you have already made up your minds and taking a lot of breaks and moving through. and it's really terrible to see it. so you know, it it it's disheartening to see so many people coming here taking their time off in in hopes that you would keep max here to stay on the commission. i urge you to think think properly because this is dangerous. it's going to be passed. >> thank you for your comments already. >> decision. welcome back. former member of the board john avalos good afternoon supervisors as a member of the board i actually rarely use talking points but i need to be more precise now this moment demands real leadership that unite san francisco for the good of all not by imposing a singular single point of view and conditioning goodwill to those of you who vote the right way. leadership is doing the hard

work of building consensus across differences. true leadership means assembling a team of rivals practicing diplomacy and governing the entire city not just with the people who agree with your point of view. at the national level we face an existential crisis. trump's executive orders amount to a coup with mass firings of federal workers and the empowerment of public funds being used to extort state and local governments into submission. san francisco must decide whether it will stand firm or fall in line. we will start practice the same kind of leadership as supervisors. you are often forced into false choices. sometimes it feels like a ton of bricks hangs over your head. but this vote is a voluntary one and one that one. it's not one of those town of brick moments. you shouldn't have to vote on this at all if it is a forced vote then our city has already stumbled under new leadership. supervisors the public needs the best of you.

we hope you can provide us with transparency and operate with the highest ethical standards and not just toe the line of what is acceptable. if the mayor has truly shared with you the reason he wishes to remove mac's commissioner max carter oberstar then and you agree with it the public deserves to hear it and understand it. if not, this vote will be seen for what it is a course of political act and stumbled unaccountable leadership at a time when compliance with the federal means storing immigrants and transgender family members under the bus. we should not be practicing that kind of leadership in the city of st francis. i urge you to reject the removal of congressional commissioner carter oberstar oberstar. thank you. >> thank you for your comments ,mr. toronto. >> hi. good afternoon, mr. barry toronto. i came here on another matter but i felt after watching everything. >> i'm concerned about the precedent being setting here. >> first the clerk's office taught me how to say his name.

max carter overtown. so that took a while to figure out. so now you figure out that this is a precedent you're setting by by removing a commissioner who is appointed to serve out a term and hasn't committed a crime and hasn't done anything that that requires this type of level of attention. so you're bringing attention to yourselves. you're bringing attention to the fact that that the that the disenfranchized communities of color and lower income communities are not really fairly represented in certain city commissions. and you've already given the the mayor a lot of of of of leeway and on certain topics and certain areas to solve certain problems. >> so now you want to remove somebody who actually feels represented in judaism. so the social justice aspect of it is tikkun olam, tikkun olam.

look it up and i feel that by not by bye bye. by accepting the mayor's decision here you are actually going the opposite of tikkun olam and you are going to create more turmoil and in these communities by by already the mayor bombarded by the mayor's request at this point i'm saying there there is a request for you to appoint alphonso felder to the to the mta board and he's a good guy. i worked with him when they planned out that they have traffic and transportation around oracle park which was which was pac bell at the time . he's a good guy. but the thing is is that is that is replacing a vacancy and we're not replacing a vacancy here. we're letting someone serve out their term who represents people who don't feel represented. >> thank you. thank you barry for all right, everyone hold your comments. >> welcome. >> good afternoon everyone. my name is chemistry.

my office and i pretty much consider myself resigned from public speaking in public life . but i was at home in the middle of a final exam and because i love education and listening to this meeting and i had to get up and do a few things number one just put on some different clothes. and number two, going print out something and look up a date november 5th, 2003 when the citizens of san francisco passed proposition eight the police reform measure which really targeted the idea that the mayor could just remove someone on the police commission because somehow the way they were deciding things didn't go as supposedly planned

or the board of supervisors could just remove someone from a commission, particularly the police commission without any justification. >> citizens of san francisco for that reason they became so such a big deal because there was also this thing called fajita gate. you can go look that up and there was also the thurgood marshall police riot and i was the ptsa president of that high school when that happened and it was tragic and there are many things that have been tragic but we made certain that we passed that so these kinds of things wouldn't happen. and i came to speak to you just to remind you if you didn't know that there is still an audience for this city now so somehow maybe you didn't read it but it was specific. >> so this couldn't happen. and so if you're doing this it goes against that ordinance that exists here in san

francisco and i don't think you want to do that not as duly elected folks over the last thing i did i didn't e thank you, kim sheriff's office. >> nice to see you. thank you. >> welcome to our next speaker . hi, isha humphrey. i wasn't planning to speak today but i felt compelled to express my gratitude to commissioner carter ober stone for being a leader with such principle and integrity. i think that we have been lucky to have someone with his expertise who has been willing to lend that to us to serve this city. he's been a pillar for civil rights and the community and i think it's very telling how many people have come out today to speak on behalf of the commissioner.

i think that he's been an excellent advocate for the community and i'm grateful for the opportunity to stand with him. i sincerely hope that this board stands with him as well and i urge you to vote no on this motion. >> thank you. thank you for your comments. welcome. >> hello i'm from quadruple a another of ac's army of associates always hyphenated american. has there been some overstatements here? yes i. i can't see how this voting to sustain this would not be a step towards losing chief scott you've got to figure he's on a pretty thin rope as it is and you know i actually think maybe you know i've been watching the news a little bit and i actually think this kind of dynamic between public and bill scott, you know, it could be a good thing you got one of

them's a local guy and other one was hired nationally you know different races i think it could be very dynamic and depending on how long bill scott's willing to put up with it, you know, heck, you know, i don't see bill scott as not being a person willing to you know, go with anything that's rational and reasonable. i just don't see it. i think that a vote to sustain this i can't see how it's not a vote to get rid of bill scott and i that's all about i want to stay about overstatements about the attempt to remove the overturn the removal of overtone thank you otto duffy for your comments. welcome to the next speaker i, i just wanted to just introduce myself. >> my name's obama. i was born and raised here in the city. i'm also on the sheriff's oversight board. i by no means am speaking on behalf of that board. speaking specifically as a citizen myself i think carolyn

gossip from the public defender's office mentioned this earlier about how collaborative max overseeing was and i just wanted to add to that in support of him he came along with the human rights commission and the somewhat community development center to speak on behalf of to speak to the pacific islander community which is where i'm from and i thought it was very helpful to to kind of share out the pretextual policy and i just wanted to add my support on behalf of keeping max on the board to the commission. >> thank you. thank you for your comments before the next speaker you're welcome to come up sir. >> before you begin though, just want to invite any other members of the public who are here to address this item the consideration of the removal of commissioner obra stone please come on up if you're ready to speak otherwise this may be our last speaker welcome sir.

i am lord justice and i want to give all praise and glory to my creator oh i to like a few of the last speakers were compelled to speak. it's evident that there are no criminal charges. there's no question of ethics or professionalism or else will be in a different venue so people such as myself will dig deeper and investigate to see what is the root of this problem and it also enables us to see who's on law is payroll. so with that being said, it's been evident that you hold a seat, you hold a position to listen to the people we have opened up and we have held a long dialog. we have said what we want, what we desire and with evidence so it is now up to you as our own you to do what you ought to do. you hold no alliance to no one but the truth so let it be done. >> thank you sir, for your comments.

mr. president and with with that public comment is closed and i will declare item 21 to have been heard and filed and now supervisor dorsey thank you, president mandolin colleagues, i think it's important to frame dispassionately and accurately what is before us in this hearing because charter section 4.19 provides that members of our police commission generally serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority. in other words, they may be removed without cause except that mayoral appointments and removals are also subject to board approval. now this is very different from the approximately two dozen for cause commissions whose appointees are genuinely independent and by design beyond the reach of their

appointing authorities once they're appointed these for cause appointees may only be removed for official misconduct and examples of those commissions include the airport commission, the board of appeals, elections commission, ethics commission, health commission, mta board among many others. by my count there is about 23 for cause commissions. the police commission is not one of them. >> the reason that distinction is important is that it shows that our city charter thoughtfully contemplate dates that some commissions are intended to have independently empowered appointees and some other commissions including the police commission are not designed that way. police commissioners are generally accountable to their appointing authority and that is by design. the narrow role we play here in this hearing is akin to an advice and consent role. it isn't necessary for us to reach any factual conclusion or to make any finding to consent to the mayor's removal of his own appointee or his

appointment for that matter. and so for me it's a very simple analysis that comes down to whether we should honor the committee necessary for the two co-equal branches of our local the legislative and the executive to govern effectively and well and that's especially important at a time when we frankly have more urgent priority is facing our city than this one. we have a newly elected executive and mayor lurie who has earned the right to seek his own appointment where their authorized as they are here absent some extraordinary circumstance, some grievous error that we are losing a once in a generation talent the lone bulwark against fascism itself which i haven't seen there is no legitimate basis i have seen to dissent from the mayor's removal here now i have worked for various offices in city hall for nearly 20 years and it has been my observation that most conscientious public servants who are at will employee appointees usually offer to step aside voluntarily when there's a new mayor and

yes to do the classy thing so that other worthy san franciscans may have their own opportunity to serve our city. so to the extent there's anything unusual here, it's that this appointee doesn't want to step aside and that's fine. that's his right. but neither does it cause me to look favorably on his retention . >> now i assume i reflect the perspective of all my colleagues here when i express my appreciation to mr. carter oberstar and for his service to our city. i thank him for his work on a commission that is known for a lot of hard work often thankless and in fact i'm writing legislation to expand opportunities for rewards in homicide cases based on the resolution. mr. carter oberstar authored and i applaud his good work. >> there's certainly no hard feelings intended for me but at the end of the day i don't believe this is about mr. carter over stone. >> i believe it is about what the city charter says about mayoral authority over mayoral appointments.

in my view mayor lurie has earned by virtue of his election the right to make an appointment of his choosing exactly as the city charter intends for mayoral appointees to this commission and i've seen no rationale in this hearing to dissent on that removal. neither do i think it's a bid to remove chief bill scott who i will say i do consider a once in a generation talent and an extraordinary leader who has led our police department through 21st century police reforms that led the nation. however, on item two i would move that this board consent to the mayor's removal of max carter ober stone from the san francisco police commission. >> thank you supervisor dorsey there is a motion to change the motion to say confirm is there a second seconded by sherril supervisor fielder thank you, president. >> thank you commissioner carter roberson for being here today to president gentleman

for allowing him to speak. i also want to thank public defender mino raja, everyone who came out today to make your voice heard. >> take time off work to be here, watch the meeting unfold and drive all the way here to be here. thank you to third street youth center san francisco bicycle coalition. san francisco gray panthers as a rising tenants as a tenants union small business forward the acp chapter san francisco harvey milk lgbtq democratic club league of women voters and dozens of other committee organization ones that come from all corners of san francisco and for riding us in these past couple of weeks it is absolute the right of the mayor to put forward this motion and it is also our right to reject that. >> public safety is among my top priorities as district nine supervisor representing mission berlin portola because during

my two year campaign i talked to thousands of constituents at their doors a significant proportion of whom talked about wanting to feel safe walking to school to work and just living their daily lives that safety was put at risk for a police practice that commissioner carter aubuchon had exactly warned about and i was i'm talking about the crash involving a as a vehicle on super bowl sunday. i've said before in this chamber that when i got the call that six people were sent to the hospital including a mom and child, i didn't know what scene i was going to arrive at and i want to address the misconception that pretext stops prevent officers from pursuing want to vehicles pretext stops did not stop as

if pd from pursuing a wanted vehicle for miles from stone's town all the way to the mission crashing specifically this wanted car crashing into a light pole at 20 for the mission another car that was parked and then eventually the parklet i saw the video for myself and i've said before it is a miracle no one died in this crash. >> these people are my constituents that were sent to the hospital. i've spoken with a couple of them who want accountability from us a pd as much as accountable for the suspects. san franciscans have been told that if we abandon reform, if we abandon independent oversight and if we give law enforcement complete control over budgets, over how they use force, how they profile suspects, how they chase

vehicles, how they spend their own time that everything regarding public safety will be solved and san franciscans have essentially been sold the story that an accountable police force is an ineffective police force and voters through their rejection of prop f in november and also prop d around commissions resoundingly sent the message that they want accountability as much as they want public safety. >> an accountable police force is one that is held to the highest standards of responsibility. >> an accountable police force is one that is responsible for every dollar just as every other department is made to justify their expenses just as every nonprofit is made to justify their expenses, an accountable police force is one that uses resources wisely that ensures officers are not putting the public at do risk due to their own burnout.

>> an accountable police force is one that knows its community members and makes meaningful progress on doj reforms. people coming up for public comment have talked about the various people that have died at the hands of the pd alex nieto. >> luis can go to pat mario woods so many more and we have made tremendous progress in the past handful of years on the doj reforms under an independent police commission, an accountable police force. >> i believe is possible and i see glimmers of hope in a true community oriented police force every day in district nine. >> i mention all this because commissioner max carter robertson and i both know that his removal is bigger than him

and that his removal is going to lend towards not just in unaccountable and less effective police force but also a chilling effect on any oversight whatsoever that will ultimately put members of the members of the public in danger . >> commissioner carter robertson has been a steadfast advocate for reforms and oversight. his leadership has been smart, principled and moral. >> his work revealing the corrupt practices of the last administration earned him a national award. >> it is not anti-police to want oversight just as us politicians have to report on conflicts of interest just as we have to report to the ethics commission very regularly, it is on a principle that trust is earned and he represents the kind of principled, uncorrupt

independent governance san franciscans want and he should be rewarded for his service not punished. >> and so i urge my colleagues to vote against the removal of commissioner carter over stone and allow him to continue his critical work to hold as a party to the highest standards of responsible and accountability and serve the public with the highest standards of trust. >> thank you. thank you supervisor i was pleased fielder supervisor chan thank you. >> i first want to express my gratitude to commissioner mascara over stone for all your work that you have done your advocacy for police accountability and advancing racial equity has allowed us to meet significant milestones on critical reforms to our policies on pretext stops, excessive force and more.

and those are the policy that i am in agreement with strongly. so thank you, commissioner. >> this is why it does pains me greatly that we're here today. san francisco is facing unprecedented threats on many front more than ever it means that we have to work strategically put aside our own egos to ensure that we not only protect the progress we have made but contain the incredibly important work to protect our vulnerable and marginalized communities. >> i really do believe that many of us especially right now in this city hall are committed to ensure that our police department is held accountable to the community and continue to advance criminal justice but to sustain like this meaningful accountabilityrefo t"n■jegniz tt

hinge on any one person b■ collectivet independent one independent commissioner does not equate to an ienmiion. >> for the past few years i think many of us have talked about what can we do to make eay all our cioe commissi apxe and legislative branch to advance the work alrdy t pron eight commission reform so that

t' to gref f ur work a for the role that you have played since you're a first term and continuing into your second term. it is with great regret that we are here and that it's we're now questioning whether you are able to finish out the remaining of the one year. but that does not mean the work should stop i think hopefully not for you and not for this body and not for those that are here in city hall. so with that thank you so much, commissioner and thank you president mendelsohn. >> thank you supervisor chen supervisor melgar, thank you to all the members of the public who took the time and made the effort to provide public comment today i do not believe

in removing commissioners or supervisors before their term is up when there has been n malfeasance or illegal conduct. >> i had a respectful conversation with mayor lurie yesterday and explained in answer to his request for my vote that h reasons for introducing hisotion this motion that this georgetown university andtanford law school educated legal schol who clerked for two different justices at the ninth circuit court of appeals in at the u.s. district court for the northern district that mayor lurie's reasons that commissioner carter ober stone's manner has and dfilt rise to my standard fr removal and i will be voting against it. >> it is the same reason. >> it is the same reason that i have not supported and do not currently support any recall efforts without opining on the

assessment of commissioner carter opus. so it is difficult for our mayor to work with. i must point out that all of our jobs in leadership here in san francisco are in fact characterized by having to deal with different people that we disagree with. we all ran for these jobs and knew that coming in the police commission should be a place for debate and a variety of viewpoints should be allowed. >> we live still thankfully though at peril in a diverse representative democracy in our city has always prided itself in doing this the best being the first to move forward on social justice moving through our disagreements despite controversy and disagreement, sometimes even violent disagreement. >> and as a former planning commissioner myself i would say that you don't have to agree with your colleagues all the time but that doesn't mean that

they aren't adding something valuable to the conversation and that they don't represent viewpoints that members of our community have. >> there is no question that commissioner carter ober stone was selected because he has the background to be qualified to serve. in fact he is eminently qualified and whether you agree with his viewpoints or not he has served with distinction. the charter is clear the mayor quote the mayor with the consent of the board of supervisors with the consent of the board of supervisors may remove a member. the mayor has nominated the board of supervisors may remove a member of the rules that the rules committee has nominated. while i acknowledge that the charter gives the mayor the ability to do this if the intention of the charter were for commissioners to follow the policy of the current mayor and not the mayor who appointed them or the appointing board for that matter the terms of

the police commissioners would be coterminous with their appointing authority. there are 429 days until april 30th when commissioner roger stone term expires. we all as elected officials have to live with restraints to our power. this is unprecedented and unusual and i cannot put my name in favor of this motion and i have to say commissioner carter over stone thank you very much for your service to our city. thank you. supervisor melgar we have an amendment before us which is made by supervisor dorsey and seconded by supervisor sherril to modify item 22 to provide that the board will consent to the mayor's removal of max carter stone from the police commission and on that motion madam clerk, can you please call the roll supervisor mahmood