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Proposition C Film Commission San Francisco County Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required
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Index of all Propositions |
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Fail:
66125 /
46.25% Yes votes ......
76834 /
53.75% No votes
| Information shown below: Fiscal Impact | Yes/No Meaning | Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||||
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Shall the Charter be amended to require the City to have a Film Commission, consisting of five members appointed by the Board of Supervisors and six members appointed by the Mayor, with final authority to issue permits to film in San Francisco?
Should the proposed charter amendment be approved by the voters, in my opinion, there would be a minimal impact on the cost of government. The Film Commission currently consists of 11 members appointed by the Mayor. The amendment would provide instead that six members of the Commission be appointed by the Mayor and five by the Board of Supervisors, with all members subject to certain qualification requirements and to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors. The proposed amendment would also specify that the Film Commission oversee all City activities and funding related to public access and governmental channels and that film permit decisions of the Executive Director would be appealable to the Commission instead of to the City's Permit Appeals Board. The Film Commission currently employs a Director and two permit staff. The Film Commission's budget and staffing would continue to be subject to the normal budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter.
The Commission has an Executive Director appointed by the Mayor. The Film Commission may remove the Executive Director either on its own or following the Mayor's recommendation. The Commission's Executive Director issues permits that authorize filming in the City. Another City agency, the Board of Appeals, considers appeals regarding permits. The Proposal: Proposition C is a Charter Amendment that would require the City to have a Film Commission, whose main purpose would be to develop, recognize, and promote film activities in San Francisco. The Commission would have 11 members: six nominated by the Mayor, five nominated by the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee. Each nominee would be subject to confirmation by the full Board. Once confirmed, Commissioners could only be removed for cause. Most nominees would be required to have specific professional qualifications or represent particular groups: The Mayor will appoint:
Changes to the Commission's membership requirements or powers would have to be submitted to the voters as a Charter Amendment.
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| Arguments For Proposition C | Arguments Against Proposition C | ||
| LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
YES ON C! San Francisco has an important history of making feature films, documentaries and television series that showcase the beauty and diversity of our City. When these productions were leaving the City and moving to Canada, San Francisco's bureaucracy was slow to respond, losing important jobs. The Board of Supervisors passed film rebate legislation to attract productions and in 2009, San Francisco turned the corner on improving our economy. Sean Penn won a Best Actor Oscar for the film that memorialized the life of Harvey Milk. Our first responders were shown at their best during the 20 episodes of the television show "Trauma." Hundreds of people were put to work with these two efforts alone. We learned important lessons from these projects about how to improve our City's Film Commission. Proposition C makes five critical improvements: 1. Creates needed jobs. 2. Makes City permitting for film projects more efficient. 3. Puts qualified leaders at the helm of the Film Commission and requires they hire an Executive Director with significant film industry experience. 4. Adds neighborhood voices to the Film Commission. 5. Requires the Commission to establish long-term goals for promoting film making as a major component of the City's economic and cultural base. Please join me in supporting film making in San Francisco, by voting Yes on Proposition C. Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier
San Francisco's Mayor-appointed eleven (11) member Film Commission has worked fairly well, has collected fees for services to visiting movie companies, and has encouraged positive media images for San Francisco's hotel and restaurant + oriented tourist trade (our largest industry). WHY THE SUPERVISORS' POWER PLAY?: Free cocktail parties and dinners are important City Hall perks. The Film Commission leads to entertainment events. Publicity-seeking Supervisors like to be photographed with well known actors and actresses... who might even get popular support for a piece of a Supervisor's proposed legislation. The move by the Supervisors to influence the Film Commission is understandable + but it's not in the public interest. THE PROBLEM: Mayors get blamed for local economic problems. Mayors have "vested interests" in pushing Film Commissioners to aid with San Francisco's media, tourist, and job needs. Supervisors fly below much of the political news radar. The people are not watching. Supervisors get away with a lot. Nobody will blame the Supervisors if their Film Commission appointees are inexperienced political campaign contributors. THE ANSWER: While the Supervisors are visiting their free cocktail parties and dinners, vote "NO!" on Proposition C. The Film Commission doesn't need "fixing".
Terence Faulkner
Doo Sup Park
Stephanie Jeong
| DON'T CHANGE THE FILM COMMISSION'S APPOINTMENT METHOD:
This proposed Charter amendment would remove the Mayor's City Charter power to appoint the eleven (11) members of the Film Commission. Under this new Charter requirement, five (5) members of the Film Commission would be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The remaining six (6) members of the Film Commission would be appointed by the Mayor, but only with the approval of the Board of Supervisors. I don't think that the Film Commission's method of appointment should be changed. The Commission should remain under the influence of the Mayor's Office. The Film Commission needs to deal with major movie companies, to charge fees for services provided to those firms, and to encourage more positive media coverage of San Francisco that will tend to promote our City's vital tourist trade (our largest local industry). Our hotels and restaurants are a major part of San Francisco's economy. Should the influence of the Board of Supervisors increase on the Film Commission, it is likely that the business interests of the City and County will be neglected in favor of more lunches, dinners, and cocktail parties. Free meals and parties are major City Hall perks. Vote "NO" on Proposition C. This Charter amendment is not needed.
Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D.
It's no secret this Mayor and this Board of Supervisors don't always work together. Improving San Francisco's film economy is one area where the Mayor and Board of Supervisors have acted in concert by passing film rebate legislation to bring jobs to our City. The opponent focuses on who makes appointments. I'm focused on how to improve film making in our City. Proposition C adds permit authority for the Film Commission to make it easier to create jobs. Proposition C requires the City include filmmaking in its economic development planning. Proposition C mandates qualifications for commissioners, to ensure they have the background to get the job done. As a Port Commissioner and now as a Supervisor, I've fought to create jobs, improve the business climate, and make certain San Francisco is the City that knows how. Proposition C continues this work, and I respectfully ask for your support. Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier |
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Created: August 20, 2010 21:43 PDT
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