To: San Francisco Board of Supervisors
From: San Francisco Women\’s Political Committee Board of Directors
Date: January 23, 2018
SFWPC Support for Female Interim Mayor
2017 was a momentous year for women in San Francisco and across the country.
In the women’s community, we witnessed tremendous victories in the historic Women’s March, the #MeToo movement and the record-breaking elections of women of color and LGBTQ candidates last November.
We also faced losses, including the tragic and sudden death of Mayor Ed Lee, our city’s first Asian American mayor and a fearless advocate for women in San Francisco.
In this critical moment, the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee (SFWPC) strongly urges the Board of Supervisors to uphold its democratic process and appoint an experienced woman leader as interim mayor.
While we understand the important political implications of this appointment, we believe gender parity should be a key goal of your nomination.
We know that female perspectives are essential to good public policy and we urge you
to ensure that women’s voices are represented citywide—particularly in executive leadership.
With the appointment of interim mayor, the Board has an opportunity to shift the gender balance in our city’s leadership. While San Francisco has a rich history of promoting women who go on to lead our country, we are disappointed that still, our city has only had one woman mayor — Dianne Feinstein — who took office after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone.
Our organization is deeply concerned that the names being floated for interim mayor have overwhelmingly been men. This is emblematic of a larger problem of women being overlooked as credible candidates when positions of leadership become available, particularly in the public arena. We believe this must change.
Whether the Board considers a woman currently in elected office, such as a member of the Board of Supervisors or Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu, or women administrators such as City Administrator Naomi Kelly, County Clerk Catherine Stefani, or former elected officials like Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, there is a wealth of strong, experienced women leaders to choose from. The San Francisco Women’s Political Committee urges the Board of Supervisors to appoint a female leader as interim mayor.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Kelly Akemi Groth, President
Jen Longley, Vice President
Sharon Chung, PAC Co-Chair
Lia Azul Salaverry, PAC Co-Chair
Iris Wong, Communications Chair
Christine Randolph, Membership Chair
Diane Le, Events Chair
Frances Hsieh, Advisory Board Co-Chair
Jaynry Mak, Advisory Board Co-Chair
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