this mayor, from his time as city administrator and moving on to his time as mayor, has encouraged strong collaboration between the departments of the city. when we can work together to coordinate and collaborate on the planning, design, and construction of major projects like this, it is not just about us working nicely together. saves time and saves money. as importantly, it minimizes disruption to the public. on a street like this that has such an essential function to the city, that is such a prominent st., that has so much happening on it, the ability to do that, to minimize disruption, to get the work done and save money in the process, is very important. our role in the process -- we got 17 streets reconstructed and 80 curb ramps built up and down the length of california. it is not only smarter and safer, but it is much more accessible for the thousands and millions of people could travel upon it. we worked hard to minimize disruption during this process, but any time you are tearing up public rights of way, there will be some noise and traffic impacts and path of travel impacts o

i did not have that experience as the city administrator. therefore, i could go to sleep, i could have a two-day weekend. i could play golf and only worry about the ball and a whole. now i play golf and it is, where is the ball, where is the hole? my mind is on the budget, what i will say, how i will say it. yesterday, with the ping-pong diplomacy, it was fun. i tried not to worry about it, but i said, i do not want to make a mistake because this is international and everyone wants to feel welcome, that they are involved. but as a mayor, you have to worry about many things. so i go to sleep tired, my notes are in front of me. i have to read my details and be prepared. it looks like sometimes i'm having fun, but in the back, my staff is working hard to prepare me, making sure i understand everything. it is not just making mistakes. it is doing the right thing and making sure it is the right way to do it. i compare myself to the other mayors in other cities. i went back to the conference of mayors and i asked mayor bloomberg of new york. how d

well as businesses out of china, to come here to this city and establish offices, create relationships, create communications and information so that we can, as a country, sell the product that we create here -- whether it is technology, clean-cut, biotech, but also welcomed chinese businesses, help them establish their markets here as well as they continue to contribute dramatically to the economy of the world. we will continue to do that and to build our city the way we can do it as an international city. so i want to welcome all of you here to this historic occasion to one where we know san francisco can really be very proud of, and that is hosting the 40th celebration of international diplomacy up ping- pong diplomacy, and i want to give this proclamation. i'm not going to shake your hand too hard, but i'm also going to take this privilege and honor on behalf of san francisco to provide you -- please come up to the table as well. you with this proclamation. it has a lot of the whereases that depicts our history year, but i would like to, as the mayor of san francisco, on behalf of

this is a city that has many thousands of small businesses. asomeone who used to run a small business, the city can do a much better job of nurturing that sector. that is part of the life blood of who we are as san franciscans. >> we could do better. are we on the right track? >> i think we are in a transition right now. we have an interim mayor and a new board of supervisors. i do think we have a new tone at city hall to move things forward. we have a lot of challenges we are facing. i am doing everything i can to put us back on track. >> let's talk about the role of sports in the city's economic future. are you happy with the plans for the america's cup? >> i have been a huge fan of the america's cup. i am proud of this board came together unanimously after a fairly contentious debate to support bringing the america's cup to san francisco in 2013. it is estimated it will not only be an incredible sporting event, not only showcase our city and the natural amphitheater of the bay, but it is estimated to bring in over $1 billion in economic activi

we have already 16 stores and our city is employing some 1500 people. having seen them in partnership, as they said that there have been the cleanest stores and very respectful of every neighborhood in the city. we have great corporate partners and it did not surprise me that they would also say that we can expand our choices. i've never seen walgreen's that has never been known as a drug store. they have been known as the neighborhood store. we have good neighborhood partners. in addition, offering foods, whether it is healthy sandwiches or fresh produce and at a location already established. it will make that to be very important. i am here to support that. i am here to celebrate that. i am here to suggest that every store can do the same thing. it is not as about this announcements, also about helping us take two strokes back so it does not cost the patrons any more money and we have a safe place to take them. there also contributing to getting rid of graffiti. and they employ people. when you open up an oasis store, this is not just added produce, someone will have to handle that. the

as a city employee for 21 years, i observed very closely what happened, and he, of course, and bird so many san francisco employees -- angered so many send francisco employees. janitors, street cleaners, fire, police -- they all in very large voices resoundingly helped to defeat the proposal because they felt it was done in a way in which they were never included in that discussion. it was their lives, their pension that they feel that they earned in the city that they love, so they asked us, that they were willing to cut and support a pension reform that would increase their contributions, if it was done the right way. we asked what the right way is, and they said the right way was to include all the unions and make sure it is something that they can pay attention to, that they understand and will participate in, so we did that in a very different way. we met with all the unions and discovered that the unions were very willing to give up more, to pay more into the pension program, so that the burden on the city's general fund would not be as great. we went about telling them what we h

our pension reform, which is one of the most important things that i think i can contribute to the city as mayor, and of course, what we're putting on the ballot in addition to that this november would be the street repaving bond. i will begin with the pension reform first and then talk about the bond and attempt to answer any questions you have about things we're doing throughout my administration. in january, as you recall, i announced five high priorities, and pension reform was one of them. at the time, we looked at the numbers, how the cost of the city employees' pension was impacting our city fund. the to over $225 million a year had to be set aside just to pay for the increase in cost of pensions, and the tensions had to do with both the pension costs as well as the health care costs, and none of the health care costs have any coverage at all in our current budget. so i had to go to work on that very hard. we knew that it was going to take months and months of discussions, but we approached it in a way learning from what had happened last year in proposition b, as you recall, it was

a community, as a city. what happened when the 49ers won those super bowls year after year? that was a huge deal for our city and our community in san francisco. what happened with the world series this year when the giants won for the first time in over 50 years? incredible. everybody was celebrating. and that is a huge deal for our community in san francisco, but i think, economically, not only jobs in terms of construction of stadiums and what have you. economically, you know, for those people who do not believe or do not really fully appreciate what type of economic drivers the sporting events and teams are, go down to soma during a giants game. come to the marina when the blue angels fly in town. what it does to the local streets and bridges. come to district 3 and district two and districts 6 and 10 when the america's cup comes to town and see what type of influx of economic activity these events drive to us. i think that is something that is not talk about enough. both the community aspect, the intang

-- knowledge of the city as a whole? >> most of my community assessment has been through the schools and that has taken me to many parts of the city. living here 14 years and being so active, i'm very familiar with the various needs and enjoyments of the city as well. supervisor kim: some of the things you would prioritize in its use of redistricting? >> areas of inclusiveness and fairness. that is what i would bring to this process. supervisor kim: you talked about being concerned about families leading san francisco and bringing that perspective to the redistricting task force. how does that perspective apply in redistricting? >> it is a personal passion of mine to understanding how is the demographics of san francisco changing and how are we looking to really building and growing a vibrant community that is what makes a city thrived. supervisor farrell: thank you for your comments about families. i share those concerns. a question i would ask to some of the other applicants -- have you ever applied before? what sparked

well, the city as well as city council sees the importance of keeping people engaged. you do that with community events. and that's the way to bring people out and keep them engaged, to let them know that we as a city are still here to support them, support their community. >> san pablo summer series, give us your final thoughts as we show the website on the screen. >> can you visit the website, www.sanpabloca.gov. and then hitching on to the events, it will give you the full information. we just completed a great fourth of july event with great talent which has been awarded that particular event. so we have the second half rolling in, great excitement, everything from zitico music, r & b, tex mex, everything. >> any other news? >> i look forward to seeing viewers and different faces out there, if you see me, come say hello. >> thank you all so much for the work you're doing. >> thank you. >>> u up next, a little bit of latin jazz for you. but i like having a lot more a lot more than having a lot less. and the more more i have, the more i like having more. and that's ex

but as the city grew, just as any city, we need public gathering places, places where people could go who did not know others. you know, one reason tourists go to union square, and they go to a public place where they can belong without knowing anybody. every city needs space like that. we realized at our scale, we needed a civic plaza. we thought about bands, but as soon as you put them up on stage, you have these consuming crowds listening to the band. the longer they stood there the more beer bottle they drop on the ground. that did not seem attractive at all. we do not leave a trace after the event. we do not want a stage. if you want your own, build it, which people did. so we turned to copy. it affords you a social place. you can stay there all day, we do not care. we are not doing it to make money. we lose money. we do it for the sake of public interaction. to create a civic environment that led to communal feelings. that seems like an exception to the dogma, but what did emerson say? a speech of consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. >> i was just thinking that. [laught