear that. we will have to wait for that and will publish that very soon. we'll also have hearing testing and cardiac risk tests, and firefighters will go through a station where a nurse will make measurements, blood pressure, weight and so forth and based on those, they will recommend that firefighter to seek further information from their primary care physician if their score should be higher than it should be. it's been busy, not just random tests on our members, helping the doctors offices, and helping the department and our human resources director on the onboarding of the level one academy and the h2 academy as well. so station 35, the work that is

being done there. we're happy to say that the points of connection are being identified, they are worked on and we now have an end time for when that's happening. we think it's going to be some time in october, early fall, but now we have good news that it's moving forward and we have an end date for that too. we also have some artwork installation to the right of the station. it will be a ship-like structure that will be there with some picture from the old station, the old boats. so that will be in the end of july. so i will make sure that i will have some pictures for you next time. the ribbon cutting ceremony today, beautiful event, beautiful station. i wanted to echo the statements that the chief's comments were very meaningful and powerful. thank you for attending the event. it was beautiful and i am happy you god a nice tour of the

station. really, when you see inside, it's proud for us to deliver this so they can have a deseventh -- decent working station to do the job they do everyday. some of the things you already saw in the tour. it's just beautiful to see how everything is working there. the fueling station for the fuel, the loading station for the ambulance, and the training room is a great room for them to have a comfortable space so they can refresh their training. it's really, really good news. fleet, not a lot on the fleet. the contract has been closed. now we can engage in the construction. we're happy to see it's a long process, it took a long time, but now we have that. for future additions in the budget, we can refer to this contract. so that's good. so some as you recall, we got a federal grant for sffd, our own

apparatus and we're looking at models and specs for that too. that will be coming up soon. our assistant deputy chief o'connor, quite busy. palm station 2 will be doing some work in july. looks like most of the work has been completed. he also completed some table top exercises with p.u.c. some major events like earthquakes and what that will be with our system and how we can support that. the main thing is the communication between both agencies in case of the event and how we're going to communicate out of the field with the folks and shut down some of the valves that we can prevent some of the water logs that happened in 1906. some of the things we're doing, we're going out, showing our supervisors some of the things we're bringing, the new standards, how they're going to work. so we do a demonstration with

them. we also show them a new -- we're going to have a new demonstration of the border pipe, which is going to sustain a higher than 8.0 earthquake. this is a model of that. it's a flexible pipe. it is used in japan. this is able to sustain heavy earthquakes and save the system being intact. so we're going to have demonstrations soon. make sure that you know about it if you want to attend. i invite you to come to that too. some of the works we do with the community, we continue to support the vaccination sites with the vaccination team. that continues to go on regardless of the escalation of things happening with covid. we continue to push those numbers up. our city is one of the highest in the country in terms of vaccination rates. we're happy to see that. we're happy to participate in the juneteenth parade and event.

it was a great event. we enjoyed it. we also used this event as a recruitment as a hands on c.p.r. event. we educated the public with skills they need to have if someone needs c.p.r. also, it's an opportunity for us to expose our department and hopefully recruit some folks. just having people there, being part of the recruiting event. thank you commissioner for participating in the somber, but important for us. it was very important and we had a good showing. the families appreciate it. thank you for your work president feinstein. we mentioned the event for jason, the wall. it is a tradition for us. it is a necessary right of passage for us, for those who fall in the line of duty. thank you for those. the family really appreciated and you can tell the kids did

too. also in my report, in memory of christopher, thank you for attending the services. also, a necessary right for us to be able to honor the families and our members. i will finish the report in memory of commissioner rodriguez. i also felt that he has good questions too and wanted to know more all the time. so it's going to be a huge loss for us and i'm hoping his family may find some solace in this. thank you. >> thank you. thank you chief velo. first, do we have any public comment? madam secretary. >> there is no one on the public comment line. >> public comment shall be closed. commissioners, comments or questions please for chief velo? commissioner cleaveland.

>> thank you madam president. no questions, it's an excellent report chief. appreciate it. i too would like to just express my personal regret at the loss of our commissioner, fellow commissioner. commissioner rodriguez. i didn't get to know him very well because he had only been on the commissioner about a year or so. we didn't have in-person meetings, but he seemed like a genuinely nice person. he was very interested in the fire department. he did ask very good questions and i felt that he was a very, very capable commissioner and somebody that we could respect and work with and i really regret his loss. so, i just wanted to say those words. i don't have any questions, thank you madam president. >> thank you commissioner cleaveland. i saw another hand and i asked the person please if you would raise your hand again.

i am now losing all my pictures. wait, wait, wait. they're back. commissioner nakajo? yes, sir. >> thank you very much madam president. thank you very much chief for your covid comprehensive report. i generally identify different areas, but i wanted to make the comment or question. again, you did a very, very complete job. what i like about both of you and chief's report is that it calls out all of the members within the report and all the different departments on paper before you talked, identify that your report for the public and for the community consists of ten different units. within the 10 different units, in terms of alphabetical, investigation of service and

captain and you called out the deputy chief and the county chief parks and always in terms of assistant deputy chief dewitt and then we go to chief and there is so much. there is marianne and then there is phil in reserves. it's a comprehensive report. i think it looks at the reflection of our time and expense most recently. it just makes me reflect and appreciate the total membership there all the areas of our department, as well as your seeking closure and embrace the fellow commissioners that i had the privilege to work with as well. i wanted to thank all the members of the department and everyone in the unit as well. when it comes specifically to station 49, i kept saying as we walked through my tour, how it

just made so much sense and i had to say after 25 years, i was lucky to see this as a conceptual image off paper. even a formal sayings, and to walk and see the supply center, and the repairs and chief, i never seen them disinfect the gurneys. those that repaired the gurneys in 49, there was a curtain that hung behind these guys. chief dewitt within that area, the command room, it's so custom fit for us and such a great feeling to be see the collaboration of the city. i just wanted to remark how i

felt personally about that as well. thank you very much. then, i didn't know when to deliver my words in terms of commissioner rodriguez. but since commissioner cleaveland offered up -- traditionally i offer to come see me and have some lunch. let me tell you unofficially, officially the parameters of the fire department and commission. commissioner rodriguez, again even for me after all these words, it's hard for me to call someone tony or mark or commissioner rodriguez. he reminded me the down to earth, blue collar, san franciscan, that was so open. as far as my appreciation for all the commissioners. each one of us brings a

different kind of expertise and concept and perspective. certainly, commissioner rodriguez brought that. i just wanted to appreciate that. i did get to know him a little bit. his earnest desire and being so proud to be a member of the commission for this department was unprecedented. he said i think i'm getting it. i said believe me commissioner, you're getting it. bless you all. thank you very much. i just wanted to comment and my condolences. my family and myself, i personally know the commissioner and my family. thank you very much. >> thank you. beautifully put commissioner nakajo as usual. any further questions or comments for chief velo? i'm not seeing any hands go up. oh.

commissioner covington, i can see your hand. i can't hear you. is it just me? can people hear commissioner covington? >> can you hear me now? >> yes, now we can. >> okay, i can't see you and i got a lot of reverb going on. i do want to thank very much the two outgoing chiefs for the airport and of course i can't believe they're both going at the same time. how can the fire chief -- excuse me, i'm discombobulated because of all these technical problems i'm having. the chief is going as well and i

wanted to thank both of them very much for everything they have done. they have kept the department, an excellent department and i would like to welcome their replacements. also, the event this morning was stellar. it was just so nice and we needed up lift with everything that has been going on. to see something so magnificent come to fruition after years of discussion and planning. it's just very, very rewarding. regarding our late commissioner, at the beginning of this year when my term as president was coming to an end, i called our

current president feinstein to ask her if she would be willing to run for president. without hesitation, she said she would. she wanted to know if she could call upon me at any time and i said, definitely. then i called commissioner rodriguez and asked him if he thought that he would be ready to be vice president. he said, you know, i don't know if i'm ready, but i have found in the past that if you step up for a leadership position, you learn more. you can do more. you can be more helpful.

that was his attitude. how can i be of service? so i told my son, i said i can't believe it. i made a new friend. now he's gone. i will miss him tremendously. the sparkle in his eye when he was being anxious about asking a question. he was so open and willing to learn and to help. condolences to the family. >> thank you commissioner covington. any other commissioners wish to

ask chief velo or address any comments to chief velo? okay chief velo. >> hi, good evening. here comes my question chief velo. station 35, my pet peeve was in october of 2021, how late is that? let's talk about that here. >> i believe it's five months late. [please stand by]

pg and es to determine if that's a viable location. sometimes they were into the sidewalkto see if those locations or appropriate . they buy utility that works on mac so it's just a protracted process there are many more balls than anyonethought there needed to be . again, it's quite a fish story. >> they're making good progress. i did speak with the two superintendents. some of the orders are coming soon and they anticipated the work where they had begun digging so smoothly and they started opening the calls so although balls are being set quickly and they have pg and e test the lines and i think it's moving faster than we'd like to admit.

>> thank you. i wanted to take one second to say and i should have called before. great work to both you and chief velo on station 49. it was just a wonderful bright spot in the middle of a gloomy month, frankly for the fire department. i know the degree of effort you put in towards the station development and i'm not saying sanfrancisco is easy .i really wanted to congratulate you to because it just wouldn't have been more spectacular. i am going to bring and i'm directing one last thing .

to you chief, the training roo . i'm wondering if we have any budgetproblems , could werent that out ? and add money to the departmen budget ? is there anything that prevents usfrom doing that ? >> i think it would be quite busy in that room and we wouldn't have time to rent them out but before i finish i wanted to say something but this was a huge team effort. she has a great team. the moment she came into this job she was every single week going line by line making sure thisproject went online but it's painstaking also on the ems side , fantastic job making sure that all the needs they have communicated to us we can work with our team and make sure it works so this was a huge team effort and i want to

commend you for putting those pieces together the folks out there really are enjoying the facility . >> i would like to give specia recognition to craig gordon who came in kind of late in the projectover the last year . his skills are amazing . he kept track of so many things i did not have time to keep track of and made sure the transition from the old facility to thenews facility was seamless . he's been on top of all the installations of the cameras and has nailed down all the finer details of the project and has been on site the whole way through and it's been a great collaboration between him and chief strong andreally great faultsthat we've had as part of the team . he's amazing . >> that's kind of you and good to know. i know from the report what his work was and i think the other commissioners did too. please extend our

congratulations to him to on behalf ofthe commission . if you would, thank you. chief dewitt. okay. madam secretary, yes? no? things are flashing on andoff so forgive me .>> we will go to item 5, commission report. since last meeting june 9, 202 . and there is nobodyon a public comment line . >> public comment is closed. commissioners, what have we been up to? you guys have been busier than that. i know that. for myself, i can say ...

privilege is the wrong word. it's the first time i've ever done it. attended the unveiling of a name on the memorial wall at headquarters for firefighter aromatic cortez. i mean, you guys, and i mean that generically have a tough job. it's tough to look at two little boys and i'm sorry. their faces. i'll just say ithought it was beautifully done. i was honored to be there on behalf of the commission . let's just hope there are no more damned names goingon that wall that's all i can say and forgive my language .

it's tough. i have to say, i admire all of you every day because all of it is ... these things are tough. so that was my activity that i would report. we have more of course. everybody with station 49 today, i can report that for everybody and we have enough coming graduation and sadly on the same day and upcoming funeral for commissioner rodriguez . it's reallyheartbreaking and ironic . so that's what i have to say about that. not in an articulate way, i'm sorry.

any further ... okay. i see nohands . >> can you hear me?>> shall we go to item number six? >> i think that's great. >> agenda for next and future fire commission meetings. >> let's hear any public comment first of all. >> there is nobody on a public comment line. >> public comment is closedand i see the commissioner has his hands up . >> thank you verymuch madame president . i want to be sensitive to my suggestion if that's what it is on the discretion of the president . with information and input from thesecretary . but at some point when it's appropriate, i would like to be

respectful but ask for some movement on protocol or process or procedure of the commission to go into elections to fill the position of vice president in a timely manner.i say that because today and other days we have difficulty getting on a meeting. this was a ritual at this time but the course of events that may occur is the president may not be available and if we don't have the clarity in terms of the vice president or in terms of conducting the business athand for also the commission and department , that concerns me. so again i want to be sensitive and careful but i also want to be able to yield to the discretion of the president on the possibility of this item being agenda eyes.

>> i will respond, i understand commissioner nakajo. i don't think thiswas the time right now to do that . and i will, i'm sure be in communication with the mayor's office to find out what the intent is with a replacement. regardless of how long it may take or not,i don't know. i haven't spoken with anybody . but you know, it didn't feel right to do that right now. you're right, we need a vice president and weneed to do that . it just, let's make it through this week and we will then proceed because you're correct. we do need a vicepresident. i'msorry , yes .

>> i hesitate to even bring this up on the issue of....for me it's a point of the responsibility of making sure that this department is functional. we have a quorum of three at any given time. especially for me for whatever reason, if you're not available within the next couple of months, that's the only thing that worries me and i hope our colleagues on the commission and members of the public again, i'm just trying to be sensitive and respectful to commissioner rodriguez and his family . it's a question of order, that's all. >> let me justrespond and say

you are absolutely right and i appreciate it . i'm going to ask our secretary to please that on our list of items. however, unless station 49 comes to get me and i don't come back, i intend to be available . and with station 49 operating as fine as they are, i expect to be there every other wednesday on the second and fourth wednesday for the foreseeable future. one never knows but i do agree with you that we need to schedule the selection of a new vice president.even if we have a new commissioner, we need to give that person some time to get up and running.

but i will checkin with the mayor's office . so thankyou . i thought i saw one other hand. did i? among mycommissioner colleagues ? speak up if i'mmissing you . i don't see another hand. okay. all right. anything else? are we ready? >> item 7,adjournment . >> all right. is there a motion? commissioner covington. can't hear you. >> can you hear me now? thank you. i thought we weregoing to go

into closed session ? >> madam secretary?>> we have no closed session items on the agenda. >> i thought thepresident had said that we would go into closed session. that was in conversation however . >> i would move for adjournment and move to do so in honor of firefighter yana as well as our colleague commissioner rodriguez. as we say in my faith or whatever it may be, may their memories behind blessing . i would move toadjourn in their memory and honor .

>> second. >> commissioner nakajo. >> commissioner cleveland. >> yes. >> this meeting is adjourned at 6:15. >> thank you everybody. >> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together

like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up.

i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like

how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they

understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the

highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population.

we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out.

going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids,

find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and >> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for

a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola. >> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history. in the early 1800s the portola was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere

future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a

win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school, which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] >> you come into someone's home and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor

environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year. this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year. you can see us on the website

>> good morning, everybody. my name is carmen chu, and i serve as san francisco city administrator, and i am so, so, so glad to be with you here today. when people were saying, well, all of the units are going to combine, get stuck, i'm like huh? how is that going to happen?

when i came in here, how amazing is this facility. in my new role as city administrator, i look forward to making sure that all of the san francisco firefighters continue to have the equipment for the jobs that you continue to do. again, i want to thank you and commend you for your service. you're going to hear from our mayor, mayor breed, is here today. i think our president of our board of supervisors is going to be joining us, shamann walton, chief nicholson, and sandra tong. so i'd like to welcome the first speaker today, which is our very own mayor breed. i think as everybody knows, she doesn't need very much in terms of introduction but someone who has been a long supporter of

the fire department from her time on the fire commission, on the board of supervisors, and now as mayor. mayor breed? [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, carmen. it is so great to finally be here. this project is a long time coming. clearly, it's important because we have a quorum of thefire commission joining us here, and we'll get to you today. station 49, tom o'connor, when i was on the board of supervisors, i remember tom coming to my office and harassing me about the need for changes to station 49. not just rehabbing the existing facility, but the fact it is an absolute need of what our e.m.t.s and paramedics deal with every single day. we're talking about over 90,000

calls a year to respond to people who are in need in san francisco, and the fact is, that's a large volume. but the fact is we know all the work that goes into that. whether it's staffing up with fuel or supplies or resources or what have you, it's a lot of work, and not to mention the shifts and the long hours and the need to have a place to go to just basically sit down for one minute to relax after going through maybe a tough call. this is a long time coming for this city and this department, and i am so excited that we are able to do it right here in the bayview-hunters point community. in particular, what i'm most excited about is not only is this a brand-new facility, but it is seismically safe, so we can feel safe when we are using this particular place. thanks to the voters in 2016,

and thanks to many of the members of the san francisco fire department who helped to campaign for that ballot measure, $50 million invested into this new facility. state of the art, for food, for fuel, a place to relax, a place to park the vehicles and everything that's needed, and everything that we need to keep san francisco safe. this station is critical to public safety, but more importantly, it's critical to protect people's lives on a daily basis. i'm grateful to the critical response team and the response of everyone that responds when we need them. it's a great celebration. i know it's a long time coming. starting years ago, when i was on the board of supervisors and

tom o'connor was head of the union, and now changes to the department. we have a great new chief, we have a great local leader in 798, recognizing there's work that needs to be done. we appreciate your work and your dedication and being here to celebrate this milestone. we should be so proud of what we've been able to do, and i want to say congratulations to the men and women specifically of station 49 who have long suffered over the years at their aging facility which i think is not too far from here, and now they have the opportunity to be in a great space so that they can continue to do this important work. what i mentioned earlier, we're in the bayview-hunters point community. joining us today is the

president of the board of supervisors. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome shamann walton. [applause] >> president walton: thank you so much, madam mayor, and first of all, i just want to say welcome to district 10. it is always amazing to celebrate something like this in your own community. i apologize. i was sitting in the car because i was actually on budget right now, but i couldn't miss this opportunity to say thank you to our community and thank you to our first responders. there is nothing more important than having the ability to save lives, so this state of the art facility right here in our backyard is one of the most important things that we can provide for members of san francisco. so i am happy to be here for the ribbon cutting. as the mayor said, it was a long time coming. i want to thank station 49 for putting up with all the

construction, with all the changes in shifts as we went through the process to get here, but this is a beautiful place. now we have the state of the art facility to be able to do the things that we need across the city. as i look around and see all of our firefighters that are here, i just want to commend you for your service and dedication to saving lives here in san francisco. there's nothing more important than being able to do that, and i want you to know how much we appreciate you, how much we support you, and how much we will continue to work together to give you what you need to provide the service that you provide here in san francisco. thank you all so much. it's a great celebration today, and i apologize that i'm going to have to rush off and get back to budget, but i want you to know that i appreciate you. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, president walton. yes, it is the busiest time of

year for our board of supervisors and president walton's office. commissioners, appreciate your being here, and i just want to acknowledge that we are missing our -- one of our commissioners, who died last week, tony rodriguez, so if we can all just take a moment and think good thoughts for his family. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge sean buford, the president of the board of supervisors -- sherman tillman is here, as is the president of our rescue captain, paramedic rescue captains, kevin choker. if i've left anyone out, i humbly apologize. i'm terrible at thanking

anyone. one person i really want to thank, chief dewitt from our support services stepped in in the middle of this project. she wrangled this together, and she's just done a great job. she's super organized, and i want to thank my sister, kathleen, the project manager. all the way through, kathleen, we felt like you had our back, and thank you for seeing this through all the way from 2015, 2016, something like that. it means a lot. and thank you to all the e.m.t.s and paramedics and 49ers who have -- just keep on going out and doing the work that needs to be done. and i know this is a great step in the right direction for e.m.s. in the san francisco

fire department, and i can't wait to see what more we can do, and with that, i want to introduce assistant deputy chief sandy tong, who is the assistant deputy chief of e.m.s., and i couldn't have picked a better person for this role, and she actually came out of retirement to do this, so i appreciate her like no one, so chief tong, would you like to say a few words? >> honorable mayor breed, board of supervisors president walton, president of the fire commission feinstein, fire

command staff, and members of station 49, well come to our new station 49. 146 years ago, the city of san francisco created one of the first ambulance services in san francisco that brings us to this benchmark today. after 126 years, the practice of bringing service to the streets is no longer novel novel. but it has evolved over the years providing services. with on going commitment, we look forward to not only having the ability to maintain this service but to have the capacity to protect the vulnerable, respond to the unthinkable, and providing top quality services as a leader to

the nation. while much of the world was put on hold, we asked our members to do more. right now, the men and women of station 49 are out there serving the people and doing the work. right now, a 49er is holding a patient's hand as they face sadness, injury, or disease. right now, they're racing across the city to face a shooting, a choking, a childbirth. they are bearing witness to sadness, grief, and loss in the most challenging of circumstances. they are on the streets bringing order to chaos, comfort to fear, soothing to pain, and calm to tension. so while we are here to celebrate with gratitude the opening of the new station 49 which represents a commitment of the city and county of san francisco to emergency medical services, it's the community medical services who have shown

up to give action to the mission. thank you to all of our city partners for making this station possible and for your on going support of these public servants and the mission we serve. [applause] >> thank you very much, deputy chief tong for really sharing the day-to-day details of the men and women of the fire department. and now i really want to unveil the ribbon that's going to come forward. before, i want to recognize our commissioners. commissioner covington, commissioner and judge feinstein, commissioner cleaveland, and commissioner nakajo. thank you so much for joining us today. >> the hon. london breed: are we ready? okay. five, four, three, two, one. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: it's official.

>> right before the game starts, if i'm still on the field, i look around, and i just take a deep breath because it is so exciting and magical, not knowing what the season holds is very, very exciting. it was fast-paced, stressful,

but the good kind of stressful, high energy. there was a crowd to entertain, it was overwhelming in a good way, and i really, really enjoyed it. i continued working for the grizzlies for the 2012-2013 season, and out of happenstance, the same job opened up for the san francisco giants. i applied, not knowing if i would get it, but i would kick myself if i didn't apply. i was so nervous, i never lived anywhere outside of fridays fridays -- fresno, and i got an interview. and then, i got a second interview, and i got more nervous because know the thought of leaving fresno and my family and friends was scary, but this opportunity was on the other side. but i had to try, and lo and behold, i got the job, and my first day was january 14, 2014. every game day was a puzzle, and i have to figure out how to

put the pieces together. i have two features that are 30 seconds long or a minute and a 30 feature. it's fun to put that al together and then lay that out in a way that is entertaining for the fans. a lucky seat there and there, and then, some lucky games that include players. and then i'll talk to lucille, can you take the shirt gun to the bleachers. i just organize it from top to bottom, and it's just fun for me. something, we don't know how it's going to go, and it can be a huge hit, but you've got to try it. or if it fails, you just won't do it again. or you tweak it. when that all pans out, you go oh, we did that. we did that as a team. i have a great team.

we all gel well together. it keeps the show going. the fans are here to see the teams, but also to be entertained, and that's our job. i have wonderful female role models that i look up to here at the giants, and they've been great mentors for me, so i aspire to be like them one day. renelle is the best. she's all about women in the workforce, she's always in our corner. [applause] >> i enjoy how progressive the giants are. we have had the longer running until they secure day. we've been doing lgbt night longer than most teams. i enjoy that i work for an organization who supports that

and is all inclusive. that means a lot to me, and i wouldn't have it any other way. i wasn't sure i was going to get this job, but i went for it, and i got it, and my first season, we won a world series even if we hadn't have won or gone all the way, i still would have learned. i've grown more in the past four years professionally than i think i've grown in my entire adult life, so it's been eye opening and a wonderful learning

>> my background is in engineering. i am a civil engineer by training. my career has really been around government service. when the opportunity came up to serve the city of san francisco, that was just an opportunity i really needed to explore. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] i think it was in junior high and really started to do well in math but i faced some really interesting challenges.

many young ladies were not in math and i was the only one in some of these classes. it was tough, it was difficult to succeed when a teacher didn't have confidence in you, but i was determined and i realized that engineering really is what i was interested in. as i moved into college and took engineering, preengineering classes, once again i hit some of those same stereotypes that women are not in this field. that just challenged me more. because i was enjoying it, i was determined to be successful. now i took that drive that i have and a couple it with public service. often we are the unsung heroes of technology in the city whether it is delivering network services internally, or for our broadband services to low income housing. >> free wi-fi for all of the residents here so that folks

have access to do job searches, housing searches, or anything else that anyone else could do in our great city. >> we are putting the plant in the ground to make all of the city services available to our residents. it is difficult work, but it is also very exciting and rewarding our team is exceptional. they are very talented engineers and analysts who work to deliver the data and the services and the technology every day. >> i love working with linda because she is fun. you can tell her anything under the sun and she will listen and give you solutions or advice. she is very generous and thoughtful and remembers all the special days that you are celebrating. >> i have seen recent employee safety and cyber security. it is always a top priority. i am always feeling proud working with her.

>> what is interesting about my work and my family is my experience is not unique, but it is different. i am a single parent. so having a career that is demanding and also having a child to raise has been a challenge. i think for parents that are working and trying to balance a career that takes a lot of time, we may have some interruptions. if there is an emergency or that sort of thing then you have to be able to still take care of your family and then also do your service to your job. that is probably my take away and a lot of lessons learned. a lot of parents have the concern of how to do the balance i like to think i did a good job for me, watching my son go through school and now enter the job market, and he is in the medical field and starting his career, he was always an intern.

one of the things that we try to do here and one of my takeaways from raising him is how important internships are. and here in the department of technology, we pride ourselves on our interns. we have 20 to 25 each year. they do a terrific job contributing to our outside plant five or work or our network engineering or our finance team. this last time they took to programming our reception robot, pepper, and they added videos to it and all of these sort of things. it was fun to see their creativity and their innovation come out. >> amazing. >> intriguing. >> the way i unwind is with my photography and taking pictures around the city. when i drive around california,

i enjoy taking a lot of landscapes. the weather here changes very often, so you get a beautiful sunset or you get a big bunch of clouds. especially along the waterfront. it is spectacular. i just took some photos of big server and had a wonderful time, not only with the water photos, but also the rocks and the bushes and the landscapes. they are phenomenal. [♪♪♪] my advice to young ladies and women who would like to move into stem fields is to really look at why you are there. if you are -- if you are a problem solver, if you like to analyse information, if you like to discover new things, if you like to come up with alternatives and invent new practice, it is such a fabulous opportunity. whether it is computer science or engineering or biology or

medicine, oh, my goodness, there are so many opportunities. if you have that kind of mindset i have enjoyed working in san francisco so much because of the diversity. the diversity of the people, of this city, of the values, of the talent that is here in the city. it is stimulating and motivating and inspiring and i cannot imagine working anywhere else ♪ >> it is unclenate's creativity time. welcome to uncle nate. we are are going to draw bubble letters. you need supplies. you need a pencil, markers, something to color with and a few pieces of paper.

gather up supplies and meet me back right here. all right. let's go. got all supplies out. draw your name lightly in the center of your page. give yourself room. give each letter a little room. all right. now, i want you to draw around each letter like you are driving a car around each letter. next, let's erase the center. take away the original outline and then we will be left just with the bubble letter. make sure you get the center part out of there. okay. we will touch it up. time for color.

i chose yellow, orange, and red. yellow at the top, then the orange in the center, and i am making a stripe right through the center all the way across. last, my red, which makes a cool fade. time for the outline. unclenate's creative time. figure it out. now we are going to do a drop shadow. a shadow underneath each letter and to the side. it is really going to give it a 3-d look. wow! great job. i bet you didn't think you could draw that. now you can draw bubble letters you can use it to draw things for your friends, cards.

it is really useful. i hope you had a good time. i will see you next time on uncle nate's creativity time. ♪ >> thank you all for joining us today, and happy pride. [applause] >> my name is joseph sweiss, and i'm the chair of the human rights commission. first, we're going to do a land acknowledge from commissioner

pellegrini, then, i'll do rapid fire acknowledgements, and we'll get the show on the road. >> we acknowledge that we're on the unceded ancestral homelands of the ramaytush ohlone. in accordance with their traditions, the ramaytush ohlone have never ceded, lost, or forget -- forgotten about the responsibilities of this place. we wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and the relatives of the ramaytush community and by acknowledging their sovereign rights as first peoples. >> thank you, commissioner. so before we get started, i'd like to do some acknowledgements of everyone

who's up on the stage, and i'll be quick. michael lack better, karen roy, jeff jaw, jeff tumlin, grant colfax. manu raju, supervisors ahsha safai and rafael mandelman, commissioner mark keller, disability and aging services martha knudson, we have chief nicholson, h.r.c. director sheryl davis, director of the office of transgender initiatives, clair farley, and jason pellegrini, who just gave

our land acknowledgement. thank you. [applause] >> we are all extremely excited to join mayor breed to officiate this new relaunch of the lgbtq + launch. i see amazing leadership in front of me, i see amazing leadership beside me, and without further adieu, i'd like to introduce karen clopton to introduce the mayor. >> i'm going to ask our vice chair, joseph sweiss, to stand

by me, in response to all of his amazing work, maturity, consulting the elders in how to do things and how to go about things because he's one of those that knows he doesn't know everything. we love you, we appreciate you and we want to give you this present. >> oh, thank you. thank you so much. frz frz [applause] . >> i also want to acknowledge commissioner amhon for all of her work on this revitalization. >> me, too? >> not yet. >> and commissioner kelleher. [applause] >> for providing institutional and historic knowledge. i am so honored to introduce

someone who, frankly, in this crowd needs no introduction, but yet, i feel compelled in the words of lin manuel miranda, love is love is love is love. this city is amazing because we have amazing leadership. our mayor, london breed, epitomizes so much that we aspire. she is not only beautiful, she is beautiful on the inside, and that radiates out. she is educated, she is radiant, she is eloquent. most importantly, she empathetic. she is also a loving

granddaughter, daughter, sister, friend, and she has provided love in her leadership, the leadership of valuing everyone. all residents of the city and county of san francisco are her constituents. i am so proud that, ten years ago, on the centennial of the women's right to vote in the state of california, as president of the league of women voters here, we acknowledged her as a rising star. well, her star is fully implanted in the universe, and we are fully blessed and fortunate to have her as our beloved leader. with no more adieu, mayor madam, london breed. [applause]

>> the hon. london breed: thank you, karen. i so appreciate your kind words, and it is so great to be here with members of the human rights commission to reconstitute a committee that is so vital to the protection of lgbtqi rights here in san francisco. in fact, this commission, constituted in the 1970s, has really shaped policies in this city around domestic partnerships, around same sex marriages, around all of the policies that have really put san francisco on the map as a leader for lgbtq rights in this country. and the fact is people look to us for what we're doing pushing forth similar policies. i'm so honored to be a mayor of

a city that prides itself on being inclusive, on putting forward ideas that people don't always feel comfortable with. like when i talk about guaranteed income because people need money in their pockets in order to take care of themselves and their families, and in san francisco, not only did we push this policy for guaranteed income for expectant mothers of african american and pacific islander descent, we are pushing for universal basic incomes. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: and it has a lot to do with the office led by clare farley and the office of transgender initiatives, the first office of transgender initiatives in

the country specifically. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: a lot of this work has so much to do with so many of you, continuing to come up with ideas that make the most sense based on our history. when i think about the compton cafeteria riots, and when i think about harvey milk and his breakthrough, becoming the first gay supervisor in this city and all of the milestones that people continue to talk about and point to when describing the history of this community, one of the things that was important to me and important to supervisor mandelman is how do we talk about this history, how do we remind the next generation of this history, how do we protect this history? and together, we worked together to make sure there was $12 million in the upcoming budget to have the first ever lgbtq museum in the city and county of san francisco.

[applause] >> the hon. london breed: martha, we've come a long way, haven't we? [applause] >> the hon. london breed: we've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. there is still a need for change, and that's why this committee, which has such an incredible history in san francisco, that's why it's so important to reconstitute this committee. i want to thank sheryl davis and all the commissioners who thought about the need to do this, rather than working with the supervisors and making all of the decisions and the directors and making all of these decisions. they said this advisory committee will be representative of the arts, it will be representative of the challenges around mental health. it will provide input to us so that all of the investments that the city is making are

going to the right places, and more importantly, all of the local policies that we need to create are coming from the people who understand the impact the most. so today is a day to celebrate. yes, it's a swearing in, but you know what? it's the first time we've had anything on the mayor's balcony since -- since covid! [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so that's why everybody showed up. they're like i don't know what it is, but we're here. so before we swear in our advisory committee, i want to introduce supervisor rafael mandelman. so i'm so grateful for his work, his advocacy. sometimes he's the loan supervisor, fighting for the things necessary to support this community, and i'm appreciative of his colleagues who just support him and go

along with the things that we know are important. so supervisor mandelman, we have work to do, but i know that you'll handle it, so come on up and say a few words. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: i'll handle it. you know, one of the things that i love about pride and being able to have pride here on the mayor's balcony is the opportunity to have amazing, phenomenal, and diverse leadership, and i see the folks who are leading in city government, and i see the folks that are leading in nonprofits, queer and otherwise, and the folks holding up the nonprofits, demanding change. i love our community so much, and it's so wonderful to be here in person, and so happy pride, everyone. happy pride 2021.

[applause] >> supervisor mandelman: one of the problems with being mayor london breed in the summer of 2021 is everyone is falling all over themselves to say nice things about her, but they are deserved because she did get us through this pandemic. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: with an assistance from our gay public health director, grant colfax. thank you, director colfax, but she has also been from the beginning and before she was mayor, but definitely, i have seen her since before she was mayor, being a friend to the gay community, and the people she has lifted up in her administration that you see here, some of whom are doing great work, to the investments

in lgbtq housing, in the museum, in universal basic income for trans folks, it's truly extraordinary, and each year around budget time, she comes up with amazing things to do for the gay community. so thank you, madam mayor. that's an applause line. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: and just yesterday, we approved at the board of supervisors to collect soji data. in the 80s, you would not have asked. if you asked, there was something wrong. why did you ask if the person was queer? that is not information that the community wanted gathered in the 80s. today, we know it's information that we want gathered and that is the work around same sex marriage and seniors and youth

and looking around at the factors of discrimination in our community, and we have now gotten to the place where we have federal, state, and local protections, and where we need to know to better serve the most vulnerable folks in the queer community to get the folks in city government to have this data. that's just the tremendous mark of the a.c., and i want to thank everyone for all their work over the year. i want to thank vice chair sweiss and campon and kelleher, and all the folks that are stepping up on the a.c. to go forward. we know the world is not where we want it to be. we know that there is tremendous unfairness, that it is hitting black, latinx, and trans folks, and we're seeing

it in violence and poverty, and i know that folks signing on for the a.c. are going to do that, and happy pride again. >> the hon. london breed: happy pride. >> thank you, mayor breed, and thank you, supervisor mandelman. one of the exciting things about, one of the great things is we're giving seats, united nations style, to people who come. i want to acknowledge nancy pelosi's office and senator scott wiener's office, and i do want to acknowledge with us, luis zamora and we wouldn't be more without the hard, hard work of the human rights

commission director and staff. yes. stephen and cass, and everyone, thank you for all of your hard work, but none of it would have been able to be done without you. >> i'm sheryl davis, director of the human rights commission. [applause] >> first, i was going to ask commissioner clopton if she was looking at me when she said the elders. i just want to first and foremost thank daquan harrison from the human rights commission. daquan will be working with the department and i just want to thank him for his hard work with commissioner kelleher and

commissioner sweiss. there was a lot of reading of the bylaws and a lot of rewriting of the bylaws. when i first came onto the human rights commission in 2011, then commissioner chung and commissioner pappas were there, and one of the things that i said i wanted to focus on was intersectionality, that when we talk about the layers of who we are and the complexity of that. so when we start talking about lgbtq + and anything else, it becomes that much more challenging to navigate through things, so i'm grateful for this advisory committee to be able to call it out, whether that is age, whether that is race, whether that is gender, but understanding to be poor and lgbtq + is not the same as

just being poor, and when we do the work to create these policies, we're very intentional. i'm grateful for all of you who have signed up to work with us, but more than that, i'm grateful for the partnership of mayor breed, supervisor mandelman, and supervisor safai because they're willing to standup and actually make the policies and make things better. so it may not be easy, it may be challenging, and it's going to take some work. we appreciate your work, and we appreciate the effort made to make things better not just for one folk but for all folks, so thank you so much for your work. [applause] >> thank you, director davis, and before we get started to the swearing in, i'd like to also invite martha knutson, who

was also on the committee of aging and disability services. >> the committee was the first of governmental bodies in the nation to advocate for will go. [ -- for lgbtq rights when it was created in the 1970s. mayor feinstein believed that the lgbtq commission laid the groundwork for change by documenting our history through hearings, writing policy recommendations that ultimately became legislation and focused

nonprofits to better serve our needs, all of which is on the lgbtq today. during the 1980s, they had conducted hearings on the first ever domestic partner laws, same sex marriage, and rights and problems faced by the community. during my time, we held hearings on issues facing our young people, surfaced the economic issues facing most members of our community, wrote regulations facing transgender people, and held hearings on issues facing intersex people, we broke ground on issues facing lgbtq seniors. i urge you to raise new issues, take risks, and be bold. thanks for playing your part in expanding our rights and protecting our future.

[applause] >> thank you, martha, and of course a special thank you to michael pappas, as well, who was on the commission and is now on the interfaith council. between the two of you, at every meeting and stakeholder engagement. before we get there to the swearing in, i want to welcome joejoe thai. >> i'm a former youth commissioner for district eight, and i'm a current member of o.t.i.s transadvisory community, and now i'm a new member of the lgbtq advisory committee. thank you, mayor london breed and the san francisco human rights committee. i'd also like to thank

commissioner knutson for acknowledging the work of the lgbtq committee. inequities of housing, access to health care and violence, just to make a few of the problems. our communities are experiencing multiple forms of trauma, including covid-19 and racial battle fatigue. while systems and agencies are responding, scores of decisions are made without the input of those most affected. we have the opportunity to advance leadership and visibility of bipoc, trans, and gender nonforming leaders. once again, san francisco continues to lead in lgbtq plus equity. the new committee consists of mostly bipoc, transgender, and

gender nonconforming leaders, making this one of san francisco's most diverse committees. this is an exciting new model for san francisco that will bring us all together, and i can't wait to see what we accomplish for the rest of the nation to see. again, i'd like to thank mayor london breed, the humans rights commission to always serve the community. for the leadership and advocacy serving all lgbtq people in san francisco and beyond. thank you. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: before we get into the swearing in, i just want to take a moment once more, when we kicked off pride a few weeks ago on the steps of city hall, i acknowledged grant colfax of being this incredible leader and what he did to help us get

to this point in the pandemic, and he wasn't even there. he was on vacation, but you know things are looking up when dr. colfax takes a vacation, a well deserved vacation. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so i want to take this opportunity to recognize him during pride and just to say thank you, dr. colfax, for your leadership. i yelled a lot, and he'd never back down, and i wanted to open, and he's, like, here's the information, and i'm, like, get that out of my face. i don't want to see it. let me tell you, we are so fortunate to have dr. colfax as the leader of the department of public health. when you tell people what we did here in san francisco, i want you to tell them it was a gay man who lead this effort, so thank you, dr. colfax.

[applause] >> the hon. london breed: and one last thing. where's my little bag? this didn't happen with other mayors. i just want you guys to understand, when someone chooses to serve, whether it's a commission or an advisory committee, i take the mission myself as an honor. i hardly missed a meeting, i always participated in a conversation, and when i first got a city fill pen, it wasn't until, like, way later in my term. well, i as mayor decided that as soon as i swear anything into anything, they're going to know that i swore them in. so this is a city and county of san francisco, this is the city

seal pen. my signature is on the inside, so you can remember, and it just talks about the history of this city, and as you take this oath and serve our city proudly, please wear your pin proudly so people know you serve the city and county of san francisco. with that, please stand, all members. you'll get your pin officially after you take the oath. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: all right. no turning back now. okay. please raise your right hand and state after me. i, state your name, do solemnly swear, to support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of

the state of california against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that i bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that i take this obligation freely. without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i am about to enter. and during such time as i serve as a member of the lgbtqi + committee for the city and county of san francisco.

congratulations. [applause]

>> what we're trying to approach is bringing more diversity to our food. it's not just the old european style food. we are seeing a lot of influences, and all of this is because of our students. all we ask is make it flavorful. [♪♪♪] >> we are the first two-year culinary hospitality school in the united states. the first year was 1936, and it was started by two graduates from cornell. i'm a graduate of this program, and very proud of that. so students can expect to learn under the three degrees.

culinary arts management degree, food service management degree, and hotel management degree. we're not a cooking school. even though we're not teaching you how to cook, we're teaching you how to manage, how to supervise employees, how to manage a hotel, and plus you're getting an associate of science degree. >> my name is vince, and i'm a faculty member of the hospitality arts and culinary school here in san francisco. this is my 11th year. the program is very, very rich in what this industry demands. cooking, health, safety, and sanitation issues are included in it. it's quite a complete program to prepare them for what's happening out in the real world. >> the first time i heard about

this program, i was working in a restaurant, and the sous chef had graduated from this program. he was very young to be a sous chef, and i want to be like him, basically, in the future. this program, it's awesome. >> it's another world when you're here. it's another world. you get to be who you are, a person get to be who they are. you get to explore different things, and then, you get to explore and they encourage you to bring your background to the kitchen, too. >> i've been in the program for about a year. two-year program, and i'm about halfway through. before, i was studying behavioral genetics and dance. i had few injuries, and i couldn't pursue the things that i needed to to dance, so i

pursued my other passion, cooking. when i stopped dance, i was deprived of my creative outlet, and cooking has been that for me, specifically pastry. >> the good thing is we have students everywhere from places like the ritz to -- >> we have kids from every area. >> facebook and google. >> kids from everywhere. >> they are all over the bay area, and they're thriving. >> my name is jeff, and i'm a coowner of nopa restaurant, nopalito restaurant in san francisco. i attended city college of san francisco, the culinary arts program, where it was called hotel and restaurant back then in the early 90's.

nopalito on broderick street, it's based on no specific region in mexico. all our masa is hand made. we cook our own corn in house. everything is pretty much hand made on a daily basis, so day and night, we're making hand made tortillas, carnitas, salsas. a lot of love put into this. [♪♪♪] >> used to be very easy to define casual dining, fine dining, quick service. now, it's shades of gray, and we're trying to define that experience through that spectrum of service. fine dining calls into white table cloths. the cafeteria is large production kitchen,

understanding vast production kitchens, the googles and the facebooks of the world that have those types of kitchens. and the ideas that change every year, again, it's the notion and the venue. >> one of the things i love about vince is one of our outlets is a concept restaurant, and he changes the concept every year to show students how to do a startup restaurant. it's been a pizzeria, a taco bar. it's been a mediterranean bar, it's been a noodle bar. people choose ccsf over other hospitality programs because the industry recognizes that we instill the work ethic. we, again, serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

other culinary hospitality programs may open two days a week for breakfast service. we're open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner five days a week. >> the menu's always interesting. they change it every semester, maybe more. there's always a good variety of foods. the preparation is always beautiful. the students are really sincere, and they work so hard here, and they're so proud of their work. >> i've had people coming in to town, and i, like, bring them here for a special treat, so it's more, like, not so much every day, but as often as i can for a special treat. >> when i have my interns in their final semester of the program go out in the industry, 80 to 90% of the students get hired in the industry, well above the industry average in

the culinary program. >> we do have internals continually coming into our restaurants from city college of san francisco, and most of the time that people doing internships with us realize this is what they want to do for a living. we hired many interns into employees from our restaurants. my partner is also a graduate of city college. >> so my goal is actually to travel and try to do some pastry in maybe italy or france, along those lines. i actually have developed a few connections through this program in italy, which i am excited to support. >> i'm thinking about going to go work on a cruise ship for about two, three year so i can save some money and then

hopefully venture out on my own. >> yeah, i want to go back to china. i want to bring something that i learned here, the french cooking, the western system, back to china. >> so we want them to have a full toolkit. we're trying to make them ready for the world out there. >> all right, mayor, we've got a program. so be patient with us. all right. it's been a long time coming. hi, everybody, my name is phil ginsburg and i'm the manager of your recreation and park department and it's about time. it's really happening.