Michela Alioto-Pier San Francisco Examiner mayoral candidate questionnaire

1. Please explain your campaign platform in 20 words or less. As mayor I plan to implement long-term budget solutions, improve resources for families, and focus on job creation and economic growth for The City. 2. Please list your votes on the local November ballot measures School Bonds Yes Road Repaving and Street Paving Bonds Yes Pension reform: Lee supported version Yes Adachi Initiative No Amending Initiative Ordinances and Policy Declaration No Campaign Consultant Disclosures No position School District Student Assignment System Yes 3. What is the worst budgetary problem in San Francisco and how will you address it? The worst budget problem facing San Francisco is that the mayor and Board of Supervisors rely on gimmicks and one-time fixes, when long-term structural reforms are needed. This years budget, for example, relies on a sales tax voters have already rejected and various other accounting tricks. As mayor I would start with a zero-based budget to ensure that every department can really justify what it spends money on. We need to continue regular audits, and we need to make budget information publicly available in a searchable database to take full advantage of the bright, knowledgeable people of San Francisco. 4. What are your plans to attract and retain businesses in San Francisco? As a supervisor, I wrote Proposition I to create the Office of Economic Analysis and The Citys first economic strategy. These measures lay the foundation for job creation and retention. In addition, I believe San Francisco must streamline its building and planning processes and create consistency to encourage long-term investment in our city, while keeping overall costs to do business in The City low. 5. Do you support San Francisco giving tax breaks to businesses that agree to locate in economically distressed areas such as the Tenderloin district or Mid-market area? Yes. 6. What proposals do you have for creating job growth in The City? We must work to support large and small employers as they seek to add jobs in our city. There are various tax benefits to hiring additional employees in certain areas, but the

programs are confusing and difficult to navigate. Ensuring that employers are aware of these is a critical first step. We must also focus on industries we want to attract and retain in San Francisco. Biotech and film were two that I focused on during my service as supervisor. These tax credit initiatives helped create hundreds of jobs in these targeted sectors. 7. Do you support San Franciscos policy of requiring contractors who bid on large public projects to guarantee that a significant percentage (at least 20%) of the work will be performed by city residents? Not as currently written. We are in a regional economy, and the measure adopted by City Hall locks people out of work in our regionretaliatory efforts in other communities could actually cost San Franciscans jobs. 8. Over the past decade, growth in the salary and benefits of city employees has forced the city to reduce services in a variety of areas. Are city employees overpaid? Are benefits too generous? If so, what can be done about this? City employees have negotiated their benefits and wages with The City, and most city employees do excellent work for modest pay. However, in tough times everyone must share the sacrifice. The City has been effective at working with unions to achieve salary givebacks and benefit changes. I would continue to work with respect to these men and women, with an eye on reducing the overall costs of public employment. 9. The state could soon allow cities and counties to add more local taxes. What additional taxes, if any, would you propose for San Francisco? I dont see the need for additional local taxes at this time. 10. What should be done to make Muni more efficient? What changes should be made to address the MTAs annual operating deficit? Work rule changes, better routing of buses and technology can all be implemented to make the system more efficient. Munis annual operating deficit is a testament to the fact that unlike most labor groups, the Transit Workers Union has rejected meaningful compromise. We must get to an agreement, or use the provisions of Sean Elsbernds Proposition G to get to an agreement that reduces the operating shortfalls. 11. Homelessness still seems to be the foremost topic on the minds of voters. What's your plan to get people off the streets, especially when they refuse help? I support Care Not Cash, as well as Civil Sidewalks, but I believe our programs do not go far enough. As a supervisor, I authored legislation to implement Lauras Law which allows court-ordered outpatient therapy for mentally ill individuals who refuse help. This legislation was defeated, but as mayor I will seek to revive it. 12. In 2010, The City amended its Police Code to prohibit sitting or lying on a public sidewalk in San Francisco between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., with certain exceptions. Do you support this policy? Yes.

12. Do you support the Parkmerced and California Pacific Medical Center developments as currently proposed? I support Parkmerced as proposed. The CPMC development will, by necessity, be part of a community discussion. I support the construction of CPMC with the following caveats: St. Lukes Hospital must be maintained and strengthened, all neighborhoods currently served by CPMC must retain high-quality medical and emergency services, and any housing issues are addressed. 13. Do you support increasing the number of permits to allow the conversion of rental properties into condos? Yes, through a condo bypass procedure where TIC owners pay a set fee to advance in the lottery. 14. Some people in San Francisco think that all tenants should be protected by rent control, regardless of the tenants income or wealth. Other people in San Francisco think that tenants should be protected by rent control only if they are lower or middle class, and cannot afford to pay market-level rents. What is your opinion on this issue? I support the current rent control laws, and would not advocate means testing. 15. In 2009, San Francisco began turning over undocumented youths arrested for felonies to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation. The Board of Supervisors subsequently directed The City not to turn over undocumented youths unless they have been convicted of a felony, rather than simply arrested. What is your opinion on this issue? Public safety must be local governments top priority. I opposed this plan because San Franciscos role is simply to report, not to deport. A young person arrested by SFPD may be a violent predator. It is nave to regulate something this complicated simply by virtue of his or her age. Moreover, the policy adopted by the supervisors would require juvenile probation officers to knowingly break federal law, and could expose them to criminal prosecution. 16. More than 5,000 children have left San Francisco over the last decade. What's your plan to keep families living in San Francisco? First, we need to fix the school assignment system to give parents access to neighborhood schools. Access to quality public education, childcare, parks and recreational opportunities form the basis for families to choose San Francisco. We must also reduce the cost of raising children in The City by streamlining government programs and services for this population. 17. What are your plans to curb gang violence in The City? I support an interdisciplinary effort to enhance law enforcement, provide real alternatives for youth, and change the culture in certain neighborhoods where a gang membership is

seen as an appropriate path forward. I will convene, within the first 100 days, a multidepartment effort to demonstrate our seriousness in this regard.