Racist San Francisco Considers Axing Elections Director for Being a White Man

[zinn]

The San Francisco Elections Commission is considering terminating its
contract with its elections director John Arntz—one of the city's most
highly esteemed civil servants—citing concerns about "racial equity."
Arntz, who is white, will need to reapply next year if he wants to keep
his job.

The commission voted 4-2 last week to "open a competitive search" for
Arntz's position, which he has held for two decades, rather than to renew
his contract automatically, Cynthia Dai, a member of the commission, told
the Washington Free Beacon. That decision, Dai said, was "driven in large
part by the city's plan for racial equity," which requires all departments
and commissions to address internal racial disparities.

"It's hard to achieve diversity targets if senior roles never open up,"
said Dai, who voted in favor of the search process. "This has nothing to
do with his performance."

The vote by the commission, whose members are appointed rather than
elected, sparked pushback from elected officials, who credit Arntz with
cleaning up a broken system. Before Arntz took the helm, San Francisco's
chief attorney David Chiu (D.) told Mission Local, a San Francisco-based
newspaper, the city "had five directors in as many years, ballot boxes
floating in the bay, and an intense lack of confidence in city elections."

San Francisco mayor London Breed (D.) went so far as to imply that the
commission was putting free and fair elections at risk. "John Arntz has
served San Francisco with integrity [and] professionalism and has stayed
completely independent," Breed told Mission Local. "He's remained
impartial and has avoided getting caught up in the web of city politics,
which is what we are seeing now as a result of this unnecessary vote."

Aaron Peskin (D.), a member of the city's board of supervisors, called the
commission's decision "malfeasance."

The divide between elected officials and the elections commission is a
variation on a familiar theme: From discriminatory hiring programs in
corporate America to the race-based rationing of COVID drugs, progressive
identity politics have advanced faster through unelected bureaucracies
than through democratic channels, where the public typically vetoes overt
racialism.

That's true even in liberal bastions like California, where voters have
overwhelmingly rejected affirmative action. And in February, more than 70
percent of San Francisco voters supported the recall of school board
members who dismantled merit-based admissions to Lowell High School, the
city's most academically rigorous public school, in an effort to diversify
its student body. In June, the board reinstated the old admissions system.

Though Californians have consistently rejected identitarian policies, they
have also created cover for them: San Francisco's racial equity plan,
which motivated the commission's vote, was created by the very same
elected officials who say Arntz's ouster would be a disaster for the city.

Breed signed a law in 2019 mandating the development of a citywide "racial
equity framework," which all departments, including the Election
Commission, are required to follow. The law was cosponsored by Peskin, the
member of the board of supervisors who called the commission decision
"malfeasance"—and who in 2020 said the new framework would "make our city
more just."

Before becoming San Francisco's chief attorney, Chiu introduced a similar
law while serving as a representative in the California State Assembly.
The bill, which is working its way through the legislature, would create
an "Office of Racial Equity" tasked with closing racial disparities
throughout the state government.

California has prohibited affirmative action in government hiring since
1996. If Arntz is still the most qualified candidate after a competitive
search, Dai said, he will have his contract renewed.

Published under: Anti-Racism, Election Law, Equity, Identity Politics,
Racism, San Francisco, woke

https://freebeacon.com/democrats/san-francisco-considers-axing-elections-
director-for-being-a-white-man/