DATE: Tuesday, September 6, 2005
TIME: 5:00 p.m.
PLACE: City Hall, Room 278
1. Call to Order and Roll Call: Commissioner McLaughlin called the meeting to order at 5:00p.m. Commissioners Present: Commissioners Anjum, Ayala, Chin, Clay, Gong, Huntington, Kwong, Lee, McLaughlin, Pang, Pryor, Revelo, Rodriguez, Serra Staff Present: Rachel Antrobus and Ron S. McCan
2. Motion to approve agenda: There was a motion to approve the agenda. Motion Approved.
3. Staff Report:
Ron introduced Rachel Antrobus, the new Director of the Youth Commission.
4. Committee Reports: There were no Committee Reports
6. Officer Report: There were no Officer Reports
7. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda: There was no Public Comment
Alan Wong spoke about issues currently facing the School District, and asked the Commission to sponsor two resolutions. Commissioner Pang will follow up with Alan to discuss the details of the resolutions.
8. Legislation Introduced [There will be no action taken on these items]
There was no Legislation Introduced at this time
9. Old Business
There was no old business at this time
10. New Business
A. Discussion re: Introduction to the City & County of San Francisco, Presentation by Amy Ackerman, Deputy City Attorney. Amy reviewed the basic City structure, reviewed the Sunshine Ordinance, and answered questions for the Commissioners.
B. Discussion re: Youth Commission process for submitting Legislation and Agenda Items. This item was tabled until the next meeting.
C. Discussion re: Youth Commission Committee Structure. Ron asked everyone to fill out the Commissioner availability form with his or her committee selection so that Committee meeting dates could be determined.
D. Discussion re: Review of the Youth Commission Bylaws. Ron reviewed the bylaws with the Commissioners and reviewed the attendance policy.
E. Discussion and possible action re: Youth Commission's 2004-2005 Executive Committee Election Process. Colleen reviewed the duties for each officer and explained the process of elections. Nomination forms are due to Ron by 5pm on Friday 9/16.
11. Items for next Agenda:
12. Announcements: The Commissioners answered various upcoming community events
13. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:50pm.
Youth Commission Officer Election Nomination Statements
I, Iqra Anjum, submit my name for the position of Chair for the 2005-2006 Youth Commission term.
First I would hear the gun shots, followed by the sound of the police and ambulance sirens. Since I lived across from the funeral home, I would also see the casket and hertz vehicle taking the unfortunate victims to their final resting place. As a twelve year old immigrant from Pakistan, this was the environment in which I was brought up. Coming from a familiar mixed background, like those of many San Francisco youth, I know that I can serve and lead this diverse community. San Francisco consists of a high percentage of immigrants of which I am one. Not only can I bring my experiences to the Youth Commission, but I can also bring an understanding and most importantly, a passion for all the things I wished I could have changed when I was growing up.
As the Chair of the San Francisco Youth Commission, my dedication will be my drive, and passion will be my thirst. I will do all that I can to uphold the laws as well as make sure youth across the city are being heard. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "We must become the change we want to see." The San Francisco Youth Commission has proved itself to be that change in a society where youth input and recognition is not only necessary but vital. If given the chance, I will uphold the morals and values and make sure that I embody the results that the youth in the community have tried to uphold.
I, Erin McLaughlin, submit my name for the position of Chair for the 2005-2006 Youth Commission term.
When I was in third grade, I organized a petition and a protest, demanding that the boys let the girls play kickball during lunch and recess and after school. I rallied my teachers, friends, yard duty people, and school staff to help me through the process. We fought and we won. Ever since then, I have known that this is what I want to do with myself. And it is what I have been doing. In seventh grade, my sister and I founded a youth volunteer group called CauseWeCare. We have worked on many projects with different people and groups throughout the city and state. Our biggest projects have been our cigarette litter campaign and our eyeglass collection. Through the cigarette litter campaign, we connected with Leland Yee, while he was still a supervisor. We held two press conferences, which were aired on several different news channels and were interviewed on two radio stations. We were able to drive to Sacramento and testify in front of the State Assembly Committee of Public Health and Safety. It was an amazing experience. I learned so much throughout the entire process, about public speaking, behind the scene politics, making useful and lasting contacts, etc. Through the eyeglass drive, we met many people inside City Hall, and worked closely with the Lion's Club. We collected over one thousand pairs of glasses to be distributed throughout the world, and received special honors from the Lion's Club for our work.
My work and contacts brought me to the San Francisco Youth Commission. I was appointed last term, and served the entire term (with only two absences-both approved!). I ran for two offices, and did not get either. I worked on the Youth Employment Committee. It was an amazing experience, and I made many useful contacts. This summer, I worked in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services. I met a ton of crazy people from the city, and a ton of important people from the city, usually one and the same. I answered phones, wrote proclamations, made phone calls, talked to people, and got a very in depth look at behind the scenes politics in the city. After working there for six weeks, I went to political science boot camp, also known as JSA Georgetown Summer School. While there, I took part in many, many debates, known as Senate Debates. We had organized debates, and I was voted "Outstanding Moderator." I moderated almost every debate, in much the way that Youth Commission meetings are run. I have a lot of experience organizing and controlling large groups of people.
I think that, considering all of my experience, my passion, and my love of this work, I would be the ideal candidate for the position of Chair of the 2005-2006 Youth Commission.
I, Elvin Rodriguez, submit my name for the position of Chair for the 2005-2006 Youth Commission term.
I would love to become Chair of the 2005-2006 Youth Commission. I feel that I would represent the Commission by dedicating all of my free time that I have on my hands to the Commission. I know that by becoming chair I would have all the support of my Commissioners. I take pride in everything I do. I will try to represent the whole city not just my own district. Together, I know we all will have a great and powerful year.
I Antonio Ayala would like to nominated for the position of Community Affairs Officer for the following reasons:
§ I enjoy working with diverse groups of people
§ My leaderships skills are strong and I am outgoing
§ I have a good relationship with my community
§ I am organized and dependable
§ I am good at public speaking; this is will to be my 5th year in competing in the San Francisco Oratorical contest.
§ I have worked as an intern at City Hall for the past 2 summers, the office of Supervisor Bevan Dufty and this past
§ summer Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, so I am quite familiar with San Francisco politics / neighborhoods
§ I feel I can bring back so much information to our Youth Commission that we can all benefit from and, this will make us that much stronger!
Please consider me Antonio Ayala your fellow Youth Commissioner as the Community Affairs Officer, you will not be sorry!
Dear Youth Commissioners,
I would like to serve as your Operations Officer because I believe I can do the most in an administrative capacity for the commission.
I have been involved with the administration of the Lowell Forensic Society (Speech & Debate) for the past three years, currently serving as its president. I have developed many useful administrative and organizational skills while fundraising, hosting speech tournaments, planning our $15,000 budget, planning special events (Speakathons, fundraising dinners), and conducting meetings with our 150-member team. I work very well with all the members of my team and unfortunately, have experience mediating conflicts between team members.
I am well versed in Robert's Rules of Order/parliamentary procedure, so I can facilitate meetings should the need arise. I have good time management skills, having been heavily involved both at my school and volunteer work in the community.
Thank you for your consideration and support!
Yours,
Jacky Kwong