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A major reason that I care about this issue ties into my reasoning for being in public service – representation matters. As a planning commissioner in my hometown, I have a hand in local decision-making, but moreover, I serve as the only voting commissioner from a minority background in addition to being the only young adult. Mind you, this is a city that is majority-minority and is on average younger than our planning commission. While the right to vote helps all groups exercise their preferences towards government decisions, having a seat at the table is critically important for amplifying voices that are marginalized and underrepresented.

The positive change I hope to create is a region where the demographical composition of our elected offices better reflects the diversity of the Bay Area. By increasing the diversity of electeds we can strengthen representation for the various communities in the Bay Area. The importance of representation in this context and any others when it comes to public decision-making is that having more voices at the table brings greater legitimacy to the decisions made by the government on behalf of the people. Most importantly, elected representation helps foster a sense of inclusion that signals that all people are welcome in our government institutions.

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I hope to launch the Seat at the Bay Area Table Campaign – a policy campaign advocating for local governments in the Bay Area using at-large election systems to convert to district elections. By using districts, minority populations that have otherwise been underrepresented on an elected council or board will have a larger share of the population of their district. The number of POC elected officials across the region would be higher as a result.

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A growth mindset is pivotal here insofar as figuring out how to improve our campaign strategy will be an iterative process. By looking at our progress in advocacy with a continuous frame of seeking improvement rather than limitation, we will be able to build a strategy that will effect the change we want to see in the Bay Area. Resiliency is very important as well because of the very gradual process that policy change can be. Identity as a Superpower matters a lot here because it strikes at the core values of this advocacy, which is to amplify the strengths of unique experiences from our identity by helping diversify elected bodies.

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The central figure for the Seat at the Bay Area Table Campaign would be the Campaign Director, who’d serve as the point person for strategy, as well as overseeing the day-to-day functions of the campaign. This person would require a strong analytical background, being very organized, strong communication skills, and an ability to delegate. Additionally, a partnerships director is principally in charge of connecting with various organizations in the Bay Area that could be potential partners in our advocacy. This person would need to be affiliative, a great communicator, and persuasive. To center community voices, it’s also important to have local leads for the specific community we’re focusing on to make our advocacy ask a constituent-led one. This person would need to have strong networking skills to be engaging in community building, as well as creative thinking to that end on campaign activities for their local area.

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As explained before, the intended impact is to increase minority representation in elected bodies in the Bay Area, which is going to be done by creating more district election systems that have majority-minority districts. Relatedly, here are three indicators that tie into this:

1. Total population within the majority-minority districts, quantifying the scale of the MVP and future efforts.

2. Number of minority candidates elected from minority-majority districts, validating the connection between district elections and representation.

3. Positive feedback from underrepresented groups, which would reflect the enhanced inclusion from this initiative.

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The initial MVP for this campaign would be to create a campaign action toolkit and target advocacy around a single municipality or local agency (e.g. a school board). For one thing, by even engaging in one city, we could test the momentum for this type of work among minority communities. By focusing on a singular target agency/government, we can see if any number of given tactics have an impact, such as letter writing and meeting with decision-makers. Being able to engage our first agency is the first step to being able to scale our strategy to other places. If we can’t validate the concept through popular support nor actual policy change, then there might need to be some major reconsideration of how the campaign is being carried out.

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Currently, in the Bay Area and elsewhere in the United States, it’s not uncommon to find that elected bodies such as a city council are often less diverse than the populations they represent, often being older and Whiter. That being said, this weakens the ability of local government to consider the unique experiences of the entire constituency in its decision-making if there’s a lack of voices in the first place. For example, hearing out from people of color about their relations with the police should help craft public safety policy, though a lack of representation could lower the likelihood that decision-makers really hear those voices in the first place. This holds especially true when you consider that citizen input at the local level is not very high, making the networks and experiences of the decision-makers even more important in incorporating stakeholders.

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We must get the support of members of the minority communities we hope to help. A significant way this can be achieved is through getting the backing of community leaders affiliated with relevant cultural groups. Take, for example, the group Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs, which has several active chapters in the Bay Area. Beyond just partnering with a chapter, specific members of APAPA will most certainly have ties to the community that wouldn’t go unnoticed by local officials if they were to cosign onto our efforts. In the case of APAPA, there could be chapter leaders that would be willing to endorse district elections in a nearby city to them which is lacking in AAPI representation. Moreover, it’s worth involving the Bay Area chapters of voting rights groups such as the League of Women Voters, as well as civil rights groups such as the NAACP and ACLU, all of whom engage with local districting but do so as a part of many other priorities relevant to their organization. Similar to the APAPA example, these organizations will help elevate the reach and the attention of any particular local initiative.

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There are two main ways we can scale beyond the MVP. The first is by expanding the campaign to focus on multiple cities/agencies at a time, which would eventually be the goal in order to meaningfully affect the 3 performance indicators mentioned. Given how long the process of creating districts can take, there remains plenty of work to be done for this Campaign within the Bay Area. That being said, expanding geographic focus should be an eventual goal for this work the more momentum there is. Additionally, another way in which we should be executing the campaign beyond just policy advocacy is through filing California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) lawsuits against at-large election agencies. The firm Shenkman and Hughes have filed several lawsuits against cities on behalf of local groups for a lack of opportunity to gain minority representation. Recent changes to the CVRA have made the burden of proof for such a claim purposefully low, which has made those lawsuits I’ve mentioned largely successful in getting courts to mandate that agencies adopt a district-based election process. Building capacity for the Campaign to engage in such legal action directly will only strengthen its advocacy.

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If the problem is not addressed, the status quo would likely involve a continuance of lack of diversity, which itself would communicate some problematic messages. In the short term, we could see instances where decision-makers are alienating or challenging the preferences of an underrepresented group, promoting a sense of apathy among the group if it becomes a pattern. In the long run though, this apathy would be very dangerous to democracy as it could lessen political participation from POC communities and thus create an imbalance in the influence between a minority group and a more dominant group (i.e. Whites, Males).

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We are attempting to serve the underrepresented communities in the Bay Area, particularly Black, AAPI, and Latino communities who lack demographic representation in elected office, be that in the school board, city council, etc. We know that the changes brought about by our advocacy, if through nothing else, then because of our prioritization of centering minority voices at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. By building organic support for this change, as well as the abstract benefits of our advocacy goals which I’ve mentioned above, we can help build political influence for People of Color in the Bay.

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First, I’ll be making sure to emphasize community building through the activities of this campaign. After all, this initiative is principally focused on enhancing inclusion and equity. Building a strong network of members of minority groups within a community, from different jobs, ages, and backgrounds, will be necessary for there to be any political momentum in enacting a policy change. Secondly, establishing partnerships with local voting rights groups and civil rights groups will help garner resources for this campaign and bring some weight to the activities of this campaign as we try to command the attention of local policymakers. Thirdly, a feedback loop will be necessary from an internal perspective of the campaign on how effective the campaign's activities are. Through routine meetings, communication, and check-ins, we can ensure that our advocacy abilities improve over time.

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The biggest obstacle that one could face is apathy from local governments towards making changes. As with any variety of policy advocacy though, we need to make the case that the problem is severe enough to warrant action. For example, research on the demographic makeup of the community and the background of its elected representatives is key. Through community mobilization, getting people of color from the communities affected as core supporters is crucial to validating that the problem is real. By highlighting community members at the forefront of the advocacy, policymakers must answer to their constituents as much as they are to the Campaign.

Another obstacle in this process is the reluctance of a city to provide meaningful public engagement toward creating a map in the first place. For instance, there’s a mandated number of hearings that a local agency must hold before it can adopt a district map for its elections. That being said, we should strive for local government to go beyond what is required and have more opportunities for public engagement that are accessible to all ages and abilities. The benefits of doing this process right should be incorporated into the messaging of the Campaign. Moreover, the campaign's work should continue well into the district drawing process to mobilize minority groups to have their population kept together as much as possible within a district map.

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Inequal access to government is a problem that is deeply rooted within the history of not just the Bay Area, but the United States, starting with the original sin of slavery as a practice in colonial America. The restrictions on minority groups to participate were enshrined legally throughout much of US history until major changes in the social and political environment gradually incorporated more individuals to participate in the political process, such as the right to vote for women. A common social critique on initiatives to increase representation that would lower the barriers to getting elected is a problematic social perspective that we need to avoid running the risk of electing people who are wholly unqualified for office while ignoring the social consequences on DEI. That is of course a determination that communities/voters should decide, but is a perspective I’ve heard myself from some electeds here.

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Everyone can enjoy having elected representatives that look like them and understand the experiences that come with their identity. By launching an initiative to create more district election systems, we’ll increase the likelihood of minority-concentrated districts to elect someone who looks like them.

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Local electeds who do represent minority communities in the Bay Area could make a difference in boosting institutional support from other electeds in making the switch to district elections. Cold outreach and connecting through pre-existing networks elsewhere in our advocacy could be a constructive way to reach those individuals. Additionally, connecting with law firms willing to do pro bono CVRA filings could seriously elevate the strength of our ask to local agencies.

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In addressing the need for at-large election policies to create necessary barriers to running for office, I’d highlight examples of the discriminatory intent with which at-large elections and other policies prevent representation. Making examples of that history and connecting it to the Bay Area’s discrimination history will only strengthen the social argument for enhancing representation even through district elections. Additionally, I’ll seek to assuage the concern about instituting such a change by highlighting the examples of elected bodies of all sizes in the Bay Area having district elections. While there’s no guarantee that a mind can be changed, incorporating these examples in communications to public officials, through community building, and other activities of the Coalition, there’s at least a chance of success.

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At the core of this campaign is empowerment. Representation empowers communities, and our grassroots organizing in support of that should be empowering communities regardless of policy outcome. Creating diverse teams for a highly effective team both reflects what we’re trying to accomplish, and what’s necessary here. By having a diverse team on the campaign, we bring various skill sets and knowledge bases that can complement one another for us to be successful. Bringing in different skill sets only increases in importance as our campaign scales. Strategic decision-making is key for determining what our advocacy priorities are and in determining what steps we need to take to both community-build and persuade decision-makers. Continuous learning also bears mention here as each place we try to advocate in requires a specific understanding of who we’re advocating for and how best we can advocate in that particular situation.