Perspective on Public Record

January 1992 - Office of the Mayor

Art Agnos' Mayoralty started a new agenda for San Francisco aimed at broader inclusion and addressing the challenge facing cities in the 1990's.

Agnos left behind San Francisco's parochialism and moved toward regionalism, positioning San Francisco as the hub of a Bay Area economic unit in the Pacific Rim and courting investment and jobs region-wide.

He also left behind the economically perilous myth that San Francisco's economy depended on building more high-rise office buildings. Agnos recognized that the city's economic future depended upon City Hall support for targeted, value-added industries such as the print and design and the fashion industry, as well the hospitality industry. He also recognized that tourism was as important as conventions in San Francisco's economy.

Agnos broke the record for construction of affordable housing, emphasized neighborhood arts, and professionalized the city budget.

Most importantly, Agnos established policies to open access for middle-income families, minorities, and gays and lesbians. Among the major course changes brought by Agnos were:

• Ending the longest delay of any urban renewal project in America with a completed agreement for Yerba Buena Center and funding for major components in hand.
• Ending the impasse over the International Hotel site, dating from the 1960's, with a signed Memorandum of Understanding.
• Wrote a new policy on Mission Bay that a higher priority on affordable housing, three-and four bedroom units, and better design.
• Rewrote the mandate for the commission on the status of Women, giving them independent status, a budget and subpoena powers for the first time in their history.
• Halted the city's court battle against the Fire Department consent decree to hire women and minorities and instead accepted its terms.
• Halted the city's challenge to compliance with the federal clean water act, and instead moved forward on compliance with its terms.
• Moved to plan and implement compliance with federal handicapped access laws for the first time since the law was passed in 1973.
• Signed into law domestic partners legislation, and added health benefits, bereavement and family care leave, and hospital visitation rights.
• Overhauled the Redevelopment Agency's goals and policies to make affordable housing and economic development for low income neighborhoods a priority.
• Adopted a new policy of building family-size affordable housing units, increasing the number of three-and four-bedroom units.
• Adopted a new policy of including the homeless in devising solutions and implementing programs for recovery.
• Adopted a new policy of developing AIDS planning to include people with AIDS and community-based organizations rather than limiting it to physicians and city health care professionals.
• Reversing the decision to commit San Francisco to $20 million in city funds for home-porting the USS Missouri; Agnos correctly perceived that the military could declare the battleship unnecessary, and thereby leave the city throwing money away, supporting eviction of revenue-producing small businesses at the shipyard, and with no plans to turn the shipyard into an economic asset.
• Reversing the opposition to the UFW boycotts and instead supporting the union.
• Re-establishing neighborhood hearings on the budget for the first time in ten years.

When Agnos entered office, San Francisco had a ten-year record of spending than its revenues, balancing the budget only with windfall surplus funds. City budgeting also examined only proposed increases in spending and did not reexamine existing expenditures.

When Agnos assumed office, he inherited a budget shortfall of $72 million. However, after a month's in depth review of the city finances, he determined with the Controller and the Board Budget Analyst that city had a projected shortfall in the current year (1987-88) and a $172 million projected shortfall in 1988-89.

The Mayor submitted a balanced budget three months later and the city was able to maintain its AA bond rating despite the acknowledged shortfalls. This action contrasts sharply with the State of California that had a significant projected deficit in January 1991 and on December 12, 1991 was downgraded by Standard and Poor's because the shortage had not been dealt with effectively.

The Mayor has maintained the city's bond rating through earthquake, drought and recession.
Among the changes Agnos initiated that strengthened the city's fiscal integrity and furthered the professionalism of the budget were:

• Zero based budgeting. In the first months, Agnos' use of zero based budgeting uncovered funding for programs which did not exist, such as the burn unit at San
  Francisco General Hospital.
• Pay-as-you-go legislation. For the first time, Board of Supervisors' actions that carry city costs must include review by the Board's finance committee and identify the funding source.
• Banning the use of one-time surplus funds for on-going program costs. Previous budgeting used one-time surpluses to start programs whose costs would continue after the funding was exhausted.
• Capitalizing on neglected San Francisco assets. Perhaps the most significant example is Agnos' plan to jointly develop city-owned land in Pleasanton to create a steady stream of revenue to the city's General Fund. Currently the city derives no economic benefit from its holdings.
• Replacing an across-the-board approach to city hiring freezes. Agnos instead selectively froze hirings, and moved to recruit for positions that gained revenue for the city, such as billing clerks who file claims for the city against state and federal funds.
• Abolishing overtime pay for the city's top executives. This was a particularly high expense at the Police and Fire Departments, where the Police and Fire Chiefs and deputy chiefs collected overtime payments despite generally accepted practices that top managers do not receive overtime.
• Emphasizing a strong lobbying effort in the state Capitol and nation's capitol to bring San Francisco a broad range of targeted funding. During Agnos' administration, San Francisco succeeded at every federal grant request, including public housing, the port, AIDS, homeless efforts, foreign business promotion, youth programs, substance abuse programs, infrastructure repairs, and transportation.

Agnos saw San Francisco's economy as diverse and, in key areas, suffering from neglect. During his term of office, San Francisco had the longest employment gains measured in successive months of job increases since 1984. While other cities struggled with the economic consequences of high office vacancies, San Francisco had the second lowest vacancy rate among the top ten markets when Agnos completed his term.
Among the changes he brought:

• A Pacific Rim strategy that focused for the first time on regionalism and exports, rather than simply Asian investment in San Francisco property development. Agnos led the first regional trade mission to Pacific Rim nations to include San Jose's Mayor and Oakland representatives; he was also the first Mayor to include Asian American business leaders on a Pacific Rim economic mission.
• His development of sister City relationships in Asia focusing on business ties won the city's first award for a sister City business program. During his term, the prestigious Pacific Rim Conference was hosted in San Francisco for the first time that a U.S. city won hosting honors. Agnos also opened the city's first International Trade Office, which is in Taipei.
• Agnos tied this strategy to a similar outreach to the newly-integrated European market, and won the establishment of the first European community consulate in the United States for San Francisco.
• Recognition for San Francisco's largest manufacturing industry, the fashion and garment industry, and for the second-largest industry, Print and Design. Under Agnos, the flagship Fashion Center was built and agreements signed with European outlets. Agnos also created the first-ever Print and Design Council in the nation, combining the strength of both industries and resulting in significant increases in jobs for both industries.
• Revitalization of the Port's role. Agnos moved to hire a professional Port director, who became the first ethnic minority to be hired in that position. He won the first west Coast customs house for coffee imports,and doubled the container shipping volume, moving San Francisco's port from 20th to 12th place among U.S. ports. Agnos won federal and state funding to repair Pier 45, develop a model fish center, created for a new cruise Ship Terminal and Scandinavian Center at the Port, and won approval for a new Fisherman's Wharf tourist attracti?n, Underwater World.
• Expanded San Francisco tourism base. In Agnos' first year, San Francisco was named the top U.S. tourist city by Conde Nast magazine for the first time; he won the top U.S. honor again for the next two years and in his last year, San Francisco was by the magazine's readers to be the top world tourist city.
• Agnos installed the first information kiosks at the airport, and created the city's first MUNI transit pass for visitors. The pass enables visitors to make use of all public transportation and provides discounts to city museums and attractions for a three, five or seven day period.
• Under Agnos, expanded air service contracts were signed that included hub city designation by United Airlines as well as new service routes to China, Russia and South America.
• Under Agnos' prompting, the Convention and Visitors Bureau created the first Japanese language visitor guide. Agnos also persuaded the industry to market to minority and lesbian and gay tourists.
• Agnos also won San Francisco's designation for the sooth anniversary celebration of Columbus, with the Tall Ships of the world scheduled to sail into San Francisco Bay on October 12, 1992.
• Recognition that the arts are important to San Francisco's economy, with construction now underway for Yerba Buena Performing Arts Center, the largest such center since New York's Lincoln Center was completed 30 years ago. Agnos also brought in place city support for artists live-work space with new legislation, set-asides for artists in the Mission Bay development and Redevelopment plans, and saved the Hunters Point shipyard artist colony, the nation's largest.
• Created the city's first small business loan program to further spur small business successes. San Francisco leads the state in successful business start-ups.
• Won an "Enterprise Zone" designation for hard-pressed areas of San Francisco that provides low-interest loans and tax breaks to stimulate job creation. Through its terms, Agnos arranged for the jobs at the Kong garment factory to be saved through a new ownership benefiting from the new tax and loan offerings.
• Won federal transfer to San Francisco of the Hunters Point shipyard, allowing for retention of existing businesses and artists, and creation of new business incubator programs and development -of the commercial ship repair industry.
• An executive order and new law for Minority Business and Women-owned business contracting that expands opportunity for city contracts.

Agnos recognized that San Francisco's vitality as well as its economy depended on stronger efforts to make the city affordable and accessible for middle-income people.
Among his initiatives were:

• Planning and funding to open the waterfront along the Embarcadero following the Lorna Prieta earthquake. Agnos challenged Caltrans' first low estimates for cost and time involved in repair of the existing freeway, forcing are-evaluation.
• Agnos oversaw the demolition of the controversial freeway, the first time an American city had taken down a freeway, and appointed a citizen's committee which is recommending a major civic plaza at the historic Ferry Building, a subsurface roadway, and open access to the waterfront.
• Development of affordable housing. Agnos won top honors in the nation for construction of affordable housing in 1989 and 1990. San Francisco led all other Bay Area counties in housing construction during these years.
• New policies that create permanent (50 year) affordability when housing is constructed on city-owned land, ending the windfall benefit for the first buyer that had existed and securing the pass through of cost savings due to city land to succeeding buyers.
• Closure of the loopholes in rent control laws to protect tenants from exorbitant pass-through increases in rent, and a requirement that market-rate housing' permits be given conditional on at least 10% of the units being affordable.
• Expansion of mass transit services. Agnos strongly backed Proposition B, and insisted on the highest percentage of funds going to public transit of any California county. He has started the first expansion of MUNI light rail since the system was completed in 1973.
• Creation of childcare programs in the neighborhoods. Agnos opened more childcare centers than any Mayor in San Francisco history.
• Expansion of park and recreational facilities, including voter approval to renew the Open Space Fund. Under Agnos, the city's first waterfront access was conceived, built and opened with Pier 7. The first parks and recreation centers in south of Market and the Tenderloin are complete or underway.
• The city completed the rehabilitation of Kezar Stadium for high school sports, acquired land for a shoreline park at India Basin, and new land at the ocean. The
  City also is negotiating for an expansion of open space along the ocean.
• Creation of 17 after-school programs at park and recreation facilities as well as children and youth reading programs in neighborhood libraries.
• Establishment of the first Office of Children, Youth and Families in the Mayor's Office.
• Won voter approval for a school bond program to repair San Francisco schools in crisis condition. Agnos also signed legislation to support school sports through a city sports entertainment and provided services to school students by augmenting the school budget with city funds.
• Funding for the new Main Library through a bond measure, finally providing space following 40 years of the Main Library being beyond capacity. The Library will be completed in late 1995. Agnos also secured $2.6 million in state funding to double the capacity of the overcrowded Chinatown branch library, setting in motion a facility fit for the 21st century with full bi-lingual services.
• Approval for the Asian Art Museum to move to Civic Center, and for the Mexican Museum of Art to move to Yerba Buena. There it will join the new Museum of Modern Art and the Yerba Buena Performing Arts Center.

Art Agnos also placed a new priority on creating a level playing field for city workers and a better workplace environment. Among the changes he made were:

• Proposing and signing a "whistleblower law" which protects city workers against retaliation for speaking out against mismanagement.
• Voter approval for collective bargaining for city workers, a reversal of the ban on collective bargaining enacted in 1975.
• Implementing a pay equity package for city workers that responded to historic and racism in salary structures.
• Winning voter approval for reform of the civil service rules, allowing more workplace issues to be negotiated.
• Enactment of a VDT safety law to safeguard workers at computer terminals.
• Enactment of new protections when cranes are operated in the city.
• Active recruitment of nurses at San Francisco General Hospital, changing the nurse vacancy rate from 16.7% to 4.9%.
• New contracts with nurses and MUNI workers that provide child care funds to help city workers.
• Establishment of an Employee Relations Division that has the ability to negotiate contracts with city unions. The city's first contract with the Police Officers Association in 16 years was signed with Mayor Agnos.
• An effective minority and women recruitment program at the Fire Department, resulting in the first class of firefighters selected without court intervention in 20 years.

Agnos modernized city management to better deliver services and under the crisis conditions of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, succeeded in bringing the city to recovery. Among the highlights are:

• Bringing the city's ambulance fleet up to full strength for the first time in modern history, adding staff, and cutting response time by 25% resulting in saving more lives.
• Modernizing the city's firefighting equipment with purchases of more new trucks and engines than in the last decade. During the Loma Prieta earthquake, San Francisco's equipment was so inadequate that some firefighting equipment had to be brought out of the museum. Agnos also added the city's first equipment for handling hazardous waste spills.
• Winning the highest evaluation from the California Youth Authority for Juvenile Hall in 12 years, following voter approval to transfer authority to the Mayor for the Youth Guidance Center.
• Winning the first-ever accreditation for San Francisco General's trauma unit from the state and medical profession, as well as winning state accreditation for Laguna Honda hospital following a series of highly critical state evaluations prior to the Agnos administration.
• Recovering the abandoned housing units in San Francisco's Housing Authority, changing the vacancy rate from 10 percent to less than one percent, ending the Authority's mortgage indebtedness, and winning $50 million in federal funding to modernize the facilities.

Agnos also built the city's first new public housing project in decades, the new Robert B. Pitts Plaza which has become a national model for its design and appropriateness to its location.

Before Agnos’ term began, San Francisco had been placed on HUD's "Troubled Housing Authority List," one of 24 such in the nation deemed to be in serious management and financial trouble. New criteria will shortly be issued that will remove San Francisco from the national list.

• Creating and implementing a cost-effective graffiti prevention and eradication program for MUNI vehicles by fencing in MUNI yards. The final fencing will be completed shortly.
• Finding a solution to cars abandoned on San Francisco streets, with more than 9,000 abandoned cars removed from the neighborhoods. The current backlog is handled within two weeks.
• Modernizing San Francisco's planning permit process, with computerization that allows applicants to review the rules and the status of their request.
• Winning new federal and state policies that reimburse non-profit agencies for disaster assistance, which had previously been ineligible. This brought millions of dollars to arts and cultural organizations recovery efforts following Lorna Prieta earthquake. Agnos also won a change in state policy that eliminates local government· "match" requirements to receive federal and state aid for a disaster.
• Winning full Red Cross funding, based on donors' intentions, for recovery following the Lorna Prieta earthquake. This resulted in a national change of policy for the Red Cross.
• Creating the city's first recycling program, now citywide, and which has won the top honors in the nation.
• Rewriting the city's police crowd control policy to reduce harm to lawful protesters and avoid multimillion lawsuits against the City. Since Agnos' new policy was adopted, there have been no lawsuits resulting from physical harm during a protest even though the largest protests in twenty years came in the period after the new policy.
• Adopting a policy to put police walking beats in neighborhoods (C-POP). Mayor Agnos quadrupled the number of officers who walk beats in San Francisco, which had the effect of reducing crime in all major categories in its first year.
• Ending the neglect of the epidemic of domestic violence, with new programs and authority to help victims and deter violence.
• Establishment of a program to reach youth at risk of gang involvement, with the Mayor's Gang Prevention Program.
• Restoring the Mayor's In-School Youth program to provide jobs and keep students in school who are at risk of becoming dropouts.
• Establishment of a hate crimes unit in the Police Department, including assignment of investigators who have won convictions.
• Strong efforts to bring police misconduct under control, with a new Police Discipline Task Force making the first-ever recommendations.
• Abolished the Intelligence unit and TAC squad of the Police Department.
• Expansion of San Francisco's AIDS model to include all city departments, with new housing funds from Redevelopment, OCD funding, and DSS funding as well as health department funding. Health funding alone doubled during Agnos' tenure. Agnos also secured the funding and finished construction of the nation's first AIDS Research Center for San Francisco.
• Won the state's highest rating for MUNI from the California Transit League in 1989 and 1990, with a 5star rating. San Francisco was the only California city to win this highest rating.
• Increased police hires from the level he found when he entered office, with 124 new officers to be hired in the last budget year of the Agnos administration.

Mayor Agnos also changed the face of city government to include the full diversity of the city and brought more women, minorities, gays and lesbians into city government than ever before in city history. Among the changes he made:

• Appointments that brought a total of 12 to head city departments, including Social Services, Parking and Traffic, Arts, Commission on Status of Women, and Employee Relations.
• Appointments of African Americans to head major city departments, including the PUC, Youth Guidance Center, Laguna Honda hospital, and Agnos also appointed a record number of Hispanics to head city departments, including the Port, Social Services, and San Francisco General Hospital. He appointed the first Asian directors of the Human Rights Commission and the Art commission, and the first gays to serve as City Controller and director of the Rent Board.
• Appointment of the city's first Filipino to the Community College Board to fill an elected position.
  Creation of community-based task forces authorized to make funding recommendations, such as the African American Economic Empowerment Task Force and the Chinatown Task Force.
• Appointment of more women, Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, .and gays and lesbians to commissions and boards than ever before in city history.
• Appointment of those affected by city policies to groups making city policy, including people with HIV to the Mayor's Task Force on the HIV Epidemic and homeless to the Mayor's Task Force on the Homeless, and a new Mayor's Youth Forum that is comprised of youth.

Mayor Agnos' accomplishments in all these areas are undeniable, and reflect a sharp change of course in San Francisco under his leadership.

Most of all, however, the change of course was most marked in an area harder to quantify: the values that he emphasized to the city.

As Mayor, he was unwilling to be silent about those who used power to elevate themselves over the vulnerable. He made it a personal crusade to speak for the empowerment of women and minorities in city government, especially in the fire department.

In his first three days in office, Mayor Agnos was informed that a federal judge would declare San Francisco's fire department· to be "out of control" because of management failures over 17 years to eliminate racism. Some two and a half years later, the same federal judge declared in open court that the Fire Department was now "in good hands."

Mayor Agnos spoke out on issues there were in keeping with San Francisco's tradition as a city of conscience, reflecting San Francisco's diversity of interests at home as well as internationally. He signed policy statements that opposed apartheid in South Africa, the loss of democracy in Tiananmen Square's suppression, opened San Francisco as a city of refuge for Central American victims of state sponsored terrorism, and upheld the dignity of lesbian and gay men in making a bid to host the Olympic Games.