SF Rules Committee Approves Appointments and PROSAC Changes on July 24, 2023
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
SF Rules Committee Approves Appointments and PROSAC Changes on July 24, 2023
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee, chaired by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, convened on Monday, July 24, 2023, at 6:15 PM UTC. The committee addressed several appointments and a park code amendment, voting unanimously on all items. This was the final Rules Committee meeting before the summer recess, with the board set to reconvene in September.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar was listed or discussed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 1 – MTA Appointment: Patricia Wells, CEO of the Housing Authority of Oakland and national president of the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials, spoke in support, highlighting Dominica Henderson’s impact on housing and transit. Marlena Cannon, a former SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council member, and Javi Alis, from 100% College, also voiced strong support, emphasizing Henderson’s understanding of community needs.
- Item 2 – Sunshine Ordinance Task Force: Peter Warfield (Library Users Association) endorsed Saul Sugarman and Ruth Ferguson but opposed David Pilpel, citing fairness concerns. Patrick Monette-Shaw opposed Pilpel, citing past disruptive behavior, while other callers (Toronto, Christine Lindenbach, Laura Pappas) strongly supported Pilpel for his expertise and advocacy. One caller urged rejection, believing Pilpel was biased.
- Item 3 – Workforce Alignment Committee: Joe Wilson, Executive Director of Hospitality House, spoke in support of Tiffany Jackson, praising her workforce development work.
- Item 4 – PROSAC: David Pilpel spoke in favor of the ordinance, suggesting adding “regular” to specify regular meetings at City Hall, and emphasized the importance of PROSAC’s role.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Appointment of Dominica Henderson to SFMTA Board: Henderson, a lifelong San Francisco resident and current Chief Social Impact Officer at the Oakland Housing Authority, highlighted her experience as a former Bayview CAC member and a transit rider. Supervisors praised her qualifications and perspective.
- Item 2 – Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Appointments: The committee reviewed applicants for three seats. Saul Sugarman (Seat 3) and David Pilpel (Seat 9) advanced. Ruth Ferguson’s appointment to Seat 11 was deferred due to a need to post vacancies for a disability-qualified member, as explained by Deputy City Attorney Anne Pearson.
- Item 3 – Committee on City Workforce Alignment Appointments: Three applicants were considered: Ruth Barajas (Seat 15, unavailable), Tiffany Jackson (Seat 16), and Bartolomeo (Bart) Tolas (Seat 17, unavailable). Residency requirements were waived for Barajas and Jackson, as noted by the clerk.
- Item 4 – Park Code – PROSAC Membership: The ordinance, previously heard and continued, was advanced to the full board without further discussion.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Unanimously approved (3-0) to recommend Dominica Henderson’s appointment to the SFMTA Board, with a strike of “reject” and positive recommendation to the full board.
- Item 2: Unanimously approved (3-0) to recommend Saul Sugarman to Seat 3 and David Pilpel to Seat 9, with positive recommendations. Ruth Ferguson’s appointment was referred back for a future meeting.
- Item 3: Unanimously approved (3-0) to recommend Ruth Barajas, Tiffany Jackson, and Bartolomeo Tolas to the Committee on City Workforce Alignment, with residency waivers for Barajas and Jackson.
- Item 4: Unanimously approved (3-0) to recommend the Park Code amendment to the full board as a committee report.
All items will appear on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda on September 5, 2023 (or July 25, 2023 for the workforce committee, as noted). The meeting adjourned after completing the agenda.
Meeting Transcript
You are unmuted. This meeting will come to order. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Monday, July 24th, 2023 meeting of the Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I am Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Chair of this committee. I'm joined today by my colleague, Vice Chair Shaman Walton. Committee member Ashasafai is running a few minutes late, but will be joining us shortly. With this being our final rules committee before recess, I want to take a moment to say that I have really enjoyed chairing this committee and serving with my two colleagues. It has been a productive session, and I look forward to continuing our business hearing appointments and legislation and soon taking up ballot measures when we return in September. I want to thank my aide Madison Tam for her support each week staffing me on this committee. I want to also thank our clerk, Mr. Victor Young, for um all of his hard work and everyone in the clerk's office who supports us. As always, thanks all thanks to the team at SFGov TV for facilitating and broadcasting today's meeting. And in particular, our uh producer today, Mr. Michael Baltazar. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Uh yes. The Board of Supervisors and his committee are now convening hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. Those attending in person be allowed to speak first, and then we will take those who are waiting on the telephone line. The public comment call-in number is streaming across the screen. When connected, you'll hear the meeting discussion, but you'll be muted in the listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, those joining us in person should line up to speak. And those on the telephone should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. If you're on the telephone, please remember to turn down your TV and all listening devices you may be using. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR.yo N G at sfgov.org. You may also send your written comment via US mail to our office at City Hall, one Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of September 5th, 2023, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one? Yes, item number one is motion approving rejecting the mayor's nomination for the appointment of Dominica Henderson to the municipal transportation agency board of directors for a term ending March 1st, 2026. Thank you, Mr. Young. Um Ms. Henderson is joining us in person. Um we I will just mention for everybody that uh we usually ask that appointees and applicants limit their opening remarks to two minutes and then allow us time if uh if necessary for some questions and answers. Um Ms. Henderson, welcome to the rules committee. The floor is yours. Thank you, and good morning, uh Chair Dorsey, Vice Chair Walton. My name is Dominica Henderson. I am um I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you a little bit about my background. I am a lifelong San Francisco resident. I grew up taking the bus uh from Bayvie and Brnowle Heights to Western Edition and to the Haight. Um I'm the child and grandchild of public servants, and um feel like this is a little bit of a surreal moment to be following in their footsteps, especially those of my grandfather, who was a uh cable car and muni operator for retired um and also a member of the uh transport workers union. I really do respect the work that um those members of the community do to help uh provide critical services to the city and also to drive the city towards recovery during challenging times.
openpublica.com