Jake McGoldrick: New Year Renewals

I hope all of you have enjoyed your holidays and I wish you the best in the coming new year. I was delighted to host and share a holiday celebration potluck with many of you in December at the Richmond Recreation Center. The relaxed setting of a community potluck made it possible to get to know many constituents in a more personal setting and I truly appreciated the opportunity. It is just such events that make me thankful for the rich diversity of our Richmond District neighborhood. Both the food and the company were wonderful.

The new year brings with it several changes at the SF Board of Supervisors with the election of two new district supervisors: Fiona Ma and Bevan Dufty. Both new supervisors bring with them a wealth of experience in government and should be able to hit the ground running.

Supervisor Ma will immediately double the number of women on the board and will maintain a Chinese presence on the board as she replaces former Supervisor Leland Yee, who moves to the California Assembly.

Supervisor Dufty continues the recent tradition of a gay man representing District 8, as former Supervisor Mark Leno also moves to the Assembly. I look forward to working closely with both of our new supervisors and supervisors Sophie Maxwell, Chris Daly and Gavin Newsom, who were returned to office and will continue to serve their respective districts.

Once the supervisors are sworn in this month, the board will elect a new president to serve over the next two years, presiding over meetings and making committee assignments. Current board President Tom Ammiano decided not to seek the office as he undertakes a campaign for mayor. Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Maxwell and Matt Gonzalez are running for the position, although it appears that none have the majority needed to win outright. No matter who wins, all three candidates are well qualified and respected by all of their colleagues. The City will be well-served by any one of the three.

As we move into 2003, the City faces a massive budget deficit that will challenge every person in city government, as well as city residents who depend on city services. The anticipated shortfall led me to support a modest tax increase on real estate transfers over $1 million on the November ballot. But with voter rejection of that measure, we are faced with the prospect of significant cuts in city services to balance the budget. This comes as demand for many city services, such as health care and employment training, increases during an economic downturn.

During this fiscal challenge, it will be more important than ever that you communicate with my office about your priorities for the city budget. Unfortunately, it appears that we may need to know which programs residents prefer to be cut first and which should be spared. It is crucial that I hear from you in making such decisions.

The best solution to a fiscal crisis, of course, is to grow our economy. I will continue to be focused in the coming year on initiatives to increase economic activity in the City. I have sponsored initiatives to get the SF Planning Department to complete rezoning in former industrial areas in the eastern parts of the City. That effort should soon be completed, allowing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new housing and mixed-use developments to move forward, stimulating the local economy. Likewise, the completion of Octavia Boulevard neighborhood planning efforts also will enable the development of a significant number of new projects. These are exactly the type of land-use planning efforts that create clear rules that assure neighborhoods that their needs will be served.

Creating clear rules for an entire neighborhood also gives developers the certainty that they need to complete projects in a timely and profitable manner. When both neighborhoods and developers get what they need, economic activity can proceed at a much more productive pace, revitalizing our neighborhoods, creating new housing and stimulating our economy. I am hopeful that we can begin this type of comprehensive neighborhood planning for the Geary corridor during the next two years.

Other proposals I will pursue over the next year include: stimulating trade between Asian cities and San Francisco; creating incentives for mixed-use, higher density housing developments at corner lots on transit corridors; clarifying rules concerning the demolition or major alteration of residential housing units; updating the Transit Impact Development Fee to support expanded transit; updating the Childcare Developer Fee to support more childcare facilities; and introducing a housing conversion measure that allows tenants to purchase their units either as condos or community land-trust units. I hope we will have your participation in and support of these efforts during the new year.

Jake McGoldrick is a San Francisco supervisor representing District 1.