USF Mayoral Debate Produces No Winners or Losers

Nine of 31 candidates for mayor were invited by the University of San Francisco to engage in a formal debate, May 5, 2011. Photos by Luke Thomas.

Former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall: "Throughout the course of my life in public service, Ive always been able to maintain one principle that is so important to the young people today: You do not have to compromise your ideals when it comes to serving the special interests. You can serve the common good by always standing up for the truth and doing what you know is best for your city."

Former District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier: "When I look at my own life and politics and how I got where I am, I had one defining moment in my life. People think that I am here because I have family that is rich in political history in San Francisco, but when I was a young girl, I broke my back in a ski-lift accident when I was 13, and when you are in seventh grade and you’re watching your friends get up and go to the movies together and hop on Muni, you realize for the first time in your life that the world is a different place and one that you need to adapt to and one, quite frankly, that needs to adapt to you. You look at the way you do things very differently."

City Attorney Dennis Herrera: "For forty years the right wing in this country has been talking about how government is the problem, not part of the solution. That’s a premise that I fundamentally disagree with based on my experience. I’ve seen that local government has the power to positively impact peoples’ lives each and everyday. But we need strong leadership in government and engaged citizens to work to make it happen."

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu: "I am very happy to part of a conversation about how all of us serve. By way of background, I’m the first kid in my family born here in the United States and my immigrant parents, like most immigrant parents, struggled tremendously. They sacrificed everything so that their kids could have everything and it was because of that sacrifice and that struggle that was one of the big reasons why I decided to enter public service."

Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees: "My first experience with public service started with my grandfather who, at 40, after going back to medical school to become an ophthalmologist, he drove around in a mobile van to do free eye tests for the poor. He felt he had a duty to serve his community whether they had the ability to pay or not. His action instilled in me a deep obligation to give back to my community - and no matter how busy I have been in my professional life, I’ve always served in the community."

District 11 Supervisor John Avalos: "These are very, very tough times for cities around the country, and San Francisco is no exception. The Federal government, the State government are not doing what they need to do. They are failing in their responsibility to promote the general welfare, and local government is forced to do more with less. To me, as we’re looking at the future of San Francisco, we need to make sure that we have a way that community members can help shape the destiny of our city, and by getting involved at the neighborhood level, we can make those changes happen, and as mayor, I am dedicated to making those changes happen by integrating government with other institutions around the city."

Former District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty: "Some of the best experiences you can have is working in campaigns. Sometimes the losing campaigns teach you a lot more than the winning campaigns do. But just going and having the opportunity to experience what we do, all of us get to go all across this city. I get to go to events in Catholic churches that I would never be in as a gay Jew, otherwise I get to go – and in fact I was at St. Anne’s last Saturday and you’d be really impressed; there was a fundraiser for Gaelic football and one of the judges was Pollo Del Mar, one of the biggest drag queens in San Francisco was one of the judges at this event, and that’s what makes our city unique."

California Senator Leland Yee: "I came to this country when I was 3 years old. I lived in a single room apartment with my mother and my sister. We didn’t have a whole lot and out of the good grace of this particular city, I am what I am now. I have been tremendously fortunate and I think all of you are tremendously fortunate and that’s why we want to give back, and that’s the kind of person that I am. I am indebted to what San Francisco has been able to do for me."

Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting: "Resetting San Francisco means asking a very simple question: Would government work better if you have more say? Not just if you have been better heard, but if you actually have more power. We have some of the best politicians in the country, many of whom are up here with you all today, but we can’t do it alone. People are going to tell you how they’ve done a good job and how they deserve your vote, but still Muni is not running well, schools are getting cut in funding, and families feel further and further behind. What’s missing isn’t us – there are plenty of politicians in San Francisco City Hall - what’s missing is you. You’re missing from the dialogue. You’re missing from the decision-making process and we need to do a better job of sharing our power."

The mayoral candidates forum attracted as many as 300 students, supporters, campaign consultants and press to the University of San Francisco.

A moment of levity between Senator Leland Yee and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting.

Forum moderator and USF political scientist Corey Cook.