Government Audit and Oversight Committee Regular Meeting - February 20, 2025
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Government Audit and Oversight Committee Regular Meeting - February 20, 2025
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on February 20, 2025, chaired by Supervisor Jackie Fielder. The committee considered three agenda items: a resolution affirming support for birthright citizenship, a behested payment waiver for fundraising for immigrant and other legal services, and a behested payment waiver for Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovations. The committee also convened in closed session to discuss 12 litigation settlement items, ranging from $30,000 to $2,880,000.
Public Comments & Testimony
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Item 1 (Birthright Citizenship Resolution): Over a dozen speakers expressed strong support for the resolution. Speakers included retired Judge Lillian Singh, who called the executive order unconstitutional; Sophia, a DACA beneficiary from BOLD, who highlighted impacts on Latino children; representatives from Chinese for Affirmative Action, Chinatown Community Development Center, and the Japanese Cultural Community Center; and community members like Kevin Benedicto, an attorney and Police Commission member. They emphasized the historical significance of the Wong Kim Ark case, the constitutional basis of birthright citizenship, and the fear and harm caused by the Trump administration's order. Many speakers urged the committee to approve the resolution.
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Item 2 (Behested Payment Waiver for Legal Services): No public speakers.
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Item 3 (Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park Waiver): No public speakers on the continuance request.
Discussion Items
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Item 1 (250106 – Birthright Citizenship): Supervisor Connie Chan, the sponsor, presented the resolution. She detailed the history of Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese American born in San Francisco whose Supreme Court case in 1898 upheld birthright citizenship. She framed the resolution as a defense of immigrant rights and a stand against the president's executive order. Supervisor Sauter and Chair Fielder expressed support. The committee adopted an amendment correcting a date (1894 to 1895) and voted to forward the resolution to the full board with positive recommendation.
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Item 2 (250139 – Behested Payment Waiver for Fundraising): Holly Long from the Assessor-Recorder’s Office presented the request for a six-month waiver to allow fundraising for legal services related to immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protection, reproductive rights, and racial equity. Chair Fielder introduced amendments to limit solicitation authority to four specific positions (assessor-recorder, director of policy, and two deputy assessors) and to require monthly reporting to the Board of Supervisors on solicitations and donations. The committee adopted the amendments and forwarded the item with positive recommendation.
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Item 3 (250105 – Behested Payment Waiver for Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park): Lisa Branson from the Recreation and Parks Department presented the request for a waiver to solicit donations for park renovations, emphasizing the project's importance for downtown revitalization. However, due to ongoing discussions with Supervisor Chan about the scope, particularly regarding the Mayor's Office and Rec-Park involvement, Vice Chair Sauter moved to continue the item to the March 6, 2025, meeting of the committee. The motion passed unanimously.
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Litigation Items (4–15): The committee entered closed session to discuss 12 litigation settlement items. After the closed session, the committee voted not to disclose the discussion content and subsequently approved forwarding the settlements to the full board with positive recommendation. The settlements ranged from $30,000 (Javier Grajeda) to $2,880,000 (Latoya Starks and Sanvada Kitcher), with others including $825,000 (Vincent Keith Bell), $110,000 (Marvella Branner), $500,000 (Matthew Gyves), $60,000 (John Pugh), $36,548.39 plus interest (Nordstrom, Inc.), $101,291.38 (Twilio Inc. and Segment.io), $35,491 (Joanna Lei), $88,000 (Peter Dumanian), $66,858 (180 Post Street, LLC), and a stipulated assessed value of $216,400,000 with a refund of $495,900 plus interest (CWI 2 San Francisco Hotel).
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Amendment (date correction) passed 3-0. Resolution forwarded to full board with positive recommendation as amended (3-0).
- Item 2: Amendment (narrowing solicitation authority and adding reporting) passed 3-0. Resolution forwarded to full board with positive recommendation as amended (3-0).
- Item 3: Continued to March 6, 2025, meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee (3-0).
- Litigation (Items 4–15): Motion not to disclose closed session discussion passed 3-0. Motion to forward settlement items to full board with positive recommendation passed 3-0.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the February 20th, 2025 regular meeting of the government audit and oversight committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I am Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Chair of the Committee, joined by Supervisor Sauter and Supervisor Cheryl. The committee clerk today is Brent Halipa. Our thanks to Sue Enos of SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a friendly reminder to those in attendance to please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices to prevent interruptions to our proceedings. Should you have any documents to be included as part of the file, they should be submitted to myself, the clerk. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. When your item of interest comes up in public comment is called, please line up to speak on the west side of the chamber to your right and my left along those curtains. And while not required to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them on the tray by the television to your left by the doors. If you wish to be accurately recorded for the minutes.org. If you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also included as part of the official file. You may also send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office at City Hall at one Dr. Col Carlton B good place. Room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. And uh for item number one in partnership with our Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, we have arranged for Tinky Wong and Arturo Casenza to assist us in providing interpretation in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish. And we'll provide instructions in the language when we open public comment on that item. And finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of March 4th, unless otherwise stated. Madam Chair. Thank you. So thank you. Oh, sorry. Run it back. Please call item number one. Yes, item number one is a resolution affirming San Francisco's commitment to birthright citizenship as a constitutional right and opposing President Donald Trump's executive order that attempts to unconstitutionally limit birthright citizenship. Madam Chair. Thank you. Uh today we're joined by Supervisor Connie Chan, who is a sponsor for this item and will be presenting today. Supervisor Chan, please go ahead. Thank you, Chair Fielder, and thank you, colleagues uh for scheduling uh this item uh at your committee. Um as a daughter of immigrant parents and an immigrant first generation immigrant myself, it is an honor and a privilege to be able to sit with all of you here today uh as your district supervisor and to hear this item that I um wanted to say that allows the community in San Francisco and this body to affirm San Francisco's commitment to birthright citizenship uh as a constitutional right and oppose President Donald Trump's exact order that attempts to unconstitutionally limit birthright citizenship, a right that had already been affirmed by the Supreme Court almost 125 years ago after a lawsuit by Wong King Ark. Uh Wong Kim Ark, I think many of you already know, uh, was a U.S. born United States born citizen who went on a trip abroad in night 1895. When he returned, uh the Department of Immigration denied uh his admission uh on the false basis that he was not a citizen of the United States and was ordered to be deported under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. With the assistance of legal representation by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, and sometimes we call them the Chinese Company and the Chinese American community, Wang Kim Ark fought against unlawful detention and push the lawsuit to the Supreme Court, where they ultimately ruled that birthright citizenship apply to all children born in the United States. And I must say, um, with that ruling, it impact generations of Chinese Americans and many other immigrants, uh, not just in San Francisco, but across United States. And that today that United States and San Francisco uh can be the robust and vibrant city and country that it is because of many, many uh immigrants' contribution. That we now are actually the fifth largest economy of the world. That tells you something about immigrants and the brilliance of immigrants. So at this time, when the current administration continues to propose policies that threaten the right and existence of immigrants, I want to remind all of us that immigrants are the foundation of this country and this city. And so with that, Chair, I and again very grateful for you uh scheduling this and uh in advance of that. I also want to thank um that I see that there are folks out here today going to make public comments. Um and I also want to say that uh let's also recognize the courage that for people who are willing to speak on this today, because uh across the nation and even in San Francisco that is a sanctuary, people who speak out at this moment, uh be it uh workers, be it families, be it immigrants, we know the tremendous pressure that they will have to face, and that's including our allies who speak on their behalf as well. So thank you for coming out to speak. We uh I appreciate your courage uh and um and bravery for for speaking out.
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