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July 15, 2003
Bay Area ANC Meets with SF City Attorney
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(L to R) ANC member Roxanne Makasdjian,
S.F.
Supervisor
Aaron Peskin, SF City Attorney Dennis
Herrera, and ANC members
Commissioner Haig Baghdassarian and Ani Baghdassarian |
San Francisco, July 2, 2002 –
Representatives of the Bay Area Armenian National Committee recently met with
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, expressing their support for his
early achievements in office.
At a fundraising event hosted
by San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin and his wife Nancy to help retire
Herrera’s campaign debt, ANC representatives reiterated their congratulations
for the Supreme Court’s decision on April 28th giving final approval
to San Francisco’s
sale of Mt. Davidson Cross to the Bay Area Armenian-American community. The
Court rejected an appeal by two atheists disputing the legality of the sale. The
decision ended a 13-year legal battle for the preservation of the 103-ft.
landmark, built in 1934 on San Francisco’s highest peak. The cross is used as
an Armenian Genocide memorial, as a gathering place for Easter services, and as
a popular hiking destination open to the public.
The City Attorney expressed his
gratification with the Supreme Court ruling, as well as his intention to counter
any efforts seeking to hinder the right of Armenian-Americans to use the cross
as a memorial to the Armenian Genocide. In a recent trip to Mt. Davidson Cross
with the ANC, Herrera commented on the moving and appropriate character of the
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(L to R) ANC Member Commissioner Haig
Baghdassarian,
SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and ANC members Roxanne
and Ara Makasdjian at the foot of Mt. Davidson Cross, bought and,
used by the local Armenian American community as an Armenian
Genocide memorial |
plaque at the foot of the cross, dedicated to the victims of the Genocide and
all human rights victims.
Herrera has gained a reputation
for his legal efforts
to protect consumers, defend the integrity of public institutions and advance
civil rights, initiating cases against the energy industry, relaxation of clean
air requirements, corporate fraud, corruption in the city’s building department,
and others. On introducing Herrera, Supervisor Peskin said, "Dennis has been
willing to go where you’re not rewarded for going and willing to shake things
up."
"When you’re
out there fighting for the public interest, it’s fiscally responsible and
there’s a tangible economic benefit. People in the business world appreciate
that," said Herrera.
Having previously served in the
Clinton Administration as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Maritime Administration,
Herrera was credited with revitalizing America's shipbuilding industry and
creating jobs in the maritime workforce.
After his Washington tenure, he
served as president of the San Francisco Police Commission where he played a
leading role in reforming Police Department policies, winning praise for his
even-handed adjudication of disciplinary matters. He also served on the San
Francisco Public Transportation Commission, which oversees the city's municipal
railway.
Supervisor
Aaron Peskin, who hosted the event and has as a close working relationship with
the City Attorney, has been the S.F. Board of Supervisors’ most ardent advocate
for Armenian-American issues, particularly in respect to Armenian Genocide
recognition.
Before
becoming city attorney, Herrera was a partner in the San Francisco law firm of
Kelly, Gill, Sherburne & Herrera. He took office as City Attorney in January
2002.
He is married to Anne Herrera. The couple has one son,
Declan, born last year.
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