Susan King Platform

By Susan C. King

summary of my top priorities

There have been over 65 homicides on the streets of San Francisco this year. To deal effectively with these crimes, we need to take a comprehensive look at the root causes of the violence, which disproportionately affect low-income African American and minority communities. These communities, including District 5's Western Addition, are plagued by grinding poverty in a wealthy city. Residents frequently lack access to basic human services such as health care, resources for mental health, drug rehabilitation, education and meaningful employment opportunities.

Strong leadership is needed to immediately address the myriad of problems and find meaningful solutions to repair the foundations of our community. As Supervisor, I will:

• Work with the community to identify core reasons for youth violence and together develop solutions that can be promoted in City Hall;

• Collaborate with City agencies, the Police, community leaders, religious institutions and youth in developing programs to deal with violence in the community;

• Prioritize funding for programs that address unmet needs in the community that are the underlying cause of violence and poverty in our City;

• Develop and support programs to help reunite families and keep them together by reforming public housing regulations that prevent ex inmates from residing with their families, providing rehabilitation programs for ex inmates returning to society, providing drug treatment on demand, and creating mentoring programs for youth in single parent households;

• Create opportunities for meaningful youth employment and guaranteed job placement for those in job training programs in the City, focusing on placement of underemployed youth;

• Ensure that the Police Commission, Police Department, public housing security personnel and the community have an understanding of how law enforcement and the community should interact to promote respect and reduce conflicts between the public and the Police.

Covering 49 square miles, San Francisco is a very compact city; we simply do not have the physical capacity to handle more cars on our streets. The best way to reduce the impact of cars on our city streets is to develop a transportation system that is easier, cheaper and more convenient than driving. Currently 30% of all SF households (and 40% of renters) are car free. With a world class transit system and support for alternative modes of transportation, we can increase the percentage of car free households in SF, resulting in cleaner air, a healthier population and a more livable city. I will promote programs that will enable us to achieve this goal.

My transportation platform includes plans to:

• Develop new sources of transportation revenue through increased parking fees, developer fees to account for increased transportation demand, and assessing fees on existing downtown businesses that reap disproportionate benefits from our transit system;

• Use increased revenues to dramatically improve mass transit, including: expanding bus service to under served areas, increasing Owl service, roll back fares to $1 and provide free transit for seniors, youth and the disabled, establish Bus Rapid Transit along busy corridors to enable cross town travel by transit in 30 minutes or less, and establishing a coordinated bus schedule to allow for easy transfers without long waits for passengers traveling on more than one bus line;

• Implement a city wide bike network, including new bike lanes, separated bike paths, bicycle preferred streets that will enable cyclists to safely traverse the City;

• Amend SF's environmental review procedures to exempt bicycle and pedestrian projects from lengthy environmental reviews as currently required, and implement Level Of Service (LOS) standards for bicycles and pedestrians;

• Advocate for stronger pedestrian safety laws and enforcement of existing laws to enable all pedestrians in SF safe access to sidewalks and crosswalks. Aggressively ticket sidewalk-parked vehicles;

• Remove the one to one parking requirement for new housing development, and expand City Car share programs into large housing developments;

• Eliminate subsidies for parking for cars, including charging market rate for all parking in the city, increasing parking taxes from 25% to 25%, limiting residential parking permits issued to each household, requiring stiff mitigation fees for the removal of on street parking, and limiting the development of new parking structures in the City.

The homeless issue in San Francisco is a national problem, and we need to find solutions- and funding- from resources both within the City's borders and beyond. Many of San Francisco's homeless suffer from a range of problems, including mental illness, drug addiction, health and social problems resulting from military service, lack of employment and training, and no access to basic human services such as health care. The homeless population, estimated to be 15,000 or more, is comprised of different populations, including seniors, families, runaway and throwaway youth, veterans and the mentally ill. These distinct groups need services to meet different needs. All need access to basic hygiene, health, rehabilitation, housing and employment resources.

I will work to ensure that the needs of San Francisco's most vulnerable population are met by:

• Shifting our priorities to fund up-front services for the homeless population, saving the City money in the long run by reducing emergency room visit and incarceration costs, which combined cost the City up to $60,000 per year per homeless person.

• Maintaining or expanding the budget for all homeless related services provided by the City, including health clinics, mental health counselors, outreach workers, drug treatment programs and supportive housing;

• Working to identify funding from state and national sources such as Federally funded Social Security Insurance program and Veteran's Administration funds to augment city coffers;

• Advocating the amendment of Care Not Cash to allow GA recipients to maintain their cash grant while receiving City services, and ensuring non-GA homeless are given equal access to services targeted to homeless GA recipients;

• Ensuring that workers who receive GA grants and Personal Assisted Employment Services stipends are paid the City mandated minimum wage of $8.50 per hour and are fully compensated for all hours worked;

• Expanding the Minimum Wage Ordinance ($8.50 per hour) to cover CalWorks recipients who are transitioning from Welfare to Work;

• Creating a network of neighborhood service centers that provide basic services such as showers, restrooms, access to computers, the internet, telephones, and a comprehensive information and referral database to help connect clients to services provided by government agencies and non-profits;

• Expanding the availability of supportive housing to serve more of the homeless population in need of multiple services;

• Identifying the unique needs of specific homeless populations and developing targeted programs to meet their needs as opposed to a 'one size fits all' approach to providing services to the homeless;

• Funding eviction prevention programs that prevent homelessness and enable low income residents and families to remain housed in times of financial crisis;

In addition to dealing with the vexing problem of homelessness in San Francisco, we need to address housing needs on a variety of levels. We need to protect rent control to ensure that San Franciscan's of all income levels can remain in the City if they so choose. To enable families and middle income professionals to realize the American dream of homeownership, we need to find ways to create more affordable housing and homeownership opportunities.

To these ends, I support following initiatives and programs:

• Support for the $200 Million affordable housing bond on the November ballot. While I think that bond financing is regressive and potentially hurts tenants (via passthroughs from property owners), we desperately need funds to build supportive housing for homeless, affordable housing for low income and offer opportunities for homeownership to working San Franciscans. This measure is the best way to achieve these outcomes in the short term. Long term solutions, such as the creation of new sources of revenues for housing development need to be explored.

• The expansion of Community Land Trusts (CLT) as a way of providing home ownership. opportunities to San Franciscans of all income levels. I support a City ordinance that would permit tenants to acquire apartments in buildings of 7 units or more as limited equity condominiums if the majority of tenants in the building agree. Through the CLT, the apartments would be offered to the tenants according to ability to pay, no more than 35% of the household income. The CLT would own the land under the building and restrict the resale prices of the condos through long term ground leases, ensuring that the housing prices remain permanently affordable. Tenants in each building opting not to buy would be offered lifetime leases and would be members of the Land Trust that owns their apartment.

• Preserve all aspects of our current rent control ordinance. We have seen a number of anti-tenant ballot measures and initiatives come through City Hall in the past few years. In order to keep San Francisco affordable to all residents of varying incomes, I will support strong legislation to preserve every aspect of our current rent control ordinances and vociferously oppose any rollbacks on these protections. Homeownership opportunities should be offered through Land Trusts, the development of new affordable housing and other financing mechanisms, not through the displacement of low income tenants in existing affordable housing.

• Support efforts to get a ballot measure calling for an elected Rent Board. Disappointingly, the current Board of Supervisors rejected a recent plan to alter the composition of the current Rent Board to reflect the percentage of tenants to homeowners and expand the size of the Board to 7 members. Since this did not pass, I support efforts to create a ballot measure for an elected board that is accountable to the voters.

• Support the development of new affordable housing in the district. There are several developments being considered within district 5, including the proposed development of the UC Extension Campus bordering Haight, Buchanan, Herman and Laguna Streets. This proposed 500 unit development will offer 20% of the units to low income residents and create a new mixed housing community. I support the efforts of AG Edwards and Mercy Housing (the developers for the project) to work with the community to create new housing. Within this development, I encourage the developers to limit parking in this transit rich area and test the development of a car free housing complex that offers City Car share to residents instead of parking.

• Using community based planning for all new developments. I strongly opposed Proposition J on the March, 2004 ballot. This measure would have rolled over all community input in developing along commercial corridors. While we need more housing, and more density, development should be approached on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis, and the current resident's concerns must be addressed before the approval of new housing within the City.

• Promoting alternatives to fossil fuel production and advocating for the immediate phasing out of the dirty power plant in Hunter's Point;

• Supporting the Natural Areas Program in SF; Licensing Dogs to fund restoration for off leash dog areas;

• Opposing any proposed airport expansion into SF's bay

• Funding the retrofit of our aging sewer system by seeking increased user fees from businesses

• Regulate formula retail development in San Francisco, and provide incentives and support that will enable small, non-chain businesses to thrive;

• Promote incentives to businesses who agree to hire underemployed San Francisco residents, particularly youth, workers transitioning from welfare to work and rehabilitating adults;

• Expand the Minimum Compensation Ordinance ($8.50 per hour) to include workers on all City property, including the Port, Park and Recreation lands, and all other city-owned property, as well as employees of a city service contractor and CalWORKS contractors;