ccx.layout 17-02.a.hh - San Francisco Study Center
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ccx.layout 17-02.a.hh - San Francisco Study Center
2 Insi de Septembe In s i de r 20 0 2 Number 1 7 Baldwin is back 3 Insi de Chris Daly Happy ending to hotel fire tale His record, ranking as a supervisor Francisco Study Center by San Published All this plus much more! CANDIDATES PHOTOS: CARL ANGEL FA CE THE PEOPLE At the Alliance for a Better District 6 candidates forum Aug. 13: Incumbent Chris Daly, James Leo Dunn, Garrett Jenkins, Roger Gordon, Malinka Moye, Robert Power. Daly dodges barbs, opponents make their case T he election campaign train is gathering steam as candidates avail themselves of growing opportunities to meet the voters. The Alliance for a Better District 6, ever active in Tenderloin voter education, organized a candidates forum Aug. 13 at the TL police station’s community room that packed the house with a crowd of more he’s a member. Supervisor Chris Daly spoke, as did candidates James Leo Dunn, Roger Gordon, Garrett Jenkins, Malinka Moye, Robert Power, Burke Strunsky, and Michael Sweet. People were packed three deep in the aisles. “My chief opponent is not these folks sitting to the side of me. It’s the apathy we’ve experienced with several of the were facing the people from behind a bank of tables. “I hope to engage those voters and bring them out,” he said. But the crowd that night was anything but apathetic. Representatives from the alphabet of heavyweight community organizations were there: NOMPC, SRO Collaborative, SOMPAC, TNDC, TAC and more. Unlike the sparsely attended forums of the 2000 campaign, now the activists are better organized and so are the opposition candidates. isteners were entertained: L like when James Leo Dunn, replete in his three-piece suit The police station community room was packed and people had to watch through the window of an adjoining room. than 200 and featured all the supervisorial candidates except Arthur Jackson, who was at the Health Commission meeting – voters of San Francisco,” said candidate Garrett Jenkins, seated at the front of the room flanked by his opponents. The candidates topped by a hat with red feather, waved his Kombu seaweed, declared himself “re-mineralized,” and said that while he may not be “strong enough to beat up Daly,” he’s certainly strong enough to “scare him.” Even some audience members thought they were entertain- ing: like the man sitting on the floor in front who grumbled loudly at whatever the candidates said. The forum got under way with each candidate given a few minutes to make their pitch. “Consensus building” was a keystone in many of their declared strategies. “This campaign for me is about being a unifier, about bringing people together, the different areas of our great district,” said candidate Burke Strunsky, an assistant district attorney. Robert Northington Power, a Libertarian, said: “I don’t think there’s anything that anyone in D.C. or Sacramento can do to help us; we have to do it ourselves by building up our community. I think that’s something the people in this room are perfectly capable of doing.” Malinka Moye, a novice on the campaign circuit, said, “Man, this is a mess down here, this is a big mess, a big mess, and to change it, it’s going to take a whole lot of people.” fter the candidates’ introA ductions, moderator Steve Conley, media rep of Alliance for a Better District 6, asked the candidates questions that had been submitted by audience members on 3-by-5 cards. What are you going to do for the residents of this district who are tired of having this district a dumping grounds of the city’s homeless? Moye, who said he’d been “doing research” on the district, said: “Homelessness has been accepted in San Francisco a long, long time. They used to sleep in front of City Hall…. What I’m going to do, I’m going to show you the heart of these homeless people.” Power’s answer: “I’m a bit disturbed by the analogy. … What we need for this district is for it to be a dumping grounds for new continued on page 4 by Karen Oberdorfer Ceremony on Sixth Street: Baldwin Hotel is back PHOTO: CARL ANGEL by Phil Tracy he ribbon-cutting ceremony T marking the reopening of the Baldwin House Hotel on Aug. 16 was a special occasion for a couple of reasons. It offered the specter of two dozen hotel tenants cheering their landlord, and it marked the quickest turnaround between an SRO hotel fire and its return to occupancy – 10 weeks. The history of SRO hotels that catch fire is not a happy one. Six hotels located on Sixth Street have succumbed to fire in the last 15 years. Only the Baldwin reopened. In the same 15 years, the city has lost a total of 1,463 low-cost rooms as a result of fire. While conspiracists nudge one another and insinuate that landlords had the hotels torched for the insurance, the usual culprit is a hot plate. They are illegal to use in hotel rooms, and all but impossible for people on low, fixed incomes to resist. They short out the hotel’s old, substandard wiring and light up items that accidentally touch them. Another culprit is people who smoke in bed. Once an SRO goes up in flames, all the incentives run opposite restoring it. It’s off the tax rolls since it’s worthless. It can be torn down and replaced with an office building. And there’s not much money to be made in providing housing to low-income people in the first place. Which is what made the Baldwin’s reopening all the more unique. The ceremony itself was a modest affair. Sam Dodge, the Central City SRO Collaborative program director, acted as master of ceremonies. The year-old collaborative works to increase safety and improve living conditions in the central city’s SROs. Ironically, it had held a fire prevention and survival workshop in the Baldwin the month before the June blaze. It had also helped to secure the city’s extensions of rent vouchers for the Baldwin residents, allowing them to remain in the city and get back their old rooms once the hotel reopened. Dodge said a few opening words, then began introducing the other people standing beside the ribbon: George Smith from the mayor’s office and Supervisor Chris Daly. Antoinetta Stadlman, the collaborative’s tenant representa- Landlord Mike Amin, left, prepares to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the Baldwin House Hotel. tive for the Baldwin, was also introduced and praised for her tireless efforts on behalf of the tenants. Stadlman was the only tenant to remain in the hotel and acted as go-between for the tenants and the landlord. The landlord, Mike Amin, was the guest of honor and got to cut the ribbon. A native of India, Amin came to the United States and worked in the hotel trade for 25 years. He purchased the Baldwin five years ago. After the ribbon cutting, Amin was asked why he worked so hard to reopen his hotel when so many other land- lords had not bothered. “They were homeless,” he said, referring to the Baldwin’s residents. “They are my tenants.” During his remarks, Chris Daly suggested the Baldwin Hotel fire could serve as a example for how any future SRO Hotel fires could be handled. “This is now a model, if there ever is another fire again, “ he said. But reality contradicts him. First, the fire was small. In fact there was fire damage in only two rooms. All the other rooms suffered water damage, much easier to repair. Secondly, the Baldwin had a strong tenant leadership, which helped to keep the residents banded together during the 10 weeks they were living in scattered hotels. Finally, the Baldwin had Mike Amin, who cared about his tenants, and what happened to them. The chances of all those considerations coming together again at the next SRO hotel fire, and there surely will be a next one, is remote. Still, it was a success this time and watching the tenants toasting each other with champagne was a genuine pleasure. There aren’t many happy endings on Sixth Street. ■ City Hall segue – mean motor scooter of a protest by Phil Tracy an Francisco prides itself S on being a city where things get started first, particularly things contentious. So it comes as no surprise that the steps of City Hall saw the first-ever protest of the Segway motorized scooter on Monday, Aug. 26. It almost seemed our civic duty. Motorized scooters have been around for about 10 years now, offering their own distinctive contribution to noise pollution. The Segway scooter differs from all the others in two ways. The wheels are aligned in the manner of a chariot rather than a skateboard. And it’s the only scooter with a bill set to pass the Legislature that would legalize its use on sidewalks. As protests go, this one was pretty perfunctory. It being the last week in August, the press coverage was predictably heavy. You could call a press conference the last week of August to announce you hate your mother-in-law and at least two TV stations would send camera crews. This protest netted three, plus reporters for both dailies, a couple of radio people and me. All told, there were 20 protesters on the steps addressing 10 media people and some guy in weird sunglasses who theoretically was the audience. The first to speak was Bill Price, president of the Senior Action Network, which claims to CENTRAL CITY extra PHOTO: CARL ANGEL represent 150 organizations that collectively have a membership of 30,000 seniors. After intoning a lament for the sanctity of city streets, Bill reached for his own personal best in the field of public inanity by leading the assembled in a rousing Supervisor chorus of “Stop the Segway slaughter.” Next up was Jeanne Lynch, who hadn’t been slaughtered by a Segway, as it happened, but had been hit by a bike awhile back. She testified to the long-lasting effect of encounters with machines on city streets. “I’m still recovering from my injuries,” she told the man in the weird sunglasses. After that, Supervisor Chris Daly stood up and characterized the Segway legislation as “dangerous” to seniors, children, the disabled and the blind, although something that can attain a speed of up to 12 mph and weighs up to 300 pounds, depending on the weight of its operator, could theoretically be dangerous to anyone. As it happened, the supervisor had a resolution opposing the Segway legislation ready for the Board of Supes. He confidently predicted the resolution would pass that day. In walking human up a driveway. The city of being was justi- Atlanta is reported to have fied because the shelled out $9,000 apiece for 10 Segway, along of these things, which may sigwith human nal Atlanta’s determination to beings, was contest our city’s vaunted title dynamically sta- as kook capital of America. ble. I did not So far, about half the states make that last have legalized these new statement up. machines, which is a tribute to Just how Segway LLC’s lobbying prowess dangerous the if nothing else. The battle is Segway scooter is being carried forward here in Calremains a matter ifornia by state Sen. Tom TorChris Daly joins the Senior Action Network protest. of conjecture. A lakson, D-Martinez, who sits San Francisco on the state Senate Transfact, it was sent to committee. Post Office spokesman claims his portation Committee and preAfter that they shuffled up agency is currently testing the sumably knows a reliable cama blind person and someone in device on the streets of San paign contributor when he sees a motorized wheelchair (don’t Francisco, although no one I one. A version of the bill has get me started) and then called know has seen one in action. He passed the Assembly and needs it a day. An article made the bot- says, no problems — to date. The to clear the Senate again before tom of the front page of the only reported accident so far going to our governor, whose willChronicle’s Bay Area section, involved an Atlanta, Ga., ingness to stand up to lobbyists which pretty much counts for a “Progress Ambassador” (appar- who have nothing to offer but home run publicity-wise. ently what they’re calling cops a campaign contribution is legJust how much good it all did in Atlanta these days)who endary. We’ll provide updates was another matter. The Senior injured his knee while going as they become available. ■ Action Network took exception to the Segway scooter after a demonstration of the device by the Segway people went awry. The group’s executive 1106 MARKET STREET director, Bob Livingston, plowed CHURRASCARIA RESTAURANT (AT THE RENOIR HOTEL) into a bunch of furniture while PRESENT THIS AD TO YOUR SERVER trying to operate it at an early August meeting of the SAN AND RECEIVE A 15% DISCOUNT ON board. The board later voted to BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER. oppose the Segway bill, which PH: (415) 626-6432 ingeniously defines anyone FAX: (415) 626-6450 operating one of these things as a pedestrian. A spokesman for www.cafedobrasil.com Segway explained this reinter15% DISCOUNT pretation of the word for a NORTH OF MARKET’S ONLY BRAZILIAN CUISINE 2 SEPTEMBER 2002 Board work: Daly’s legislative portfolio among top 4 – ordinance success rate near bottom C pieces of legislation District 6’s rookie supe has been busy by Karen Oberdorfer upervisor Chris Daly says his first big legislative S win was the passage in April 2001 of an ordinance he sponsored that appropriated money for the Department of Aging and Adult Services. In all it means $3 million for the department’s Office of the Aging. It was at the newly elected supervisor’s second full board meeting that he introduced the ordinance, making good on a campaign pledge to the Senior PAC slating $1 million for new senior services (home meal delivery, congregate meal sites, inhome care, and more) and $1 million for one-time costs to get the whole shebang off the ground (new equipment: copiers, computers, and rent, utilities, and COLAs to nonprofit contractors). The third million is budgeted for services this fiscal year. “It’s been absolutely tremendous,” said Jim Illig, president of Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly. Daly was the only supervisor who had signed the PAC pledge to step up to the plate and put his promise into action right away, said Illig. Another piece of legislation that Daly regards as important is his evictionthreats ordinance (011575), which requires eviction notices to be in writing and filed with the rent board. It also requires that vacated units be subject to future use restrictions. Daly often cites tenant activist Ted Gullicksen, office manager of the San Francisco Tenants Union, about the ordinance: “ ‘One of the most important rent-control amendments in the last decade.’” “It’s an excellent law dealing with a major problem creating displacement in San Francisco,” said Gullicksen, in a phone interview. “It’s a very good ordinance that controls what is, in fact, the biggest cause of evictions in San Francisco.” The ordinance also helps to keep rental properties on the market and at lower rates. New property owners now must rent the apartments for three years at the previous landlord’s rate structure. This in turn makes the use of Ellis Act or owner move-ins by sellers less useful as a selling tool. Daly’s not the most prolifie lawmaker on the Board of Supervisors, but he more than holds his own (see sidebar). He came roaring onto the board propelled by 80% of the district vote. He quickly clashed with Mayor Brown, and his stick-to-his-guns radical politics made Daly an easy target for reporters who feel uncomfortable outside the status quo. Daly has been so much in the spotlight that everyone has an opinion about him. So, instead of writing about his style, The Extra is reporting on his substance: his record as a supervisor. Relative to many of his colleagues, Daly has been busy in the past two years. With help from his aides and the city’s Legistar software we counted 526 pieces of legislation in all. “I’ve learned a great deal in the first 21 months,” Daly says, “I started off not being very comfortable with how things work [at City Hall]. I still don’t like it, but I’m getting more used to it.” Housing, homelessness, seniors and tenant issues — “those are issues that I’ve taken leadership in at the Board of continued on page 7 SEPTEMBER 2002 3 ILLUSTRATION: CARL ANGEL hris Daly ranks No. 2, 3 or 4 among his board colleagues in the amount of legislation put forth since the district-elected Board of Supervisor took office in January 2001. Daly leads the rookies on the board in legislative output with 526 items. There are two major types of legislation: ordinances and resolutions. An ordinance is a law, and there are relatively few of them. A resolution is most often a policy statement or a form of official citywide recognition, so there are many more resolutions than ordinances. A supervisor either sponsors – originates – a piece of regislation, or co-sponsors by signing on in support of a colleague’s legislation. Co-sponsorship is the most popular way to go. Gavin Newsom was the runaway No. 1 in all categories except resolutions sponsored, where he shared the limelight with board President Tom Ammiano. Mark Leno is ensconced as the solid No. 2 except in ordinances sponsored, where he tied with Daly. The rate of Daly’s success as a co-sponsor of both resolutions and ordinances is a respectable 93% (resolutions) and 84% (ordinances). This compares favorably with the majority of the board members. High as Daly’s numbers are, the leader for resolutions successfully co-sponsored was Matt Gonzalez; with only about a fourth of Daly’s output, Gonzalez weighed in at a whopping 97% pass rate. Newsom led sponsored ordinances with 70%. Newsom’s feat is all the more remarkable for his torrential output – 177 ordinances co-sponsored, 107 more than Leno and Daly, who are tied. The bottom feeders in terms of quantity of co-sponsored legislation, such as Gonzalez and Leland Yee, have the highest success rates – but the difference between Daly’s rate of success and theirs is minuscule. When it comes to solo sponsorship, Daly fares fairly well in resolutions (78%). With ordinances, though he is No. 4 in number sponsored, he’s next to last in percentage passed with 15 out of 41. But maybe, in a district heavily populated by the city’s poorest and least powerful, that’s to be expected. Representing such a constituency can call for taking stands not popular citywide. And when your elected representative is ready to go to jail advocating for a community cause – as Daly did at Hastings – maybe that counts even more. – by Geoff Link ORDINANCES Sponsored/Passed 1. Newsom: 91/64 2. Leno: 73/40 3. Ammiano: 50/22 4. Daly: 41/15 5. Peskin: 38/26 6. Gonzalez: 25/10 7. McGoldrick: 23/13 7. Yee: 23/8 8. Hall: 18/7 9. Sandoval: 16/6 10. Maxwell: 14/8 Co-sponsored/Passed 1. Newsom: 177/168 2. Leno: 70/62 2. Daly: 70/59 3. Maxwell: 44/38 4. Peskin: 41/37 5. Sandoval: 39/30 6. McGoldrick: 29/38 7. Gonzalez: 31/24 8. Ammiano: 28/39 9. Hall: 16/14 10. Yee: 15/11 RESOLUTIONS Sponsored/Passed 1. Newsom: 237/204 1. Ammiano: 237/204 2. Leno: 143/102 3. Yee: 123/103 4. Daly: 113/89 5. Maxwell: 109/99 5. Sandoval: 109/90 6. Peskin: 81/75 7. Hall: 76/63 8. Gonzalez: 61/44 9. McGoldrick: 34/28 Co-sponsored/Passed 1. Newsom: 613/580 2. Leno: 587/570 3. Daly: 302/282 4. Peskin: 244/232 5. Ammiano: 160/148 6. Maxwell: 154/142 7. McGoldrick: 153/144 8. Sandoval: 111/106 9. Hall: 108/99 10. Gonzalez: 81/79 11. Yee: 58/55 ORDINANCE SUCCESS RATE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Newsom: 70% Peskin: 68 Maxwell: 57 McGoldrick: 56 Leno: 54 Ammiano: 44 7. Gonzales: 40 8. Hall: 39 9. Sandoval: 37 10. Daly: 36 11. Yee: 34 SOURCE: CITY CLERK LEGISTAR PROGRAM CENTRAL CITY extra CAMPAIGN FORUM Candidates: First they speak their mind, then they eat cake ALL PHOTOS ON THESE PAGES: CARL ANGEL continued from page 1 development.” Roger Gordon: “You dump trash, not people. But I hear what you’re saying. … But I’m not going to try to run people out of town … except maybe YOU!” Gordon said, pointing at the loud grumbler who had been repeatedly asked to quiet down. The audience clapped. Daly said more services are needed: “District 6 has more of a lot of things … and yes we have more services in this district. But I think there’s a fair argument to be made that we’re actually underserved by community-serving services.” Michael Sweet: “The person who wrote this question is absolutely right, we are a dumping ground in a lot of respects. We need to spread it [homeless shelters and low-income housing] out into all of the neighborhoods.” But Strunsky wasn’t buying it: “You don’t solve a problem by moving it around – you solve it by approaching it. … We should be proud of every part of our district.” While candidates were talking up consensus building and whether or not to shuffle services around, an emblematic vignette on the sidelines quietly occurred: arlier in the forum Moye had declared that all E the talk of politicians was just that; so his final pledge was succinct: “I’m not going to talk about it; I’m District 6 voter in a wheelchair had positioned himA self in the left aisle up front, close to the candidates. Halfway through the two-hour forum he rolled to the bathroom, leaving his jug of apple juice on a side table. As the bathroom door shut behind him, a pallid man with jittery hands, who was sitting toward the back, scurried up to the apple juice jug. He unscrewed the cap while whispering to everyone, but no one in particular, that he “only wanted a taste,” and poured some juice into a Styrofoam cup. He rushed back to his seat, leaving the jug’s cap off. Next a woman in the back, who was reclining, not sitting, in a wheelchair, maneuvered herself to the temporarily vacated prime real estate near the juice at the front of the room. A minute later, our man returned from the bathroom to find his spot had been usurped and his apple juice appeared to have been tampered with. He pursed his lips, but the lack of surprise on his face said that this District 6 resident endures a daily diet of hassles. He and his competitor for the front aisle site points, “We need leadership from downtown. I propose that we get the business leaders to the neighborhood and we say, ‘Look, we want sustainable economic development on Sixth Street. I also believe we need to put a check on the nonprofits.” Power spoke of decreasing government intervention so that unencumbered market forces would solve the district’s economic woes. He quoted ex-President Clinton’s campaign catch phrase: “It’s the economy – stupid.” District 6 supervisorial candidates face a packed house and tell where they stand and what they offer voters in the Tenderloin. He mentioned some alliances he’s forged, such as tried to reach the candidates’ magic answer/pill/medicine of “consensus.” But in the end, after a whisper match, with: state Sen. John Burton, Assemblywoman Carole the woman rolled out in a huff. Meanwhile, the show Migden and school board President Julie Wynn. “No, I don’t get along with the mayor – fortunately he will goes on. be gone next year. But I can work with Tom [Ammiano], gainst the consensus-theme backdrop, an occasional I can work with Gavin [ Newsom], I can work with John verbal salvo was sent across enemy lines: [Burton], I can work with people,” Daly said. “So how do you choose [the supervisor]? I’d say ‘throw In his opening statement, Daly said of his stint as darts,’ but Chris is the biggest target here,” said Roger supervisor: “There’s been results – there’s been good Gordon. news.” He listed some wins: $2 million for senior In his own defense Daly said, “Some may paint me services; improved quality of life in SRO hotels, includas divisive, but I’ve actually forged a lot of coalitions in ing a renter protection ordinance that bans eviction threats; the last year and a half. I haven’t forged coalitions with and successful working relationships with diverse downtown. Downtown hates me. They’re going to coalitions, he said, such as the Bicycle Coalition, probably spend a whole lot of money to defame me, and which resulted in bicycle lanes on Howard Street. that’s OK.” He said he and his office helped save “working-class jobs,” A such as the laundry workers’ at Laguna Honda Hospital, and reform the city’s Planning Commission, which is in a state of emergency because the supes haven’t agreed to Mayor Brown’s four nominees. “And with a full term I’m going to build on these wins. I will speak up at every turn for the folks who are shied away from, for folks who are not heard, for folks typically not invited to the table and I will make sure that there are seats there…” he moderator announced that Daly was turning 30 T that day and someone brought out a cake the size of a king-size pillow. The audience cheered, and cake for all was promised at the end of the affair. “Happy birthday, Mr. Supervisor,” said Jenkins as he started his final statement. Then he made his own going to show you, you’ll see it - that’s it.” The next forum should be in a larger room, said District 6 homeowner Jason Born, who is rehabbing an old South of Market Edwardian. He said he thought the forum was good, and he pronounced it successful. “It allowed each candidate to express their views on what they want to do for the district.” He hasn’t decided yet who he will vote for, but he said he wouldn’t vote for Daly and that two of the candidates impressed him: Gordon and Sweet. Tracy Baxter, a member of the Democratic County Central Committee, came to hear what the candidates proposed. “While there are a number of good ideas coming from most of the candidates, I think that Chris Daly is head and shoulders above the rest of them,” Baxter said. Baxter doesn’t live in District 6, but as a life-long resident of San Francisco she’s had a front row seat to shifts in the city. “I’ve watched the Tenderloin make this transition from a place that very poor people could still live out decent lives to a place where the very poor are imperiled by other elements that live here.” That, she said, affects all San Franciscans. It was nightfall outside the Tenderloin police station, but the sidewalk was crowded with people eating cake. ■ For information on the Alliance for a Better District 6 candidates’ debate scheduled for early September, log onto http://groups.yahoo.com/group/District6inSF or call 820-1560. Editor Geoff Link contributed to this report. “What have you accomplished in the community that has changed or improved the lives of others?” DALY “In 1995 I co-founded a nonprofit organization on 16th Street called the Mission Agenda … an organization that goes into residential hotels, works with folks in various hotels to empower them, build their leadership so they can take ownership over their own lives. And once I got into office the first thing I did was call up the city attorney and asked him to draft an ordinance to ban the collection of visitor fees in residential hotels. I’m very happy to report that it is now illegal for any hotel operator to collect visitor fees.” CENTRAL CITY extra DUNN “We’re fighting one man and it’s Mohammed; we need one man, George Washington, to lead us back. This is what I’ve been thinking about the whole year – you know, I came up with this housing,” he said, holding up a model of a tetrahedron, “incidentally, this is fireproof, this is all glass and steel.” JENKINS “I’m proud of the efforts that Jim Thompson and I took to open up this police station. And when they said they weren’t going to have a community room, which we’re all present in tonight, we went back and fought for that … as well as the day that we held hands around Boeddeker Park and told the drug dealers and some of the folks out there that we’re not going to put up with it anymore. Today you can walk out probably two, three, in the morning and have a conversation right in front of Boeddeker Park – I think that’s a hell of an accomplishment.” 4 GORDON “I got $750,000 to improve businesses in the first two blocks of Sixth Street. I went to the Redevelopment Agency and said, ‘Look, you’ve got all this money and you have all this power; you’ve got to give up eminent domain except on Sixth Street, and you have to make money available to existing businesses and don’t do the credit check, just do the business check … This is how you reconstruct neighborhoods, bit by bit, the city investing with people willing to invest in their neighborhoods, their communities, themselves.” MOYE “I want you guys to know this is a community about to blow for positive change…people who really want to say, ‘Look, you been doing this for year in and year in and year in and now I got to elect somebody and the same things are going to happen?’ No, these people want dramatic change quickly and I’ve done four years of research on these people and I’m going to bring that to you.” SEPTEMBER 2002 POWER “The thing that I think that I’ve done that is the most important to this district was getting on the ballot and offering an alternative. We have a terrible problem in this city where whenever we’re faced with a problem of any nature we say the solution must be more government…” SEPTEMBER 2002 STRUNSKY SWEET “I’ve never held an elective office, so my most important accomplishment to me is more of an individual, one-on-one basis, being in my current job [as assistant district attorney]. I think some of the examples are situations where I’ve gone out to a residential hotel and given somebody a stay-away order and realized that that’s going to help protect them from someone. I think those kind of moments are very important to me and I treasure them greatly.” “I currently serve as the vice chair of the Rincon Point South Beach Citizen’s Advisory Committee and in that position and working with that committee as I’ve done the last four years, we’ve had a lot of accomplishments in my neighborhood that I’m proud of -- all revolving around securing financing to fund programs that help improve our neighborhood.” 5 Care Not Cash: yes or no SWEET Yes: It is becoming clear to me that the fact that San Francisco is the only city in Northern California that’s giving the kind of cash grants, $390 a month, that we are giving is encouraging people to come to San Francisco. ... I don’t have a problem with the city providing benefit to people not as well off as I am, what I do have a problem with is seeing that money going to uses that I don’t condone. STRUNSKY Yes: I think it’s dangerous when you say let’s make our programs worse or less appealing to people so that we don’t attract people... [but] I think the evidence is very clear and from what I do at work every day that a lot of that money’s going to subsidize people’s substance abuse problems and that’s an incredible burden on the system. POWER No: I wholeheartedly support the idea of taking cash out of this system; however, I believe there are some fatal flaws to the Care Not Cash plan that will cause more pain than gain. I would prefer a much simpler, gradual decline of the cash payment over the course of five years and at the same time that we’re taking the cash away from individuals that the city supports, we should take the cash away from the nonprofits that the city supports over the same time frame. MOYE No: Let me get down to the nitty-gritty of it; take this money away from the people, it’s going to hurt them, it’s going to hurt them hard. GORDON Yes: Care Not Cash is not about saving cash – it’s about fixing a system that’s broken... the way we solve people’s problems today is not working. JENKINS Yes: I see what happens on the 1st and 15th of every month…but I can tell you that, just as someone else [Gordon] has mentioned, that, just because you receive a GA check doesn’t make you a drug user. ... It’s sad that we have to compete on the ballot for a solution to deal with this homeless issue. This is something that could have been dealt at the Board (of Supervisors level)... DUNN No: Where does all this hardness come from? This is a shadow we’re casting over the homeless right now. They’re not all drug addicts, they’re human, man, they’re our brothers, HELLO! …it’s cruel. DALY No: We have structural poverty, structural unemployment…and I think in government we have an obligation to take care of people. So I support care, but do not support Care Not Cash. It’s poorly drafted and politically motivated. CENTRAL CITY extra CAMPAIGN PROFILES Karen Oberdorfer ARTHUR JACKSON: Experienced city official ability payments from the Navy supplemented by his work with Caritas. But, since 1998, he’s been a full-time community activist. “It’s difficult at first, but you get used to it,” he says of the lower pay and the long hours, but he’s driven: “Whatever needs to be done, I try to help out.” Besides running for supervisor in 2000, Jenkins has run for two other positions, winning one: Municipal Utility District Ward 5. In the process, he says, he’s garnered more recognition and citywide support. He wants District 6 to become more inclusive. He’ll listen to all sides, he says, and work with people with varying points of view. He praises Daly for bringing attention to people who often are ignored, but Jenkins says that more groups should be included in District 6’s purview. “I would open the door and bring more underrepresented communities into the political process,” Jenkins says. Safety on the streets is a pressing issue to Jenkins. “There are still too many people in San Francisco that fear venturing outside the safety of their homes,” he wrote in an e-mail interview. He wants more police on the streets; he ‘d like a police substation at Market and Sixth. “When the dealers see a uniform they walk away,” Jenkins elaborated in a phone interview. Jenkins says he supports the community courts and they need more staff. With 85% of businesses in San Francisco being small, he said, they need more incentives to stay and grow. “I’m always behind lessening taxes on small businesses in San Francisco, especially everyday neighborhood services,” Jenkins says. Cleaning up the streets is also a priority to Jenkins. But he wants more collaboration among the different cleaners. He suggests paying neighborhood people a stipend, say $50 a month, to maintain their own blocks. Jenkins says that if more people had a stake in their living spaces as owners the Tenderloin would change. “In 2000, I campaigned with the promise of developing community housing and land trusts. Since then, a city task force has been created, and now that the idea of land trusts is acceptable. I will begin to advocate for the conversion of nonprofit housing into land trusts for the residents who want to participate,” Jenkins wrote in an e-mail. “I will continue to support community efforts to revitalize the neighborhood through economic development and construction of more housing.” Arthur Jackson, except for Chris Daly, has the most experience as a hard-working city official among the field of eight contenders. Jackson is a member of the Health Commission, has been its budget committee chairman and its president; and was president of the city Commission on Aging and Adult Services. He knows the public health system, from the outside in. Born in Chicago, he is a dapper 55-yearold, has crystal-clear eyes, and says he’s healthier than he has been in years. For 10 years he took medication to regulate an ailing kidney, suffered through dialysis for 6 1/2 years when the meds stopped working, and then in 2000 underwent a kidney transplant. During the last 10 years, (except for two when he was so sick it was “scary,” he said) Jackson, a Quaker, has sat on either of the two commissions. Mayor Frank Jordan first appointed him to the Health Commission in 1992, and during 1993-95 Jackson was its president. During the early ’90s, while the AIDs crisis was exploding, he also served as budget committee chairman. Jackson’s term ended in 1996. Mayor Willie Brown appointed him to the Commission on Aging and Adult Services in 1999, and in 2000 he became its president. Then, in 2001, Brown put him back on the Health Commission, where he is today. “I think I’ve been a good health commissioner because I’ve had 20 surgeries so I really know the system,” said Jackson. “We need someone who has knowledge of and background in how to do community service and civil service and come to the table with other people. ... It’s not a place at this particular time for trainees,” he said. District 6 is a hub of the city, Jackson says, yet there hasn’t been enough attention to its economic vitality. There isn’t enough emphasis on supporting businesses; for instance, the payroll tax is too high, he says, which does nothing to encourage businesses to stay in the city. “There’s lots of people in this district who don’t have jobs,” Jackson said. He’s the co-chair of the welfare-to-work program, SF Works. “A paycheck empowers a community,” he said. Jackson wants to see more services for seniors, and one of his priorities is to develop more congregate meal sites, giving seniors a place to meet others. He is the board president of the board of directors at the Senior Center at O’Farrell and Turk and the center at Aquatic Park. He said he will go out and talk to people (“shake 25,000 hands”) and find out what his constituents want. “You’ve got to really address the issues of everybody in your district,” he said. On the other hand, he noted, if you walk down the street and ask people where they can find services, most people wouldn’t know, so he would allocate money for marketing, education and prevention. “We need to take every opportunity to help people find what they’re looking for,” he said. He applauds what TNDC, developer Art Evans and Mark Trotz of public housing have achieved. But, he said, “We could do more. Everyone deserves a place to live. Everyone.” MICHAEL SWEET: A “big picture” lawyer Michael Sweet, 32, is a lawyer at a firm that deals with civil litigation for businesses, yet he says his critics are incorrectly “trying to brand me as ‘big business.’” He has a progressive bent, he says. For instance, he says, he worked for Jerry Brown’s presidential campaign in 1991-92 and the progressive Proposition 217 in 1996 that aimed to direct more tax revenues to schools and community services. Born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area, he also has been vice chairman of the Rincon Point South Beach citizens advisory board and Brannan Street Wharf Citizens Advisory Board to the Redevelopment Agency, is a member of Alliance for a Better District 6, and participated with the SoMa Leadership Council. Sweet’s experience as a lawyer and community activist, he says, helps him wield the “skill set to do the job well, and bring all parties to the table.” Although he isn’t “big business,” he says the district does need a dose of economic activity to revive the streets. If the boarded-up storefronts were transformed into thriving businesses there would be more foot traffic, he says, more little delis and cafes to serve the increased work force, and more mom and pop neighborhoodserving businesses would sprout. Therefore, he is against an increase in the business tax, because that sends a negative message to businesses. Projects that he would launch in the district would include improved street cleaning, and address quality of life issues for everyone, including residents in the SROs, shelters, apartments, condos, and single-family homes. He would emphasize accountability for the resources set aside by the city for the homeless to ensure those resources actually reach them. He says the district gets the second smallest piece of the parks budget, and he would try to change that. He also wants Bessie Carmichael Elementary in SoMa to be rebuilt. “District 6 is poised to become the heart of the City,” says Sweet, “and we need to leverage the opportunities like the Third Street rail, Mission Bay, the work of TNDC, ECS, and the Transbay Terminal.” He says that we “need a supervisor with a vision for the big picture,” who can see District 6 as “the gem of the city, but for everyone.” Sweet says he plans to continue lawyering if elected supervisor, but he and his wife have a baby on the way, so he would cut back on his hours at the firm.■ GARRETT JENKINS: Full-time activist Garrett Jenkins, 38, says he lives at ground zero – at the Dalt Hotel on Turk near Mason. That means he’s also been working in and around ground zero for years. To highlight his community work, Jenkins has been the president of the North of Market Planning Coalition Board of Directors and now is NOMPC’s executive director. He was on the Lower Eddy/Leavenworth Task Force, sits on the board of San Francisco Tomorrow, volunteered with Adopt-A-Block, and is chairman of the San Francisco Neighborhood Alliance. Jenkins also ran for supervisor in 2000. On weekends he works the for Caritas Management, an in-house management firm for the nonprofit Mission Housing Development. This is his only paid position. Weekdays he’s an unpaid community activist. He is semi-retired, he said, getting dis- Letters to the Editor Right on, Ed! Correcting a misconception In the August Central City Extra, Ed Bowers says in his interview with Bob Labriola, “I don’t believe that drugs should be illegal just because some bullies in office say they should be. If people want to get high, let them choose their poison and self-medicate for free.” I just want to say, Right On, Ed! The War on Drugs has been a cruel, costly failure. Starchild Candidate for supervisor, District 8 In your latest edition, in the article re: Tenderloin secession by Ed Bowers, there is an error that many folks make, and I think you should correct it. In the fourth paragraph from the end, Bowers says, “Most of my friends, especially the whores and skilled ex-cons…have felony arrest records longer than my arm and cannot vote for anyone.” This is a common misconception believed by many, when the truth of the matter is that once a person’s parole or probation is completed, they may start to vote again. It seems that parole and probation officers do not tell this to their clients, which is unjust. Terrie Frye CENTRAL CITY extra 6 Central City Extra is published monthly by San Francisco Study Center Inc., a private nonprofit serving the community since 1972. The Extra is published through grants from the S.F. Hotel Tax Fund and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. The contents are copyrighted by the San Francisco Study Center, 1095 Market Street, Suite 602, San Francisco, CA 94103. Phone: 626-1650 Fax: 626-7276 Email: centralcityextra@studycenter. org Editor/Publisher: Geoffrey Link Senior Writer/Editor: Marjorie Beggs Reporters: KarenOberdorfer, Tom Carter, Ed Bowers Design and layout : Carl Angel, Don McCartney Artist/Photographer: Carl Angel Contributors: William Roller, Adrian D. Varnedoe, Diamond Dave, William Crain, Mark Hedin, Stan Hutton, Sherry Barto, Phil Tracy, John Burks, Jeremy Harness, Kurt Shuck, Anne Marie Jordan, Lenny Limjoco Editorial Advisory Committee: David Baker, Michael Nulty, Debbie Larkin, Nicholas Rosenberg, Brad Paul Central City Extra is a member of the San Francisco Neighborhood Newspaper Association SEPTEMBER 2002 Rookie supe’s 2-year record continued from page 3 Supervisors,” he says. Some other ordinances and resolutions of note include the $250 million Affordable Housing Bond that’s Prop. B on the November ballot because of passage of Daly’s Resolution 010839, which he says he worked on with board President Tom Ammiano and the San Francisco Organizing Project. It will be used to develop low-income housing and help low- to moderate-income first-time buyers with their down payment. He also sponsored resolutions that endorsed the development of homeless shelters and housing strategies for homeless seniors. (020598). But he hasn’t focused solely on elders; he also has introduced an ordinance (which has not passed yet) that would appropriate $176,000 to help fund the Larkin Street Youth Center for the Homeless Youth Emergency Services Program. He sponsored a resolution to support state Assembly Bill 2972, which targets youth ages 18-24 for statefunded housing programs. Daly sponsored a resolution that urges the Department of Human Services to develop a resource center for the homeless on Sixth Street, like the one in the Mission, which has shower facilities, phones, meals and more. Daly’s sleight of hand in the budget process helped keep lowpaid laundry workers at Laguna Honda employed this fiscal year. He sponsored an ordinance that Ammiano, Matt Gonzalez, Jake McGoldrick, Gerardo Sandoval and Mark Leno cosponsored that added about 25 cents to monthly telephone bills for most of San Francisco phone users. This helped raise the funds for the workers to stay included in the city’s general fund. Of Daly’s resolutions and ordinances were passed by the supes, there are some general categories that repeat: • 8 resolutions or ordinances that deal with environmental issues. • 8 that deal with seniors. • 12 with services for the poor and homeless; • 5 deal with SRO and rental issues; • 6 with affordable housing, not including four targeted at housing for the homeless; • 11 had to do with children, youth and families, no which including three specific to schools. • 10 total focused on minorities, women, LGBT and HIV and AIDS issues. Daly proposed 22 hearings to discuss various budget issues for this fiscal year, but only four of those hearings were convened: Community Health Network, Department of Environment, Department of Human Services, and Department of Children, Youth and Families. All of the supervisors sponsored many more resolutions than ordinances. Some resolutions sound downright silly – and are. But many that do, aren’t. Oct.16 last year was Feral Cat Day, because Daly sponsored a resolution commending the “good works of the San Francisco Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and proclaiming Feral Cat Day in San Fran- SEPTEMBER 2002 cisco.” An official commendation of a community group’s good works, such as the SPCA’s efforts to deal with the problem of feral cats, means the SPCA “can then use [the resolution] in its fund-raising efforts and development,” Daly says. Swords to Plowshares, Habitat for Humanity, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Asian and Pacific Islander Business and Information Services, Golden Gate Lutheran Church and its Drop-In Center, and University of California’s Women’s Health Center also have been among the recipients of Daly’s commendations. He has also sponsored resolutions commending the good works of individuals such as: Sister Bernie Galvin “for her lifelong advocacy of economic, religious and social justice”; Bill Sorro, for his “service as tenant and community advocate, rank and file trade union activist,” and senior and tenant advocate Maurice Dopp. Of his 33 commendations, 15 were for individuals and more than half of those were for housing and homelessness activists. In May, Daly sponsored a resolution that Leno, Gonzalez, Aaron Peskin and Sophie Maxwell co-sponsored, “urging” the Board of Directors of Hastings School of the Law not to build a parking garage in the Tenderloin, and instead erect a “community-supported mixed use development.” This was one of many acts – including Daly’s arrest at a Hastings protest – that helped bring down the garage proposal. Behind the scenes, “pushing buttons and pulling levers” can also get the ball rolling. The recent groundbreaking to rebuild Bessie Carmichael Elementary School wasn’t just an outgrowth of Daly’s Resolution 010121, passed in February 2001, but an effort that included meetings with concerned community members, and helping to find funds ($800,000) for the effort, he says. Getting legislation passed can have a lasting impact on constituents, but sometimes getting the issue heard at all is a necessary first step, Daly says. And that can have impact, too. “Other than just passing legislation, I’m also able to frame the debate on issues that have particular impact for people in District 6,” Daly said. Although some of his more radical ideas may not make it all the way to the final stop, in the process of “pushing the envelope,” says Daly, a modified version may get there, at least. For instance, Daly says he takes a position to the left of Peskin and Maxwell on the Finance Committee. He says for the bay fill project that involves SFO runway expansion he has “staked out the radical position” to eliminate all special assistance to the expansion. Daly says Peskin was eventually able to use Daly’s position to help pass a less extreme policy, but one that had an impact nonetheless. Kind of like a political version of good-cop, bad-cop with Daly playing the latter role. While Daly concedes that supervisors who have been in City Hall longer may have more legislation on the books, he says that now that the class of 2001 knows the ropes, it will be fast catching up. But they have to get re-elected first. ■ Laughs & lit, NO lingerie FUTURES COLLABORATIVE Now 50 Mason lessee wants to do a comedy club by Marjorie Beggs alk into 50 Mason someW time this winter and you’ll hear 40 people laughing their heads off (hopefully) or see them gazing raptly (hopefully) at whoever’s at the mike that night — maybe the next Margaret Cho or Robin Williams, Lawrence Ferlinghetti or devorah major. The storefront will become an as yet unnamed comedy club and poetry lounge, announced attorney Joe Wood at the Aug. 14 Tenderloin Futures Collaborative meeting. Pretty funny, huh? by a Planning employee. Neighbors hollered again. Many of the site “improvements” already were complete when the Department of Building Inspection revoked Hunt’s permit because King’s Court would have violated the zoning moratorium on adult entertainment businesses closer than 1,000 feet. Hunt appealed, but in February 2002 the Board of Permit Appeals voted unanimously to uphold the revocation. In March, Wood told The Extra that Hunt might argue against the decision in Superior Court. He didn’t. PHOTO: CARL ANGEL Is there new life for the old barber college at 50 Mason St.? Then why weren’t Collaborative members all smiles – especially after Wood told them that he and lessee Joel Hunt “tried to find a use that will allow us to use the [already completed] improvements without offending neighborhood sensibilities”? Back in May 2001, Hunt began remodeling the old Moler Barber College site for its planned reincarnation as King’s Court, a retail lingerie shop with live models. The community reared up in protest and filed a complaint with the Planning Department, which issued a stop-work order in June. But in December, Hunt began work again, this time with a permit erroneously issued Wood said the comedy club would be open 4 p.m. to midnight, six days a week. Five booths, 40 bar stools and a $7 cover charge. They’ll serve fingerfood and drinks — beer and wine, Hunt said, if he can get a Type 42 liquor license. Comedy notwithstanding, Collaborative members grilled Wood with serious questions. “Why do you think a comedy club will work here?” asked Steve Conley, media rep for Alliance for a Better District Six. Wood cited nearby public transportation and a successful comedy club at Mason and Geary that pulled ’em in for years. “In the ’60s there used to be lots of clubs in the city with a political bent, and we’d like to see that again,” Wood added. “Also, Mr. Hunt is being realistic — he wants to defray the cost of buildout.” In March, Wood estimated that Hunt had spent $50,000 before his permit was axed. “You might be better off diversifying,” Conley said. “Have you considered other kinds of entertainment, like music?” Wood said they weren’t averse to the idea, but that they’d start with comedy. “There’s the problem of noise with music,” he said. “Even the tamest bands can make a lot of noise.” “I have one reservation,” said Michael Nulty, Tenant Associations Coalition program director. “If you get your beer and wine license, will the club be for adults only?” Wood said that because the club will serve food, under-21s can come in, though a bouncer will check IDs at the door. TNDC board member John Burkitt said that as a resident [of the nearby Dalt], he was glad to hear about the “doorman” and hoped he would help keep the area from being “an open toilet.” Burkitt also threw Wood some support for the liquor license — “it may be essential to this kind of venture” — and wished him luck. “I know you were ganged up on at City Hall,” he added, referring to the permit revocation. Wood looked grateful: “That’s wonderful to hear. . .” Conley wasn’t so generous about the liquor license. “I strongly think that businesses are missing the point — there are other ways to have fun without beer and wine.” The mood lifted when one Collaborative member asked the obvious question: “I hope you have no plans for beautiful NAME THAT ’TOON Da Mayor auctioning his suit and hat to the homeless CENTRAL CITY extra young women to remove their clothes while reading poetry?” “Certainly not,” Wood responded, seriously. He said he’d send all Collaborative members a letter asking for their support. U.N. Plaza plan: $1 million at stake effort, she said. “This isn’t meant to be a new plan,” PioRoda said, “but would be used to update and supplement earlier plans, such as Tenderloin 2000. It would be another resource for the community.” Nulty asked about project funding. A proposal is in the works, PioRoda said. “I have reservations about this,” Nulty said. “It seems politically motivated, perhaps connected with Gordon’s campaign. [District 6 candidate Roger Gordon is the former director of Urban Solutions.] You should have gone to the authors of Tenderloin 2000 first [NOMPC], instead of coming to the Collaborative.” PioRoda didn’t respond, and no other Collaborative members picked up Nulty’s gauntlet. But St. Anthony’s Foundation board member Robin Polastri noted that everyone could help Urban Solutions better if PioRoda could be more specific about what she wanted from them. She said she’d be in touch. Besides yuks and verse, the Collaborative heard an update on the U.N. Plaza renovation project from Richard Allman, member of the Plaza Working Group. The biggest concern, Allman said, is “how to make it more useable as a neighborhood resource, as well as a citywide resource.” There’s $1 million for the initial upgrade plan, he said, but “so far, our plan looks like a $10 million plan.” The $1 million, a grant from the federal Department of Transportation, must be spent by next year, and other funds haven’t been identified yet. Allman emphasized, as he has at previous meetings, that there’s “100% support for keeping the Farmers Markets — it’s the plaza’s largest asset.” Show of support The plaza is for the people, he added, and the plans will for Stephanie Salter With seconds remaining in reflect that. “We’re not trying to drive off anyone who’s using the meeting, Collaborative it now, but to open it up to Chair Glenda Hope asked members to blitz Chronicle poobahs more people.” with e-mails, protesting the canSolutions has no answers cellation of writer Stephanie Also on the agenda, Maris- Salter’s column. Salter has writsa PioRoda from Urban Solutions, ten several editorials shaming which provides services to small Hastings for its plan to erect businesses, asked Collabora- a parking garage over the objective members to help her organ- tions of the community, and ization launch a new project. It has a large following among will collect previously published caring liberals throughout the studies of the Tenderloin and city. identify what still needs to be “She’s been our friend,” researched. Interns from Hast- Hope said. “Now it’s time for us ings College of the Law’s Civil to be hers.” ■ Justice Clinic will help in the We have a winner Denise D’Anne, a neighborhood activist well known for her droll wit, wins The Extra’s Name That Toon Contest with the caption that accompanies the cartoon. What could be funnier than Da Mayor offering up his sartorial splendor for the benefit of the homeless hoi polloi? D’Anne, active in the Senior Action Network, PRIDE at Work and Alliance for a Better District 6, among many others, retired in 1999 after 25 years at the Department of Human Services. She also ran for supervisor in 1998 and 2000. D’Anne will receive a framed copy of Carl Angel’s cartoon and a complimentary dinner for two at Café do Brasil. Michael Wise’s submission deserves honorable mention: “My fellow San Franciscans: ‘Ask not …(what?) …(ahem)… want not!’ Thank you very much.” Wise is editor and publisher of the respected mental health consumer quarterly, Voices at Bay. He is on the board of Spiritmenders and puts out a monthly calendar of consumer activities for S.F. Mental Health. Wise will receive a framed copy of the cartoon with his caption. Thanks to all who entered the contest. And stay tooned. ■ SEPTEMBER 2002