Thursday, April 7, 2022

Last night, the Elections Commission took the unprecedented step of considering the removal of their three appointees to the Redistricting Task Force. Though the Commission worked tirelessly in a transparent, thorough, and democratic process to appoint Raynell Cooper, Chasel Lee, and Ditka Reiner to the Task Force, the same Commission may now throw them out, in the face of meritless accusations and attacks on their character. We condemn this action wholeheartedly.

By honoring a Constitutional duty to redraw district lines every 10 years, to reflect the true population & diversity of our communities, these individuals have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time and are sitting through meetings running into the early morning as they faithfully execute the difficult task in front of them. In light of significant population growth in two historically underprivileged parts of the City, this redistricting process always promised to be difficult, something the Task Force stated in public meetings repeatedly. Understandably, not everyone is happy with the draft maps, but Task Force members are carrying out their duty to create fair districts that are proportioned within the bounds of the law.

To cast aspersions at the end of the process about their motivations is a tactic we’ve seen deployed by Republicans across the country, again and again, designed to undermine the public’s faith in the process. It is dangerous to attack norms that erode the public trust, and frankly, such maneuvers should have no place in San Francisco.

At a time when our democracy is under attack nationwide, we, as Democrats, must stand against these efforts to bully public servants into changing the rules in order to achieve the desired outcome of one side or another. We cannot allow this erosion of norms to happen. As San Franciscans, we condemn these kinds of undemocratic attacks when they happen elsewhere. We cannot ignore them in our own city.

Signed by:

1. District 2 Democratic Club
2. Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club
3. Chinese American Democratic Club
4. Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club

Can you give public comment at the Elections Commission? We need to turn out and show our support for the process.

Elections Commission Special Meeting
Friday, April 8, 2022 1:30 PM
Agenda (PDF)