Keys Wins Hungry Hearts During D6 Candidates Forum

By Luke Thomas

May 20, 2010

Community organizer James Keys drew the loudest support for his candidacy in the race for District 6 Supervisor during a candidates forum held Tuesday at the Bayanihan Center.

Billed as “Neighborhood Silver Tsunami 2010,” the ‘meet the candidates’ forum was hosted by several organizations dedicated to improving the lives of senior citizens including The Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly, SF Veterans Equity Center Planning for Elders, Senior Action Network, SOMCAN, Open House, Seniors Organizing Seniors and Episcopal Community Services-Canon Kip Senior Center.

Dressed in a three-piece gray suit and tinkling a set of keys, James Keys, 49, focused his introductory remarks on addressing the most basic of human needs: food.

“Most of you guys get one meal a day and you have to make that meal last the entire day,” Keys said to an audience comprised primarily of retirees. “Yes, that would be one of the things that I want to make sure that you get – more food – that you get nutritious meals and that you are treated with dignity.”

Additionally, Keys, who previously volunteered working as an aide to Supervisor Chris Daly, said he would advocate for the protection of city services for senior citizens amid State and City budget cuts as well as ensuring employers pay into the city’s universal health care program, Healthy San Francisco.

“What we need to do is to find more ways to ensure that each and every employer is paying into that (Healthy San Francisco) so that we can ensure that you are able to get the care that you need, to make sure that you’re healthy,” Keys said.

Fourteen candidates attended the forum including front-runners Jane Kim, Jim Meko, and Theresa Sparks. Debra Walker, also considered a frontrunner, was unable to attend in person and was represented by Harvey Milk Club co-President Denise Deanne.

Thrice-elected sitting Distinct 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, who terms out of office in January, provided opening remarks.

In the nine and one-half years he has represented the District, Daly said it became apparent to him and his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors that senior citizens are “powerful” and “not to be messed with.”

“I think one of the reasons why I have been here for nearly ten years is that I have stood beside you, and you have stood beside me, and for that, I thank you very, very much,” Daly said, adding that he will continue to advocate for senior services protections during the upcoming budget battle that begins June 1 when Mayor Gavin Newsom is required to submit a balanced budget to the Board.

Daly said that after he terms out of office, he will continue his activism in the District to protect senior citizens’ interests. “I actually look forward to being with you on that side, in those chairs, starting next year,” he said.

Each candidate was allotted three minutes to introduce their candidacies and answer questions related to issues facing senior citizens. The following are excerpts from the other candidates opening remarks in the order they were selected by lottery.

Jane Kim

San Francisco School Board President Jane Kim said she “started out as a senior community organizer at Chinatown’s Community Development Center for six years” and worked as a community organizer for developing youth “to become leaders and advocates for our community.”

She fought to protect affordable housing, single residency hotel management enforcement, longer hours for recreation and park facilities, for “better transit that’s affordable and reliable, and provided leadership training for seniors groups in Chinatown and the Tenderloin as well as translation services.”

Kim said she entered the race because she “felt that it was really important to have voices that have worked in the community and reflect the faces of our community representing us in public office.”

As School Board President, Kim said she has advocated for the reform of the student disciplinary process to keep students in school “instead of suspending and expelling them,” created “the largest gains” in student achievement gaps over the last two years. She is currently leading the discussion on what to do with the school district’s surplus properties “so we can benefit communities, one of which is educator housing in our facilities.”

If elected, Kim said she would hold regular town hall meetings to remain engaged on the issues facing district constituents.

Quoting from a Chinese proverb, Kim said, “Having an elder in a home is like having a treasure under your roof.”

Before her allotted three-minutes expired, Kim said the most pressing issues facing seniors in the district include affordable housing, keeping rents affordable, and protecting senior services from budget cuts.

Renato Casarez

If elected, Casarez said he would “fight to make sure that we retain and expand our current services that we offer to disabled and seniors in our district,” and would maintain an open-door policy for constituents and host forums.

He said the most pressing issues facing seniors include access to affordable healthcare, budget cuts to senior services and maintaining affordable housing.

He said as Supervisor he would look for areas in the budget that could be trimmed to protect senior services.

Robert Raeburn

Thirty-six year District 6 resident Robert Raeburn, who has worked as a volunteer at several medical facilities including Laguna Honda Hospital, said he wants college students to be more engaged in the medical community in exchange for college credits.

“I want to involve students in everything we can because they are the future of the world,” he said.

Additionally, Raeburn said he wants to keep rents affordable for everyone, to expand solar panel installations in the District, to have more trees planted, to encourage more neighborhood engagement to address problems such as litter, and said he supports culturally enriching activities to bring back a sense of community spirit.

“I want more entertainers in the city. I want a pickup truck with a piano and a group of singers. I want clowns. I want jugglers,” he said before his allotted three minutes expired.

Rodney Hauge

Hauge, who is the son of a Norwegian immigrant, said he served in the armed forces in the Philippines for five years.

“I love Philippino food,” he said.

He once worked in the White House in diplomatic service, he said.

Hauge, 60, who is legally disabled, said to understand the issues facing seniors and the disabled he just has to “look in the mirror.”

On the question of what issues are most pressing for seniors, Hauge said, “Healthcare, healthcare, healthcare. The second is, crime, crime, crime. We’re victims all the time,” he said. He also wants electeds, and particularly young people, to respect the hardships senior citizens face on a daily basis.

“We should be considered special because we’re wiser, better educated, more experienced,” he said. “We have built this country, this world, and the younger people coming into this world are taking a lot for granted, including us.”

If elected, Hauge said he would increase the budgets for elderly services predicting that there would be a “war” between seniors and younger generations fighting over budget cuts.

Jim Meko

Land use activist and Entertainment Commissioner Jim Meko began his speech recognizing community leaders who have worked to create schools and parks in the District.

He used the opportunity to take a jab at Mayor Gavin Newsom who is running for lieutenant governor while the city grapples with an unprecedented fiscal crisis.

“This November, besides voting for one of us, we’re going to have an opportunity to vote for lieutenant governor,” Meko said. “And I never thought I would say this, but I’m going to vote for Gavin Newsom just to get him out of this city so that we can try to get our budget priorities straight.”

“Senior programs: yes! Foolish press conference opportunity, public relations nonsense: no! I think we could probably balance the budget if we got rid of Gavin’s 311 call center, if we got rid of the public relations person he hired for a zoning administrator, if we got rid of all his employees in his press office… we have to get our priorities straight. The seniors’ budget is one of our highest priorities.”

Meko, who has lived in District 6 for 33 years, said he knows what is needed to improve the lives of District 6 residents.

“Muni is terrible. Transportation is awful,” he said. “On pedestrian safety, this is the most dangerous District in the entire city and just basic fear, fear for our own well-being. We have to make everyone feel safer.”

Meko said he is committed to community activism. “I’m all about community. I have devoted my life working to build a stronger sense of community,” he said, adding that everyone is welcome at the table to address issues facing seniors and district residents.

Denise Deanne (for Debra Walker)

Former Senior Action Network Treasurer Denise Deanne, said herself and Debra Walker have taken “parallel paths” in advocating for seniors.

Walker, an artist, sits on the Building Inspections Commission as a tenant advocate, Deanne said. “She’s an artist and so she’s very sensitive, but she’s a fierce defender and advocate for all our issues. In the mould of our great supervisor, Chris Daly, she’s really out there, a very fierce person for issues that are important to all of us.”

Elihu Hernandez

Hernandez, who has lived in San Francisco for four years, said he’s not going to “stick around and wait ten or fifteen years before I actually decide to do something. That’s my campaign motto: The time to act is now.”

Hernandez said the community must come together to address the issues facing the District “whether it’s housing, transportation” or how residents and seniors are going to pay for their healthcare bills. “We’re all in this together.”

If elected, Hernandez would engage the community to address residents’ concerns. The most pressing concerns surround issues related to healthcare, public safety and transportation, he said.

“How is somebody going to be able to get to their medical appointment if the Muni budget keeps on getting slashed and services are reduced?” he asked, adding that he, himself, cannot afford a Fast Pass.

As to the budget problems facing the city, Hernandez said, “Take a butcher’s philosophy: when you’re serving meat, you don’t cut the meat, you cut the fat.”

Hernandez cited the mayor’s office as one area where he would cut the most fat citing 30 to 40 percent of the mayor’s staff working in public relations positions.

“What we need to do is fire those individuals and redistribute their salaries,” he said. “Cut the fat, not the meat.”

Kathleen Mallory

Mallory, who has worked as a caregiver for fourteen years, said she is “very familiar with the needs of seniors.”

She said it can be difficult for seniors to attend town hall styled meetings in person and would advocate for the use of public radio as an alternative form of communication.

She said she supports rent control to protect residents from being made homeless.

Elaine Zamora

Elaine Zamora, who is the District Manager for the Tenderloin Community Benefits District, said she previously worked as a workers’ compensation attorney representing indigent workers, “so I understand the issues around disability.”

If elected, Zamora said she would attend community meetings to keep in touch with seniors, as well as dedicate a staff member to attend community meetings on a regular basis. She also said she would attend peoples’ homes for those residents who are unable to leave their homes.

The three most challenging issues facing seniors, Zamora said, are housing, the availability of housing and the ability to maintain housing. If elected, Zamora said she would “legislate for eviction protections” and advocate for in-house services protections, Muni service and healthcare cost protections.

“The budget should not be balanced on the backs of seniors and the disabled,” she said.

Matt Drake

Attorney Matt Drake has lived in the SOMA neighborhood for eight years. The most pressing issues facing the District includes public safety, he said.

“A lot of people can’t get around as well as I can and the streets are dangerous and they’re more dangerous for the people here who are more vulnerable, and so we have to keep the streets safe for people,” he said.

Drake cited Muni as the second biggest issue facing San Francisco residents. “Everybody takes Muni and, probably, no one is happy with Muni,” he said, adding that a large part of Muni’s budget problems are related to work orders, a mechanism where other City departments bill Muni for services. “That’s just an absolute disgrace,” he said.

The third most pressing issue, Drake said, is affordable housing, “and that’s a problem not just for seniors but obviously a problem for everyone in San Francisco.”

Theresa Sparks

Human Rights Commission Executive Director Theresa Sparks is a parent of three children and has three grandchildren. Before serving on the San Francisco Police Commission as its president for two years, Sparks co-managed Good Vibrations, a retail and online adult merchandise business.  She also served in the US military in Vietnam.

Sparks said she supports affordable housing and rent control, particularly for seniors. She also supports police foot patrols to improve public safety.

“We need more police in the neighborhood,” she said. “We need more police on the street,” to deal with elder abuse.

Sparks said healthcare and transportation go “hand in hand. Veterans who go out to the VA hospital need to be able to go out to the VA hospital and not feel like they are going to be threatened on Muni.”

Robert Jordon

Robert Jordon, 63, was born in San Francisco and grew up in Chinatown.

If elected, Jordon would protect seniors from budget cuts. “Seniors would be the last ones to get cut, if they got cut at all,” he said.

For Jordon, the most pressing issues in the district include crime and Muni service cuts.

“You can see the difference with the 10 percent cut,” he said, “About the time the bus comes, you step on, it’s full.”

Glendon “Anna Conda” Hyde

An activist, fundraiser, and part time drag personality, Hyde said he has been working in the community “for many, many years, now.”

Hyde said one of the reasons he entered the race is because he has become a community activist through his drag personality. “I don’t want to lose myself or pretend that I’m someone else,” he said. “So I’m taking that part with me into this race.”

He supports improving and protecting Muni service “so that if you need to get to me and I need to get to you, we have some way to do it.”

“We can’t use Muni as slush fund,” he said.

To remain engaged in the community, Hyde would support elder street fairs which, he said, could be used to raise funds to benefit elderly communities.

On healthcare for seniors, Glendon supports in-home healthcare. “Healthcare access is a huge problem,” he said. “We need visiting healthcare to come to you and we also need to extend Healthy San Francisco so that we can use those funds to come to you, to bring your medications to you, bring the doctors to you, bring the dentists to you.”

On housing, Glendon supports affordable housing, rent control and the repeal of the Ellis Act.

“We need to stop Ellis Act evictions because it’s the number one reason why elders are becoming homeless today,” he said.

He also supports day care centers where homeless persons can seek temporary shelter and connections to short and long-term housing.

“What we need to do is house people first,” he said. “If you’re desperate and living on the street, then, of course, you’re going to run into problems.”