PhilTing San Francisco Examiner mayoral candidate questionnaire

1. Please explain your campaign platform in 20 words or less. My campaign to Reset San Francisco is about engaging San Franciscans and to make their voices heard at City Hall. 2. Please list your votes on the local November ballot measures School Bonds Yes Road Repaving and Street Paving Bonds Yes Pension Reform Lee supported Yes Adachi Initiative No Amending Initiative Ordinances and Policy Declaration No Campaign Consultant Disclosures Yes School District Student Assignment System Yes 3. What is the worst budgetary problem in San Francisco and how will you address it? Our city government is not working as effectively as it could and should. The worst budgetary problem is our current inability to manage our finances and make government work as effectively as it should and we can make it work without necessarily raising taxes. When I took over the Assessor-Recorders Office in 2005, it was one of the worst departments in The City. But by increasing office efficiency and productivity, ending favoritism, and putting my management experience to work, we helped clear a five-year backlog and have collected over $290 million in new revenue money that can now be used for our citys vital social services for students, families, and others most in need. This simple approach, when applied correctly, will increase city revenue for the public services that provide San Franciscans with the quality of life we all expect from our city government. If our budget is not balanced, we cannot fund public schools, police and fire stations, and Muni. Because we closed loopholes and cleared much of our backlog at the Assessors Office, we now have hundreds of million more dollars to spend on schools, Muni, job creation and other programs. 4. What are your plans to attract and retain businesses in San Francisco? I believe we need to eliminate what is essentially a tax on jobs and replace the revenue in a number of ways. I would eliminate the payroll tax and replace it with revenue that does not penalize job growth. My office has shown what can happen when we implement steady reforms. We have already generated $290 million more in revenue than anticipated. We have closed loopholes and created innovative programs like the Whistleblower reward that is finding

new revenue that was owed, but uncollected. Other revenue sources, if needed, should be fair and sensible in terms of promoting a stronger economy rather than creating yet another barrier to job creation. If a government bureaucracy can cut that waste to ensure more revenue, image what can be done when bureaucracy and loopholes that place barriers on business growth are reformed to increase efficiency. Furthermore, we must bring together organizations, outside groups, and community members with various businesses interested in San Francisco to ensure that the businesses can benefit without destroying the environment or strong communities built in various San Francisco districts. For example, as founding co-chair of ChinaSF, Ive seen the incredible economic benefit of bridging business between San Francisco and Asia. ChinaSF is a public-private partnership dedicated to creating economic development opportunities by making San Francisco the gateway for Chinese companies looking to establish business operations in the Bay Area. Through ChinaSF weve attracted 13 companies and have created more than 120 jobs. Beyond the economic benefit, we cannot realize our full potential as a city if we dont have more people involved in San Francisco civic life. 5. Do you support San Francisco giving tax breaks to businesses that agree to locate in economically distressed areas such as the Tenderloin district or Mid-Market area? Tax reform needs to be an overall package, not a series of one-off breaks that only apply to some industries and locations and not others. As mentioned, I would eliminate the payroll tax and replace it with revenue that does not penalize job growth. New revenue is needed, but it needs to be coupled with dramatic increases in efficiency and government effectiveness. And it should be administered fairly not in a series of oneoff fashions. 6. What proposals do you have for creating job growth in The City? Through GoSolarSF, San Franciscos first municipal solar installation incentive program that I helped launched in 2008, we have quadrupled the number of solar roofs in The City, increased the number of solar companies from two to 30, and created over 450 new green jobs, helping to solidify our status as an emerging capitol of the green economy. In order to make San Francisco the best it can possibly be, we need to focus on the industries of the future like green jobs. I believe The City should work to provide training and education for workers to transition into these new emerging industries. Also, relating to my answer in Question 4, I also support programs similar to ChinaSF that bridge various organizations and communities to create more jobs in San Francisco.

7. Do you support San Franciscos policy of requiring contractors who bid on large public projects to guarantee that a significant percentage (at least 20 percent) of the work will be performed by city residents? Yes. While just mandating something isnt enough we also need to put in place the training necessary to grow a skilled workforce a measure can have a significant economic stimulus effect. San Francisco taxpayers fund these projects and it is only fair that San Francisco taxpayers should be their chief beneficiaries. With unemployment over 9 percent in San Francisco, The City needs to work to create local jobs and these jobs should be aimed at creating fulfilling careers for San Franciscans. A city cant thrive unless its residents are employed in sustainable jobs. 8. Over the past decade, growth in the salary and benefits of city employees has forced The City to reduce services in a variety of areas. Are city employees overpaid? Are benefits too generous? If so, what can be done about this? To me the issue is less what people are paid and more how we organize ourselves to deliver the most efficient services. As a former management consultant, I know that competitive pay actually saves money in the long run because an organization like San Francisco, which is essentially in the service sector, only succeeds if we hire and train the best people. I do recognize we are in a time when we need to tighten our belts. In light of the budget crisis facing San Francisco, I support Mayor Ed Lees ballot measure for city employee pensions, where San Francisco city workers would pay, at most, 12.5 percent, and at least 7.5 percent of their salaries to pensions with police and firefighters paying up to 13.5 percent. But the key issue is making sure we are reforming and updating city government so we are delivering the services voters want and need. We can save much more money in the long run through thoughtful reforms and implementing a series of Gov 2.0 reforms than we can with endless bickering with employees. 9. The state could soon allow cities and counties to add more local taxes. What additional taxes, if any, would you propose for San Francisco? In these economic times, we need to find more ways to generate revenue. However, before looking for additional taxes, I believe we should first ensure that we make our current taxes as efficient and effective as possible, especially by closing the loopholes in property taxes. 10. What should be done to make Muni more efficient? What changes should be made to address the MTAs annual operating deficit? As San Franciscans, we depend more on public transportation than individuals from any other county in the Bay Area. With over 200 million passengers a year who ride Muni to commute to work and get around in our city, our transit system is one of the most heavily used transit systems in the nation. However, our system was designed almost 40 years ago, when our city was a very different place. We need public transportation that reflects where San Francisco is today and where we are heading for tomorrow.

We have all experienced the frustration of riding Muni. At times, it is unreliable, inefficient, and sometimes even unsafe. Our fees have increased, while services continue to decline. Muni mistakes not only waste taxpayer dollars on costly repairs and lawsuits, but also risk lives. We need to make sure we are spending money wisely and efficiently. The SFMTA recently launched a pilot program for the Nx-Judah Express bus, which costs taxpayers roughly $2 million dollars. While express lines are one method for alleviating crowded buses, follow-up research is needed to confirm effectiveness. Without a hard look at the money being spent on transit and the projected future transportation needs of our city, we cannot develop meaningful long-term solutions for our transit system. And there are meaningful solutions out there. Finding the right approach to solve the problem comes from listening and engaging our citys pool of talent and intellect. We need to bring our engineers, our city planners, our creative thinkers, and our innovators together to improve our public transportation. Thats why my campaign to Reset San Francisco held an event to bring the community and a panel of experts together to discuss long-term solutions for making Muni more reliable, efficient and safe. 11. Homelessness still seems to be the foremost topic on the minds of voters. What's your plan to get people off the streets, especially when they refuse help? Programs, like Care Not Cash, are important for transitioning the homeless population off the street. Since the implementation of Care Not Cash, over 3,500 formerly homeless San Franciscans have been placed in permanent housing, and the number of individuals receiving County Adult Assistance has dropped by 85 percent. Last June, when the Board of Supervisors supported a ballot measure to dismantle this successful program, my campaign to Reset San Francisco launched an online petition to protect Care Not Cash. I personally visited homeless shelters, outreached to the community and wrote a series of blogs urging San Franciscans to support Care Not Cash. And through our hard work and the hard work of other fellow San Franciscans, two supervisors decided not to support the measure and they pulled it from the ballot. And as mayor, I will support innovative and important programs to help the homeless get off the street and get the care they need. 12. In 2010, The City amended its Police Code to prohibit sitting or lying on a public sidewalk in San Francisco between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., with certain exceptions. Do you support this policy? I am not in favor of the Civil Sidewalks law because it doesnt address the real problem. It has not worked yet, and to the extent it will work, it will be of limited benefit in my view.

13. Do you support the Parkmerced and CMPC developments as currently proposed? I am in favor of the overall plan for Parkmerced, yet I believe more can and should be done to protect the rights of existing tenants. CPMC is in negotiations with The City now. As mayor, I would strongly support the rebuild of the hospital and would drive to conclude the negotiations in a way that takes into full account community concerns and mitigations and makes sure the economic and public safety benefits of the new hospital are fully realized. 14. Do you support increasing the number of permits to allow the conversion of rental properties into condos? I am open to increasing the condo conversion limit if we could find common ground with many of the tenant concerns over evictions. 15. Some people in San Francisco think that all tenants should be protected by rent control, regardless of the tenants income or wealth. Other people in San Francisco think that tenants should be protected by rent control only if they are lower or middle class, and cannot afford to pay market-level rents. What is your opinion on this issue? I support rent control, including the San Francisco Rent Ordinance, but I do not support expanding it beyond its current scope. 16. In 2009, San Francisco began turning over undocumented youths arrested for felonies to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation. The Board of Supervisors subsequently directed The City not to turn over undocumented youths unless they have been convicted of a felony, rather than simply arrested. What is your opinion on this issue? I support San Francisco as a Sanctuary City and the universal right to due process. As controversial as it is to be a Sanctuary City, I think we should all remember that Angel Island is an integral part of our citys heritage, and the immigrants who came through there helped to shape the San Francisco we have come to know and love today. 17. More than 5,000 children have left San Francisco over the last decade. What's your plan to keep families living in San Francisco? First of all, as a parent myself I can tell you that the primary reason parents leave is that they dont feel that they can find quality public education in their own neighborhoods. The entire city will benefit from a mayor who makes supporting quality public education one of his or her top priorities. San Francisco is one of the most sought after places in the country to live. But, its not always an easy place to live. The cost of living in San Francisco is among the highest in the nation. So, we need to have a city government that gives people what they pay for. I would focus on improving and increasing city services but carefully looking at what works and what simply, does not. By eliminating wasteful or ineffectual programs, we can devote more resources to programs that do work for our families.

Additionally, I think it goes without saying that we need to focus to education. But in these economic times, we need to find more ways to generate revenue, so we can build more family and work force housing and focus on improving our schools. I also believe that creating a greener, more environmentally friendly city would keep families here. I helped launch the GoSolarSF program, San Franciscos first municipal solar installation incentive program. This 10-year program is the product of the San Francisco Solar Task Force, which I co-founded and co-chaired. GoSolarSF has quadrupled the number of solar roofs in The City, created scores of new green jobs, and attracted nearly a dozen new solar companies to San Francisco, helping to solidify our status as an emerging capitol of the green economy. A program like this not only creates family-sustaining jobs, but it helps save families money on their utilities. 18. What are your plans to curb gang violence in The City? Experience has taught me the best solutions come when law enforcement, city government and community members all work together to determine the right approach to San Franciscos problems. The threat of violence is a real concern for all San Franciscans. And we can all appreciate that SFPD works hard every day to eliminate the threat. But when tactics for fighting crime do more harm than good, its time to look for a better way. In Los Angeles, for example, the city is using data and technology to prevent crime before it occurs. With the right knowledge and commitment to data and facts, SFPD can perhaps curb crime. I have learned that city government can always improve and be better. We need to continue a dialogue between law enforcement and our local economies to ensure that we are working together towards real solutions, not causing more conflict.