Member Mike Alonso of the Redistricting Task Force talked about the experiences of the Task Force and the public so far, fielded numerous questions and comments, and strongly urged audience members to show up at the Task Force community outreach meetings. Every meeting concerns redistricting the whole city, so come to meetings outside your own District. They want to hear from you, and they change their working draft maps after every meeting.

Scheduled Task Force Meetings:
Sat Feb 11, 2pm: Washington High School, 600 32nd Ave, District 1
Fri Feb 17, 3pm: Room 416, City Hall
Thurs Feb 23, 6pm: Old First Presbyterian Church, 1751 Sacramento St, D3
Thurs Mar 1, 6pm: Everett Middle School, 450 Church St, D8
Wed Mar 7, 6pm: Room 406, City Hall
Mon Mar 12, 6pm: West Portal School, 5 Lenox Way, D7
Sat Mar 17, 10am: Ella Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister St, D5
Thurs Mar 22, 6pm: United Irish Cultural Center, 2600 45th Ave, D4
Thurs March 29, 6pm, City Hall
Wed Apr 4, 6pm, Room 406, City Hall
Thurs Apr 5, 6pm, location TBD
Mon Apr 9, 6pm, location TBD
Wed Apr 11, 6pm, location TBD
Sat Apr 14, 10am, location TBD

Deadline to submit proposed city-wide maps: Friday, March 2, 2012
Deadline to submit proposed District/maps/recommendations: March 29, 2012

PHDC officers elected for 2012:
President: Joni Eisen
1st VP Membership: Monisha Mustapha
2nd VP Political Action: Emily Lowe
Secretary: J.R. Eppler
Treasurer: Hilary Cohen
Web Master: Rebecca Shearin

WHEN: Tuesday,February 7, 7pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St

It really was a lively and informative evening! All seven candidates were in top form. There were four rounds of candidates asking questions of other candidates, plus opening and closing statements. Each round had a particular subject:
• Creating Careers for San Franciscans (Jobs, the Economy)
• Preventing Cuts to Our Services (Budget, Transit, Parks)
• Keeping Families Here (Housing, Schools)
• Supporting Livable Neighborhoods (Health, Safety)
Candidates had 3 bonus minutes each, which they used when they felt compelled to give a longer answer, to rebut someone else’s words, or to lengthen a closing statement. The debate was co-sponsored with Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association. Both Linda Post and Cris Rys shot videos of the proceedings. Find Linda’s here, and Cris’s here.

Participating candidates were (above, left to right) Terry Baum, Bevan Dufty, Michela Alioto-Pier, Dennis Herrera, David Chiu, Joanna Rees, John Avalos. Photo by Linda Post. Boosters President Tony Kelly moderated. Find out more about the candidates:
Candidate questionnaires as submitted
Candidates’ responses to each question side-by-side (recommend opening in Firefox).

At the end of the evening, audience members who thought they could answer the question, “Who won the debate?” voted in a straw poll. Here are the the results:
Dennis Herrera – 30%
Terry Baum – 17%
David Chiu – 17%
John Avalos – 16%
Bevan Dufty – 10%
Joanna Rees – 6%
Michela Alioto-Pier – 4%

When: Tuesday, August 30, 6:30 – 9pm.
Where: International Studies Academy, 655 De Haro St