Turnout for the September HANC meeting was good. The meeting started with Tim Redmond (48hills.org), discussing Propositions G, Q, R, D, H, M, & L. In summary, vote NO on G, Q, & R, they were placed on the ballot by Weiner and Farrel, designed to be policy pushing wedge issues that are thin on solutions and thick on politics.
Tim continued with why you should vote YES on Propositions D, H, M, & L. Prop D will separate unilateral power from the Executive Branch and prevent the Mayor from appointing replacement Supervisors if one should leave. Prop H would create the new position of Public Advocate; this position exists in many other cities. Prop M would create a commission to oversee Housing, and Workforce and Economic Development. Prop L would create split appointment of the MTA board between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors. As a group all of these propositions take power back from the Mayor.
The meeting continued with Lorlei Vaisse speaking about the importance of Proposition F – Vote 16. Lorlei is active with the Vote16 effort, and highlighted some important aspects of Prop F, allowing 16 & 17 year olds to vote on local issues. Vote16SF.org lists many reasons 16 & 17 year olds should be allowed to vote, please visit their website for more details, here are 3 reasons they provide: 16 year old voting builds lifelong voters; 16 year old voting is not new, it already exists in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Nicaragua, and Switzerland; and in San Francisco, one in three SFUSD students have an immigrant parent, who may themselves not have the right to vote.
The meeting wrapped up with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department Project Manager Anne Baskerville. Anne is new to Rec and Park and has been assigned to manage the Panhandle Project as well as the Panhandle Playground. HANC has been working for years to get SFRPD to fund $3m to repave both pathways and fix irrigation to prevent further undermining of the paths. If you have not walked the Southern path lately I recommend you be careful next time you do. We found Anne to be a refreshing change from previous RPD staff and very willing to listen to HANC and the community. We look forward to her assistance in the future and are cautiously optimistic.