Wilma Chan's Replacement Challenged By Group

Alameda CA

20 December, 2021

11:19 AM

Description

ALAMEDA, CA — A community group is challenging the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' interim appointment of the chief of staff for former Supervisor Wilma Chan, who died in a traffic collision Nov. 3. The Alameda County Taxpayers' Association claims the Nov. 16 appointment of Dave Brown to the board was rushed and illegal, according to letters the group sent recently to the board and Gov. Gavin Newsom by Keith Carson, association president. The group calls for Brown to resign and for the board to call a special meeting to rescind the appointment. Carson's letters claim that by appointing a white man, the board is acting with "discriminatory intent" and should have considered women candidates who were Latino or Asian-American. The letters also contend that the board violated the Brown Act by not providing adequate notice of the decision to replace Chan, and that since they said Brown resides in Contra Costa County, he is not eligible to serve on the board. At the time of his appointment, it was reported that Brown cannot by law seek Chan's seat in the 2022 election, because he would have to live in her district for a year to do so. He has pledged to support an Asian American Pacific Islander, especially a woman, to fill Chan's seat because now no women and no Asian American Pacific Islanders are on the board. Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.