League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Proposition A Earthquake Retrofit Bond County of San Francisco 2/3 Approval Required Fail: 162266 / 63.24% Yes votes ...... 94324 / 36.76% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition A

Arguments Against Proposition A

Remember Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans? More than 100,000 people were displaced from their homes, their lives devastated. San Francisco is a city prone to serious earthquakes. Unless we take steps now to retrofit and protect our most vulnerable buildings and people, we could see similar destruction in our City. This bond measure would create a deferred loan fund to pay for seismic retrofits for highly vulnerable "soft story" buildings with affordable units: 156 buildings and 8,247 units throughout the City. The working families and low-income residents living in these buildings deserve protection when the next earthquake hits. In the Loma Prieta Earthquake, we lost 7,700 housing units because of damage to soft story buildings - we must strengthen similar buildings before it's too late. WHAT IS IT: A $46.15 million general obligation bond to fund specific seismic improvements to "soft story" buildings, which are similar to the type of structures that sustained the most damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. WHY RETROFIT: With the retrofits funded by this bond, the chance that a soft story building collapses in an extreme earthquake drops from 35% to 3%, saving lives and preserving San Francisco's housing stock. WHY NOW: The U.S. Geological Survey estimates a 63% chance that a 6.7 or greater earthquake will hit us in the next three decades, and that on the Hayward Fault, this would likely cause hundreds of deaths and almost $100 billion in damage. INVESTMENT: For $2.48 per San Franciscan annually, we can prevent building collapse: saving lives, preventing fires from spreading through neighborhoods, and keeping residents from being displaced and homeless. Mayor Gavin Newsom President David Chiu, Board of Supervisors Joanne Hayes-White, Fire Chief* Edwin Lee, City Administrator* Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director, SPUR For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments For PROPOSITION A BACKERS ARE MISUSING THE CONCEPT OF "EARTHQUAKE RETROFIT" TO GIVE GIFTS AND LOANS TO POLITICALLY-CONNECTED SLUMLORDS TO REPAIR THEIR PRIVATELY-OWNED BUILDINGS WITH CITY TAX MONEY! Behind the mask of "Earthquake Retrofit" sit a group of very wealth and greedy multi-millionaires who refuse to repair their highly-profitable slumlord hotels and apartment houses. What is really needed are building inspectors who will firmly enforce the building codes against these slumlords, many of whom make political campaign donations to the so-called "City Fathers". Proposition A's proposed $46,150,000 in giveaways and loans to slumlords is an Outrage. These wealthy individuals, having long exploited the poor of our City with substandard buildings, now want the taxpayers of San Francisco to pay their repair bills. Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D., County Central Committeeman* Doo Sup Park, State Senate Nominee For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.

SHOULD SAN FRANCISCO GIVE FINANCIAL AID TO MULTI-MILLIONAIRE SLUMLORDS AND RELATED SUB-STANDARD "FIRE TRAP" HOTELS???: We all know that these slumlords are very wealthy and make large political campaign donations to our so-called "City Fathers". These slumlords and substandard hotel owners are dragging their feet and refusing to make basic repairs to their poorly maintained properties. What the City really needs are firm building inspectors who will take these questionable businessmen to court and/or City Prison. Proposition A's proposal to give these slumlords a financial aid program of some $46,150,000 in giveaways, grants, and loans is outrageous. Don't reward illegal misconduct. Proposition A is an insult to the law abiding residents and voters of San Francisco. These multi-millionaire building owners already have enough money to properly repair their properties. Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D., Republican County Central Committeeman*, (12th Assembly District) For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments Against EARTHQUAKES AFFECT ALL OF US Mother Nature doesn't discriminate + when the next earthquake comes, it will impact ALL PEOPLE who live and work in San Francisco. PREVENTING BUILDING COLLAPSE IS A CITYWIDE GOAL Seismically retrofitted buildings are over 10 times more likely to remain standing after a big earthquake. When buildings stay standing, families don't need temporary FEMA trailers and tent camps. Instead, they can remain safe at home. This bond provides retrofits for 8,247 housing units + imagine the consequences for the City economy if all these people became homeless in a matter of moments. That's why seismic retrofits are critical. FIRE SPREADS FAST Even if you don't live in a seismically vulnerable affordable housing building, there might be one on your block or in your neighborhood. In the worst-case scenario, a big earthquake may bring a building like this crumbling to the ground, starting a fire. The frightening thing about fire is that once it starts, it burns just as fast and hot in surrounding buildings that are still standing as it does in collapsed buildings. We MUST retrofit these soft story affordable housing buildings RIGHT AWAY to prevent collapse and fire. This will help keep neighborhoods intact after the next big earthquake and help us get back to our daily lives faster. VOTE YES ON A. Mayor Gavin Newsom President David Chiu, Board of Supervisors Joanne Hayes-White, Fire Chief* Edwin M. Lee, City Administrator* Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organizatio