Photo by Rink

Openly gay City Treasurer Jose Cisneros was officially sworn in on Jan. 5 in the Rotunda of City Hall, with a reception following. Mayor Gavin Newsom welcomed a standing room only crowd “for a rather formal and festive occasion where we have the great privilege of watching the current treasurer/tax collector of San Francisco extend his tenure for an additional four years.” He joked that he had never seen a more stressed candidate running for office in essence unopposed. “He approached it in the only way he knows how, and that’s with vigor and intensity,” said Newsom. “He made his case decisively and was elected overwhelmingly, and I’m proud of him as I know you all are.”

He gave Supervisor Bevan Dufty the credit for hounding him “day in and day out” to appoint Cisneros to the position originally. Newsom said he had two special privileges in getting to appoint Susan Leal to run the Public Utilities Commission and replace her former position as city treasurer with the appointment of Cisneros. “Those were tough and big shoes to fill, and it was difficult to find someone of her caliber, management acumen, and ability to see around the corner as to things that needed to be done and the challenges ahead,” Newsom said. “I think we made two right choices.” He credited Cisneros with representing “in the broadest sense of the term, the values of San Francisco.” He added, “Here’s a guy that could just be dealing with the dollars and cents of an office and just focusing on the paperwork; but here’s someone that’s gotten out in the community, has worked with real people, and made a real difference in real people’s lives.”

He spoke of the Working Families Tax Credit as something no other city in America has done, and the impact Cisneros’ plan has made on close to 10,000 people—working families “who fall right on the cusp of falling behind the below poverty level.” He said not only did Cisneros distribute the money, but he helped generate the dollars from the private sector—for instance, $1 million from H&R Block and hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wells Fargo and Bank of America—that he personally went out and championed.

“He has done a great job in the past, and he’s going to do a great job in the future,” Newsom concluded. “And the best is yet to come.” He asked Cisneros to raise his right hand and take the oath of his office. They hugged warmly and the audience broke into applause. “We’re going to ask you to say a few words,” said Newsom, and then joked, “I know you’ve cut down 45 minutes of your hour speech.” Cisneros got back at him, kidding, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for that lovely, albeit long introduction.” He thanked everyone present, as well as those who could not be there that afternoon—Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Assemblyman Mark Leno, and Board President Aaron Peskin, as well as members of the gay and Latino communities, and leaders from the labor and business communities. He expressed his deepest gratitude to his partner Mark. “Last year when the mayor swore me in, I began my remarks by reassuring you that I was not a politician,” he said. “Well, I guess I can’t get away with that anymore. However I would like to speak a moment about what we have accomplished in the treasurer’s office.” He said the primary responsibility is to collect the revenue to fund the City’s vital services—health, police, fire, streets, transit, parks and recreation, and more. He said his administration collected more revenue than expected in 2005 and helped cut the City’s budget deficit nearly in half.

He also spoke of the responsibility to manage the City’s investments, and that SF’s investments rank among the highest among the counties in California.

He said he has worked hard to continue to improve customer service, enabling taxpayers to pay on time. The on-time payment rate for property taxes is higher than ever before—approaching 99 percent. “We not only make sure you get your property taxes on time—I know, you can thank me for that later,” he added in jest, “but we’ve also made it easier for people to get their questions answered thoroughly whether they come at us by going online, calling us on the phone, or seeing us in person.” He underscored the importance of “helping the neediest amongst us.” He said when he was first appointed treasurer he saw that many departments offer beneficial and educational programs. “So why not the treasurer’s office?” he had mused. So they partnered with the mayor’s office and others to launch the San Francisco Working Families Credit, helping assure these people received the federal earned income tax credit. He said collectively this year those families received over $20 million in federal funds, much of what they did not receive the year before.

He said, “We are committed to make absolutely sure that all taxpayers pay their fair share, making sure everyone pays everything they owe, because we need it here in San Francisco.” He said they are working closely with the mayor’s office, the Office of Economic Development, and the leaders in Mission Bay to encourage the growth of the City’s biotech industry by “carefully and thoughtfully considering applications for the biotech tax exemption to bring more businesses and more jobs here to San Francisco.”

He said they are focusing on a very serious problem—that of predatory check cashing and payday loan companies, which have grown over 1,000 percent in the last ten years. He is helping coauthor legislation along with the board of supervisors to discourage new businesses of this ilk. “These institutions thrive because we have an estimated 50,000 adults in San Francisco who don’t have any bank account at all,” he said. “For that reason we have launched the Bank on San Francisco Initiative, where we will partner with banks and credit unions to offer the un-banked really, truly affordable banking products, so that they can start to enter the mainstream of financial services.”

He concluded, “As long as I serve you as treasurer, I will work hard to fulfill the responsibilities of the office to the best of my abilities.” He then invited everyone to join him in the Light Court for a reception with coffee, tea, and cupcakes.