morning. we're going to go ahead and get started. hi, everyone. welcome welcome.

my name is tamika moss and i have the pleasure of serving as your emc for today's program. thank you. it's such a pleasure to see so many familiar faces, and only a special person like joaquin torres would bring us out in the rain to celebrate your inauguration. i'm so excited to welcome you all to today's ceremony, actually reflecting the assessor recorders first full term. um and so we're so excited to have you all with us, um i had started all home and organization that's working on homelessness and housing, security and economic security for our regions, most vulnerable neighbors and one of the reasons that i started. that organization was the belief that the status quo was not okay. that it was going to take

everyone in our community to double down and figure out how to solve our region's most complex problems that it's gonna take innovation. it's going to take breaking down silos building across sectors. and that is what we have an assessor torres. here's someone who has always been in his public service, someone who is not okay with the status quo who is really about building up community, figuring out how to do that creatively and innovatively and bringing our entire community along and so it is such a great honor for me to be here with you today and support my friend. alright. so with that. i would like to bring up our first two speakers. daniel torres, sister of assessor torres, to provide a land acknowledgment and following the landing knowledge mint, the reverend canon deborah

low skinner of the episcopal diocese of california will lead us in an invocation to center and unite us in thought and prayer. for the success of assessor torres in this essential role that provides financial stability for our city and county of san francisco. thank you. good morning. thank you, tamika. uh today, i'm going to read the land acknowledgment , and this was written by jonathan cordero, who is the founder and executive director of the association of the rama to chalone latouche, the chair of the rama touche aloni people. the city of san francisco, is located in the unseated ancestral homeland of the runway to chalone, who are the original peoples of the san francisco peninsula. we wish to pay our respects to the ancestors,

relatives and present members of the roma jewish community and we affirm their sovereign rights as first peoples. we honor the rama to chalone for their enduring commitment to care for the lands in which we now live and work. and we commit to continue the process of dismantling the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism. we pray to creator god. as we are gathered here with joyful anticipation. what for what the new year will bring. as we turn the pages of our calendars this past weekend on january the first many of us hope that we can get start a new chapter of our lives. get a do over. and

with that new opportunities to grow in heart, mind, soul and strength. and to expand the ways we can improve our lives. improve the lives of our loved ones and improve the lives of everyone who lives and works in the city that we love. merciful god, we pray we are filled with gratitude for your help in seeing us through all the challenges the city faced this past year. by your grace and help we continued to meet the ongoing challenges of the pandemic by providing public healthcare and distributing vaccines and boosters for covid , 19 and monkey pox. we continued to address ongoing racial tensions and discourage hate crimes. we continue to navigate through the uncertain economic ups and downs in city financial resources due to the

war in ukraine and the inflation we continue to compassionately try to find supportive housing and offer care for the many homeless in our midst. and we can congratulate ourselves. yes congratulate ourselves for carrying out successful midterm election despite many divisive political rhetoric and false accusations of possible voter fraud. gracious god, we pray we are very glad and blessed by the gifts, experience, passion and vision of elected public servants such as joaquin torres are accessory recorder who is being sworn today. his resume is impressive, as are his contributions towards making this city a place that that serves the public good for both businesses and workers for people of income levels, both

high and low and for people who have been historically marginalized by social institutions and systems. he has served as director of the san francisco office of economic and workforce development. as president of the san francisco housing authority. as director of the san francisco invest in neighborhoods initiative. and has participated in the first corps cohort as the city's government alliance for racial equity. he has shown and continues to embody someone who can be a leader. a facilitator and a bridge to enable diverse peoples to come together and work for the common good and create the kind of beloved community that dr martin luther king jr talked about, which is a place where everyone is cared for, and the social ills of racial discrimination, poverty. hunger. and hatred can be

overcome by loving our neighbor and by working together in community. almighty god, we pray but still upon working taurus mayor london breed and all elected. public. uh city officials. still upon them. your spirit of wisdom, charity and justice. remind them to rely on your strength and courage when they are tired and discouraged and downhearted. help them to bear their responsibilities to their fellow san franciscans. such that they may continue to be trustworthy leaders and compassionate service servants who seek to protect the rights and to promote the well being of all persons. dearest god. we are reminded that tomorrow is the 12th night of christmas. feast of the epiphany. when according to the gospel of matthew, the wise men from the east, sought

out and followed a star. and they finally arrived and saw the baby jesus christ! who is god incarnate, who was asleep in a lonely manger in bethlehem. let us ever be guided by your light and your wisdom. may we always go out of our way to follow where you lead. may we never be so jaded by the cares and concerns of our world that we failed to appreciate the laughter of children and the miracles that you make appear when we least expected. may our offerings which you yourself has given us be acceptable in your sight. that is the gold of our faith. the incense of our prayers and the mirror of our contract hearts. whenever the occasion arises. may we lovingly offer our god given gifts to bless and bring goodwill into

any situation. and made the sacrificial love of jesus christ remind us to give up the destructive ways of selfishness and wielding unjust power and by your holy spirit. dear god, may you ever lead us in the waste of peace and in the paths of righteousness by becoming a beloved community. amen. thank you, reverend and danielle for those amazing remarks. now i consider it a privilege and an honor to introduce a san francisco native. my birthday twin and california controller elect the honorable malia cohen.

happy new year. listen up people. this is a celebration. i'm so excited. that was a heck of an invocation. um reverend lowe skinner. i thought i was in the baptist church for a moment. how you guys doing? it feels good to be here. i'm honored to be able to say a few remarks from my good friend joaquin torres, particularly because i'm probably the only person in this room that knows exactly what the assessor's role is. there is responsibilities, so i'm glad to see sherman. i'm glad to see other members of the board of supervisors here because it is an important function that the assessor serves the entire city and county. you see he and his staff, they will all around and they assess property. whether it's a cork whether it's a the microphones, whether they're physical spaces and this assessment brings in revenue and that then goes into your fund when it comes into the budget, so you need these assessor to

have all the skills all the resources that he or she may need in order to fully execute their jobs so that you all may be able to deliver. um your promises to this to the constituents of san francisco. so you heard in the remarks. it said elect, uh, control. i'm actually the controller now. thank you. just a little bit of history being made here. and when i was getting dressed to come in here this morning, i was so excited because it's like home. it's like coming back home, coming back home to celebrate my own friend and i want to share some thoughts about walking torres because when the appointment was made, um i was halfway consult because i feel like decision was already made. and they just kinda we're checking the box, but it was a phenomenal phenomenal appointment because i could not think of a more dedicated heartfelt man. who is committed to the culture. to the vision of

san francisco and, most importantly to her people. joaquin this is not an easy job and you're getting ready to stand up here and take the oath and pledge your commitment to the city and county of san francisco. congratulations on taking that big step. and i'd like to recognize your lovely wife. it's wonderful to see you this morning. thank you for being here and thank you for sharing joaquin with us. assessor torres is a gym. we recognize that we affirm that and we love you for it. um, mr torres. sir i have to go to the beginning. it is so good to see you this morning. and to the entire tourist family. thank you for being here and thank you. also for extending, um, this wonderful servant to us as we continue to move forward, one of the things that strikes me the most about mr torres is his love . oftentimes we have a conversation about a

conversation a conversation that we had during the budget process. mr torres shows up and he's present. he's done his homework. he knows the ins the outs. he walks the streets. he has the he uses them. he utilizes the services and he partakes in the businesses. and that is what city life and city services about and so it is an extreme honor to be here doing this momentous moment to celebrate you. being re elected as the assessor for the city and county of san francisco. so today, ladies and gentlemen, why don't you stand up and just give him a little bit of love? just give them a little bit of love. an assessor torres, i want you to take in this magical moment. ladies and gentlemen, thank you. my name is malia cohen. thank

you, controller malia cohen. um it is now my honor to introduce the san francisco bay area theater company led by rodney earl jackson jr to perform home from the wiz. hello? hello. hello. yes we are . san francisco bay area theater company s a back. oh i'm rodney earl jackson jr this is jocelyn thompson, jordans and andrew jamieson. and we're going to, um, you know, bless this space. everyone take a deep breath for me real quick. inside out. um we're theater people, so we like to get a little more into it. one more for me all i want to

hear you, though. one more time for the for the wedding's happening outside one more time. yes so i saw mr joaquin in the restroom, and i was gonna make a joke, but it feels a little crash. i was gonna call him hocking because of what's going on in the world right now, but we were so happy that you're getting sworn in right now. so blessed to have you with us. he he and i serve on the a. c t board of directors american american conservatory theater, his commitment to every system in this community is so apparent so he told me he wanted us to sing something about this great city. so i thought, what better than the song home from the ways like you already said this is our great city. right, miss malia, so let's do it.

yeah. and i think of home, i think of a place where they love overflowing. i wish i was home. i wish i was back there with things have been nowhere. that makes the tall grass me leaning. suddenly the raindrops that fall have a meaning. sprinkling makes it all. clean. maybe there's a chance for me to go back. now that. some direction. sure would

be nice to be back home. love and affection. just maybe i can convince time to slow up. giving me enough time in my life to grow up. find me, my friend. let me start kid. suddenly my world's gone in changed his face, but i still know where i'm going away. i have had my mind spun around in space and yet watched grow hard. always you're

listening. god don't make it hard to believe the things that we see. tell us should we try to stay? should we run away? be better just to let things be living here is spread. might be fantasy. but it's taught me to love. oh, it's real real real to me. and i have learned we must look inside. yeah. world of love. not like you. yours like. pain like. so. thank you. thank

you. y'all didn't know you were coming to church today, did you? okay? let's just take a pause and let all that in. alright, i'm back. well, now it is my great pleasure. to introduce our hometown. mayor of this incredible city. the honorable london breed.

oh, it feels so good to be here right now. thank you so much, tamika for being here to this extraordinary event. thank you to my baby rodney and jasmine. rodney is a product born and raised in san francisco and the fillmore community. i've known him. since he was a kid, and i am so proud of him and the work he's doing in theater in san francisco, and it just goes to show you the people that are being highlighted in addition to the first black woman to become the state comptroller for california, malia cohen, it goes to show you that joaquin is the kind of person who loves to recognize and highlight other people and their extraordinary accomplishments. um he's so well

rounded, and many of you didn't know he was an actor. in fact, um, although his wife has taken act into the next level, aquinas decided well. i'll go into politics instead. um, but we're so honored to have him here today. and as malia cohen mentioned before she felt like i was checking a box and usually when you have to make really hard decisions about people to appoint, um there are a lot of stakeholders a lot of people who you seek out for input to make these very hard decisions because at the end of the day. it's not just about me making the decisions or the people that i talked to. it's about the person who is capable of serving the people of this great city and the reason why it wasn't hard when it came down to that decision to select joaquin torres because of his consistent track record. of serving the city with such. such kindness,

such humility and such love you hear it over and over in the themes of what people are saying here today, um joaquin has been really an extraordinary leader in san francisco. um during times when no one was even paying attention. he at one point was just really known as senator art torres aside. oh, yeah, i know him. um but then slowly but surely as he worked his way through various mayors, he developed a reputation for going out into the community and really doing extraordinary things. i couldn't believe it when he decided when he had worked for ed lee, and we had to do some reconstruction of the housing us already. and i thought to myself who would ever want to be on that commission in light of the challenges that we're dealing with? and joaquin raised his hand and said, i want to do this work and under his leadership. under his leadership

, many of you know the history of the san francisco housing authority. i lived in public housing full of dysfunction, full of challenges and what we were able to do because joaquin , in addition to his full time job with the city and county of san francisco, the work that he did to help us get out of debt and to move forward and to make sure people weren't displaced and to help us. get homeless families into empty units. i mean, his work was extraordinary on the ground and as the director of the office of economic and workforce development, he didn't just send his staff out into the community . he went out into the community , especially when it came to some of the hard decisions that constantly had to be made. i remember that very contentious meeting in the fillmore and i couldn't believe that joaquin through it all after being called names and after being, you know, almost chased out of the room. he stayed strong, and

he kept a smile on his face, and he stood strong and focused on the fact that it was important that we serve the people of san francisco and when the covid pandemic hit he was a really instrumental leader in helping us focus our resources on small businesses in san francisco, knowing that they would be hard hit, working with business leaders and the commission and other folks to provide resources and when this city made a tremendous era and providing the kinds of resources necessary to deal disproportionately with the people impacted the latino community who is impacted. fiercely by the coronavirus. he stepped up and helped us with the programs and the implementation of those programs when he was at office of economic and workforce development. there is a laundry list of things that i can talk about, and why someone like joaquin is so perfect for a role

like this. i mean, i shouldn't even have to tell you the fact that we have two former mayors here. frank jordan and art agnes the fact that we have. former fire chief joanne hayes, white and our senator. i mean, i know you're his dad and you have to be here but the fact is he's here and so many elected leaders across the aisles here in san francisco community leaders, people from all stretches of life here to support. joaquin has everything to do with the fact that we all understand. that the role of assessor recorder is critical to not just squeezing out every dollar from every property owner in san francisco, but it's also looking at providing a balance and dealing with equity for those families who inherit their homes and don't know what they can do to deal with the city and the challenging tax structure and

choosing the cell rather than invest in and provide the support necessary to make sure that they develop generational wealth so that they are able to stay and protect their homes and pass them on from generation to generation. he understands that historic challenges of what existed in the film, war and people who lost their homes because of the challenges of dealing with the bureaucracy of this city and the assessed values that oftentimes left some families in a situation where they were forced to sell the first thing that joaquin torres has done has provided classes and outreach and the work that he's done to ensure that the families who own their homes who may not be able to afford these expensive taxes in san francisco , get the support and the resources they need so that their homes are protected just like anyone else in san francisco, the work that joaquin has done and will continue to do as assessor recorder in san francisco. has been transformative will lead to

better, more productive lives. and as we come out of this economic recovery his office and the work they're going to need to do to re assess taxes in san francisco is going to be critical because we need our businesses to thrive. we need our city to thrive. we just went through a global pandemic. we're not going to be able to snap our fingers and come out of that. it's going to take hard work. it's going to take making hard decisions. it's going to take collaboration, and it's gonna take really strong, talented leadership. of people who genuinely care about focusing on the best interests of the people of this city, and that is no other than joaquin torres, who gives me now the great pleasure to swearing at this moment.

all right. ready. the third time. alright so please repeat after me. i state your name. joaquin torres, i joaquin torres do solemnly swear, solemnly swear that i will support and defend that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california and the constitution of the state of california against all enemies against all enemies, foreign and domestic, foreign and domestic that i bear true faith and allegiance, but i bear true faith. and allegiance to the same. same that i take this obligation freely, but i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation

without any mental reservation. or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion, and that i will well and faithfully discharge will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i'm about to enter duties upon which i'm about to enter. and during such time during such time as i serve as serve as the assessor recorder recorder for the city and county of san francisco city and county of san francisco, congratulations. thank you. thank you. mayor breed. thank you to my family who are here with me today. to

my mom who's listening from down south. to my two dads. my sister and my aunt. my uncle, my cousin. all of you joining us here and online. thank you to my team at kmm celeste walter, the presenters today esteemed elected servants of our city and elected officials. to the presenters, my friends. thank you. the constitutions that i've sworn to god my work. i prepared some remarks. in new ways recently established and in practice, his long held in the fair assessment and collection of billions in property tax dollars that are essential to san francisco. security. it's stability, its solvency and its recovery. i lend myself to its demands. tempered by the lessons we've learned from this

pandemic. it's ebbs and flows. disciplined by the hard fought openings and reopenings of our economy. most sensitive to the pain it's caused in our diverse communities. and i'm honored. mayor breed. for the confidence you placed in me from the start. for the opportunity to serve side by side with you. and with so many in this room in the thick of this pandemic. i'm humbled by you. the voters of this city. for the opportunity. you've given me to continue my responsibilities as assessor recorder of san francisco. because the fundamentals of our government rely on the service we provide. assessing property. assigning value. that value comes to life in the daily work of our city. the emergency services we've seen delivered on our streets just these past few days. homelessness, affordable housing. shelter beds. schools

are economic recovery efforts. public and mental health needs are sanitation flows. firefighters. and the wages and benefits that lift up livelihoods. support families sustained dreams that for so many of us we still reach for all of them depend on the financial foundation built through the hard work of this office, and that's a responsibility i take seriously. that sense of responsibility is made of many parts. some come from those i've served. some come from those whose footsteps i followed him. from all the mayors. those with us here today , those tending to matters of state and those up above. you're legacies and generosity is have helped form the political character of this still young man who stands before you here today. part comes from the weight of those principles of

service that i've sworn to which for the people we serve. has not always seemed to be the concern of government. what is just what is fair? what is equitable? what do we do? when we see that opportunity has been designed for some but not for others. in this country. but also in this city that we call home. and quite often in both cases for reasons based on the color of one's skin. as my favorite city profit would say it ain't no mystery when you know your history. and, thankfully, finally more is being done today federally locally at the state. to consistently and publicly revealed this history of discrimination. specifically as relates to my work. the property. and value. and hard and homes hard fought for. holmes kept homes lost. each

family has its own stories. immigrant families. indigenous families. black and brown families. more certainly. so for the women who live within them. families like yours. families. like mine. a mexican american family. my people. my grandparents when they came, were greeted by sound by signs with post pounded into land whose messages were pretty clear. no mexicans or dogs allowed. the practice of history. perverse exclusive, deeply embedded not only in the private fields of industry but in our own government. for my family. there was no time to dwell on these injustices. not then not now. not from my grandfather, who raised a family on butcher's wages. not from my grandmother. whose home was but with her own seamstress wages.

not for my father who could not and would not wait for the arc of justice to reach its final destination of representation in elected politics. not from my mother and broadcasting not from my sister in legal practice, not from my aunt as an educator, a bilingual teacher in calistoga, one of the first of her kind and not from my wife. rebo. whose perseverance, passion performance art. continues to realize her success. not only for her but for the community. and the representation it gives to them in the arts. the agency was most important for themselves for their families for their communities for others. it is that reach for representation and opportunity that i bear witness to it's what i carry with me in my quiet place. and something i respect. and for our communities. it is

their agency their reach their struggle that they seek for us in government to respect as well. for it has and does make our city strong. as does our care. the bible that i laid my hand to belong to my nana. homemaker. one time restaurant tour. and the best maker of flour tortillas that i know. her care came in the form of chorizo burrito. wrapped warm and foil. to sue the chubby young boy. shuttled between two parents. two homes to cities. didn't cost much that care. but a decision made such a difference on me. that simple act told me that i was seen but i was valued. that i was worthy to be served and that memory that feeling and how to pass it on. i carry with me too. i'm very grateful for those

lessons from my family, my mexican american family. proud and grateful for them, raising me in an environment defined by resiliency, tenacity possibility. and public service. but i also know that these are the products of luck and the products of privilege. but not all of us are born with it. but all of us can close our eyes at night and know that the love and care we know is so important to succeed. will be there for us when we need it. most. it's just awareness together with those values, principles and ethics and still that me that carry me through. it was hardest times. but i speak to bring every day into my practice of public service. i believe people need our care now, more than ever. i believe they need to feel or understanding more than ever. to know that we've contemplated the lives around us. like the faces in the photos that surround us. their dreams. their lived

experiences. because it hasn't always been the case that government showed up to care. red lines to prevent the purchase of homes, restrictive covenants to seal the deal, even if those resources could be found. their messages were pretty clear. no blacks, no mongrels. no chinese, no mexicans. these are the words not only of the jim crow south, but of a not that long ago san francisco. even today in private practice, we've seen the story in our local news. black communities have found that to seek the wealth that their homes would finally provide. could only be so if they were willing to erase their race. to be bleached to be blended and whitewash their homes. but their ticket to finally realizing their upward mobility would be to give up drops of the milito nin from their skin. to claim

it. so i'm proud that we've been able to raise awareness of these issues since i started this work. highlight this history. and change the faces of those who tell it help prevent it. secure that wealth of home can bring for the next generation. because our challenges these days are not only economic, they're cultural, too. and so i'm bound to this work. now sworn to it. and the principles of the greatest actors of our time who believe like dr king but i can never be what i ought to be until you are what you ought to be. this principle. of the inescapable network of mutuality. is where the answers for the future of our cities live. for the future of our communities, our families, those chosen those were born into. for us to live up to our greatest potential. these are unsettling

times. actuals are unknown. the forecasts are not certain. and when the ground is unsteady, you need a helping hand. and i'm so lucky to have that in the people. i have the privilege of working with in the office of the assessor recorder. people who believe in good government. people who get a plus ratings from the board of equalization and our audits. people who believe like i do that those we serve need our care now, more than ever. from each and every act from every corner of our office. that there is matter inaccessibility to records that there is pride in excellent service. that we are to the city as a metronome is to the musician. providing a steady, stable beat that allows our city to invest and do its work. but even with a heavy load, we carry the rising appeals the values to assign and defend fairly and accurately as the law provides.

the roles that still must be closed. we conduct our work with integrity. respect for each other and care. i want to thank carmen chu again. for leaving me with such a strong foundation to stand on. for my deputies, juan carlos and simone. my front office. holly, tina, abby and karen. megan and every division lead and staff member for joining in service to the communities that have forged my character who have challenged my beliefs and for joining me and my purpose to deliver the best for san francisco. in our care for service liza face. most precious for the trust that we need to serve. that our government and those that lead it here. you that we see you. that the opportunities you seek closed elsewhere or open when

you knock at our doors. surprise for many when they receive it. simple acts. and these acts delivered from a goodness people can feel in addition to yes, efficient, effective, transparent, accessible accountable. that is what good government is. we need this awareness and these acts, especially today, when frustration and anger and apathy about government reflects the pain that people feel in these challenging times these unsettling times in these sometimes discouraging times. how will we make it? will we make it? have we seen the best of our times? i find inspiration in many places. art. and cedar. and the principles of government that seek such precious states is states of being as liberty freedom. happiness. but most,

especially because his answers for these questions cannot be found in the stars. i find inspiration and courage and hope. in all of you. community. because you are the actors of our time. you are the stewards of the future of our city. and it's your success that i want to see reflected in the mirrors of our tallest buildings, those symbols of opportunity and possibility and reach. i see my responsibility together with all of you to answer that reach to see your needs and meet them. from the bay view to the sunset. from the film or to the mission. the tenderloin to the excelsior. on our central subway from downtown to chinatown to union square. to see you reflected in the future of our shining city. because i find my courage and you san francisco. in your moral authority. and your formal

authority and your real struggles and your deepest dreams. in the fullness of your expressions, your art, your commerce, your politics and love your trades. i always have. we always have found our faith in you. the neighborhood and merchant leaders, the coalitions of parody and equity, the trade associations, the public housing, resident councils and cultural districts, because you have always had the courage to care. because when we as a city are at our best when it seems that the center will not hold when the storms hover above us in the sky, we march together. who knowing hand in hand that the sun will set again upon our bay. we are, as a poet say. one equal temper of hawar richart. tested by time and fate and plagues. driving seeking finding

never yielding that which we are one place. one home. one san francisco full of heart and it is an honor to serve you. thank you.

>> who doesn't love cable cars? charging emissions and we're free which we're proud of you know, it's not much free left in the world anymore so we managed to do that through donations and through our gift shops. you got

a real look and real appreciation of what early transit systems are like. this was the transit of the day from about 1875 to about 1893 or later, you know. cable car museum is free, come on in. take a day. come down. rediscover the city. you can spend as time you want and you don't have to make reservations and it's important to be free because we want them to develop a love for cable cars so they do continue to support whether they live here or other places and people come in and say, yes, i have passed by and heard of this and never come in and they always enjoy themselves. people love cable cars and there's none left in the world so if you want to ride a cable car, you've got to come to san francisco. that what makes the city. without the cable cars, you lose part of that, you know, because people who come here and they love it and they love the history ask they can ride a cable car that has been running since 1888 or 1889. wow! that's something.

can't do that with other historical museums. rarely, have i run into anybody from outside who didn't come in and didn't feel better from knowing something about the city. it's a true experience you'll remember. i hope they walk away with a greater appreciation for the history, with the mechanics with people are fascinated by the winding machine and i hope the appreciation, which is a part of our mission and these young kids will appreciate cable cars and the ones who live here and other places, they can make sure there will always be cable cars in san francisco because once they are gone, they are gone. it's the heartbeat of san francisco that founded the cable and the slot and without the cable cars, yeah, we would lose something in san francisco. we would lose part of its heart and soul. it wouldn't be san francisco without cable cars. [bell ringing]

>> i love teaching. it is such an exhilarating experience when people began to feel their own creativity. >> this really is a place where all people can come and take a class and fill part of the community. this is very enriching as an artist. a lot of folks take these classes and take their digital imagery and turn it into negatives. >> there are not many black and white darkrooms available anymore. that is a really big draw. >> this is a signature piece. this is the bill largest

darkroom in the u.s.. >> there are a lot of people that want to get into that dark room. >> i think it is the heart of this place. you feel it when you come in. >> the people who just started taking pictures, so this is really an intersection for many generations of photographers and this is a great place to learn because if you need people from different areas and also everyone who works here is working in photography.

>> we get to build the community here. this is different. first of all, this is a great location. it is in a less-populated area. >> of lot of people come here just so that they can participate in this program. it is a great opportunity for people who have a little bit of photographic experience. the people have a lot, they can really come together and share a love and a passion. >> we offer everything from traditional black and white darkrooms to learning how to process your first roll of film. we offer classes and workshops in digital camera, digital printing.

we offer classes basically in the shooting, ton the town at night, treasure island. there is a way for the programs exploring everyone who would like to spend the day on this program. >> hello, my name is jennifer. >> my name is simone. we are going on a field trip to take pictures up the hill. >> c'mon, c'mon, c'mon. >> actually, i have been here a lot. i have never looked closely enough to see everything. now, i get to take pictures.

>> we want to try to get them to be more creative with it. we let them to be free with them but at the same time, we give them a little bit of direction. >> you can focus in here. >> that was cool. >> if you see that? >> behind the city, behind the houses, behind those hills. the see any more hills? >> these kids are wonderful. they get to explore, they get to see different things. >> we let them explore a little bit. they get their best.

if their parents ever ask, we can learn -- they can say that they learned about the depth of field or the rule of thirds or that the shadows can give a good contrast. some of the things they come up with are fantastic. that is what we're trying to encourage. these kids can bring up the creativity and also the love for photography. >> a lot of people come into my classes and they don't feel like they really are creative and through the process of working and showing them and giving them some tips and ideas. >> this is kind of the best kept secret. you should come on and take a class. we have orientations on most saturdays. this is a really wonderful location and is the real jewel

to the community. >> ready to develop your photography skills? the harvey milk photo center focuses on adult classes. and saturday workshops expose youth and adults to photography classes. is r. my name is debra alvarez rodriguez. i'm the deputy director in san francisco. my background is one in which i have spent the entirety of my life committed to finding solution to poverty and addressing the issues of

inequity so people and communities can have accesses to resources and financial freedom. one thing true anode dear to my heart was the power of business ownership in creating pathways to financial freedom. we have still in infancy. we had over 100 entrepreneurs come and start their businesses. some are food trucks. some are restaurants. some are in farmer's markets and so farther. that's an incredible legacy and record to build upon. this was the perfect opportunity for me to come back home, you know, come back to the neighborhood and take my skills and networks and resources and put it backseat in service of the community. given everything with racial reckoning and pandemic it was time for me and everyone else that had the opportunity to leave and get educated to come

back home. we have a opportunity to grow our impact in terms of the number of people we serve and how we serve them. we grow our impact in taking the money we make with our entrepreneurs and circulate those resources back interview the community for community development. the third thing is we have a opportunity to have an impact on public policy in terms of the policies and practices the district has been notorious about interms of inequities. all of those are just the beginning of what is possible in terms of growth and impact. ♪ [ music ] ♪♪

>> please respond to the roll call with here or present. >> newhouse, segal. >> here.

warren post. >> here. paul woolford. >> present. and commissioner vice chair zoubi has an excused absence. with 3 members present we have quorum for the public works commission. due to the covid-19 health emergency and given the public health recommendations by the san francisco department of public health and emergency orders of the upon govern and mayor concerning social distancing and lifting restrictions on teleconference this , meeting is held via teleconference and streamed by sfgovtv. watching live, there is a time lag between the live meeting and what is shown on sfgovtv. on behalf of the commission i thank you for the staff of sfgovtv media services and building management for assistance in putting on this

meeting. for members of public who wish to make comment on an item outside the room use 415-655-0001. then access code: 2488 204 0766 ##. to raise your hundred to speak press star 3. you must limit comments to the topic of the on the agenda discussed. unless you are speak under the general public comment and to reminds you if you don't stay on the topic the chair may ask you omit your comment. we ask public comment made in a civil and respectful manner and refrain from profanity. address your remarks to the commission not to individuals.

madam chair? >> before calling the next item are there requests to amend the order of today's agenda? >> next item announcements by the chair. >> i have several announcements today you may want to make yourself comfortable. first is to call your attention to the december issue of the departmenty new in the works. it is a nice over view of 2022 accomplishments of the department. present in the a month low highlight. i found interesting and useful. the graphics are appealing and informative and the text is easy to read and compliments the graphics. i receive it in my e mail, you can, too. go to sfpossibleworks, click,

about us and click on, in the works and sign up to receive the monthly letter. second, prior to the holiday, there was a meeting between upon the sanitation and streets chair mario and myself deputy city attorney taylor and chris topp. director short and secretary fuller to discuss the results of upon 2022's prop b and how this will affect our commissions moving forward. . taylor and tom reviewed the changes mandated by the new prop b. il sum rise my take aways from our meeting. i would say that my observation was that more language was stripped out than added. to the law. and the most significant provisions are that commissioner

credentials or experience backgrounds are no longer required. so they are recommended, which i hope means we'll soon have a fifth commissioner on our commission since it is recommended be an engineer tell not be required. >> sanitation streets commission will dot following; hold public hearings and set policies for dpw regarding sanitation standards and protocols and standardses and protocols for maintaining the public right-of-way. they'll review and evaluate data regarding street conscience city conditions and dpw's work to address the conditions and the commission will establish minimum starnlsd of clean liness for the public right of way. >> a lot of the language specific to our commission was stripped out and general references to san francisco

commission and board longer made. in other words. regarding contract approval, contract performance, department staffing, we don't have special called out for our commission. our commission will see all dpw contracts now. including for san station street services. given this increased work load for our commission, we agree that most of the commodities, general services and professional services contracts will be handled on our consent calendar and of course we can request something be pulld and put on the regular calendar. we discussed grant approvals. most grant approvals fall under the expertise. we will now official low approve grants. we did agree to have the sas

commission review them and make recommendations for action to us. on specific grants or on expected grant boards. we may only commission that cease the final grant detailings they'll have an idea they can give guidance. to assist us with our obligations, the second fuller will provide our commission with a month low summation of the sanitation and streets meetings including link to agendas and live links to the documents they review and we can access the documents on the their commission's website. >> i will meet regular low with sanitation and streets commission chair mogannam and brain storming what each commissions are doing and how to better work together. that's in sum to me the key take aways were. secretary full are documented the new procedures that we have

agreed upon in consultation with the city attorneys and with director short. and he will have that available for our commissioners if you like more detail. secretary fuller will provide us with a new org chart now the department organization has changed and there will not be 2 departments one available will present. and that will be the new temptlet we see in presentations going forward i finds to be so useful. all of that said, i will be asking rachael alonzo someone we know well, for proposal to dpw on how our 2 commissions can best work together. so we don't have to feel our way in the dark given the work her and her teach did with the 2 prop b's in 2020 and 2022. i hope she'll have a lot of suggestions to make our lives

easy on our commission and the lives of the commissioners on sanitation and streets easy as we navigate forward. >> director short or department city attorney, anything you want to add i may have missed? thank you chair post. that was a helpful sum row. one caveat with respect to contract approvals. i think is helpful to note that to the extent the sas commission was previously authorized to aprudent person contracts, those contracts approved by public work commission. all subject to the delegation of contract approvals that this commission passed earlier this year. >> thank you very much. for clarifying that. >> secretary full are anything

to add i may have missed? >> no, that is i think -- of good summary of what occurred during that meeting. thank you. >> thank you. >> and last of my announcements, this past week had 4 meetings i found useful. that i will quickly tell you what they were. i will not go in as much detail. the controller appointed me to this commission to update him on our commission business. and seek advice on various issues and obligations we have. i had aim budget brief with dpw finance staff a sneak peek at when we will see on our commission in the next couple of weeks. and i will quite honest, it is overwhelming. not surprisingly begin the size of dpw the second largest department in the city and myriad of objigzs.

secretary fuller had comments to add-on our commission's per spektdive and role. do you have anything you like to say? >> yes. >> so, specifically to the budget review process that we'll go through in the next -- month, the -- city charter and the admin code do layout for us a process where the department has to have a public meeting on their budget and since this commission exists, that public meeting will take place part of our normal regular january 20th meeting. and then that is -- of course followed up by a vote to approve it after that public hearing. and that will be taking place on february third. i think it is important to think about -- the budget our budget

manager, upon the other day made a good point of saying that the budget, once passed and approved by the mayor and the board of supervisors it is a plan. and it changes throughout the year. so, while this commission will be approving the departmental budget to then go to the controller's office and mayor's office and board of supervisors; it is important to keep in mind it is the approval of a plan and the role of this commission unlike you know when you may have seen in the house weighs and means committee, or other bodies like that; not getting in the line item details of the budget. but looking at the broad policies that the strategy of the xrnt budget and future budget planning as well. i think that is important to keep in minds.

and we do have additional briefings available from staff for commissioners. i have sent out a couple of the options for late next week. and i can reminds commissioners of those options as well. it is a good opportunity for both chair post and myself had a point in our meeting with the budget team where we both realized -- this is a complicated department. and the budget reflects just the things inherrent in a broad man date the department fulfills. if you are able to upon attend a briefing that is helpful and i real think that the first round of budget review is a great opportunity for learning -- for myself but commissioners as limp because there is so much to take

in. that -- and see that as in addition to providing that oversight be able to prepare yourself for future budget rounds through this learning process. >> thank you very much. secretary fuller. >> the other 2 meetings i had this week was the first kickoff meeting for finding a new head of dpw. this is a meeting with hr representative sean and in berkeley search. it was useful what we grand jury ed were biweekly meetings of the committee and this specific participateos that committee are being determined but now it is looking at a minimum like -- as we discussed in prior meetingi and vice chair zoubi will be participating from this commission and chair mogannam and will be participating with

director short search firm and hr rep. and probably representatives from the mayor's office and the cao's office that was is to be determined. >> i will keep you all aprized and vice chair zoubi and i will keep you aprized. i'm optimistic and impressed upon the search firm this needs to happen quickly and the commission will not be a bottle neck. it is high priority to get this approximate suspicion filld and encouraged our search firm to let me know or anyone else know enemy commission or if i or anyone at the city is a bottle 96, let us know so key we can shake that loose and keep it going quickly as possible. >> yesterday i had a sneak peek at the capitol project performance metrics presentation that we will get at the next

meeting in january. this was scheduled for december but postponed to flush it out more. it was helpful i gave feedback and learned a lot along the way and i think we will have a nice discussion in january about how to measure performance metrics at dpw now that we have that obligation as a new commission. it is a work in progress. we will see the first cut in the couple weeks the new system gets up and running that deputy director robertson told us we will track and present. so again this will not be a finished product out of the gate we are off to a good start and look forward to getting feedback on this in a couple weeks. those are my announcements now we will move on to item 1 secretary fuller call that item.

>> i beg your pardon commissioner segal. >> happy new year, everybody. i had a question on your report, chairman post. on our -- our -- new organization under problem b2022. so you said rachael alonzo from the city add administrator's office will make recommendations more recommendations how we will interact. is there any target deaf that she set for when we will get those recommendations. not yet i asked her late. i will in 2 weeks i will have a target date on that. >> it will include the she will put together a new organizational structure. >> no dpw is doing that and secretary fuller will provide that. to get her ideas on how the 2

commissions can best work together. we can figure it out. she would have a lot to bring to the conversation i asked her to give us pointers. when she gives us those. they will impact our search director's search because tell impact what somewhat the directors job description i think. but will impact what our new commissioner that will not have a required job description we will get. but tell impact a lot of what we do. so -- will wee have any are we going to vote on accepting her recommendations or is she making them and that's it? i think my intention i will turn on city attorney stop that the law is what it is. the streshths are what they are. we would be nice to have guce