M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
Elections Commission
FROM:
Catalina Ruiz-Healy
DATE:
June 10, 2011
RE:
Commission Appointments to San Francisco’s Redistricting Task
Force
With regret I inform you that I am unfortunately unable to be with you at our
June 15 regular meeting due to me being required to be out of town for work
(on a plane en route from Portland to Minneapolis, to be exact). As a result, I
will be unable to participate in our deliberations about our three appointments
to the City’s Redistricting Task Force, and unable to nominate or vote on our
appointees.
With that in mind, I share with you my thoughts about what characteristics
ought to be taken into consideration when appointing members of this task
force, in addition to those basic criteria we have already outlined.
I believe it important that our appointments be:
1. Strong enough to push back and temper what are anticipated to be more
political objectives of the six other Supervisorial and Mayoral appointments.
Hence, I believe that while the individual should not be involved in or heavily
influenced by politics, this person should have enough savvy and credibility
to counter potentially politically-driven recommendations.
2. Representative of the population of the City of San Francisco. We are a
diverse city, and would strongly advise to appoint individuals that are
knowledgeable of a broad swath of neighborhoods and communities. Again,
this would imply that our appointees would have benefitted to have been
involved in community issues over a period of time. I feel strongly that an
appointee without knowledge of all of our districts is a disservice to the Task
Force and the spirit of redistricting.
3. Sufficiently knowledgeable enough to understand the implications of moving
borders on communities’ ability to voice their political and electoral
preferences. I strongly oppose selecting appointees who would seek to
simplify electoral infrastructure at the expense of community voice.
4. Solid understanding of maps and statistics would be a desired qualification,
yet not as critical as the previous three characteristics as the Task Force will
have a paid and neutral consultant advising the nine Task Force members.
Of course, I am not advocating that our appointments have the same profile,
but that as whole, they embody the diversity and spirit of the Commission
itself.
If I could be present, I would nominate Gia Daniller Katz to be considered one
of our appointees. Her experience reflects what I believe to be a good balance
of enough knowledge of political process and motivations, with an outsiders
fair and thoughtful perspective. She will be strong enough to push back when
necessary. She has a broad understanding of the City’s neighborhoods and
communities, and solid mathematical grounding. Finally, she is a confident,
intelligent, savvy and active citizen with the right motivations for participating
on the Task Force.
DRAFT Minutes **Revised 5-27-11
Redistricting Special Meeting
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 6:00
City Hall, Room 416
1. Call to order: 6:08 ** Chairperson is Commissioner Arnold Townsend
Roll Call: present Commissioners Gerard Gleason, Rosabella Safont, Arnold Townsend, Jill Rowe, Catalina Ruiz-Healy – Excused President Richard Matthews and Vice President Winnie Yu
2. Public comment on any topic within the jurisdiction of the Elections Commission
Public Speaker Chris Bowman suggested that anyone who has run for supervisor should automatically be disqualified do to a conflict of interest; any director or senior staffer of a political action or trade organization who may lobby City Hall for funding should be disqualified for a conflict of interest; and applicants should not have preconceived opinions on the districts.
Public Speaker D. Stanfield endorsed applicant Friedenbach.
Public Speaker R. Weber endorsed applicant Friedenbach.
Public Speaker R Merritt Jr. endorsed applicant Friedenbach.
Public Speaker B. Casey endorsed applicant Friedenbach.
Public Speaker R Hampton endorsed applicant LeBlanc.
Public Speaker L DeGuzner endorsed applicant Friedenbach.
Public Speaker L Evans encouraged the Commission to select at least one African American applicant for a position on the Task Force.
Public Speaker S McFullum endorsed applicant Leblanc.
Public Speaker L. Post questioned what is the process for selecting applicants for this task force?
Commissioner Townsend explained that the Commission will select 3 positions for the task force, as will the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor.
3. Discussion and possible action interviewing applicants for the Redistricting Task Force. The Elections Commission makes three appointments to the task force, if the task force is created by the Board of Supervisors. If the task force is not created, then these appointments shall have no effect. The deadline for applications was April 29, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. Applicants are: Steven Moss, Christopher Elmendorf, Ron Dudum, Bridgette LeBlanc, Richard Millet, Ken Cleveland, David Lee, Mark Schreiber, Keith Baraka, Daniel Scherotter, Edward Helfeld, Owen O’Donnell, Ted Loewenberg, Melissa Tidwell, Suki Kott, Kathleen (Kat) Anderson, James Tracy, Kevin Malone, Jenny Lam, David Pilpel, Gia Daniller Katz, Sally Grady, Kevin Cheng, Rachel Ebora, Kathleen Coll, Todd Mavis, Lena Carew and Jennifer Friedenbach. Applicants will be called in that order.
Commissioner Rowe stated for the record that one of the applicants, Mark Schreiber, is the managing partner at her law firm.
Commissioner Safont stated for the record that one of the applicants, Rachel Ebora, is a professional acquaintance with whom she has been teaching a class.
Commissioner Townsend stated for the record that one of the applicants, Steve Moss, is a professional acquaintance with whom he sits on the same board.**
Commissioner Gleason said that the task force is a huge commitment as he puts forth a motion.
Motion: That the Elections Commission not accept or consider applications for the Redistricting Task Force if the application was received after the stated deadline of 5PM on Friday, April 29. If an applicant who is impacted by this motion can show the application was submitted by email prior to 5PM on Friday April 29, the Commission may chose to reconsider such an application.
Commissioner Catalina Ruiz- Healy said it would be unfair to applicants who submitted applications on time if the Commission were to consider applicants who missed the deadline the deadline.
Public Speaker Chris Bowman supported the motion, and suggested that applicants consider the Board of Supervisors and Mayor’s Office for an appointment to the task force.
Vote was taken and was unanimous to approve motion. As a result of this motion, four applicants were removed from consideration: Kathleen Coll** not a late applicant, Todd Mavis, Lena Carew and Jennifer Friedenbach.
Commissioner Gleason remarked that agenda for the Commission's May 4, 2011 meeting invites applicants to speak with the Elections Commission, allows the Commission members to ask the applicants questions and allows the applicants to respond. He suggested that applicants who were not able to attend the Commission's May 4 meeting could speak during general public comment at the Commission's next meeting but that no special accommodations should be made at the next commission meeting for any applicants who were not present at the Commission’s meeting on May 4.
Motion: **
That the Elections Commission will hear from applicants to the Redistricting Task Force at the meeting of Wednesday May 4, 2011, and the agenda for that meeting invites applicants to speak with the Elections Commission and allows the Commission members to ask the applicants questions and allows the applicants to respond. No such accommodation will be made at a future meeting of the Elections
Commission for applicants to the Redistricting Task Force.
Vote was taken and was unanimous to approve motion.
Commissioner Townsend stated that each candidate would have 2 minutes for an opening statement followed by 4 minutes for questions from the commissioners.
Steven Moss: Taught at Mills College in San Francisco courses in policy analysis and political systems. Currently serves on San Francisco Economic Opportunity Council.
Christopher Elmendorf - Not Present
Ron Dudum: Has worked in the city of San Francisco in various ways and ran for supervisor in district 4 and received over 10 thousand votes. Understands statistics and data and feels he will b e an asset to this task force.
Bridgette LeBlanc: Worked on a campaign for Mayor Newsom in district 5 as an organizer, says she is very passionate about San Francisco, and specializes in event management, meetings and community out research.
Richard Millet: Grew up in Guatemala and has worked on several task forces. Has a bachelors’ degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley and worked previously with Roses, a Police Organization for many years in the Bayview district.
**Ken Cleaveland- Not present
David Lee: Executive Director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee, member United States Census Bureau CIC Steering Committee, and familiar with data in the redistricting process.
**Mark Schreiber: Has lived in San Francisco for 30 years; currently employed with a law firm in San Francisco as an Attorney with strong emphasis on Administrative Law and Government. He has worked on mapping with the Broad Band mapping the public utilities.
Keith Baraka: Firefighter; lives in district 8; has voted in all elections; and is an executive board member of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic club.
Daniel Scherotter: Registered voter since 1993, currently working as a chef/ owner of a local restaurant. Has never run for a political office and feels he would be an asset to the Task Force.
Edward Helfeld: Not present
Owen O’Donnell: Graduate of Yale University with a Bachelors degree in Politics and Economics and Stanford University Law School. Ran for the Board of Supervisors District 5 in 2008 and finished second.
Ted Loewenberg: Not present
Melissa Tidwell: Moved here from New York in 2006. I’m currently working as a corporate lawyer with Google. I previously worked in the state of Georgia working with Google maps. I work with children to give them exposure to the Digital Media.
**Suki Kott: Long time voter in San Francisco, attended City College, San Francisco State and Golden Gate University where I received a Masters in Software Engineering ; President of district 2 Democratic Club, Worked as a precinct captain in the campaign for Gerardo Sandoval’s campaign.
**Kathleen (Kat) Anderson: I have lived in San Francisco for 23 years in districts 5,10,4,3 and 2. I ran for Supervisor in district 2 in 2010. I have a deep love and commitment to San Francisco to keep electoral politics fair and balanced. I'm a labor and Employment Attorney with a Degree from Stanford University in Political Science
James Tracy: Not present
Kevin Malone: Retired with great interest and knowledge that would allow him to be a great contribution to this Task Force. He has worked as a political staffer on a national level.
Jenny Lam: Lived in San Francisco for 13 years; has worked directly with diverse communities in the area of education, women’s rights and youth development
**David Pilpel: Served on the Sunshine Task Force as well as other governmental agencies setting policies and help with the Sunshine Ordinance. Attend most all the Elections Commission meetings and well as other Commissions in San Francisco. My main focus is to meet the requirements and keep within guidelines set for redistricting.
Gia Daniller Katz: Feels it is important to be involved; currently has a degree in economics and statistics. Currently registered as a Lobbyist and working for Daniller Consulting Inc.
Sally Grady: Member of the league of Women Voters. I volunteered at the Haight Ashbury Medical Clinic during the 80’s and 90’s. Lived in San Francisco for 25 years and would like to be a part of the Task Force.
Kevin Cheng: Not present
Rachel Ebora: Director of Community Engagement with the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and the Community Development Coordinator.
4. Adjournment: 7:55
Draft Minutes
Elections Commission Meeting
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 6:00 pm
City Hall Room 408
Order of Business
4. Call to Order & Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 6:00.
President Richard Matthews, Vice President Winnie Yu, and Commissioners Gerard Gleason, Jill Rowe, Catalina Ruiz-Healy, and Rosabella Safont were present at roll call. Commissioner Arnold Townsend arrived at 6:20.
5. Announcements: none
6. Public comment on any issue within the Elections Commission’s general jurisdiction.
Public Speaker Ken Cleaveland is an applicant for the Redistricting Task Force. He works for the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco and has lived in San Francisco since 1995. He would bring demographic and statistical knowledge and would commit the time necessary to serve on the Task Force.
Public Speaker Kevin Cheng is an applicant for the Task Force. His family immigrated to San Francisco the year before he was born and he was raised in Chinatown. He has worked for the Rate Fairness Board for utility distribution. He has completed two public policy fellowships and has worked with diversity of community organizations on issues relating to health and safety, fire and police, and land use.
Public Speaker David Pilpel wants to inform the Commission and others that the Board will convene tomorrow to form a Task Force it will appear on the agenda as item # 4.
Public Speaker Kathleen Coll is an applicant for the Task Force. She is a lifetime resident of San Francisco and a fifth generation San Franciscan. . She attended public school in San Francisco and continues to remain active in the public school system and other community based organizations and immigrants rights organizations. She is a cultural anthropologist and college teacher, and she published a book titled Remaking Citizenship: Immigrant Latinas and New American Politics.
Public Speaker Chris Elemendorf is an applicant for the Task Force. He lives in the Mission and is a professor at the University of Davis law school, where he teaches and writes in the area of election law. He is not affiliated with any local political groups and would focus on the law in his service on the Task Force. He is interested in doing public service and feels this Task Force will give him the opportunity.
7. Director’s Report
The Director will update the Commission on matters pertaining to elections and the Department of Elections, including updates on activities of the divisions, plans and activities for upcoming elections or election-related functions, and budgetary matters.
November Elections - So far, 36 people have filed Declarations of Intent for Mayor, and 4 people have filed Declarations of Intent for District Attorney. The second phase is the nomination period which begins July 18th through August 12th during which the filing fees must be paid. Signatures in lieu of filing fees begins June 3rd through July 28th which is when the candidates can obtain signatures of supporters and get fifty cents taken off of the filing fee.
Saturday Voting – it’s still estimated that the cost is at 2.3 million, the Department will have this finalized within the next couple of weeks information will be posted on the website. The deadline for the Controllers Office to respond if there is enough funding for Saturday Voting is July 8th.
Administrative Division- as of May 9th I reported to the Board that the populations and districts are not equal therefore the Board must convene and fund for a Redistricting Task Force.
Working Groups- we met with Alameda, Marin and San Mateo counties regarding processing of vote by mail ballots, the next meeting is scheduled near June 1.
Vendor Maintenance - we have for the last two years gained experience regarding the equipment used and know some of the things we can expect and what things we must be prepared for and anticipate problems or breakdowns. We want to avoid problems that may require a technician to get involved knowing and to reduce possible problems and costs.
Ballot Distribution – has been conducting a renewal of the Fillmore Community Business Development. We are also looking at equipment for extracting ballots from the envelopes. This is the most labor intensive portion as we continue to see Vote by Mail increasing.
Campaign Services – will be holding the 1st workshop June 1 and have been contacting people that are interested in the Work Shop. The ballot argument guide is being updated for November.
Outreach – Ranked-Choice Voting materials are being updated with a fresh look at the information the Department provides. We are preparing to have information on our website that will clarify some of the questions that people have on RCV.
Precinct Services - this division is spent considerable time putting together the report to the Board with the maps and posting the information on the website which includes data from the census.
ADA – we are hoping to have the front counter reconfigured to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the completion date should be mid June or July.
California Association of Elected Officials – – Precinct Services in the process of participating in a review of statewide guidelines regarding accessible polling places. These guidelines will serve as California standards for polling places.
Technical division – this division has been working to get the database on templates which will allow us to automatically populate some of the information for the voter information pamphlets once it has been input to certain fields, this will save time and require less proof reading.
The technology division is also working on a budget database so that the Department can track its budget in real time.
Budget - continues to be a problem because of the lag time of one month. We are currently working on a data base that will allow us to be more accurate with our estimations.
Equipment Tracking - – putting together the data base having a history of information for equipment having it attached to all the different components such as Optical Scanner, Touch Screens, Card Activator, Memory packs and etc. This will allow us to maintain information regarding all equipment that may have a history of problems.
5. Commissioners’ Reports: none
6. Discussion and possible action to adopt policy related to the timing of release of election results in ranked-choice voting contests. Invited to speak to the Commission on this topic is Steven Hill of the New America Foundation.
Guest Speaker Steven Hill spoke of Rank Choice Voting and states there is a reason to revisit the
current policies, we may be able to make them better. A copy of the 2004 report by director
Arntz regarding Rank Choice Voting was handed to all commissioners. Steven Hill says that a
Resolution was put forth that a tally be done on a daily basis. The following Wednesday the
button was pushed and something went wrong and the numbers were not available. The
equipment did not work, it took approximately 24 hours to determine what the problem was and
have it fixed, the numbers had to be certified and the tally was then run on Friday. The ES&S
equipment did not have the capability of storing the numbers, while the Dominion system is
much more streamlined with the ability to run the numbers and upload to the website. Mr. Hill
goes on to give an example of the Oakland Mayor’s race and suggest if the numbers were
released it may not have caused people to be mislead with the perception that one candidate was
the possible lead runner, when it proved not to be the case. Mr. Hill goes on to say that all tallies
must state these are preliminary results.
Commissioner Gleason says it is not the intent of the Elections Administration or Election
Commission to keep any information from the public.
Commissioner Townsend asked Mr. Hill if he thought by changing the way things are currently
done if that is some how misleading.
Commissioner Rowe request clarification, that results are less likely to change if you tally every
couple of days verses the tally on elections night and then again on Friday, due to dwindling
ballots remaining?
Guest Speaker Hill says that if you release a tally on election night and hold off until Friday, you
run more of a chance that the 2nd and 3rd rankings that are close, you may give the presumption
of false or misleading information to the public.
Commissioner Gleason feels we should not be running tallies until we have 100% of the votes.
Commissioner Ruiz-Healy asked Director Arntz what is his perspective regarding this matter.
Director Arntz replies we have not seen any change in the results, by releasing tallies sooner.
Public Speaker David Pilpel says that the preliminary vote can be released for those who chose
to have this information, the majority of votes will have been counted and the remaining votes
will have diminished and the tally is only preliminary.
Public Speaker Chris Bowman states that several counties within the state do not release until
everything has been certified. Absentee ballots over ½ were not counted until 100% of the
precincts were in. The question comes down really to what is manageable by the department.
Guest Speaker Rob Richie states that people generally feel that because you wait that
something magic happens, some voter have an expectation and want the data.
- Discussion and possible action to adopt policy related to post-election audit procedures. Invited to speak to the Commission on this topic is Rob Richie, executive director of Fair Vote.
Guest Speaker Rob Richie reported that the Elections Verifications Network recently held a conference about post-election audits. This conference considered the ideal audit procedure, rather than the audit possible under any particular system or set of laws. As a general matter, an RCV audit should verify whether voters on ballots were accurately converted into data and whether the tabulation of that data was accurate. Another issue is how many ballots you need to audit to be confident in the result.
Old Business
8. Discussion and possible action to adopt policy related to possible Saturday voting, its budget estimate, its logistics, its legal requirements and constraints, its fundraising, or other considerations related to implementation of the measure.
No discussion.
9. Discussion and possible action regarding the selection of the Elections Commission’s three appointees to the Redistricting Task Force, evaluating applicants, and choosing the three appointees. (Applicants will not be interviewed at this meeting.)
The Commissioners engaged in a preliminary discussion about procedures for selecting applicants to the Redistricting Task Force.
President Matthews invited Commissioners to submit written suggestions regarding the process before the next meeting. The Commission Secretary should forward these suggestions to President Matthews and place them in the public binder. President Matthews will publish a proposed process for selecting candidates in the agenda for the June meeting.
New Business
10. Discussion and possible action to approve the Minutes of the April 20, 2011 Commission Meeting.
Vote was taken and was unanimous to approve the minutes.
11. Discussion and possible action to approve the Minutes of the May 4, 2011 Special Meeting
of the Elections Commission.
Commission agreed to hold this item until next meeting for approval.
12. Discussion regarding items for future agendas.
Public Speaker David Pilpel suggest that a calendar of future items be made available that will
inform the public in advance of future items.
Adjourn 7:55