Many Mission residents may be worried by the recent attacks on San Francisco status as a Sanctuary City. We need to be clear that our Sanctuary Ordinance is not the cause of crime. Rather, it reduces crime by supporting the immigrant community in reporting crimes and engaging in civic life. The Sanctuary ordinance is a means to increase, not decrease public safety. This law is important for all San Francisco residents because at the core it's about public safety and engaging in civic life. As the Mission’s representative, I am aware that my constituents need to feel safe calling the police or fire department, and not fear arrest while taking their children to school or the hospital.

Fortunately there are many in our city ready to defend our sanctuary policy and fight these attacks. At rallys on July 29 and 30, approximately 300 San Franciscans rallied in front of City Hall to voice their support.

It is regrettable that a false connection has been made between sanctuary city policy and undocumented youth who have found themselves in the juvenile justice system. Changing or amending the Sanctuary Policy would not affect this situation. We need to remember that youth aren’t treated like adults because we as a society have prioritized rehabilitation for youth offenders. Criminal behavior must be punished, but due process must not be compromised.

This was a very difficult budget year with a projected shortfall of $338 million, and one of the hardest budgets I've seen in my fourteen years as a Supervisor. However, working with the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor we were able to balance the budget as well as secure funding for some work very important to District 9. As the author of Healthy San Francisco, a universal healthcare program for City residents, it is very important that we were successful in restoring the massive cuts to our public health programs.

In addition, I was able to secure funding to make sure our shelters are monitored and kept safe. I secured funding for a pre-school in Bernal Heights for low-income families. This is currently in the development stages and is a source of pride for parents, many of whom live in the Mission.

The City’s ID Card will be available in the fall and can be obtained by any city resident to be used as ID and/or proof of residency. I was able to secure funding to provide for more ID cards than we originally projected, and I am very excited about the benefit of this card to District 9 residents.

A recent audit of the City’s street trash suggests that the Mission still has a disproportionately high number of dirty streets. I have been in contact with the DPW about this ongoing problem to see what else they can offer the Mission in terms of support in helping to keep the streets clean and beautiful.

Violence, particularly of the gang-related variety, continues to be a major problem in the Mission. For the past several months my office has been engaged in a dialogue with the SFPD with regard to what new and innovative approaches might be taken to address the the plague of violence on our streets. Included amongst the numerous suggestions my office has made to the SFPD is the idea of a violent crime task force comprised of the Gang Squad, Vice, and Homicide units which would address only incidents of violence, or the threat of such incidents in a multi-disciplinary way. After months of advocacy by my office, the Mission is set to have a shotspotter system installed within the next month, which will allow the SFPD to identify (vis sattelite) where shots have been fired and subsequently dispatch a police to investiagte immediately. Also, I would like to welcome Captain Stephen Tacchini to his new post at Mission station. He is veteran of the force and we look forward to a positive working relationship with him.


Mission Dispatch - August, 2008
Tom Ammiano


Many Mission residents may be worried by the recent attacks on San Francisco status as a Sanctuary City. We need to be clear that our Sanctuary Ordinance is not the cause of crime. Rather, it reduces crime by supporting the immigrant community in reporting crimes and engaging in civic life. The Sanctuary ordinance is a means to increase, not decrease public safety. This law is important for all San Francisco residents because at the core it's about public safety and engaging in civic life. As the Mission’s representative, I am aware that my constituents need to feel safe calling the police or fire department, and not fear arrest while taking their children to school or the hospital.

Fortunately there are many in our city ready to defend our sanctuary policy and fight these attacks. At rallys on July 29 and 30, approximately 300 San Franciscans rallied in front of City Hall to voice their support.

It is regrettable that a false connection has been made between sanctuary city policy and undocumented youth who have found themselves in the juvenile justice system. Changing or amending the Sanctuary Policy would not affect this situation. We need to remember that youth aren’t treated like adults because we as a society have prioritized rehabilitation for youth offenders. Criminal behavior must be punished, but due process must not be compromised.

This was a very difficult budget year with a projected shortfall of $338 million, and one of the hardest budgets I've seen in my fourteen years as a Supervisor. However, working with the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor we were able to balance the budget as well as secure funding for some work very important to District 9. As the author of Healthy San Francisco, a universal healthcare program for City residents, it is very important that we were successful in restoring the massive cuts to our public health programs.

In addition, I was able to secure funding to make sure our shelters are monitored and kept safe. I secured funding for a pre-school in Bernal Heights for low-income families. This is currently in the development stages and is a source of pride for parents, many of whom live in the Mission.

The City’s ID Card will be available in the fall and can be obtained by any city resident to be used as ID and/or proof of residency. I was able to secure funding to provide for more ID cards than we originally projected, and I am very excited about the benefit of this card to District 9 residents.

A recent audit of the City’s street trash suggests that the Mission still has a disproportionately high number of dirty streets. I have been in contact with the DPW about this ongoing problem to see what else they can offer the Mission in terms of support in helping to keep the streets clean and beautiful.

Violence, particularly of the gang-related variety, continues to be a major problem in the Mission. For the past several months my office has been engaged in a dialogue with the SFPD with regard to what new and innovative approaches might be taken to address the the plague of violence on our streets. Included amongst the numerous suggestions my office has made to the SFPD is the idea of a violent crime task force comprised of the Gang Squad, Vice, and Homicide units which would address only incidents of violence, or the threat of such incidents in a multi-disciplinary way. After months of advocacy by my office, the Mission is set to have a shotspotter system installed within the next month, which will allow the SFPD to identify (vis sattelite) where shots have been fired and subsequently dispatch a police to investiagte immediately. Also, I would like to welcome Captain Stephen Tacchini to his new post at Mission station. He is veteran of the force and we look forward to a positive working relationship with him.





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