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HANC Membership Meeting - January 2023

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By David Woo, HANC Vice President

Looking at the recalls here locally, around the state, and country, it’s an interesting piece of history and really an abomination of the original intent of the recall. Recalls were creatures of Hiram Johnson, the progressive era governor in 1911 when Southern Pacific ran California. Johnson ran on breaking the control that big corporations had on the state, with the state legislature controlled by these corporations.

The idea was if state legislators can’t be counted on to do the work of the people, then the people can do it themselves. So we can put an initiative on the ballot with signatures and we can pass our own legislation that the legislature is too corrupt to pass. And at the same time if the legislature (controlled by corporations) does something horrible, we can put a referendum on it, put it on the ballot, and get rid of it. Added to this was the recall.

 

By David Woo, HANC Board

HANC has taken the position that any proposal to close JFK Drive must be guided by maximum transit, access, and equity. To this end, HANC advocates for new MUNI service to Golden Gate Park, in addition to existing service, before any proposal to close JFK/Middle/MLK drives goes into effect, in order to address equity access issues and increase transit capacity for GGP. This must be in addition to increased shuttles and shuttle frequency within the park.

HANC also advocates for full vehicle access into the eastern end of the park for volunteers of the Dahlia Garden who have been blocked by the closure and require vehicle access to be able to care for and run the garden (at no cost to the city).

The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Board of Directors is taking a stance against politically motivated recalls. In the October Voice (https://www.hanc-sf.org/24-home/643-what-are-recalls-all-about) it was written recalls should be more difficult:

“It's expensive. It could be called an excess of democracy, and undermine the independence of elected officials. It can be abused. More recalls are organized by business than by ordinary citizens (the BOE recall has raised $1m from people who also supplied dark money in the last D5 Supervisor race), and often with less than a year before the next election... In SF, recalls can place even more power in the hands of the Mayor. The school board issues appear to be matters of policy, not rising to criminal acts.”

By Richard Ivanhoe, with help from Christin Evans, HANC Board

San Francisco could see as many as four elections in 2022.  The first is on February 15, 2002.  Joaquin Torres, who was appointed by Mayor Breed to replace Carmen Chu as assessor-recorder, is running unopposed to continue as assessor-recorder for the remainder of his term (through January, 2023).  The measures to recall school board members Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Molina also appear on this ballot.  February 15 is also the date for the special primary election for Assembly District 17, for a replacement for David Chiu, who was appointed as City Attorney by Mayor Breed.  This is a special election for the remainder of the term, which ends in January, 2023.

If no candidate for Assembly District 17 receives a majority of the vote, there will be a special general election for the seat on April 19.  Only the top two vote-getters will appear on the ballot.

By James Sword, HANC Board

On December 14, 2021, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin tweeted “We're putting Recall Reform on the June 2022 ballot. Taxpayers should not be forced to spend millions to recall officials who were just elected or are up for re-election in the same year. Thx to co-sponsors @shamannwalton @HillaryRonen @DeanPreston @conniechansf @myrnamelgar!” This tweet was soon followed by a Chronicle story about the various measures up for the June 2022 election – one of four we get to participate in this year!

As the Chronicle reported, “Supervisor Aaron Peskin wants to change how vacancies on the Board of Supervisors, Board of Education, and Community College District Board of Trustees are filled. Currently, the mayor appoints replacements in the middle of an election cycle. Peskin wants to instead have a majority of each board’s members appoint a replacement to fill a vacant seat — for example, leaving the power to pick a temporary new colleague up to supervisors.”

The amendment will also limit recalls to officials who have served in office for at least 12 months, up from the current six months. It will prohibit the submission of recall petitions within 18 months of a regularly scheduled election for the official – the Board of Education members being recalled are up for election in November 2022. Supervisors Shamann Walton, Connie Chan, Hillary Ronen, Dean Preston and Myrna Melgar support the measure.

Page Slow Street 4

By Alec Hawley

My daughters Talulah and Tomasina (TnT) recently made a new sign for the Page Slow Street at the intersection of Stanyan. We ride and walk along Page daily. We love to go slow, to breathe and to appreciate our city and the community that makes it so joyful. That’s why we were sad when the old Page Slow Street sign that greeted us every day disappeared. TnT) loved the sign, and were always curious to see what would be added or changed each time we visited, and who we might encounter on our slow treks across the city for work, school, playdates and shopping trips.

By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Board

We began 2021 with a note of optimism—a new Federal administration and the arrival of vaccines would speed our recovery from Covid.  As we look back on the year, we find the usual mix of frustration from unfulfilled promises and some progress.  HANC did meet every month in 2021 (except for our tradition of skipping August), although we could only meet online.

In January, we discussed affordable housing—how funds from 2018, 2019, and 2020 ballot measures could be used to bolster the City’s affordable housing by purchasing permanent affordable housing and shelter in place hotels, and by helping renters remain housed.  At our February meeting, we discussed UCSF’s plans to expand its Parnassus campus.  We also discussed CART, a community alternative to policing.  For our March meeting, we discussed plans to make permanent the closure of JFK Drive and slow Page Street, suggestions for improvements to the Panhandle, and the investigation of Parks Alliance.  Jen Snyder, from Dean Preston’s office, also gave a primer explaining the City’s budget process.

By Tes Welborn, HANC Board

This will be the largest change in San Francisco district maps and potentially, the largest change in San Francisco politics.  We've known for years that all the development on the east side of town would mean major shifts in district maps and the pool of supervisor candidates.  And now a nine-member appointed task force will be the final decision-makers on a new map, based on the 2020 Census. The task force has three members appointed directly by the Mayor, three by the Dept. of Elections, and three by the Board of Supervisors. That's only three progressives.

Another factor is that the Mayor has mandated NO public meetings until at least March 2022.  The final map is due by April 15, 2022. This limits public access and discussion.  The taskforce meetings have been running about 6 hours each, and are expected to run longer. And recall elections may further distract residents and voters from this important issue.

  1. December 9 at HANC: The Future of JFK Drive
  2. Statement of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) on SFMTA's 2022 MUNI Service Proposal
  3. Mayor's Office Chooses Vacant Lot Over Sanitary Facilities and Homeless Services
  4. HANC Board Elected
  5. Park Branch Library Update
  6. Letter from Louise Dunlap, Senior Working Group regarding 730 Stanyan

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