Steps leading to the August Chamber at SF City Hall.
The Mayoral Race this year is convoluted - the City and County of San Francisco will have to survive - with a deficit of over $1.8 billion - its General Fund depleted - the SF Board of Supervisors - singing the blues:
https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/02/san-francisco-mayor-finances-breed-peskin-safai-farrell-lurie/
San Francisco is in dire straits.
Those involved in policymaking cannot quickly make a sound needs assessment. Moreover, they need to be educated on issues.
Good leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way.
Anyone who aspires to lead San Francisco must first address quality of life issues.
We pause and find out why we let so many sleep on our streets - and why those departments who brag and waste millions of dollars - have permitted - so many to sleep in a despicable, filthy, stinking environment.
Many are dying in the tents and shacks they live in - more facing the inclement weather - and for all the talk from Gavin Newsom - there is no walk - and no improvement to the situation at hand - on the horizon.
Our financial district in San Francisco has millions of square feet vacant - according to one expert - 44 million square feet - vacant.
The Assessor's office cannot handle the situation, as it needs more experience and vision to turn around the vacancy using creative models that have been vetted and implemented.
The end result is progress and a plus for the economy. There is no experience, no leadership, too much talk, and the Housing Element is a dark cloud hovering around the heads of the buffoons.
Our SF City Assessor is a B movie star. He had no clue when he worked for the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, and now, as Assessor, he is confused and confounded - such are the heads of departments - it is who you know - not what you have to offer - good.
The General Fund is low - Greg Wagner, the newly appointed Controller, can only do so much.
Ben Rosenfield tried his best, but the situation is precarious because, overall, what we have seen in the last twenty years is chronic corruption of the worst order.
San Francisco has allowed with intent - for crooks to have access to taxpayers' money - crooks that have hurt millions of innocent people - hard-working San Franciscans - and no one has the guts nor balls if they are men - to right the wrong.
We now witness SF Supervisors fail the citizens of San Francisco - now running for mayor of San Francisco. One worse than the other.
A glimpse into the SF future and its spiraling budget:
https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Status%20of%20the%20San%20Francisco%20Economy%20March%202024.pdf
To comprehend San Francisco's City Hall - one has to look into transparency and accountability.
A long time ago, we advocated hard to create a Sunshine Commission. Today, it is dysfunctional. Folks like Scott Wiener went out of their way when he was the Supervisor to keep seats vacant for years. Today, he is a California Senator—muddying the waters. He will go to dark places and has failed in San Francisco and California.
We have an SF Ethics Commission - stellar candidates, like Quentin Kopp, an independent candidate - well respected, could not deal with the ploys, machinations, and shenanigans - he resigned, and so did other Commissioners on the SF Ethics Commission.
We have the Controller's Office. Ben Rosenfield was the previous Controller, and Greg Wagner is the present Controller, trying his best to clean up the corruption.
Whistleblower, after Whistle Blower has gone out of her or his way to reveal the atrocities and corruption ongoing in all the SF City Departments.
Regarding adjudication, the Whistleblower is not respected, and this single act has perpetuated abject corruption.
Here is the latest Press Release from the SF Controller Office:
https://www.sf.gov/news/following-arrest-and-sentencing-former-general-manager-san-francisco-public-utilities
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission refuses to listen to the citizens of San Francisco. I should know this, having attended the SFPUC meetings for 30 years.
Regarding Community Benefits tied to the Water System Improvement Project and the Sewer System Improvement Project, crooks embedded inside the SF Public Utilities Commission have hoodwinked the citizens of San Francisco in broad daylight.
2016 - I envisioned a Center at 5 Thomas Mellon to address " career jobs." Jae Ryu and Scott Hanks helped me establish this Center, and we envisioned serving the community to the best of our ability.
We implemented a strategy and curricula without help from the SF Public Utilities Commission or the City and County of San Francisco.
We have noticed and noted that the upper Management at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission moves at a snail's pace - we live in a digital world - but you would not know that - if you observed the SFPUC and upper Management - when it comes to being viable and sustainable.
Here is an article that says more from the SF Westside Observer:
https://westsideobserver.com/24/3-Herreras-employee-discontent-at-SFPUC.php
Juliet Ellis and Harlan Kelly.
We completed fixing the Center, and in came Juliet Ellis, who was too close to Harlan Kelly. She named the Center a Contractors' Center, which has been underutilized since we created it, more so in the last five years.
We, the community, have put together a plan to serve the community and prove to the SF City and County of San Francisco and the SF Public Utilities Commission how this Contractors' Center has fulfilled our aspirations and those of the community at 150 Executive Park—Room 1300—in San Francisco—CA 94134.
The SF MUNI bus 56 brings one to Executive Park - and one stop is very close to the Center - hop, step, and down the stairs - on the first floor.
Paradoxically, all sorts of ploys have been used to keep the Contractors' Center - open for three days - Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I spoke at the SF Public Utilities Commission, requesting that it be open from Monday to Friday, and we, the community, can operate the Contracting Center.
We have created a professional team, had many meetings, and requested Mayor London Breed review our vetted plan and strategy.
Here is one of my blogs - on hearing Dwayne Rudolf Jones - the so-called gate-keeper of Bayview Hunters Point - had been indicted - he has been hoodwinking the community - for over 22 years :
https://kilamanjaro-kilamanjaro.blogspot.com/2023/08/after-twenty-one-years-hoodwinking.html?zx=70341805c7e17b62
Dwayne Rudolf Jones has cheated the SF Bayview Hunters Point community by using SFPUC Community Benefits to fill his coffers. He has been indicted, and hundreds of folks on his sordid payroll - stalled. The well is dry!
The Sewer System Improvement Project (SSIP) started with a $6 billion budget. It has now reached $12 Billion and is heading toward $20 Billion.
Recently, we witnessed a change order to the tune of $407 million - at the SF Public Utilities Commission meeting.
In this case, MWH, these change orders have challenged us all. This change order is worth more than $2.4 billion.
While much has been made about the SSIP and Community Benefits, there must be more accountability and transparency.
Some audits have been done; however, when whistleblowers have given the Controller's Office empirical data in the past, clearly focusing on the worst type of corruption at the SF Public Utilities Commission - the information provided - has been thrown under the rug.
We call upon the present Controller Greg Wagner, whom I know well and have known for a long time, to come to our rescue - the citizens and constituents of Bayview Hunters Point and the City and County of San Francisco.
MWH did not waste money buying new trucks while failing to serve the community's needs. Every major project linked to the Sewer System Improvement Project has to set aside a certain percentage for Community Benefits. This has been convoluted in recent years.
We, the community, have to beg for our journeymen workers to get jobs, which has traumatized the community.
Where will the SF Public Utilities Commission get the energy to make the new Digestors work?
Karen Kubick was the last Manager to give us a presentation on the new Digestors, the proprietary design from Norway.
The Bayview Hunters Point Community and District 10 have been plagued by outsiders - who come in and take away our jobs.
In 2014, we planned to help the community and provide good jobs to many—without help from the SF Public Utilities Commission and the City and County of San Francisco.
In 2016, we were offered projects at the Calaveras Dam.
We took on the projects and completed two jobs—one large Scaffolding Job and the other a large Fencing job.
We are grateful to Ruben Santana and Miguel Galarza - two primes headquartered in Bayview Hunters Point.
We were offered a large job linked to native plants and riparian projects - that our workers worked hard - and
We also took projects from other Primes - and are thankful that those who worked for us - including women workers - made us all proud.
We are now poised for the mayoral elections, and I hope the mayoral candidates consider all the construction at Hunters Point and all over Bayview Hunters Point - few jobs are given to those living there.
City Build offers pre-apprentice training, which no union approves of.
The Unions - and San Francisco is a Union City - must offer apprenticeships that lead to career jobs.
This hoodwinking - bluffing the public again and again - must STOP.
During the pandemic, millions of dollars were given to the City and County of San Francisco to help the poor. Many audits reveal that millions were wasted - taxpayers' money - without repercussions.
Why are we tearing our roads again and again all over San Francisco - our streets are filthy and not safe - again and again, innocent citizens - are assaulted.
Surveys show that most San Franciscans do not appreciate the SF Board of Supervisors' divisive actions, which divide the citizens of San Francisco repeatedly.
We have yet to resolve our plan linked to the Housing - the Housing Element has several significant flaws.
The SF Planning Department needs to be fixed. The mandate from the State of California calls for 82,000 housing units within 8 years.
We spent hours giving our input the last time around. Now, we are told the entire Housing Element has to be revisited. I see the Chair of SF Planning is no more—the new Chair is a lackey.
We cannot tolerate the lack of standards in San Francisco.
Disrespecting the poor - more our Elders - who sleep in tailors - case in point, the Elders living in trailers by Pier 94 in San Francisco.
When it comes to Dementia and those who are mentally challenged - no one wants to help them. I know this firsthand and am shocked even when one has good insurance.
We must now take control of the situation - stop the abject disregard for the public comment.
No one wants to go to City Hall - that includes me.
The many Commissions behave like a Cabal.
The time has come to rid the Commissions and the attorneys attached to them—kicking the can down the street, each attorney costing the taxpayers over $250,000.
It is torture to go and speak during the time set for Public Comment - a measly two minutes.
The people united - will never, ever be defeated.
Here is the article from the SF Westside Observer:
https://westsideobserver.com/24/3-Herreras-employee-discontent-at-SFPUC.php
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