Posted on 05/07/2003 10:57:40 AM PDT by Exton1
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Roger E. Schulke for Mayor Campaign
For further information contact:
Roger Schulke at (415) 921-8392
Email Roger@RogerForMayor.com
Website: www.RogerForMayor.com
Freeper to Run for Mayor of San Francisco
Long-time San Francisco Resident and Businessman Proposes Common Sense Reforms
San Francisco CA, - May 5, 2003 - Roger E. Schulke, long-time San Francisco resident and local businessman, has announced his candidacy for the office of Mayor of the city of San Francisco. He proposes to concentrate on quality of life issues and make the city more attractive to residents, tourists, and businesses. By emphasizing safer and cleaner city streets, drastically reducing the number of homeless, and encouraging business growth by reducing regulations, residents will benefit with increased jobs and wages. Further, his assessment of the city’s financial condition is that the budget can be brought into balance by streamlining or eliminating duplicative or politically structured departments, without major cuts to essential services.
Mr. Schulke proposes to tackle the number one problem affecting the city’s tourists, businesses, and residents’ quality of life - the homeless. As recently reported on Pacific Research Institute (PRI) website, “For the first time in six years, Travel and Leisure magazine has dropped San Francisco as its favorite U.S. city. Conventioneers (Convention Management) are having second thoughts about holding events in San Francisco. The San Francisco Hotel Council recently sponsored 30 billboards asking city officials to focus on the homeless problem because it is reducing tourism and destroying the quality of life in the city.” His research indicates that the city has no accurate information on either the number of homeless or the total dollar amount spent on them. As Mayor, his first objective will be to institute a means of assessing the number of homeless, and to objectively evaluate and revamp the accounting system to accurately determine the total costs associated with them. This information will be needed to evaluate the effectiveness of homeless solutions, and to make the city better able to keep the indigent population under control in the future. Further he advocates using recommendations by the PRI that will quickly reduce the indigent population by 75%, through the strengthening of residency requirements; drug testing, and requiring both work and counseling for those receiving benefits.
San Francisco’s economy will be hard hit in the next few years unless some major changes take place. Tourism is down drastically, office space vacancy is at 20% (up from 3% in 1999), the city has lost over 10% of its workforce, and unemployment will pass 7%. In addition to lost revenues, the city’s payroll has outpaced the population growth by more than 3 to 1. As of March 21, 2003, the City’s Controller is projecting a $347.2 million budget deficit for Fiscal Year ending 2004.
The practice of raising taxes and cutting city workers, as others have suggested, will be a temporary solution that may have long-term negative consequences. In addition to focusing on Social issues, Mr. Schulke thinks it is now time to expand attention to the critical Business issues needed for the future success of the city.
In order to create the conditions needed for long-term economic growth the voices of the business community need to be heard. Through Mr. Schulke’s long time involvement in San Francisco businesses and his broad business background, he plans to create a coalition of both local business and cultural leaders, who are familiar with the problems facing San Francisco. This Blue Ribbon panel will have a diverse mixture of dedicated people representing the city’s major businesses, including restaurants, hotels, the performing arts, delivery and taxicab companies, retail, designers, and the building trade, among others. The panel’s goal will be to recommend ways of increasing tourism, promoting business growth, and making the city more competitive in attracting and obtaining convention business.
Mr. Schulke has a varied and extensive management background. His experiences run the gamut from high-pressure situations in a military emergency room, regulating financial institutions, creating and managing technical project teams, to managing a company that employed both homeless and challenged individuals. He has consulted to a number of major San Francisco companies, such as Industrial Indemnity, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Pepsi Cola, and Del Monte Foods. Mr. Schulke is currently the owner of Out Landers, an out source computer system management company. His educational background includes an MBA from San Francisco’s Golden Gate University.
Before coming to San Francisco, he spent four years as a Medic in the Air Force during the Viet Nam War, where he worked as an Emergency Room Shift Leader, and was later promoted to managing critical areas of a Medical Clinic in Alaska.
Mr. Schulke believes that his experience in business, and his work with the homeless and the disabled would make him an ideal candidate for San Francisco Mayor. His experiences have given him the skills necessary to make the tough decisions that will be needed to deal with San Francisco’s upcoming budget shortfall, the homeless, and other problems unique to San Francisco.
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But we'll pull for ya, Roger. Go get 'em!
Perhaps SF area freepers can sign up to help out...many hands make light work!
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