HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07182000 - D1 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Date: July 21, 2000 Matter of Record
Subject: PUBLIC COMMENT
On this date, the Board of Supervisors heard comments from Reverend Phil
Lawson, 145 Cardoza Lane, Hercules, representing the National Association for the
Advancrnent of Colored People, Hercules-Pinole-Rodeo, (NAACP) and Darnell
Turner, P.O. Box 1026, Pittsburg, representing the NAACP, Pittsburg, on the
subject of County expenses relative to certain litigation.
THIS IS A MATTER FOR RECORD PURPOSES ONLY
NO BOARD ACTION WAS TAKEN
d
National Association For The Advancement of Colored People
P.O. Box 5234, Hercules, CA 94547 - (510) 869-3839
Hercules - Pino7e - Rodeo Branch p C V
ED
Rev. Phi771p C. Lawson, PresYdent
July 17, 2000 JUL. 18 2000
CL RK BOAR F UP RVI RS
CONTRA COSTA CO.
Beard of Supervisors
Contra Costa County
Gent7epersons:
Last week, Pedera7 Magistrate Judge James Larson sanctioned Contra
Costa County for destroying documents in a class action suit
cha77enging racism and discrimination in County contracting. Judge
Larson 's ruling came after the plaintiffs in the suit, the four
Contra Costa Branches of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP), two other organizations and five minority
and women-owned businesses discovered that the County had destroyed
documents that were supposed to have been given to the plaintiffs.
The Hercules-Pinole-Rodeo Branch of the NAACP is stunned and outraged
that the County is not only wasting public funds trying to defend, by
any means, a bankrupted contracting system. County Supervisors have
publicly stated that the County's contracting system needs to be
fixed. Now it appears County staff is responsible for attempting to
subvert the legal process by destroying necessary documents. In the
Spring 2000, it was estimated that the County has already paid more
than $1 million since 1998 to a private law firm to defend the case.
The costs will spiral steeply in the coming months as the case
proceeds to trial.
Supervisors, something is terribly wrong about the picture that is
emerging. Where is your due diligence regarding your
responsibilities? A broken system that is closed and anti-
competitive, so that the public pays more for goods and services than
they should, and the Board of Supervisors is paying public funds to
private firms to try to keep a defunct system is wrong! It is
discrimination against women and people of color. It is
undemocratic, for destroying documents subverts the 7ega7 process and
undermines public trust. It is i77ega7. Judge Larson's ruling
indicated that it was reasonable to infer "that the destroyed files
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Board of Supervisors, July 17, 2000, Page Z
reflected discrimination against women and minority owned businesses
in the awarding of county contracts. "
Today, as strong as possible, we demand that the Board of Supervisors
immediately respond to the public, explaining the latest ruling
against the County, and accounting for over $1 million in
expenditures. The County contracting system is clearly wrong in
terms of women and people of color. It must not be defended, but
corrected. It must be changed to demonstrate the inclusion of women
and minority-owned businesses, and the elimination of noncompetitive
practices.
Sincerely
Rev. Ph7 C. Lawson