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| Lynn on the Issues |
CRIME
The entire city is feeling the effect of more crime. Unfortunately, most of us know of a friend or a neighbor who has been the victim of a crime in the past year or two. It’s hitting too close to home, in every neighborhood, at all times of day, many times at gunpoint. Yet, we still haven’t heard a comprehensive plan of action as political infighting continues at the expense of residents' safety.
I believe there are immediate steps that can be taken and should be promoted and strengthened. For instance:
Foot Patrols
I strongly support the new pilot program that puts foot patrols in our neighborhoods. It’s a step in the right direction to deter and provide a faster response to crime. By getting police out of their patrol cars, foot patrols give the police a better sense of what’s happening in the neighborhood and improve relationships and communication between police, residents and merchants.
Utilizing the SAFE Program
As city finances tighten, we need to expand and fully use the resources of the SAFE (Safety Awareness for Everyone) program to help organize neighborhood watch programs and bolster community policing by encouraging a real partnership between neighborhood residents, businesses and the police department. A trained and watchful eye on the part of residents and merchants can help discourage crime and lessen the demand on an already taxed police department.
After School Programs
I strongly believe we must support and expand after school programs to help prevent juvenile crime, in combination with an increased police presence at targeted spots. Juvenile crime has increasingly become a problem, yet it understandably has not been a focus of police efforts given the demand on their resources. After school programs, such as those provided by the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center where I volunteer, are great models for programs that keep kids occupied and off the street.
THE HOMELESS
I am a lead with Project Homeless Connect, where I work on the frontlines with the city’s homeless. PHC is a wonderful program that has helped thousands of individuals and families. As San Franciscans, we can and should be proud of the help this program provides.
Unfortunately, those of us who work to ensure people are getting the services they need see that the city has hit a wall in its ability to help the most severely mentally ill people—people who are incapable of making decisions about their own welfare and are potentially a danger to themselves and others. I believe it’s time that we take a closer look at how we can implement Assisted Outpatient Treatment under Laura’s Law—to ensure that those who cannot make decisions about their own welfare get the help they need and deserve. We cannot call ourselves a humane city if we sit idly by and allow people to die on our streets when we can provide them the help they cannot seek on their own.
This could be the next logical step in preventing another act of violence and ensuring people get the help they need.
WORKFORCE HOUSING
Our city is unaffordable for our workforce population and we are simply not building housing to address this fact. Why? Because there is a focus on building only one type of housing—subsidized housing, which is certainly necessary, but only one piece of a bigger affordable housing issue.
We need more housing for our first responders, such as firefighters and nurses, so in the event of an earthquake or other major disaster they will be close by.
We need to attract quality teachers, yet they can’t afford to rent or own a home in San Francisco. Many of our city workers are forced to commute hours a day to get to their jobs working on behalf of the residents of San Francisco, a city they can’t afford to live in themselves.
The lenders, builders and developers are available. For example, there are banks in San Francisco that provide low interest loans that are a critical component of making workforce housing a reality. We simply need the political will and leadership to bring all the stakeholders together and make this critical piece of our city’s future a reality.
As Supervisor, I will make workforce housing a priority so that more of our first responders, our teachers, and our city workers can live in the city they serve.
PLANNING
I will work to end the spot zoning that’s hurting the vitality of our neighborhoods. In North Beach alone we have numerous boarded up buildings, such as the Pagoda Theater, due to spot zoning.
I strongly support preserving our neighborhood character and have spent countless hours before the Planning Commission fighting to keep our neighborhood character vibrant and unique. But the zoning policies pursued by our current leadership have gone beyond keeping chain stores out and have hurt the very businesses that make District 3 the neighborhood residents and visitors love so much.
When zoning policies are driven by narrow special interests, we end up with vacant buildings and storefronts that no one can afford to operate a business in. We can keep our neighborhood character and ensure the success of small businesses that serve the needs of residents and visitors. |
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