DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the March 18, 2021 regular meeting.
WHEREAS, County Sheriffs lead agencies of law enforcement officers that are vested with extraordinary authority, including the powers to detain, search, arrest, and use deadly force; and current California law requires that candidates for the office of Sheriff possess a Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) certificate and some combination of salaried law enforcement experience; and
WHEREAS, these eligibility requirements severely restrict who can run for Sheriff; resulting in few competitive elections, a compelling lack of accountability that harms statewide efforts to reimagine public safety, and a lack of candidate diversity that has led California to have only four females, three Latinx individuals, and two Japanese-Americans holding the office of Sheriff while white males hold the office in the other 49 counties as of 2020, a result that does not reflect California’s demographic makeup; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 271 would repeal these restrictions, thereby allowing all registered voters to run for Sheriff, as was possible from 1850 through 1989;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County supports the passage of Senate Bill 271, the Sheriff Democracy and Diversity Act as introduced on January 28, 2021, and urges the Democratic supermajority in the California State Legislature to pass the legislation and the Democratic Governor to sign the bill into law;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County shall communicate this resolution to members of the State Senate and State Assembly representing any part of Contra Costa County, the members of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, and the Governor of the State of California.
Submitted by: Craig Cheslog, Associate Member, District 2