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Fair Time for All

By Neela Banerjee

After weeks of high-profile meetings where they passed legislation likely to change the face of the city, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors took a little break this week to address less controversial issues.

In housing news, the board passed a resolution that would stop landlords from passing onto tenants the costs of non-seismic capital improvement, rehabilitation and energy conservation until the Superior Court decided how to implement November’s Proposition H. Both Supervisors Tony Hall and Leland Yee voted against the resolution, citing its unfairness to landlords. With each passing week, it seems that Hall and Yee are settling into their position as resident Board conservatives.

On the other side of the spectrum Matt Gonzalez, continuing to solidify his position as Board radical, proposed that the Housing Authority Board be dissolved and that the Board of Supervisors take charge in its place, “until trust can be restored into that office.”

Sophie Maxwell stepped up to the bat for Asian Americans this week as she introduced a number of resolutions that directly affect the community. Maxwell asked the City Attorney to draft legislation that would amend the Administrative Code to double the time for public comment at all Board, Committee and Commission meetings, specifically to allow for those who need translation services.

“We live in one of the most multicultural cities in the world,” Maxwell said. “We should allow everyone equal access to the government.”

Currently, individuals using translators are allowed the same amount of time during public comment as those who are not. In effect, those using a translator have half the time as those speaking in English.

“This legislation would ensure that everyone, regardless of their English speaking capability, would have the same opportunity to express their views,” Maxwell said.

The proposal was co-sponsored by Supervisors Chris Daly, Tony Hall, Matt Gonzalez, Jake McGoldrick, Gavin Newsom, Aaron Peskin, Gerardo Sandoval and Leland Yee.

Daly also reintroduced legislation, first offered by Mabel Teng, that would force the city government to cover translation costs for all offices. Currently, individual offices have to cover the cost of any translation services they use.

“This has always been an important issue for Supervisor Daly,” aide Bill Barnes said. “During his campaign, he had his flyers translated into six languages.”

Supervisor Daly took the time to commend Judge Lillian Sing for her achievements, citing her for being the first API woman to become a judge in northern California and her role as one of the founding members of Chinese for Affirmative Action.

Maxwell also requested two hearings on education for the joint School Board and Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for March 14. Maxwell called for a hearing on the status of social workers in the public schools and to discuss the status of the $500,000 that was donated to the school district by Diana and Clarence Chan in December.

Maxwell also called for a hearing to look into the coordination between city departments and the schools regarding access to city resources. Maxwell said that the city has tremendous resources, including science laboratories, to which the schools should have access.