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Question 1:
Saving Theaters
Question 2:
Community College
Question 3:
Rezoning
Question 4:
Drug Dealing
Question 5:
Youth
Question 6:
Day Laborers
Question 7:
Visitor Attraction
Question 8:
Appointments
Question 9:
Commitment

QUESTION 7:

MODERATOR: Question seven, please.

PANELIST: According to the San Francisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, San Francisco had more than fifteen million visitors last year, that spent 6.5 billion dollars in the city. Hotel concierges inform us they are reluctant to send guests to the Mission District, especially on public transportation, given its tough streets. As mayor, Mr. Gonzalez, how would you encourage visitors into the Mission District?

MATT GONZALEZ: First of all, let me just say I think the downtown hotels were not sending visitors to the Mission back when it was an Irish neighborhood, they were not doing it when it was a Mexican or Central American neighborhood, and I think they are participating in an anti-immigrant sentiment when they say, “Oh, it’s a dangerous place.” The easiest thing the city can do, obviously, is try to incorporate the Mission into all these public brochures they put out there, and really try to promote it. I think by showing you care about the neighborhood in (phrase inaudible) improvements you can accomplish that. Let me just say that--the Hotel Council--I’m in a fight with them right now because I think they do much to discourage tourism from San Francisco by putting ads on the sides of buses attacking poor people. [cheers, applause] You know, I want to have a collaborative relationship with the business community, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that they drive the discussion at all times, because I don‘t think that their interests are always the interests of the city at large. They certainly [inaudible] the sides of public buses to try to promote our neighborhoods rather than promote this kind of false logic about how giving money to a panhandler is only about sexually transmitted diseases. [applause]

ANGELA ALIOTO: It’s extremely important for all parts of this city to get along. When the hotel industry came out with those ads, I was the first to slam them, but it is extremely important that the hotel industry and the Mission District----and by the way, the inner Mission to the best of my knowledge has been Latino for over a hundred years, let me just say that it’s the outer Mission that was Irish and Italian------the inner Mission has been Latino for a very very long time. And having said that, there is such a joie de vivre in this area, the murals, the life, the activity, tourists love to come to this area. The problem is we’ve got people in charge of the Visitors and Convention Bureau that are so afraid of their own shadow, so of course they’re not going to send people to different parts of this town. There’s a bottom line with a lot that goes on in our city, and that bottom line is that we need to get in there and get rid of the people that don’t understand the spirit of San Francisco, and put people in positions of power and authority that understand it, understand how to help this neighborhood, understand that you need cops on the street, you need to clean the streets, you need to have affordable housing so people don’t leave, and you need to promote it just as you would promote North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Marina, or any other part of this great city. [applause]

MODERATOR: Mr. Ammiano.

TOM AMMIANO: You know, any tourism that comes, as I mentioned before, has to be done in concert with ‘we who live here,’ because you don’t want people coming and gawking and making fun; and I find that the Hotel Council and the class of people that they serve is rather an elitist enclave, totally ignoring people who speak Spanish, from other countries, totally ignoring people who may not have the money to stay at the Ritz-Carlton but certainly are on a budget and want to enjoy the riches of this community. And I think how to promote that, is setting up alternatives to the Hotel Council; they’re not the only game in town, boys and girls; you know, we’re smart enough to do that here, setting our own standards. A lot of Mission District’s cachet, so to speak, is already known around the world, is already known on the East Coast. A lot of concierges,` they’re not going to refer here, because the people who gave them a little under the table are going to say, “Come to my so-and-so boutique.” So, if we need to educate the concierge, fine. If we need to bring tour guides here, fine. There’s no lack of travel agencies and tour guides here in the Mission itself, and we need to empower them through economic incentives so that they will attract people who feel totally safe here, who understand what it means to speak Spanish, who like pupusas, who like tacos, and don’t feel that it’s something from Disneyland. But we don’t mind the economic boost. Thank you. [applause]

SUSAN LEAL: I think the important thing is letting people know the wonderful, creative happenings that are going on in the Mission District. One of the things that I’ve done over the past several months is meet with a number of the non-profits, particularly arts non -profits, and there are so many great programs: Intersection for the Arts, Theater Rhinoceros, the Mission Cultural Center had one of the best art exhibits I have ever seen in my life, just in the past few months, and we need to let people know about it. They need the support of people who come into the city. They need to support all of San Francisco. As the next mayor of the city, either the Hotel Council is going to get on board, or they ought to get out of the way, because we need to market and promote so our arts organizations are kept healthy, vibrant, and one of the things, after we met with a number of these non-profits, I put together a policy paper that talks about cultural zones, particularly cultural zones in the Mission, where our arts organizations need to be promoted. And having, as part of our economic development, not the arts organization after the economy comes back, but having them part of that economic development. And in the Mission our arts organizations are key, we need to support them, we need to promote them, we need to keep them alive. Thank you. [applause]

GAVIN NEWSOM: This is a special place. It’s been a special place for as long as San Francisco has been around. My great-great grandfather came from Ireland, came right here in the Mission. My mother in law came here from Puerto Rico, right here in the Mission; my father in law lives around the corner on Guerrero Street. This is a special place, I gotta say. I want to just acknowledge the good work of your merchants’ organization in promoting the Mission. You can pick up these national publications and disproportionately we’re seeing the Mission well represented. There is so much good, so much that is right here. It’s not just the Hotel Council;, it’s the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Their obligation to work with Council district merchants, to work with Small Business Network, to do their best to raise awareness and remind people what a special place the Mission District is. But we also have to recognize that in order to maintain the stature of the Mission District, we’ve got a lot of work to do down at City Hall. Not least of which to preserve those minority, women-owned businesses that are still here, that are suffering, and to do everything we can for local business enterprises. And I hope you’ll take a look objectively, take a look at the one candidate with a specific plan targeting local business enterprises, minority women and women business enterprises. I want to double the discount rates from five percent to ten percent for contracts under a hundred thousand dollars. I want to do my best to promote women and minority and local business enterprises. We put a plan together and we are going to effectuate that plan and we are going to raise awareness about the extraordinary diversity that our neighborhood commercial corridors provide for visitors across this city and around the country. [applause]

TONY RIBERA: You know, I think the attitude of the hotels is consistent with the city’s overall policy of neglecting the Mission District. I want to work with the Mission Merchants,. with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, with neighborhood groups, to revitalize this community. I think we have to look at the crime problem, the seriousness of the crime problems. I am the one candidate who can control crime, and I have done it. The homeless policy...you know the homeless policy for throwing two hundred million dollars a year at it, and it increases every year. I know how to set clear goals and to hold people accountable. The dirty streets...Our director of Public Works needs to be fired the first day! [applause] …and you know, sending a message, I’ll tell you this, I will make you a promise here tonight that I will never eat at Le Central, and every Friday I will eat at La Rondalla! [applause, laughter]