LWV League of Women Voters of California
Smart Voter
San Francisco County, CA March 5, 2002 Election
Proposition C
Non-U. S. Citizen Commission Participation
City of San Francisco
Charter Amendment - Majority Vote Required

4,946 / 23.17% Yes votes ...... 16,396 / 76.83% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions
Information shown below: Summary | Fiscal Impact | Yes/No Meaning | Arguments |

Shall the City permit individuals who are not U. S. citizens to serve on San Francisco boards, commissions and advisory bodies?

Summary Prepared by San Francisco Department of Elections Voters Information Pamphlet:
THE WAY IT IS NOW: As a general rule, members of City boards, commissions and advisory bodies must be regis-tered to vote in San Francisco. This means they must be at least eighteen years old, U. S. citizens, and San Francisco residents.

If the board, commission or advisory body was created by a provision of the City Charter, the Charter may create exceptions to the age, citizenship, and residency requirements.

If the board, commission or advisory body was created by Board of Supervisors legislation, exceptions can be made to the age and residency requirements. Exceptions cannot be made to the citizenship requirements.

THE PROPOSAL: Proposition C is a Charter amendment that would permit the City to make exceptions to the citizenship, age and residency requirements for all City boards, commissions, and advisory bodies.

The City could appoint persons who were not U. S. citizens, if they lived in San Francisco, were at least 18 years old, and were otherwise qualified to hold office.

The City also could appoint persons who were not San Francisco residents, if they were citizens, at least 18 years old, if no qualified San Francisco residents were available to serve.

How Supervisors Voted on "C" On November 13, 2001 the Board of Supervisors voted 10 to 0 to place Proposition C on the ballot. The Supervisors voted as follows: Yes: Ammiano, Daly, Gonzalez, Hall, Leno, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Newsom, Peskin, Yee Absent: Sandoval

Fiscal Impact:
City Controller Edward Harrington has issued the following statement on the fiscal impact of Proposition C: Should the proposed charter amendment be approved by the voters, in my opinion, there would be no significant increase in the cost of government.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No
A YES vote of this measure means:
If you vote yes, you want to per-mit the City to make exceptions to the citizenship, age, and residency requirements for all City boards, commissions, and advisory bodies.

A NO vote of this measure means:
If you vote no, you do not want to permit the City to make exceptions to the citizenship, age and residency requirements for all boards, commissions and advisory bodies.

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League of Women Voters of San Francisco

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Arguments For Proposition C Arguments Against Proposition C
Proposition C will ensure that qualified individuals are appointed to San Francisco commissions and task forces. City commissions and task forces are created to advise the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor on important public policy issues such as housing, health care, and civil rights. The individ-uals on these commissions are selected to serve because of their expertise in a specific field and to provide valuable input on a wide array of legislation. Currently, the San Francisco City Charter allows the Board of Supervisors, and other appointing authorities, such as the Mayor, to appoint only electors who reside in San Francisco. Exemptions can be made for 1) someone under the age of 18, or 2) someone who is not a San Francisco resident. Generally, exemptions are made if an applicant would provide expertise or a unique perspective not otherwise available. This Charter amendment will add citizenship to the list of requirements an appointing authority may waive, by majority vote. The citizenship requirement may be waived for an applicant where the perspective of a noncitizen may be deemed essential and there is no equally qualified citizen applicant available. San Francisco has long been a beacon for immigrant commu-nities. Currently, noncitizens work in our City government and in our Municipal court system. They also pay our local, state and federal taxes. However, noncitizens are not able to advise San Francisco policymakers in a formal manner. This Charter

amendment will further San Francisco's tradition of encouraging civic involvement from its immigrant communities and give the Board of Supervisors the power, when they deem appropriate, to waive citizenship requirements for advisory bodies. Vote Yes on Proposition C.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Supervisor Ammiano Supervisor Daly Supervisor Gonzalez Supervisor Hall Supervisor Leno Supervisor Maxwell Supervisor McGoldrick Supervisor Newsom Supervisor Peskin Supervisor Sandoval Supervisor Yee

How Supervisors Voted to Submit this Argument The Supervisors voted as follows on December 17, 2001: Yes: Ammiano, Daly, Gonzalez, Hall, Leno, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Newsom, Peskin, Sandoval, Yee

Rebuttal to Arguments For
No rebuttal arguements were submitted. 		In part, Proposition C proposes to allow non-City and County residents, -people who DO NOT live in the City of San Francisco -on City boards and commissions. The League of Women Voters believes that City commissioners and board members should represent and be representative of their community -the City of San Francisco. People who reside elsewhere in the Bay Area are not representatives of the San Francisco community and so should not be allowed to sit on City boards or commissions. As a result, we oppose Proposition C.

League of Women Voters of San Francisco

Rebuttal to Arguments Against
The Opponents Argument submitted by the League of Women Voters is factually inaccurate. San Francisco Charter Section 4.101 already allows an appointing authority to waive the requirement for residency upon a finding that a resident with specific experience, skills or qualifications willing to serve could not be located. Proposition C does nothing to change this current procedure. Proposition C will add citizenship as a requirement an appointing authority may waive. The citizenship requirement could be waived in instances where the perspective of a non-citizen is essential or a qualified citizen applicant is not available. Thousands of voters rely on the League of Women Voters to provide accurate information on propositions. The League has failed San Francisco voters in this endeavor. Furthermore, the League does not allow proponents or opponents of a ballot measure to present information to its Action Committee. The

Action Committee of the League of Women Voters is doing a disservice to San Francisco Voters by opposing ballot measures without being properly informed. Vote yes on Proposition C.

Matt Gonzalez San Francisco Board of Supervisors

How Supervisors Voted to Submit this Argument Supervisor Gonzalez submitted this rebuttal argument on behalf of the Board of Supervisors. On December 17, 2001, the Supervisors voted as follows to authorize Supervisor Gonzalez to prepare and submit the rebuttal argument on their behalf.

Yes: Ammiano, Daly, Gonzalez, Hall, Leno, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Newsom, Peskin, Sandoval, Yee

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Created: April 19, 2002 10:59 PDT
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