Candidate for
Mayor; City of San Francisco

My political philosophy is about motivating involvement, to give the people most affected by the change they are seeking the power to make it happen. This is known as community empowerment. With the MAGIC Program, I worked with stakeholders and community and religious leaders for months, while designing a model program for helping community organizations improve outcomes for youth and families. The outcome was a collaborative, organically created organization that has stood the test of time, now going on seven years. This organization inspires volunteerism and long-term involvement and commitment by members. Most successful organizations have a common goal/mission; I very much believe in empowering individuals to achieve the goals their are seeking to achieve.

In addition, I believe in participatory leadership and would use this model to involve San Franciscans in local problems. I would set up local councils to obtain feedback on how to solve local problems. These councils would create action plans to address issues. For example, if a group of merchants were having problems with a city agency, such as the Department of Public Works, in addressing a clean-up issue, I would empower the merchants and neighbors to propose a solution, which I would then review with the department and other interested parties. I would then take action based on the recommendation.

PRIORITIES

My Top three priorities are Jobs, Pension Reform, and Education.

1: Creating New Jobs and Generating New Economic Activity

I will take 40 million dollars a year, a fraction of a percent what we are spending on retirement, and invest in job creation. The current fiscal crisis demands a mayor who can make the best decisions for San Francisco that generates immediate economic growth without sacrificing our future fiscal sustainability. San Franciscans do not want vague promises but a concrete plan and I am the candidate with a pragmatic approach and a concrete plan that can be realized. I challenge any other candidate to advance a more specific and sustainable plan for immediate economic growth and job creation than the one he has developed. My evidence-based solutions will:

• create up to 15,000 new jobs in the next 4 years
• create over $1 billion of new economic activity in the next 4 years
• save the City an additional $1.7 billion dollars in the next seven years, through pension reform and fiscal austerity

Retirement salaries are one of the greatest escalating costs facing our City. Last year, a police officer earned $516,000 right before retiring. This retired officer is now entitled to receive a pension package of $240,000 each year for the rest of this officer's life. This real-life example demonstrates most clearly the need for reform. In San Francisco's current fiscal crisis, everyone must make sacrifices to ensure that this remains a world class city with world class businesses, restaurants, transportation, infrastructure and services.

In an effort to address the City's under-funded liabilities which have been undercutting programs as basic as summer school, I authored a measure last year which was defeated but created enough serious discourse that San Francisco now has two pension reform measures on the ballot.

Proposition D will be on the November ballot competing with Proposition C, another version of a pension reform plan. Prop D saves San Francisco up to $100 million each year and $1.7 billion over 7 years, according to the City Controller. As mayor, $40 million annually would be immediately set aside for San Francisco small business enterprise and job creation. Proposition D is progressive, meaning the highest paid workers contribute more to their pensions. Moreover, it exempts the City's lowest paid workers, those making under $50,000, from any increases. My plan to reform the biggest and most unsustainable City expense is bold, feasible, and necessary.

3: Education and Jobs/Internships for Youth

Having been public school educated, I am committed to strong public education, from kindergarten through college. As mayor, I will use taxpayer dollars that are saved through pension reform and other fiscal austerity measures to promptly restore San Francisco's summer school program which was cut entirely this year. When San Francisco's children are engaged in productive activities during the summer months, they are less likely to become in involved in mischief and more likely to graduate from high school. It makes little sense to cut important education programs like summer school just to keep paying retired police and firefighters $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 and more and more every year for the rest of their lives.

In addition to restoring summer school, I will also expand funding for the Youthworks program to provide internships for all SF youth who want a summer job. My office, the Public Defender's Office, now provides internships to over 200 law students and dozens of high school students each year.

I am the only mayoral candidate who is genuinely trying to reprioritize the way that we allocate precious taxpayer dollars.