D10 Family Forum

At St Gregory's Church

Format for today:

Questions submitted aead of time to candidates. Also questions from the public.

Candidates randomly picked and given two minutes to answer, then a second candidate gets a one minute 'rebuttal'.

In attendance:

Malia Cohen
Kristine Enea
MJ Marie Franklin
Chris Jackson
Tony Kelly
DeWitt Lacy
Geoffrea Morris
Steve Moss
Eric Smith
Lynette Sweet
Marlene Tran
Steve Weber

90 Minutes of questioning follows...

D10 has most kids but needs more options for childcare and preschool. What will you do?

Steve Moss: parents can't work if kids aren't taken care of.  Many different models that work. Must have space for daycare and groups should be given access to space.

Geoffrea Morris: open up more avenues for middle class families who make too much to qualify for current programs.


What are your top three action priorities for the city and county of San Francisco?

Malia Cohen: first to create jobs, support local economy, revitalize Third St corridor, Leland, and San Bruno; Health - pocket parks, and Star King.  Safety.

Marlene Tran: transparency of government; outsourcing of work from D10; monies for everyone, not just top tier management


How would you improve K-12 education given the lack of control of school board by BoS?

Eric Smith: little influence except through budget. Work more closely with school board who spend the money, make sure that school board has taken into account what families are saying to them.

Lynette Sweet: BoS has limited control over education, but can mandate things like libraries are there for students. Can help make ad hoc committee to BoS better.


Budget is BoS major responsibility. What would you do: Tax or fee increase, program cuts, or employees give back benefits, or other?

MJ Marie Franklin: other.  Don't expect employees to give back. No new taxes. City needs to look at resources and figure out what will generate funds, such as entertainment, to draw more people in to spen money here.

Stephen Weber: to balance budget, need to do all of the above. Look at revamping business taxes. Look at all programs to make sure they're all giving back what they say they are. Revamp pension program.


What is your personal hot button issue?

DeWitt Lacy: economy. Make sure approve local hiring mandate, as Avalos is working on. Incentivize local hiring by all businesses. Increases money in community and increased sales taxe revenues.

Kristine Enea: Smart development. Dev that cones to D10 provides needs o complete neighborhood, bot living in a suburb. Make sure we have libraries, historic district, preserving district, and public spaces.


What are your top three action priorities for D10?

Tony Kelly: same as for city as a whole. Infrastructure and livability. Youth and family services, wraparound services. 1 in 7 children essentially homeless. Invest and control over budget. Manage growth in D10. 100K more people in twenty years. Pollution. Life expectancy 14 ears shorter here.

Chris Jackson:  protect working families. Few spaces where two people with a job can afford to live.   Good living wage jobs, re-open shipyard. Good affordable housing. Good schools financed adequately with wraparound services.


What are the greatest problems for families, and what would you do?

Geoffrea Morris: social worker in CalWorks program. Most schools underenrolled. Better schools. SF is no longer family friendly. Already working with sfusd, make community centers out of schools in evenings.

Malia Cohen: land use conversation, but little about families. Neighborhood Community councils to give some structure as to what communities need.


What can you do to bring quality middle and high-schools to D10?

Kristine Enea:   Rainy day fund must e there. Would introduce legislation to ensure it. To rebuild Willie Brown Academy needs funding.  Address needs of children outside schools. Encourage vote for Omar Khalif, the only d10 school board candidate.

Eric Smith: arts, activities, music, etc imperative, and as supervisor, would encourage additional those things.


What would you do to improve safety of students getting to school on muni, by bike, and by foot?

Marlene Tran: 35 year teacher in sfusd. Adequate crossing guards, already asked city hall to ensure funding for this.

Stephen Weber: improve security on muni, uniformed and non-uniformed presence. Or example, parents in yellow jackets as volunteers on buses.


What recent decisions by BoS that have impacted families do you agree or disagree with.

Lynette Sweet: prohibition of toys in fast foods. Calorie content on packaging. Agrees with this. Need to ensure kids eat the right things.
Disagree with no pet stores in SF. Shouldn't have to go outside our community to get a pet.
Prohibition of cigarette products in drug stores is a good thing.

Steve Moss: parks and rec changing drastically. No sense of place or programs. Muni ratcheting back. Higher parking fees hurts families.


Give a concrete example of an action you've taken in d10 that resulted in positive change.

Chris Jackson: gateway to college program at ccsf starting at southeast campus. 400 kids helped, more than half from d10. Solar City 75 paid internships program, pays for books, transportation, and gives degrees in solar panel onstallation.

DeWitt Lacy: Solar City contract hasn't put a single person to work. City college may have ability, but hasn't done much.  Urban Debate program brings critical thinking skills to kids in D10.


What is the most important contribution you could make to the BoS.

Tony Kelly: responding to people. In terms of budget, build budget but not economy. Take control of budget. $3B sits in bank not being used to make city better. Establish municipal bank.

MJ Marie Franklin: worked in community for years, creating programs. Experience with legal, religious groups, etc. Would bring sensibility to board.


New format: one minute responses

What is our greatest crime issue in D10?

Chris Jackson: BoS not addressing working class people is a crime. Public safety, most are crimes of poverty and of opportunity, rooted in a lack of hope. At CCSF, increasing classes, expanding nursing programs. Need political will to not just enforce. Community policing. Social services. Long term solutions.


How would you increase availability of jobs in D10?

Steve Moss: development will be positive for people and environment. Areas in D10 for clusters of businesses, like produce mart could be used to develop food service area for things like school lunch program. Third St, Leland, etc. Fairly depressed. Lower burden on businesses, payroll tax holiday.


2008-09 SF civil grand jury report made specific recommendations on nonprofits - how would you implement those recommendations?

Lynette Sweet: consolidate back office functions but keep services and non-profits intact.


How would you create and support employment opportunities?

Geoffrea Morris: want to help make careers for people and not just jobs. Local hiring.


Transit:  show us your clipper card, and tell us one good thing, one bad about muni.

DeWitt Lacy: clipper card acts as a fare increase. Would look at real needs of d10 people. Can't cut services.


Immediate policy actions to ensure families can prosper,

Steve Weber. Improve Ad hoc SFUSD committee. After hours community centers, programs with the arts, use parks and rec money to bring back services.


How would you improve bike safety?

Kristine Enea: Has worked to increase Bike lanes in India Basin bike way, listening to people in areas like Dogpatch to correctly place bike lanes on Illinois and not Third, for example.


What is the role of quality childcare to our district?

Marlene Tran: children at risk, and without quality care more kids will end up in jail.


What are the biggest issues facing families?

Malia Cohen: cost of living. Parking meter fees, hours, Sundays. Against Sunday meters because it's a day for families to experience the city, parking fees a disincentive to pay additional fee.


How will you work the board of education?

Eric Smith: promote community school model, make them hubs of community activities. Fairs, meetings, etc. Create vocational schools.