Please join FWN in honoring San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee in a petition to name the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) after him.
Mayor Lee was a great friend to the Filipina Women's Network. For many years, when we held the Filipina Summit in San Francisco, he welcomed our members and FWN100 awardees with open arms to his beloved City.
Please download and sign the Petition form (link) and encourage at least five other supporters to sign it. Then scan or take a picture of your petition form, and email it to filipina{at}ffwn.org no later than May 4, 2018.
The late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee welcomed the FWN Board, FWN100 awardees, members and distinguished guests from around the world at the Filipina Leadership Global Summits held in San Francisco over the years.
The unexpected passing of Mayor Ed Lee was devastating to our community. As a civil rights leader, Mayor Lee inspired all of us with his quiet dignity and gritty determination to lift up all of our residents.
He led the City, first through one of the nation’s worst recessions and then through an unprecedented time of growth and change. As he steered the City away from fiscal disaster and toward solvency, he made sure no one was left behind. He saw to it that the wealth and prosperity of the City helped working families, immigrants and marginalized communities.
The late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee welcomed the FWN Board, FWN100 awardees, members and distinguished guests from around the world at the Filipina Leadership Global Summits held in San Francisco over the years.
His accomplishments were many, but because of his humble demeanor, we in the community feel that he didn’t get the credit he was due. We’d like to properly acknowledge all that Mayor Lee did for us now by naming the International Terminal at San Francisco International Airport after Mayor Edwin Mah Lee.
Why? Mayor Lee inherited double digit unemployment, a nearly half billion-dollar city budget deficit and out of control pension costs that threatened to swamp the city’s budget for generations. Ed Lee rolled up he sleeves and got to work. During his tenure, we reformed our pension system, created more than 140,000 jobs reducing unemployment to all-time lows, and, for the first time in decades, the City saw budget surpluses.
When the economy roared back, Mayor Lee made sure that all boats were lifted, directing resources to address issues like affordable housing, homelessness and income inequality. His targeted strategies on housing resulted in an unprecedented pipeline of affordable housing and he oversaw a housing expansion not seen since the last century.
He helped raise the minimum wage for working families, made historic investments in our public schools and rebuilt our City’s public housing. And, as the country saw a cruel reawakening of an era of anti-immigrant and anti-LGBT sentiment, and a steady attack on our San Francisco values, Mayor Lee stepped up and reaffirmed San Francisco as a place that would protect and welcome all.
As a champion of civil rights and a leader who embodied San Francisco values, we can think of no other fitting honor than to name San Francisco International Airport’s International Terminal after Mayor Ed Lee. We ask the San Francisco Airport Commission for their full support.
Mayor Ed Lee's accomplishments re SFO:
- Celebrated SFO as San Francisco’s international gateway to the world.
- Championed SFO’s major capital investments with the endorsement of its multi-billion dollar capital plans that included the new air traffic control tower, Terminal 1 redevelopment, Terminal 3 renovations, International Terminal improvements, airfield runway safety and improvement projects, the AirTrain extension, core utility infrastructure improvements, the on-airport hotel, and many more of the projects that make SFO the world-class airport it is today.
- Enabled seven straight years of rapid passenger growth, with support for more than $5 billion in annual capital improvement budgets between FY2012 and FY2018.
- Endorsed SFO as a major driver of economic activity in the City and the region, even from his earliest days as mayor, anticipating SFO’s tremendous economic impact of $8. 4 billion in business activity and over 42, 000 direct jobs created in FY2017 alone.
- Encouraged San Francisco’s connection to other countries and cultures as SFO established new non-stop flight service to destinations as far-reaching as Abu Dhabi, Guangzhou, Istanbul, and Manila during his mayoral term.
- Expanded San Francisco’s role as a global gateway with international economic development initiatives like the Sister City program, ChinaSF, and Latin SF, which promoted San Francisco and the opportunities available in the city and Bay Area to attract businesses and travelers from around the world.
- Established the Startup in Residence startup partnership program, which developed the smartphone app and beacon system that makes it easier for visually impaired passengers to navigate SFO.
- Heralded the establishment of the innovative and collaborative #Converge@flySFO space in the international terminal dedicated to the groundbreaking new ideas that make San Francisco the Innovation Capital of the World.
- Publicly recognized and bolstered SFO’s commitment to sustainable design, including the opening of the first LEED Gold terminal in the world in 2011 – Terminal 2 – and the LEED Gold Air Traffic Control Tower.
- Endorsed and broke ground on construction of the Grand Hyatt at SFO to reflect San Francisco’s spirit of innovation, as well as its commitment to thoughtful design and sustainability, from the moment passengers step off the plane.
- Connected SFO to be able to meet the workforce development needs of San Francisco’s residents and the city’s demand for construction labor with the expansion of the CityBuild Academy.
- Supported SFO’s values to serve the local community as well as the millions of travelers who pass through the airport each year with leadership and Commissioner appointments who would deliver on that mission.
Please download and sign the Petition form (link) and encourage at least five other supporters to sign it. Then scan or take a picture of your petition form, and email it to filipina{at}ffwn.org no later than May 4, 2018.