The homeless in San Francisco live in tents facing inclement weather - preyed by drug cartels and other thieves. They say San Francisco is a world-class city - is that so?
Here is the latest proposed SF City Budget:
https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/31/san-francisco-budget-deficit-breed-plan/
Candidates aspiring to lead San Francisco must do more than speak in generalities.
They must demonstrate a genuine understanding of the issues and a heartfelt commitment to addressing them.
We have the power to change this. We must not allow these candidates to rely solely on big money to secure their mayoral position. Our votes can make a difference.
Money's influence in our elections has been a growing concern since 1996 when many of our election standards were compromised.
The Mayor hired two thousand so-called Administrative Assistants in 1996.
How he did that is perplexing and confounding.
The seeds of corruption were sown in 1996, and they have now grown to a point where they adversely affect thousands of innocent San Franciscans. This is a situation that we, as citizens, cannot ignore.
We, the citizens of San Francisco, have the power to address this madness.
We can demand change and work towards a better future for our city.
We must be educated on issues and put our hearts in the right place. Where is the moral compass regarding Room 200 at SF City Hall?
We once had an independent city administrator.
That stopped in 1996 - an amendment to our SF City Charter - brought the office of the SF City Administrator under the then Mayor - who planted the seeds of divisiveness, corruption, and behest - ploys and machinations.
It is time for the SF City Administrator's position to be stripped of the many unnecessary departments created to hoodwink the public in broad daylight. The present SF City Administrator makes $441,000 annually - and most of the Department - lethargy.
Mayor's Proposed Interim Salary Ordinance
as of June, 2024:
https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/FY2025%20%26%20FY2026%20-%20MAYORS%20PROPOSED%20INTERIM%20ASO.pdf
The Mayor, following the Mayor who was Mayor in 1996 - was all over the place - he thought he could solve the " homeless," but to this day, we have not - the present Mayor - singing the blues -having no clue what she is doing.
That Mayor served from 2004 to 2011.
We affectionately called him " Mr Dipstick "—waving his hands as he does today, he failed miserably to solve the " homeless situation."
When the Governor assumed office in 2004 - and bragged about dealing with the issue of homelessness - he failed miserably.
Then he devised a plan, "Care not Cash," but it failed too. Each homeless person was given $58 and a roof over their head, which was supposed to solve the problem.
His predecessor, who helped him become Mayor, promised to solve our MUNI transportation problem. Both of them tried and made it worse.
His predecessor was the Speaker of the Assembly in California. Today, the present Governor was the Mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.
These jerks rotate—they talk the talk and fail to walk the walk.
Today, as Governor of California, the man has cut funding to Seniors - most of them Chinese Americans - depriving them of acupuncture treatment - thousands adhered to acupuncture and controlled their pain.
At the same time, today's Governor of California - wants to invite women from the East Coast to come here for their "abortions " - and health care.
Where is he going to get the money - and why cannot he accommodate the American Chinese - primarily elderly - suffering from pain - seeking some solace and finding -none. He has defunded money linked to acupuncture that helped thousands of American Chinese and others.
When Jerry Brown was Governor of California, we had a surplus. As luck would have it today, California faces a $25 billion deficit.
California is the fourth largest economy in the world.
In 2011, San Francisco elected its first American Chinese Mayor, who passed away on December 12, 2017.
The American Chinese constituents of San Francisco - lost a good friend.
San Francisco had to deal with the pressing issues left to the interim Mayor, who did not last long.
Mayor Mark Farrell - January 23 - July 11, 2018
Mayor Edwin Mah Lee's passing created a vacancy, and a decision had to be made. Mark Farrell was chosen Mayor by the SF Board of Supervisors.
It is always about who has the clout. Behind the scenes, his mayoral stance ended on July 11, 2018.
London Breed's proposed budget:
https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/31/san-francisco-budget-deficit-breed-plan/
Good leaders know the way, show the way - and go the way
Good leaders are educated on issues and can make a sound needs assessment - this takes experience and a vision second to none.
Good leaders do not pander to billionaires or specific population segments that favor corruption.
The worst thing a leader can do is use taxpayers' money to earn themselves brown points.
Dole of thousands of dollars that add to millions - shameless - some of them have been audited - and yet cannot stop the wheeling and dealing.
Housing for all is just an empty mantra. It is a paradox that twenty percent of our public housing is still vacant after years.
The City and County received millions during the pandemic to address housing. Many Nonprofits—and we know all of them—took the money and used it for their own needs. This is a crying shame.
Today, there is some talk that many of the vacant buildings downtown - our Financial District - can be used for residential purposes - this is easier said than done.
Where do they find the idiots who have no clue about housing needs, construction management, or less property management that counts - plain making a sound needs assessment of those in dire straits and need suitable housing.
The so-called leaders talk from both sides of their mouths.
The SF Planning Department could not agree on any standards and had to be penalized by the State of California for not adhering to the mandates of the Housing Element. In 8 years - 82,000 housing units - today - there is a lot of talk but no walk.
Thousands of San Franciscans have left San Francisco—that says it all. They are fed up with the corrosion of quality of life issues.
Dirty, filthy street, assaults galore, car break-ins - beepers. Too many Home break-ins, killing, and maiming - what is happening - you brought about this lack of law and order?
The rents are too high, and no one wants to work three jobs to survive—and when families leave, they never return.
There is a lot of hot air - about affordable housing - affordable to whom?
We have empty housing in the thousands - both private landlords and the City and County head by HSH - still trying to figure out - how to serve the poor and indigent in the year 2024.
Those charged with Proposition C, the Mayor opposed, were supposed to help those in dire straits.
A Commission was formed, four of which were appointed by the Mayor and the rest by the SF Board of Supervisors. The system must be fixed, as hundreds of thousands of contracts are without standards. There should be an actual audit, and this needs to be improved.
Proposition C won because the citizens of San Francisco voted for it wholeheartedly—only for the politicians and corrupt officials involved with housing—wheeling and dealing.
It is the same with SF Public Housing at Potrero Hill and Visitation Valley, Sunnydale—people living surrounded by filth, giant rats, and vermin.
The District 10 supervisor is an utter failure - fleeced the community and has hoarded his coffers with taxpayers' money.
In the meantime, our infants, children, youth, Elders, and those with compromised health - suffer and are slowly dying.
The SF Health Department has failed the Bayview Hunters Point - taking surveys of the Bayview Hunters Point - receiving millions in grants - and failing to address the pressing issues facing the Bayview Hunters Point area.
Mayor's Proposed Interim Salary Ordinance as of June, 2024:
https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/FY2025%20%26%20FY2026%20-%20MAYORS%20PROPOSED%20INTERIM%20ASO.pdf
44 million square feet of commercial space lies vacant. No money is coming to the SF Assessors' Office and the SF Treasurer's Office. We will have a $2 billion deficit. Whoever is Mayor will have to deal with some significant problems. When the citizens are hurt, there will be pandemonium.
San Francisco's economy has tanked.
We all remember the dot.com fiasco and the spiraling of the economy in 2008 -2010.
For too long, we have all our eggs in one basket.
Today, the Financial District can no longer provide a steady inflow of income.
Too many factors failed—and no economist can create a model to deal with so many factors—and most of them - tanked.
The noise about Artificial Intelligence bringing in money is just talk.
We remember the dot.com era—we know what happened—and AI will fade away, not stay in San Francisco for long.
Quantum technology will rule the roast, and this will not be headquartered in San Francisco. For one reason, we do not have the energy and critical components to accommodate Quantum technology.
Living in San Francisco is simply too expensive—rent, food, utility bills, health care —everything is costly, and the politicians have no empathy.
They cannot do much when they do not feel the pain of the constituents of San Francisco.
If most of the time, the leaders are pussyfooting - they have no time to feel the pain of the people.
The united people will never be defeated - that dragon is waiting to act - and those bluffing will fall flat on their faces.
San Francisco needs to address many pressing issues. The homelessness crisis, the influence of money in elections, and the high cost of living are just a few challenges facing the city.
The candidates vying for the position of Mayor must focus laser-like on these critical issues and demonstrate a genuine commitment to finding effective, practical solutions.
The City and County of San Francisco - need a Mayor who can address these problems with empathy, insight, and a clear vision for the future.
Our SF Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) has a Director who thinks he knows it all. It is time for him to step down before he is disgraced and fired. Anyway, his term ends this year.
The MTA has a deficit of over $240 million, and the morale of the MUNI drivers and others is at an all-time low. The man thinks that pandering to the Bicycle coalition will do him good, pushing for bike lanes that mess up the traffic.
He is pushing for the Potrero Hill Project - backed by MTA - which has no money - and will stall - much as a few other projects have stalled in San Francisco.
Our Elders and those who are physically challenged are left to fend for themselves, walking two to three blocks—the bus stops are spread far off to save time—while those who cannot walk are put in harm's way.
Panting and breathing heavily as they attempt to reach the bus stop - hundreds of yards away.
Of course, the Mayor of San Francisco needs to learn about the hardship experienced by the Elders, those challenged who need help.
She is swamped pussyfooting with the Big Development and some sordid billionaires.
As long as the MTA receives a single dollar from the federal government, it must serve those who take public transportation and need help.
Our U.S. government embraces those who are challenged —more Americans with Disability Act (ADA), which is the law.
As often happens when power goes up someone's head - and moral values do not matter - the pussyfooting becomes a norm - and all standards and decency - are thrown to the wind.
The head of the Health Department, Dr. Grant Colfax, makes $600,000 a year and is an utter failure. Wasting time - standing, whiling his time - present at the many sordid - ribbon cuttings.
The entire SF Health Department is a mess. The workers' morale at the SF General Hospital is at an all-time low, and there are too many stressed workers.
An audit will prove that - millions are wasted on programs that make no sense.
These half-baked programs - the SF Health Department has no transparency and accountability.
Dr. Grant Colfax, who makes $600,000 a year, is pathetic. The entire SF Health Department—especially the hardworking nurses and others—is overworked and treated with disdain.
This nonsense must stop.
Thousands of San Franciscans need quality help with wrap-around services - to address all sorts of mental programs that may help the victims.
Increasingly - we witness Alzheimer's, Dementia - neurologists and other experts dealing with the brain - are presenting empirical data with solutions - which is fine - but there is no concrete help - given to the victims - except by kicking the can down the street.
On average, it costs $6000 a month and as much as $10,000 at the high end to take care of a patient—in any facility—worth the salt.
The many low-end services given to Dementia patients are shocking, with no one monitoring.
Most were sedated and slowly left to die.
There is no ombudsman reporting to a higher authority studying the issues - doing something on a war footing.
We witnessed this at Laguna Honda - where 12 patients died during the federally imposed transfer - 11 of the 12 were severely disabled and had profound cognitive impairment.
25% of Laguna Honda's population identified as African Americans, 18% as Latino, and 20% as Asian.
Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center is a general acute care hospital that provides skilled nursing services.
The doctors and nurses provide state-of-the-art acute rehabilitation services and skilled nursing services. San Franciscans have sent their loved ones to Laguna Honda - and now are left high and dry - by some politics that have already killed 12 Elderly patients.
For a long time, the United States has ignored the world, contributing to the depletion of the ozone level.
Happy Memorial Day -May 27, 2024.
