Mayor Ed Lee wants to take you to coffee, hear your thoughts about the city--and he’s even paying!
April 21 is your next chance to give the man in charge of the city a piece of your mind all over a lovely cup of joe.
On March 10, the mayor instituted monthly coffee chats and weekly town halls with regular San Franciscans in order to hear the public’s opinion on the budget and other issues affecting the city.
“We need to hear directly from our residents about the issues that matter most to them,” said Lee in a statement. “We must build a balanced budget that not only ensures that San Franciscans get the city services they need, but one that will set the City on a steady course to fiscal solvency."
Lee isn’t the first San Francisco mayor to sit down his local residents. Gavin Newson tried out the same thing (just insert police stations rather than coffee houses), and Willie Brown preceded him with a similar open-door meeting policy.
Lee even takes a leaf out of President Obama’s book, planning to hold a lunchtime digital Town Hall using Google+. Specific dates for that particular event have yet to be released.
For a cozy coffee date with the mayor, San Francisco residents can call 311 and leave their name, contact information, and a brief description of the issues they want to discuss. Participants will be selected at random and notified of their appointment the Thursday before the meeting. Meetings are scheduled to be about two hours and include 12 or more people at a time.
Pick which date works best for you, and get excited to chit-chat with the city's highest official over a nice caramel macchiato:
- Saturday, April 21, 2012 – District 6
- Saturday, May 19, 2012 – District 1
- Saturday, June 9, 2012 – District 8 & 9
- Saturday, July 14, 2012 – District 10
- Saturday, September 15, 2012 – Districts 4 & 7
- Saturday, October 13, 2012 – District 5
Or if a Town Hall is more your style:
Districts 5 & 6 with Supervisors Christina Olague & Jane KimThursday, March 29, 2012 (6:00 – 7:30 p.m.)Tenderloin Community School, 627 Turk Street
Districts 8 & 9 with Supervisors Scott Wiener & David CamposWednesday, April 4, 2012 (6:30 – 8:00 p.m.)Horace Mann Middle School, 3351 23rd Street
Districts 2 & 3 with Supervisors Mark Farrell & David ChiuMonday, April 9, 2012 (6:00 – 7:30 p.m.)Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, 660 Lombard Street
Districts 4 & 7 with Supervisors Carmen Chu & Sean ElsberndSaturday, April 14, 2012 (10 – 11:30 a.m.)San Francisco Zoo, 1 Zoo Road
Districts 1 & 5 with Supervisors Eric Mar & Christina OlagueWednesday, April 25, 2012 (6 – 7:30 p.m.)County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park
District 10 & 11 with Supervisors Malia Cohen & John AvalosSaturday, April 28, 2012 (10 – 11:30 a.m.)City Arts and Technology High School, 325 La Grande Avenue