JUSTICE CRIES TO HIGH HEAVEN THE SFPUC CANNOT DISCERN

This is San Francisco and there is no doubt when one adjudicates real cases with real people we see the worst type of discrimination all over this City and County of San Francisco. In years gone by the Ohlone the First People of San Francisco and the Bay Area were hated and killed. Up until 1924 anyone - mostly Whites could kill a Native American - no questions asked. What is more the Governor of California passed out edicts encouraging the slaughter of the First People of California? $5 and $10 were offered for a scalp no questions asked. Through the years from the early 1770s we have seen the Italians, the Irish, the Chinese, the Blacks discriminated against in turns. The Japanese were rounded up and put into camps just because they were Japanese and no one cared about them being Americans first. This land was stolen from the Native Americans and therein lies the paradox. In recent years we have been observing the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and we have seen rampant discrimination at the work place. While it may seem odd that we are trying to compare past national trends of discrimination against thousands of innocent people and make a link with the SFPUC policies - the point is that the SFPUC cannot discern and has chosen to stay put and hold on to its discriminatory practices and policies - feign ignorance and resort to a carte blanche policy of " we really do not know who the culprit really is?" This policy will NOT stand the test of them and if the SFPUC is not sincere it will fail. The point we are discussing are a very serious number of Hangman Nooses were found at the China Basin, Oceanside Plant, North Point Facility, - all aimed at Blacks. At the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant - a racial slur "Porch Monkies" written on a pipe in a locked compressor room. The SFPUC has put out a letter: " Descriptions of Action Taken" with no date and no signature. It says the letter was prepared in July 2004. The SFPUC purports to have spent over $100,000 by hiring professional investigators and my bet is that most of them were White. To date we have no police report or what we term an " incident report" even though these horrid incidents took place 2 years ago. I hope Chief Heather Fong and Deputy Chief Gregory Suhr will look into this matter. You may contact Mr. Tony Winnicker at 934-5733 and Mr. Tony Winnicker is the Director of Communication and works for the SFPUC. This report and some other pertinent documentation would help the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, hopefully the San Francisco Ethics Commission - but more the fair-minded constituents of San Francisco and the SF Board of Supervisors. At the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force meeting held December 21, 2004 at 4 p.m. the matter about the " Hangman's Noose" left much to be desired and the outcome was very painful. Majorie Ann Williams one of those members sitting on the SF Sunshine Ordinance Task Force has been involved in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for over 30 years at the Presidio of San Francisco. I too have been involved in the EEO, with the Equal Employment Commission, the Merit System Promotion Board, and various Union organizations acting as a mediator and facilitator. Today I am an advocate on Environmental Issues which always tie with human beings and all that adversely impacts them. Mrs. Majorie Ann Williams was trained well and asked the most pertinent question - " what have you (SFPUC) done to make the incident go away and to make those who were impacted whole?" The dialog that followed after this question was asked totally shocked the SF Sunshine Ordinance Task Force with the exception of one member Mr. David Pipel. The SFPUC did not have a model in place to orient and resolve any future such EEO complaints. If one takes any working EEO model the SFPUC does not have the ability to address such adverse actions - god forbid an adverse discrimination takes place today, tomorrow or in the future within the SFPUC. The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act in matters so serious allow the free disclosure of information pertaining to all aspects of this and other cases involving serious discrimination. These are very serious cases and such cases have gone to the Supreme Court. If these cases are taken to any Court the SFPUC will lose. There is no doubt about that - the SFPUC is playing with fire and asking for trouble. No San Francisco City Attorney following the City Charter and proven laws and regulations followed by our City and County of San Francisco will mandate that pertinent information linked to these very serious discrimination cases involving the " Hangman's Noose" should not be given to any legal Task Force such as the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. In this case the SFPUC tried to hide behind one City Attorney who has written a 5 page letter that states that revealing the contents of this serious case to the SF Sunshine Ordinance Task Force will compromise SFPUC. For whatever this letter stands for and whatever may have been the intent of this one City Attorney - it does not do justice to the system of judicial prudence and will be defeated in any Court of Law. I have encountered such diabolical logic before and following these SFPUC cases for the last 2 years having testified several times before the San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioners I know for a fact what I am talking about. Here again it is very difficult for Whites to put themselves in the shoes of Blacks who are traumatized by such a symbol which in the past stood for lynching, hanging, mockery, hate, burning, stoning, bleeding to death - the worst nightmare at the hands of a mob dying to kill - most of the times an innocent human being. What we are talking about are innocent human beings in today world not the past world of ignorance. I could give you many examples but today we have two women both of them are Black and both of them had over 20 years of service at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Today both these women are out of a job. Both of them fell prey to discrimination and constant taunting at the work place - one worked at the Oceanside Plant and the other worked at the Phelps Raw Sewage Treatment Plant in the Southeast Sector. Both these Black women I have met and both these Black women who once were healthy and worked - today are adversely impacted by their traumatic experiences all linked to discrimination and hatred within the two SFPUC facilities. This is a crying shame. Let us all ask ourselves what will make these two Black women and others who have suffered the same plight - whole? What has SFPUC done to make them whole? What model linked to any EEO program does the SFPUC have in place to make anyone who is adversely impacted whole? What type of basic orientation has been given to the Managers and the employees at SFPUC to fully comprehend and practice daily to make all employees feel free and able to do their jobs without any intimidation? I can tell you today many fear the present Director of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Susan Leal. She thinks no end to herself. She has surrounded herself with like-minded people who push her policies that will bring her downfall. I have been monitoring this woman when she was a Board Supervisor, as Treasurer, during the Mayoral Elections, at the BCDC meetings, at the SFPUC meetings - I could go on and on. Good leaders know the way, show the way and go the way! Susan Leal does not know the way, cannot show the way, and will lead all no where. I had a frank talk with Mr. Tony Winnicker - I met him in person for the first time. He is the Director of Communications. I am willing to sit with him and the Director of Human Services and discuss some historical and pertinent issues in the Southeast Sector. My intention is to educated these two folks about some pertinent facts that cannot be discussed at any open hearing because of the lack of time and focus of the stated agenda at any public meeting. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and understand what is means to be a person of color. My long years working for the Department of Defense allows me to adjudicate - I had practical experience working in Training, Civilian Personnel Office, Congressional Liaison to the 12 Western States of America, many years as a trained Workman's Compensation Specialist, Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist and Counselor and list goes on. Bottom line I have handled hundreds of cases and helped brings about concrete solutions and resolutions. The SFPUC lacks leadership and the sincerity that adjudication brings. Right now most Blacks at SFPUC do not feel comfortable. In fact the Asians do not. They will not tell that to Susan Leal who is a Latina but acts as if she is not. To the many Whites who are very pompous in their attitude. These folks must simply remember our taxes pay their salaries. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has failed miserably to follow the Brown Act and the Sunshine Ordinance. I know this for a fact. It is important that Ed Harrington and Harvey Rose play an important role in first auditing all aspects of the SFPUC. Again and again one will find out there is NO Accountability and Transparency. I have read one audit and commend Mr. Rose and Mr. Harrington. God speed please complete the rest as soon as possible. The SFPUC is poised to spend over $4 billion as the lead agency. We would like to see an Environmental Impact Report with time lines. We would like to see the SFPUC focus on the mandate and the proposition that ordered the SFPUC to deal with the Hetch Hetchy system in case of a major earthquake. No where did the constituents request the SFPUC to expand the system. Right now if we have an earthquake - a major one near the Calavares Dam - all of Fremont will be flooded. Other dams have cracks and millions of gallons are leaking. The over 900 miles of pipes we have in our City and County of San Francisco are old and leaking. We need Blacks, Asians, Whites, others to work together to do the bidding of the constituents and the money that was put in place through the Bond Measure for good measure. We need a holistic approach not only to help SFPUC workers and the constituents of the Bay Area that are the beneficiaries of the Hetch Hetchy system but to the whole world. Remember the water is holy and pristine if you understand the source. The waters belong to the Miwok and were used as a ritual. It is important to have this holistic approach. When you mix greed, pride with arrogance - the mind is confused. The soul panting and remorseful. The physical body is not capable of making the right decisions. I have seen such fools before fall down and never make any right choice or implementation. Our drinking water should not be mixed. The SFPUC is hurting today more then it was yesterday under Patricia Martel. Mayor Gavin Newsom made a choice for all the wrong reasons. No one saw any announcement. No one has read the special contract linked to Susan Leal's job - $300,000 plus in these times of fiscal constraints. How dare such adjudications be thrown at our faces and we the constituents who pay taxes told to look the other way - how many crooks are making hay while the sun shines. Today it is becoming the norm to follow the abnormal. Uneducated fools lead certain departments - the SFPUC needs a seasoned engineering not one that has the experience of getting most of money from the Assessor's Office and forks out money from some crooks who do not pay City taxes. That any food can. Justice cries to high heaven and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission cannot discern.

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