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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.27.23 Retreat Meeting Minutes of the Commission on Equity & Public SafetyCity of South San Francisco Minutes of the Commission on Equity and Public Safety Saturday, May 27, 2023 Council Chambers, Municipal Services Building 33 Arroyo Dr., SSF, CA 94080 11:00 am Committee Members: Present: Krystle Cansino, Salvador Delgadillo, PaulaClaudine Hobson-Coard, Arnel Junio, Carol Sanders, Steven Yee Absent: Alan Perez Staff Members: Present: Devin Stenhouse, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Officer Amy Ferguson, Staff Liaison Maryjo Nuñez, Management Fellow Guests: Sharon Ranals, City Manager _____________________________________________________________________________________ CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 11:00am. AGENDA REVIEW No changes to the agenda. Commissioner Yee wanted to share that he thought the agenda would be too tactical/granular at first but now realizes that it’s a nice frame of reference for what they are going to be talking about overall for today. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Minutes from the April 17, 2023, minutes were not approved due and will be placed on for consideration on the June 2023 agenda. ITEMS FROM STAFF MEMBERS 1. Pride Month Announcements Devin shared that on June 10th the San Mateo County Pride Center will be hosting a Pride Event and there will be one in SSF on June 17th for a city-specific one. Chair Cansino also invited to join her in the “Ride for Pride.” 2. Choosing a date for the June meeting Devin also wanted to ask about setting the date for the June meeting as their scheduled meeting would fall on Juneteenth. He asked if we can we motion to have the June 19th meeting to June 20th. Chair Cansino shared that she will not be there on June 20th. The other option she shared was June 12th but mentioned that might be too close considering it will only be two weeks from now till June 12. City Manager Ranals shared that Commissions usually cancel a summer meeting, so this could be an option as well. Amy reminded the Commission that they need to finalize their presentation to Council. Chair Cansino said what if the Commission has a working meeting instead. Devin said that if the 20th does not work, on the 23rd, he will not be here from then until July. Amy reminded the Commission that Chair Cansino created the slides, so it is recommended that she be present at the June meeting. Commissioner Yee thinks the Commission should still move forward, but since Chair Cansino is not here, we will move forward on another topic for June. Chair Cansino still would like the Commission to discuss and provide feedback on her slides as this is supposed to be a group effort. Amy mentioned that there is also a staff report that pulled together everyone’s feedback for their review. Vice Chair Junio proposed that we move forward and have the meeting on June 20th and made the motion. Krystle Cansino seconded the motion. Commissioners can submit comments to staff. Amy would like to submit a Plan B: Tuesday, June 6th, Wednesday June 7th or Thursday June 8th for a special meeting study session; this way we could have more people. The alternative to the 20th should Carol not make it, would be the 6th, however, either date works for Carol, so the June meeting will be on June 20th. Amy Ferguson shared that she would be sad to leave but is excited for the work to come and knows that the Commission will do great things with Devin. Chair Cansino shared that especially since Amy is doing similar work in Oakland, she can chime in on Public Comment. 3. Thank you to Amy Ferguson Maryjo collaborated with the Commission to present Amy with a thank you certificate and gift. The Commissioners shared their warm farewell wishes to Amy and told her to continue joining us as a member of the public. MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION 1. Reading of the Land Acknowledgement Commissioner Hobson-Coard read the Land Acknowledgement. 2. Approval of Minutes The Minutes from the April 17, 2023, minutes were not approved due to and will be placed on for consideration on the June 2023 agenda. 3. Ice Breaker Activity Devin requested that one staff member pair off with one Commissioner answer three questions: 1) where are you from? 2) what’s an activity or hobby you enjoy? 3) what brought you to equity work? The following pairs include: Sharon and PaulaClaudine -Sharon is from Colorado, likes interactive gardening, what brought her to justice/equity work→ rooted in feminism of the 70s and her parental influence of being told that you are not limited to anything because you are a woman. Arnel and Marie -Both are from South City and were even born in the same hospital in Daly City. She likes going to Colusa for her family ranch; also enjoys gardening and flower arrangements. Her husband is half-Samoan and his experience exposed her to justice work. -Arnel is from SSF and went to the Air Force; like motorcycles; married with 2 kids; Flor Nicolas selected him for this work. In the 90s, he had a racist encounter: “go back home.” They also bother share a bucket list item of going to Australia. Steven, Sal, and Devin -Devin: grew up in SSF, had a great appreciation for the diversity esp. when compared to San Ramon, he said he was treated as the “experiment,” which led him to equity work; worked with Parks and Rec; likes to smoke meats; parents were educators, so that also inspired him to keep learning, to stay curious. -Sal: is from SSF, went to all schools in SSF, likes to DIY/watch YouTube for inspiration; father of 2; growing up in downtown SSF exposed him to how seeing his family were not treated with equity, there is a personal aspect, similar to us all. Although San Francisco is a bigger city, there are still stories here worth telling. -Steven: from North Beach, recently moved to SSF; likes to experiment with food and cooking as well; what brought him to equity is that he participated in SSF’s general plan, so that was a good transition for him here. Krystle and Maryjo -Krystle is from Pleasanton/Bayview/Hunters Point but born in Daly City; likes to play music: piano, drums, guitar, bass, even sax, and video games: Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild; her experience with her dad got her interested with equity work, and the cultural phrase of “Bahala Na” (in English, “It is what it is”) but these past two years have seen Filipinos in Mayor and Vice Mayor in both SSF and Daly City, so now it is interesting seeing Filipinos are getting civically involved. Commissioner Sanders shared how she sees how this cultural aspect plays out in Skyline’s Student Government and recommends that the Commission watch the Tupac documentary. City Manager Ranals shared how she also notices that Mayor Nicolas is traditionally Filipino in her mayorship as well as she sees her family in all that she does. -Maryjo: from SSF; likes to play piano, gets boba with friends, likes video games; interested in equity work due to her uncle. The Chair also shared that video games are useful for those with PTSD as it’s removing the emotional charge from their trauma. Carol and Amy -Carol: from Florida; went to the Air Force; going to grad school in the fall; likes sailing, martial arts, going to the gym, softball, hiking; taken in community cats; was interested in equity work by participating in student government at the University of Florida, believes that must be part of the system to change the system. -Amy: is from Massachusetts/New Hampshire area, likes to go to queer events, watch movies, go to the gym; Amy took an anthropology course in undergrad about racism which opened her eyes to how society functions and later pursued a Master’s Degree in Public Policy with a focus on equity; worked for some nonprofits in the East Coast, then moved here and loves it and feels she has a market to implement the skills she has learned. 4. Equity Refresher Presentation and Activity from Amy Ferguson Amy shared that the topics that to be discussed are difficult, but needs to be done to do justice work, healing work, anti-oppression work. Data on Demographics in SSF -There have been more Asians and Latinos moving in. -Income Averages in the community are varied, already there are disparities -Asians are 13% of mental health calls, despite making 41% population -Hispanic is 33% and 33% of population -White is 33% and 20% of population -Black is 14% and 2% of population Chair Cansino shared that it’s important to note who is calling, because with San Francisco, usually with black and brown kids, it’s the schools vs white folks are family members. Overview on Equality/Equity/Justice Justice framework→ remove the barrier → if want to close gaps, need to go beyond equality. DEI is about making that everyone can access opportunity; the equity portion is especially important because that can change conditions for people who need it Commissioner Yee asked about the inclusion of “belonging” to DEI. Amy shared the belonging is a step further than inclusion because it about making sure your voice is not just included, but respected. Devin shared that the belonging perspective involving the City is having folks involved in the planning process, and that there is a vision of already being set in the fabric; idea that not having to be in a situation that have to address inequity. Commissioner Sanders shared that it’s similar to having a club card but being able to use it yet but being invited to participate. Vice Chair Junio shared that belonging is a vested interest; if you belong somewhere, then you will feel that. He brought up the example of the military: they all come together in belonging. There is an emotional component to belonging and there is a driving factor in coming. Tasked that people will want to belong and stay in SSF, the issue is growing as a city which ties into the equities, because how we grow takes fiscal management and there is inequity there. Sharon shared that with her club example, she thinks of agenda setting. You have to have representation of the council to be able to bring up the topics that you want to see. The power comes in setting the agenda, not just providing feedback to the agenda. Commissioner Yee shared that if we don’t have that community component, then there is no point. 1) Interpersonal Racism—this is what people usually think of when they think of racism: it involves acts of bigotry or discrimination on the basis of race as it requires a racist individual and/or racist beliefs 2) Institutional Racism – lead to racist outcomes; does NOT require a racist individual and/or racist beliefs, refers to the ways that many organizational, governmental, or corporate entities develop/have policies and practices that produce unequal outcomes within that institution 3) Systemic Racism – how racial disparities do not remain isolated within a single institution but rather spreads throughout an entire system and become a broad problem such as healthcare or criminal justice system or education 4) Structural Racism – encompasses all the other forms of racism; helps us understand the present effects of past racist actions/systems Good to think about racism as not just as individuals but as systems Commissioner Hobson-Coard shared that in order to feel belonging, you need to feel included and valued. Why we lead with race Race is baked into our systems in a way that no other oppressions come to is in class, education, disabilities, sexual orientation Intersectionality: class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, disability, age, primarily language, educational level, veterans’ status, etc. Government has a role in (In)Equity -redlining -Chair Cansino shared that redlining is still happening in San Mateo County Commissioner Yee shared that one of the comments for the General Plan—he was previously a commissioner with the development of the General Plan—was how do we honor the history of SSF as we grow. There could be residual elements based on race. -government has a role in undoing inequity Current Efforts in Government Federal Level -Biden’s Executive Order, Racial Equity Action Plans in federal agencies State Level -CA Commission on Reparations What commissions can do for Equity: -evaluate policies Equity Lens Examples -Oakland Paving Plan: not just looking at the areas that need to be paved but where those areas are… ex: if poor person gets a flat tire, is a big issue vs. if a rich person gets a flat tire, that is not so much -Promotores: provide resources that people need→ connect them to resources; support undocumented residents even -Meeting accessibility: having agendas ready in other languages -SSF Commission on Racial and Social Equity Questions for Equity -Who is being served -Can working people attend your meetings? Is there childcare or food provided? -who has a seat at the table in developing this program/policy?