City Hall Digest: School Board Scrutinizes Selection Process for Parent Advisory Council and New Legislation to Ban Cannabis Dispensaries

City Hall Digest is TogetherSF Action’s weekly dispatch from San Francisco’s City Hall, broken into bite-sized pieces—because understanding local government is your fundamental right.

School Board Scrutinizes Selection Process for Parent Advisory Council, Tainted by Accusations of Anti-Chinese Sentiment

Last week, the Board of Education made headlines as an item laden with controversy and divisive political history came before them. The item, on its face, does not sound too complex—the board was to approve a slate of seven parents nominated to join the Parent Advisory Council (PAC). 

However, the controversy lies in the fact that concerns had been raised for months that the selection process for these potential candidates purposefully excluded Chinese parents. The motive here by the existing members of PAC was to prevent it from becoming more focused on academics and student outcomes. Ultimately, leadership by Commissioner Lainie Motamedi kicked the approvals back to a phase where they can be much more thoroughly scrutinized to make sure the PAC’s selection process did not violate any HR or legal rules at the local and state levels. The board voted 6 to 1 (with Kevine Boggess dissenting) to approve Motamedi’s motion. 

First, let’s give some context on what the PAC is and does. Generally, the PAC is a group of parents who relay their concerns and insights to the school district on a regular basis to help guide district decision making. There’s room for about 15 total people on San Francisco Unified School District’s PAC—but currently there are just five people on it. There’s always extra room for more people on it because the work is tedious, technical, and unpaid. 

In other metropolitan districts, PACs are overseen by district staff—but in San Francisco, the PAC is overseen by the Board of Education which creates a more ideologically-driven and political environment. Remember, this is the same body that made negative headlines two years ago when gay father Seth Brenzel was denied from serving on the PAC by the Board of Education because he was a white male. 

Next, let’s get into the actual decision by the Board of Education. The PAC had selected a slate of candidates—their goal was to get board approval. Board president Kevine Boggess introduced the item for approval, as he wanted to move ahead with greenlighting the PAC’s selections. 

Motamedi then made a motion to decline the approval, which was predicated on deeper research into the issues with a three-step process, including: thorough HR, Legal and Superintendent review of the PAC nomination process; possible racially motivated practice and deficiencies in the process; and how the PAC would be managed going forward after consulting California Department of Education (EdCode). 

It wasn’t a totally smooth process, though, as Commissioner Alida Fisher tried to derail the motion by asking to extend this three-step process to each of the 17 advisory committees that advise the district on various aspects of education. Fisher’s request was firmly rejected, though, which left Boggess as the lone objector to the increased scrutiny. 

With the item passed, we’re glad to see Motamedi’s leadership prevail, and hope to see that the PAC selection process continues in a more transparent and in a way that isn’t so petty.

Board of Supervisors Call for District Attorney to Release Video of Banko Brown Shooting

In our last edition of City Hall Digest, we discussed the shooting of Banko Brown and subsequent demand from the public that arose for the release of a videotape that exists of the incident. We spoke to the fact that doing so poses risks for the strength of the District Attorney’s case, and also that it had the potential to bias people who see the video one way or another. 

The discourse on evidence of the shooting between our elected officials that has unfolded since then has been decidedly political, with barbs being traded publicly between members of the Board of Supervisors and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. For instance, Supervisor Shamann Walton sent a letter of inquiry to Jenkins asking for her to release the video. Jenkins fired back with a pointed letter of her own in which she argued that Walton’s “interference” was dangerous and had legal ramifications. 

This back-and-forth continued last week when the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling on Jenkins to release the video. Strong words also came from Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who at one point during the meeting reminded his colleagues that the Board does have the power to subpoena records—a veiled threat and escalation in the verbal skirmish between the board and District Attorney. 

If we step back from the politics of it for a second, it’s worth appreciating the human aspect of the vote—the supervisors each spoke to express their condolences to Brown’s friends and family, who were all in the audience. Supervisor Catherine Stefani, a vocal anti-gun violence advocate, was moved to tears when apologizing to Brown’s family that they joined the thousands of families nationwide who are impacted by firearms. Supervisor Matt Dorsey said that, while he didn’t know Brown, he was impressed by what he had heard of Brown’s activism in the LGBTQ community. 

As of yesterday, the video and other evidence of the shooting has been released and DA Jenkins has decided not to pursue charges against Anthony. People have applied their own perspectives to the incident and the discourse is unfolding in real time. 

Supervisor and Mayoral Candidate Announces Legislation to Ban Cannabis Dispensaries

Last Monday, May 9, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí announced that he would be challenging Mayor London Breed in the 2024 election cycle for mayor. Safaí says he has received encouragement to run and that he is a viable candidate. However, he faces a steep road ahead of him, particularly with public opinion of both the Board of Supervisors and Mayor at telling lows, as well as an incumbent opponent with an impressive sum of money in her campaign account and ability to fundraise, in addition to not having a clearly defined opponent from her left. 

At his first Board of Supervisors meeting after announcing, Safaí introduced a piece of legislation which would ban new cannabis dispensaries in the city—apparently aimed at currying favor with Asian voters who constitute a major bloc of voters with considerable electoral power. (Cannabis dispensaries are highly divisive in the Chinese community.) The legislation would be permanent, as there is no sunset date in the first proposed draft. 

It’s potentially a beneficial electoral move—but not quite one that inspires confidence in someone seeking to run a city facing a $700 million-plus budget deficit over two years, spiking drug overdose deaths, and cratering office occupancy rates. The city is facing enormous obstacles right now and needs leadership with forward-thinking policies and practical solutions—not performative policies that fail to move the needle on any of our key issues. 

TogetherSF Action is making advocating for an end to the drug epidemic in San Francisco a top priority this year. Our first step? Flooding inboxes at City Hall. We need thousands of concerned San Franciscans to send letters to their leaders demanding they end open-air drug markets in 2023. Are you in?