Jake McGoldrick: Hopes for the New Year!

I hope all of you enjoyed your holidays and I wish you the best in the coming new year. I was delighted to host a holiday celebration potluck with many of you in December at the Richmond Recreation Center. It's always wonderful to get acquainted with constituents in a more personal setting and I appreciated the opportunity. Such events make me thankful for the rich diversity of our Richmond District neighborhood. I enjoyed both the food and the company.

The New Year brings several changes for the City of San Francisco. Voting for change, San Franciscans last November chose two young men over several political veterans, putting Supervisors Matt Gonzalez and Gavin Newsom into a December run-off for mayor. While the contest was closer than expected, Newsom relied on the strength of his campaign organization and support from across the City to become our new mayor. I look forward to working with Mayor Newsom to improve District 1 and the City for the benefit of all our residents.

Whatever one thinks of the final outcome, clearly most voters wanted change in the mayor's office. A strong theme sounded by both candidates was increasing efficiency, professionalism and responsiveness in our City departments and agencies. I fully support these goals, which is why I placed Proposition C, the City Services Auditor initiative, on the November 2003 ballot. Fortunately, voters shared my vision of a city government that works well for the people of our City and not just for special interests. I expect the controller and the new mayor will work hand-in-hand with my office to ensure that this measure fulfills its promise, making our departments effective, efficient and responsive.

There are signs that our local economy may be coming out of its doldrums, but this nascent recovery remains fragile and needs encouragement. Unfortunately, one of the chief stumbling blocks for local growth has been the failure of Mayor Willie Brown's Planning Department to complete efforts that would allow needed development to proceed with the support of neighbors. Despite my securing funding for long-range planning efforts in the eastern neighborhoods, which would allow thousands of new housing units and mixed-use developments to move forward, the SF Planning Department continues to use the budget crisis to starve these efforts. I am hopeful, however, that this will change under our new mayor. Mayor Newsom pledged to focus on long-range planning that includes neighborhoods in the process. I welcome this pledge and will do my best to help the new mayor live up to that promise. The Planning Department, though a small agency, can lead the way to jumpstart our stalled economy. We should work together to make this happen.

Moreover, it's time to bring the "Better Neighborhoods" planning process to the Geary corridor. I am heartened that Newsom called for this during his campaign and it is timely. I already funded an analysis of ways to improve transit along Geary through the San Francisco Transportation Authority, which has appointed a Citizens Advisory Committee to help staff understand the issues involved. We should seize the opportunity to combine this with a comprehensive land-use planning effort like that recently completed for Octavia Boulevard. A comprehensive community planning process will allow Geary neighbors to play a crucial role in shaping Geary's future development.

Many District 1 neighbors have expressed concern about part of the proposed Housing Element calling for increased density in large swaths along transit corridors. A "Geary better neighborhoods" process would allow these neighbors to limit density to those exact areas they feel makes sense, while protecting lower densities elsewhere in the surrounding neighborhoods. The process also would allow planning for other improvements, such as pedestrian bulbouts, street trees and general beautification. This could create clear rules that assure Geary neighbors that their needs will be served, while also giving developers the certainty needed to complete projects in a timely and profitable manner. The result will be development that proceeds at a much more productive pace, revitalizing our neighborhoods, creating new housing and stimulating our economy. I invite Mayor Newsom to work with my office to make this happen.

I hope we will have your participation in and support of these efforts during the New Year.

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick represents District 1.