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Contact: Edward Wright Legislative Aide to Supervisor (415) 554-7464

Supervisor Gordon Mar and ACLU Announce Introduction of Fair Elections Charter Amendment Amendment to City’s Charter will prevent undemocratic political appointments, return power to voters

San Francisco -- On Tuesday, Supervisor Gordon Mar introduced an amendment to ’s Charter to prevent candidates from being appointed to their offices their running for within 90 days of their election.

“This matter, because free, fair, and open elections matter, because democracy matters. The race to represent District 4 last year was the first open election in the Sunset in 13 years. Part of why I ran for Supervisor was because of my strong belief that we the people deserve to choose our representatives in free and fair elections,” said Mar. “In 2019, when our democratic values and norms are under assault on a nearly-daily basis, it’s more important than ever that we work to strengthen our democracy, not weaken it. It is plainly undemocratic and wrong to appoint a candidate — any candidate — to the office they’re running for weeks before a contested election.”

In addition to preventing the appointment of candidates to the offices their running for within 90 days of an election, the Charter Amendment would prevent appointees from entering races for offices they’re appointed to if appointed within 90 days of the election. Since 1998, every candidate appointed to the office they’re running for within 90 days of their election has won their election, with the exception of Rodrigo Santos in 2012.

The introduction of the Fair Elections Charter Amendment follows the appointment of a candidate running for San Francisco District Attorney to that office a mere 18 days before their election, a move met with widespread condemnation for government ethics reformers and advocates. The ACLU of Northern , which released a statement condemning that appointment, has endorsed the Fair Elections Charter Amendment.

“We find open and democratic races to be paramount with providing communities meaningful say in who gets to be their District Attorney,” said Yoel Haile, a Criminal Justice Program Manager with the ACLU of Northern California. “This political machination has deprived communities from having meaningful say through the electoral process. This legislation is a good step in the right direction. We believe the fair thing to do when an incumbent resigns would be to appoint someone who is not a candidate for that seat. This would allow the democratic process to run its course and avoids the perception of improper meddling in an election that tips the balance of the scales. The ACLU would like to reiterate that our position would be the same regardless of which candidate gets appointed to this post. This is a matter of principle and fairness. Our objective is to ensure a fair democratic process as part of our work to end mass incarceration and mass criminalization of communities of color and poor communities.”

The Fair Elections Charter Amendment builds on a package of ethics reform from Supervisor Mar. He is the Lead Proponent of Proposition F, the Sunlight on Dark Money measure seeking voter approval this November. Mar also authored Public Financing 2.0, a pair of legislation that expands the City’s public financing program for campaigns to empower smaller donors. It was passed earlier this year, and will be in effect for 2020 elections.

“This is our next step forward in making our democracy stronger and fairer, and putting power in the hands of the people to decide for themselves who represents them,” said Mar. “It’s based on a simple idea, that the choice of who should represent us in elected office belongs to the public, not in backroom deals. We deserve free, fair, and open elections, not political favoritism.”

Now that it’s introduced, the Fair Elections Charter Amendment will be considered by the Board of Supervisors for placement on the November 2020 ballot. It’s primary sponsor is Supervisor Mar, and is cosponsored by Supervisors , , , and at the time of introduction.

A recent ethics poll conducted by Public Policy Polling found San Franciscans in favor of the Fair Elections Charter Amendment by a more than 2:1 ratio.

“We who are democratically elected to serve the people need to trust the people to decide for themselves who is best suited to represent them. With the Fair Elections Charter Amendment, we will,” said Mar.

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