Endorsement interview: Tony Kelly

09.03.10 - 6:07 pm | Tim Redmond |

(7)

Tony Kelly's been involved in land-use and development battles in the district for more than a decade -- and it shows. He talks about zoning, redevelopment, and urban finance with the ease of an expert. He complains that funding affordable housing just by asking developers to include a little bit in their market-rate units is "a sucker's game." He talks about the need for public-sector investment to handle the major influx of population projected for the district over the next 20 years. He's also thought a lot about city finance, and suggests, among other things, that San Francisco demand that the University of California pay some sort of fee in lieu of the $60 million the giant institution doesn't pay in local property taxes.

Kelly also talks about environmental justice in the district, and is willing to go as far as suggesting that the city look at ending I-280 at either Cesar Chavez or Alemany as part of a program to expand rail service along the corridor. You can listen to our interview here:

kelly by endorsements2010

Endorsement Interviews

Comments

What an idiot

San Francisco can't demand anything of the UC system - UCSF literally pumps billions of dollars into our local economy through its residents and doctors not to mention the ground-breaking research being done on the hill. With the UC system in crisis why would this fool be demanding that non-profit institutions like the UC system start paying "some sort of fee" in lieu of the property taxes which they're not required to pay?

Tony would fit right into the Board of Supervisors - he knows next-to-nothing about the limits of authority which local government possesses and he has a vastly inflated sense of both his own importance and intelligence.

Posted by Lucretia Snapples on Sep. 05, 2010 @ 7:33 am

UCSF Fair Share agreement

Lucretia, You should look up City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of the California State University. The fact is that the UC systems is mandated by the California Supreme Court to negotiate with communites to cover a share of the cost of local the governmental operations, but if the local government doesn't ask for it, there is no agreementto discuss. Yes, UCSF is a huge economic engine, but pays almost none of the taxes the rest of the City businesses do. No Parking tax, no property tax, no payaroll, etc. Be careful next time you call a well informed person an idiot.

Posted by Guest on Sep. 08, 2010 @ 1:32 pm

Too late

280 gets traffic off of street level and takes traffic off 101, so to promote "environmental justice" the city should tear down 280 so that there is more traffic trying to get through at street level and 101 gets more backed up. When torn down David Campos can complain that he wants 101 removed because of "environmental justice" issues too. Everyone is a victim is SF.

And what corridor does 280 use up? It runs next to third st where there is a rail line, then goes over the industrial area, then it passes over 101 to run close to the Church St train line and past city college that has all sorts of train lines.

???????

Posted by matlock on Sep. 05, 2010 @ 11:02 am

One can usually tell the

One can usually tell the people who don't ride the muni metro or even know what it is. They refer to "train lines" and "rail lines" and "all sorts of train lines." They use train words, rather than just saying the "muni metro" or "J Church metro line." Muni has a nice map of the metro system. From muni's website:

Muni Metro service

The Muni Metro is served by the following lines:

* J Church
* K Ingleside (modified during the St. Francis Circle Rail Replacement Project)
* L Taraval
* M Ocean View (suspended during the St. Francis Circle Rail Replacement Project)
* N Judah
* T Third

These lines are all called the muni metro regardless of whether they are in the subway or at the street level.

The Metro stations (Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, Civic Center, Van Ness, Church, Castro, Forest Hill, and West Portal) are open the following hours:

* Weekdays: 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
* Saturdays: 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.
* Sundays: 8 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Posted by Guest Bárbara Chelsai on Sep. 05, 2010 @ 1:42 pm

this is...

this is one of the most stupid comments I've seen on SFBG.com, and I've seen some pretty stupid ones.

Posted by Guest on Sep. 06, 2010 @ 2:07 am

It would be a crime and a

It would be a crime and a tragedy if you guys don't endorse Tony as your first choice. I also hope you choose James Keys as your first choice for D-6. People desperately need unyielding progressives to counterbalance and anchor the worst inclinations of a conservative David Chiu and to rejuvenate the impotent progressives that currently infest it the board.

Posted by Matt Stewart on Sep. 06, 2010 @ 10:10 am

yes

The board is totally devoid of dreamers right now.

Posted by matlock on Sep. 06, 2010 @ 1:44 pm