|
MESSAGE FROM
CATHERINE
Dear John,
As we all know 2021
was a year of historic challenges. Through it all, I was extremely
grateful to serve as your Supervisor in District 2, and I resolve to
face 2022 with the same steadfast commitment to a safer, cleaner, and
more vibrant San Francisco.
I want to take a
moment to reflect on all work we accomplished last year to strengthen
public safety, support small business, and improve good governance.
Despite all the hardship we faced in 2021, I am incredibly proud of
all that we accomplished together, and I know that with your support
we can do it again.
As always, please
feel free to reach out to my office by phone (415-554-7752) or email
([email protected]) with any issues or
concerns at any time
Wishing you a happy
new year,
Catherine
A Year in
Review of 2021 Policy and Legislation:
Public
Safety
As a mother of two,
I care deeply about creating a safer San Francisco for everyone in our
community. Public safety remains my highest priority, and I promise to
do everything in my power to address it.
Year to date, gun
violence, homicide, assault, human trafficking, arson, and larceny
theft have all increased. Despite what other leaders may say, these
troubling statistics deserve a robust response, and I am proud to have
championed the following pieces of public safety
legislation.
Transparency in Domestic Violence
Reporting
 Even though calls to crisis lines from
victims of domestic violence increased during the pandemic, abusers
are increasingly released without consequence. The SFPD made 131
felony domestic violence arrests in the fourth quarter of 2020, and
113 of them (86%) were dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office.
That’s why I passed legislation to require
the District Attorney's Office and the SFPD to release quarterly reports on domestic violence
charges. We cannot continue to let violent cases fall through the
cracks when lives are at stake.
The San Francisco Victim’s Rights
Initiative
 In November, I announced
The San Francisco Victim’s Rights
Initiative
for the June 2022 Ballot. Each quarter, nearly 20,000 San Franciscans
report that they are victims of a crime. However, almost 90% of those
victims do not qualify for assistance from the City. That means
thousands of victims in San Francisco do not have the support they
need to
access critical services and restitution.
The need is acutely
prevalent among victims of domestic violence:
- Calls to local domestic violence crisis lines increased by
36 percent from 2019 to 2020.
- Over the same time period, there was a 78 percent decrease
in cases resolved through jury trial for domestic violence, stalking
and elder abuse.
- Most alarmingly, calls to the Cooperative Restraining Order
Clinic increased by 166 percent from April to June of
2020.
In
addition to providing much-needed support and comprehensive
services to
all victims by establishing the Office of Victim and Witness Rights,
it will also create a right to civil counsel for victims of domestic
violence. The office will be a one-stop shop, outside of
law enforcement, where victims can access services to navigate the
criminal justice system, and victims of domestic violence can receive
the legal representation they need to help them escape the cycle
violence by assisting with protective orders, custody issues, and
housing needs, etc.
Ghost Gun Ban
 Ghost guns are a serious problem in
San Francisco. These unserialized, untraceable ghost gun kits
are manufactured to avoid state firearms laws and have become the
weapon of choice among individuals who want to commit
crime.
In May, I learned
about an individual in San Francisco who was arrested in possession of
a ghost gun and released who then went on to commit two
homicides.
Unfortunately, this case isn’t unique: the number of ghost
guns seized in San Francisco has increased by over 2,000% since 2016. In December, I
passed California’s first ban on ghost gun sales. I am proud to share
that since my legislation passed, other cities
are implementing their own bans, including
Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, San Diego, and Los
Angeles.
Police Funding in the
Budget
 Over the last six years dangerous
incidents like homicide, assault, and arson have increased, while
response times have decreased. Despite knowing residents are not
receiving the protection they need, other Supervisors advocated
cutting public safety funding by $30 million during last year’s budget
cycle.
I reaffirmed my commitment to public
safety and
fought for our police department, especially as funding for police
academy classes, equipment, and new investments in criminal justice
reform initiatives were on the line. I successfully secured funding
for 135 more officers through two additional police academy
classes.
Hearing on SFPD Staffing and
Retention
Despite my hard fought victory for public safety funding,
there's more work to do. An independent study of SFPD
staffing levels from 2020 revealed that San Francisco needed to hire
265 more officers to meet demand for service. Since that time,
Police Chief Scott shared that number has grown to
nearly 500. We cannot keep our community safe if patrol staffing is
“severely inadequate.”
In advance of our
annual budget deliberations, I called for a hearing to understand the
SFPD’s current demand for service and recruitment strategies. This
hearing is scheduled for February 24 at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services
Committee.
Transit Safety
 The Sherman Elementary community lost
a beloved educator in November, when Andrew Zieman was struck and
killed while walking near the intersection of Union and Franklin. The
community was devastated by this incident and I share their outrage
over this senseless loss of life.
Tragedies like this
demand an urgent response and I worked with the SFMTA to make the
corner of this fatal crash safer. I also secured $385,000 for a quick
build project that will help to ensure pedestrian safety on the
Franklin corridor, and I held a hearing on pedestrian safety around
schools in our city. Everyone should be able to walk safely as they
make their way through the City.
Small Business
Support
Small businesses
are an essential part of what makes our neighborhoods vibrant places
to live, work and visit. They also make up 93% of businesses in the
city. Small business recovery is critical to our city’s economic
recovery, and it is clear that we need to make it easier to do
business in the city. That’s why I led and supported new programs and
policies to
do just that, like waiving fees, reducing red tape, and bringing more
traffic to our merchant corridors.
Fee Waivers
 At the peak of the pandemic, I
authored and passed one of the largest small business fee-waiver
packages in the history of the city – securing more than $20 million
in direct relief. This year, I continued to legislate ways to reduce
costs for small businesses by waiving temporary sidewalk sale permit
fees
citywide for the holiday season.
Reducing Red Tape
While
COVID-19 devastated the small business community, opening a business
in San Francisco was difficult long before the pandemic started.
Costly permitting processes, unclear rules and regulations, redundant
inspections, and inconsistent billing practices all add to the
struggles of being a small business owner. That’s why I was a
strong supporter of Proposition H in the last
election.
For
example, I learned that one District 2 restaurant faced thousands of
dollars in fines for having their business name on both an awning and
a projecting sign in violation of an obscure and rarely enforced rule.
I addressed this issue by authoring legislation with a minor Planning Code
amendment to now allow this kind of signage and create more
flexibility in how businesses function.
Street Activation
 Street activation is key to our the
economic recovery, and we have seen that beautifying public spaces
directly increases the economic benefit to surrounding areas. That's
why I worked with local merchants and artists to organize Bloomtown on Union, generating
much-needed foot traffic to the area.
Good
Governance
Our
City was rocked by frequent stories of corruption this year. From bribery and
money laundering to fraudulently overcharging customers for personal
gain, corruption hurts us all. We cannot continue to let bad actors
siphon resources away from the public services we desperately need and
undermine public trust in government. That is why I worked to close
loopholes in our government contracting and require more transparency
in reporting.
Process for Awarding
Grants
 A report from the City Auditor found
major issues in the way the City awarded grant funding. From 2017 to
2020, city departments issued 5,746 grant awards totaling $5.4 billion
with very little oversight. That means almost $2 billion in grant funding was awarded per year
without any minimum requirements for competition, open solicitation,
transparency, fairness, or documentation. As a result, in July
I passed an ordinance to reform how the city
awards grants to better safeguard taxpayer dollars by setting
enforceable standards for competitive solicitation, fairness in award
selection, documentation, and transparency.
Nonprofit Reporting
Standards
One of the
nonprofits that the city contracts with is the Pretrial Diversion
Project, which supervises individuals who are arrested for a crime and
awaiting trial out of custody. For two years I have had concerns about
how they calculate and report their safety and appearance rates – they
routinely reported their clients were reoffending only 5% to 10% of
the time. An independent study found that more than half of those who were arrested
and released in San Francisco reoffended before trial, and most
violent offenders committed new crimes before trial. This report
validated my concerns, and I announced legislation to reform the city’s
pretrial process and require more accurate and transparent
reporting.
The Year
Ahead
I’m incredibly
proud of all that I’ve accomplished as your Supervisor in 2021 and
cannot wait to tackle the challenges of 2022. We need accountability,
fairness and safety. To that end, my priorities for this year
include:
With your help, I
know we can make 2022 the year we turn things around in San
Francisco!
Office of
Supervisor Catherine Stefani
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett
Place, Room 273, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415)
554-7752 Fax: (415) 554-7843
|
