Thursday 24 November 2022 02:38 AM San Francisco removes white election director as part of its 'racial equity ... trends now
San Francisco's election director who has been in the position since 2002 will have his contract terminated in a move that 'wasn't about performance' but about 'racial equity'.
Election director John Artnz, who is white, will not have his contract renewed next year, San Francisco's Elections Commission decided in a 4 to 2 decision last week.
City officials decided not to offer a fifth five-year contract to Arntz despite widespread praise from colleagues regarding his tenure as election director.
'It's hard to achieve diversity targets if senior roles never open up,' Cynthia Dai, a member of the commission, told the Washington Free Beacon.
'This has nothing to do with his performance,' said Dai, who voted against renewing his renewal.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed came to Arntz's defense, telling Mission Local: 'John Arntz has served San Francisco with integrity, professionalism and has stayed completely independent.
'He's remained impartial and has avoided getting caught up in the web of City politics, which is what we are seeing now as a result of this unnecessary vote.
'Rather than working on key issues to recover and rebuild our City, this is a good example of unfair politicization of a key part of our government that is working well for the voters of this city.'
Arntz's contract will expire in May next year but he could still choose to reapply for the job. This will be the first time since 2002 that the Elections Commission chose not to renew the position in favor of conducting a search for new candidates.
Election director John Arntz - who has been in the job since 2002 - will not have his contract renewed next year due to concerns over 'racial equity'
San Francisco mayor, London Breed, said that Arntz had served 'with integrity, professionalism and has stayed completely independent'
Chris Jerdonek (pictured), the comission's president, told Arntz in an email that the decision was unrelated to his performance over the past 20 years
As election director Arntz has been in charge of running the elections for the county and the city for 20 years. This move came just eight days after the November 8 midterm election.
City Attorney David
