Happy holidays! As 2012 draws to a close, I look back at what has been an incredible active year, and look forward to a busy 2013. We have accomplished more than I would have imagined both inside and outside of City Hall this past year, and I am grateful for everyone's support. District 2 has never been busier - from hosting the America's Cup, to a myriad of local neighborhood issues, we are working hard in every corner of the district. A ton of issues remain, but overall I am thankful that our parks are being re-done, libraries are being opened, streets are getting re-paved, and our neighborhood commercials corridors are bustling with activity. In 2013, we have a number of major issues on the horizon. They include development projects such as the CPMC rebuild and the Golden State Warriors arena, as well as a number of important ballot initiatives including funding for our public schools, and dealing with our City's unfunded healthcare liability. It is going to be a very active year. Personally, the past few months have been very busy for my family as we welcomed our new baby boy, Kane, into the world on October 28th. While we are all suffering from a lack of sleep, Kane is a healthy baby boy and we are a very blessed family. Finally, as we enjoy the holidays here in San Francisco, I ask that everyone keep the victims of the recent violence in Connecticut in our prayers. My January Marina Times article will focus on the issue, but please keep their families in our hearts. LEGISLATION AND POLICY UPDATE Audit of Non-Profit Contracts Managed by DPH and HSA Earlier this year, I requested that the Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office perform an audit of the City's departments with the largest amount of professional services/non-profit contracts. Those departments include the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Human Services Agency (HSA). Although I recognize that our nonprofit organizations help the City leverage our General Fund dollars to provide much needed and critical services for our community, we can do a better job of monitoring those contracts and addressing corrective action policies if needed. As a City, we should also develop department wide standards to avoid confusion, so we can address all professional services contracts in a consistent manner. I called for a hearing on the audit itself and I'm in the process of developing legislation to tighten up the process. The hearing is expected to be held in late January. Correcting Federal Tax Discrimination for our LGBT Community On November 20, 2012, I introduced legislation to counter a discriminatory tax levied by the federal government on same-sex spouses and domestic partners. Currently, San Francisco public employees who wish to add their same-sex spouse or domestic partner to their health care coverage are taxed unfairly because the Federal Government views their healthcare premiums as taxable income. The additional tax is one of the many results of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Married LGBT couples are already denied federal protections offered to other married couples, such as immigration rights, Social Security survivor's benefits, and the ability to file joint tax returns. But this additional tax on married same-sex spouses/domestic partners adds another sting to the injustice of the Defense of Marriage Act. Individuals should not be discriminated against simply because the partner of their choice is of the same gender. My legislation will provide a one-time stipend to San Francisco public employees who have a same-sex spouse or domestic partner on their health care coverage to compensate for this unjust tax by the Federal Government. It will also bring more equality to our City, which has always been at the forefront in the struggle for true equality and justice. Annual Fleet Week Event - October 5, 2012 - General's Residence, Fort Mason On October 5, 2012, we successfully held our second annual fundraiser to benefit my Neighborhood Schoolyards Project. So far, with the money raised last year and this year, we opened more than 20 schoolyards on the weekends for family recreation. Our goal is to open as many as possible across the City to provide more open space and build community in our neighborhoods. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event and for making it a huge success. We couldn't have done it without all our generous sponsors and supporters who purchased tickets. We are also grateful for the restaurants who contributed food and drink for the party including the Brickyard, Mamacita, Original Joe's, E&O Trading Company, Starbuck's, Susie Cakes, La Boulange, and Wayfare Tavern. See you next year during Fleet Week! Press Conference to Announce Super Bowl Bid Committee - October 18, 2012 Earlier this fall, the NFL officially invited San Francisco and Miami, Florida, to submit bids to compete in hosting the 50th Super Bowl. Our Super Bowl Bid Committee will deliver its bid package to NFL owners on May 7, 2013. On May 21, 2013, San Francisco will formally present its bid in a live pitch to the 32 NFL owners in Boston. As the Supervisor who negotiated with the 49ers earlier this year regarding the terms of their departure from Candlestick, part of those negotiations insisted on San Francisco being the Host City to any future Super Bowls, and I will be serving as the Board's liaison to the Super Bowl bid committee. I will put my full weight behind our effort to bring the Super Bowl to the San Francisco Bay Area in the next few years. Election Results The recent election resulted in the passage of several important local propositions, which I supported. These Propositions will have significant and positive impacts throughout San Francisco for years to come. Proposition B - the $195 million Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond - passed with overwhelming support. The money will go to improving parks across the City - including Mountain Lake Park and Moscone East Playground in District 2. It will also be used to improve our waterfront open spaces, enhance water quality, clean up environmental contamination along the Bay, replace unsafe playgrounds, fix restrooms, improve access for the disabled, and ensure the seismic safety of park and recreation facilities. Proposition C also passed, creating a Housing Trust Fund that supports affordable housing for low- income and moderate-income households. Before this was put on the ballot, I worked with the Mayor's Office to allow for down payment assistance loans for our first responders, such as a police officers, firefighters, and EMTs. Currently almost two-thirds of our first responders live outside the City, and I feel that it is important for these people who protect and care for us to be able to live in the City they dedicate themselves to. Proposition C goes a long way towards making that a reality. Specifically, the Housing Trust Fund will provide $15 million for a loan program for down payment assistance for moderate-income homebuyers and emergency first responders. In addition, San Francisco finally put an end to its fundamentally unfair payroll tax by passing Proposition E. The payroll tax is unfair because it is a tax on jobs instead of a tax on sales or profits, which ultimately discourages businesses from adding new employees and is a huge disincentive to creating new jobs in San Francisco. Proposition E fixes our unfair tax system and replaces it with a gross receipts tax that will help small businesses and startups create more jobs. It will also provide a more predictable and steady source of revenue to our General Fund. I'm also pleased that my payroll tax exemption legislation for small businesses will still apply as the gross receipts tax is phased in over the next few years. The election also resulted in two new Supervisors. On January 8, 2013, London Breed and Norman Yee will be sworn in, representing Districts 5 and 7, respectively. I am hopeful that together we will be able to maintain an atmosphere of cooperation in City Hall in spite of any differences we may have, in order to be able to work towards the betterment of our city. National Park Service and Alcatraz Ferry Service On November 20, 2012, I introduced a resolution urging the National Park Service (NPS) to abandon plans to locate the Alcatraz Ferry Service at the Fort Mason Piers and to focus their efforts on working with the Port of San Francisco to continue service at the Port. Over 1.4 million people a year visit Alcatraz Island from their existing service site at Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is a bustling tourist corridor, with all of the amenities that a visitor would look for - all serviceable by public transportation. Transferring those 1.4 million visitors to a primarily residential location in Fort Mason, versus Fisherman's Wharf, will create too many adverse impacts on our neighborhood which already deals with significant problems having to do with parking and traffic. I have already met with the NPS to encourage them to work with the Port and I look forward to continuing that effort. DISTRICT 2 UPDATE Metro Theater Groundbreaking - November 13, 2012 I was thrilled to attend the groundbreaking for the New Metro Theater located at 2055 Union St. (between Buchanan St & Webster St.) on November 13, 2012. The project will preserve the historical elements of the theater while activating the space with Equinox as the main tenant, a community room, new retail space, and a small theater for public use.