| San Francisco County, CA | November 5, 2002 Election |
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DETAILED CITYWIDE ISSUE INFORMATIONBy James GreenCandidate for Supervisor; County of San Francisco; District 8 |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
City Wide Agenda"The Homeless"- Low and Fixed Income: For low and fixed income singles and families we need to preserve existing rentals in the SRO hotels where possible. Additionally we need to use "mitigating fees" from developers and new businesses to create affordable housing by continuing to partner with non-profits that renovate older buildings or build new high-density housing. This partnership has proved successful and should be continued. Street People: When the public says "homeless" what they really mean are the very visible street people. Between 50 and 60 percent of the street people we see are not plagued by a lack of housing but by alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness that leaves them urinating on our streets, sleeping in door ways and passed out on our sidewalks. For those people afflicted with alcohol and drug problems a first step would be to establish a 10 bed, 12 hour short term detox facility to take pressure off the City's over burdened hospital emergency departments. Next we need to invest in long term detox treatment facilities and better coordinate the ones we have. To facilitate on-demand drug treatment the City should consider subsidizing an additional hundred methadone treatment beds that already exist but go unused because patients don't have the money to get started. Last years passage of Prop 36 that mandated drug treatment instead of incarceration for drug offenses has already proven successful. It should be used as model for citywide detox programs. For those afflicted with psychiatric problems we need to first establish a citywide 24 hour mental health drop-in center available to walk-ins as well as police and ambulance patients. Next we need to coordinate our mental health programs with out-reach teams that aggressively identify and place people in programs. That is why I also support State Assembly Bill 1421 that will modify the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act to allow for the mandatory out-patient treatment of the mentally ill before they commit a criminal offense. For those street people who won't or can't take advantage of the services provided the Police need to cite these people and the District Attorneys' office must prosecute the people arrested for public drunkenness or drug addiction so that they can be mandated by the courts to under go treatment. Again, the only initiative I support is the "Care not Cash" Initiative. Every month at work I see a direct correlation between an increase in public intoxication and drug related medical calls and the receipt of General Assistance money. As a Firefighter-Paramedic who deals with these people everyday I believe vouchers for services would eliminate most of this kind of abuse. Alcohol Tax- Alcohol is a substance that is enjoyed by some and abused by others. In neither case do people actually pay the true social cost for the product. The City could place a nominal one half cent sales tax on alcohol sales which would generate approximately $5 million per year. I would support such a tax only if there is statutory obligation to place the money in a non General Fund account and use it only to pay for alcohol and drug detox treatment programs. Housing- Over the past ten years we've only built about 8,500 housing units; far short of the amount needed to have adequate availability at affordable prices. Supply doesn't meet demand and the cost of housing is going to continue to go up until it does. To remedy this problem we need to build taller, higher density apartment housing. The best areas to do this will be along the major transit corridors. Next we need to stop building Live/Work Lofts. First of all, unlike other types of housing, they don't pay mitigation fees to the City to support things like MUNI, city infrastructure, childcare and a whole host of other programs. Second, each unit built wastes 20% of its space and less than 20% of the people in them are actually working in the intended sense as artists. Since 1994 we've built 650 lofts in the Mission, that might have been 780 apartments instead. What ever is built no development should be immune from paying increased mitigating fees to help pay for affordable housing, MUNI, and other City services. Hetch Hetchy- The sudden rush to fix Hetch Hetchy water system, an undeniably critical part of San Francisco's history and infrastructure, is emblematic of what is wrong with City government. We have known since the 1989 earthquake that it needed to be seismically upgraded. Yet none of our politicians had the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decisions to educate the public, set the wheels in motion and begin the process of setting aside scarce city revenues or raising water rates in order to pay for the project. Twelve years later the City faces a crisis both in terms of the exorbitant price tag and the very real possibility of that it will lose control of Hetch Hetchy to a regional water resource board controlled by the surrounding suburbs. The bottom line is our politicians were asleep at the wheel and now we're left at a disadvantage and playing catch up. However this issue gets resolved #and I personally would encourage all the voters to vote for the bond measure on the ballot in November- the whole affair is indicative of how San Francisco, through changes in business trends, loss of maritime commerce, flagging influence in Sacramento due to term limits, and anemic and short sighted leadership here at home, is slowly being eclipsed as the great regional power house it once was. With the loss of this power and the money that it has channeled into the City we run the very real possibility losing our ability to providing the kinds of services our citizens take for granted. MUNI- The Municipal Transportation Agency has made impressive improvements in service. They have raised on-time performance and rider satisfaction without the need for fare hikes. . To ensure continued improvement City Hall must hold the MTA Board accountable for enforcement of rules and service standards. We must remain committed to hiring enough drivers and mechanics to keep the buses on the streets. I believe that one of MUNI's most important short term goals should be to replace its aging diesel fleet with low pollution buses. To do this I believe that diesel-electric hybrid buses would be better for the City than the currently proposed natural gas buses. I also support the construction of the Third Street Rail Line, and the Central Subway that will run from the Caltrain Station to Chinatown/North Beach. To accomplish all of this City Hall must remain committed to properly funding MUNI both now and into the future. The City Budget - At the highth of the Dot-Com economy there were calls to hire more civil servants, create new social programs and expand the services provided by existing ones; and everyone wanted to pay for it with the then current surplus. That proved to be a big mistake. The surplus was the result of an over heated economy. Both the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors knew this was an unsustainable bubble but they spent the money any way. Programs created and staffed using the surplus money invited disaster then, and now with the collapse of the Dot-com bubble we are faced with deficits and lay-offs. I believe we need to set aside at least $100 million in anticipation of ups and downs in the economy. The interest accrued from this reserve I would place back in the General Fund for program expenditures. Any additional surplus money remaining I would use for one time capital expenditures like additional MUNI cars, land purchases to establish child care facilities, or the purchase of SRO hotels to protect low income and senior housing. Additionally we need to do a better job of planning the City's budget growth so that it is in line with realistic expectations of tax revenue. After the passage of Prop 13 in the late 70's the City shifted the source of its revenue from property tax to business taxes. With the current deficit there is a predisposition to take the easy way out and simply raise taxes instead of reducing services. While I am not concerned about a mass exodus of businesses out of the City anytime soon, they are correct when they point out that based almost entirely on the Dot-com bubble we added 4000 new city jobs in only four years and most pay more than similar work in the private sector. This means that the City now has more workers (approximately 28,000 total) per capita than either Los Angeles or San Diego. With business paying the bulk of City costs it's reasonable for them to ask if the current budget is sustainable. I would support a moratorium on hiring, except for essential City services, while we get a handle on how much the City can realistically afford to spend based on conservative revenue projections and a significant reserve fund. I believe that San Francisco lacks any form of honest long range financial plan. Schools- I believe our schools are neither as bad as some people say nor as good as others would have you believe. There is always room for improvement. I am convinced that for all of the various issues that need to be resolved our fundamental priority should be safe, decent schools where basic discipline is enforced, and where children's performance is tested against the curriculum to be learned (and not simply against one another). Only in this way can parents and students alike measure their progress. I am also convinced that our schools need music, art and vocational ed classes just as much as science and math. Airport Runway Expansion- San Francisco International Airport is not so much an appendage of the City as it is a vital organ. It's vital to the business community and to the tourist industry and it cements the City's reputation as the gateway to the Pacific Rim. Over 34 million pass people through it every year generating 30 thousand jobs and paying 18 million dollars into the City's General Fund. If the current environmental impact studies show that the runways can be expanded with minimal damage to the Bay and if expanding the runways is necessary to provide an increased margin of safety for the new larger planes coming off the assembly lines then I would support the expansion plans. Electrical M.U.D.- While I like PG&E and the dependable service they provide I think it's time for the City to look seriously at fulfilling the intent of the 1913 Raker Act# which created the Hetch-Hetchy reservoir and power generating facility- and explore providing electrical power through it's own Municipal Utility District. We provide our citizens with water, why not electricity. However there are two issues that concern me. The first is whether the City is ready to take on the responsibility of creating the human infrastructure necessary to maintain the electrical transmission grid. This will call for a huge growth in City employees and over time will involve the City in some painful and necessarily expensive contract negotiations. My second concern is that all of the current partisan proposals create all sorts of political boards and commissions that are going to be inherently influenced by political debts and intrigues and will most likely create chaos. For this reason alone I would only support a City system if it is set up as an "Enterprise Department" that is politically independent and works like the airport. I don't want City Hall messing with our electricity. Seniors- With 25% of the City's population 55 years old and over we need to address their issues. The City needs to increase senior services funding. We need to create more housing through new construction as well as the purchase and preservation of SRO hotels. We need to act now to preserve Section 8 housing that will revert to market rate starting in 2006. Access to transportation can be made easier by more kneeling buses, continued senior discounts, and additional faire reductions during off peak hours. While I support Federal Universal Health Care, here at home we must work to ensure that home health care workers are competent and have a competitive living wage along with health care benefits. We must also keep the SFGH pharmacy open along with adequate funding for the non-profit health clinics that serve seniors. HIV in the City- The rates of new HIV infections in the City are rising dramatically. It's being fueled in part by drugs #such as methamphetamines, viagra and heroin use- and partly by the fact that most people don't even know their HIV status and by consequence continue to infect others. This is a public health crisis and the only tool we have at our disposal is education. We need a sustained citywide education campaign, involving active participation by city leaders, which promotes HIV testing, promotes safe sex practices, that attacks the myth that you can live a good life on AIDS medications and encourages the use of needle exchange programs. The Trans-Bay Terminal- Demolish the current eyesore and build an archetecturally avante-garde, commuter friendly transportation palace that says, "I've arrived in San Francisco". Below ground there should be people mover connections to BART and an electrified Cal-Train station. Even though current plans call for Caltrain to by pass it I would like to see the possibility considered. On the upper floors there should be retail shopping, MUNI light rail and buses, AC Transit buses, commercial bus companies, and above all of that there should be office space. At the very top there could be housing with set asides for low and moderate income people. Golden Gate Park- The trees in the park are reaching the end of their natural life span. The City must commit itself to implement a properly funded reforestation plan that can be completed with in a ten year time table. Both the Academy of Sciences and the DeYoung Museum must be rebuilt. We also must build an unobtrusive under ground parking facility with tunnel connections to Fulton Street. Once that is built I would consider closing more of the parks roads on Saturdays. Bay Bridge Rail System- Voters approved a referendum in 1998 to explore the possibility of putting rail lines back on the Bay Bridge. The study should go forward. A rail line from the Transbay Terminal to Treasure Island would be a good way to move people to the island especially if the $317 million plans for a new community on the island move forward starting in 2005. Presidio- The Presidio Trust has done a good job so far of meeting its Federal mandate to maintain the grounds, roads and utilities. They are in the process of repairing decayed infrastructure, renovating historic buildings and selecting major financially sustaining clients like Lucas Films. While I believe the future looks bright, especially with the release of their Master Plan, I am still concerned that there hasn't been an independent financial audit. I am also concerned that the Presidio Trust not see itself as an island. It is imperative that it be accountable to the City for addressing neighborhood concerns, mitigating the effects of development, and for utilizing a portion of the existing housing for low and moderate income people. Traffic and Parking- Traffic congestion, longer cross town commutes, and increasing amounts of pedestrian traffic in areas like the downtown are here to stay. To minimize their impact we need additional parking garages, new commercial buildings must include public parking, and residential housing developments must also include parking because sidewalks are not parking lots. To stop Red Light running and Stop Sign running we must increase the fines to $500 and $250 respectively so that the higher fines will act as a deterrent, just like they did with cars parked in the bus zones. Traffic lights at dangerous intersections should become four way red or flashers and the timing of the lights should be increased to allow pedestrians time to cross safely. Additionally, traffic lights should have numerical count-down timer displays to show time remaining. Cars illegally parked on the sidewalks must be ticketed. We also need to bring the Police Departments motorcycle traffic unit up to full strength. |
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