Mayor Newsom swears-in new members to the San Francisco Taxi Commission

From the Mayor's Office of Communications

29 June 2006

Mayor Newsom today swore-in new members to the San Francisco Taxicab Commission.

“I am pleased to appoint Tom Oneto and Malcolm Heinicke, as new additions to the Taxicab Commission. Both Tom and Malcolm bring valuable expertise to their new post and share my commitment to reforming San Francisco's taxi industry.”

Malcolm Heinicke is a partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. Mr. Heinicke joined the firm in 1998 and was elected to the partnership in the end of 2003. His practice focuses on labor and employment litigation and counseling as well as complex commercial litigation.

Specifically, much of his litigation practice focuses on wage/hour, discrimination and consumer class actions. In addition, Mr. Heinicke works on collective bargaining negotiations and disputes. Mr. Heinicke is a native Californian and resides in San Francisco.

Tom Oneto is Business Representative for Teamsters Local 490. Mr. Oneto is a third generation San Franciscan and resides in San Francisco’s Excelsior District.

In addition, Mayor Newsom reappointed the following individuals:

Min Paek has served on the Taxicab Commission as the General Public representative since April 2003. In 1986, Ms. Paek founded Korean American Women Artists and Writers Association (KAWAWA) and since has been working as an Executive Director. In 1993, she co-founded Korean/African American KAWAWA Intercultural Youth Program with Mr. Lefty Gordon. In addition, she is a moderator of online Korean Studies Discussion List, PhD candidate in Korean Studies Program at Hamburg University, Germany. Ms. Paek holds an M.A. in Inter Art and B.A. in Conceptual Art from San Francisco State University.

Paul Gillespie has served on the Taxicab Commission, as the Driver Representative since 1999. Mr. Gillespie moved to San Francisco in 1979.

Mr. Gillespie, an active Yellow Cab driver, since 1986, is extremely civic-minded. He is involved with Project Read as an adult literacy tutor. He was a member of the Energy and Parks, and Open Space committees, the group that drafted the San Francisco Sustainability Plan of 1996. In addition, Mr. Gillespie is a member of the Program Committee of the Environment and Natural Resources Section of the Commonwealth Club of California and also a member of SPUR. He attended the University of Wisconsin and San Francisco State University.

About the Taxicab Commission

The "Mission" of the San Francisco Taxicab Commission is to insure the provision of prompt, safe, honest, efficient, and courteous taxi service to the residents and visitors of San Francisco; to enact and enforce just and equitable rules concerning drivers, medallion holders and companies; and to provide an open forum for debate and discussion of all issues concerning public vehicle for hire services in San Francisco.

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