Contact Your Supervisor Regarding Commissioner Carter-Oberstone Vote
Call ONE of the Supervisors. Note: only one of these Supervisors represents you. Find out which one here.
Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
For Supervisor Melgar (District 7) or Supervisor Fielder (District 9),
Thank you for voting no on the motion to remove Commissioner Carter-Oberstone from the Police Commission. [Add reasons why you are grateful.]
For all other Supervisors:
I was [disappointed, appalled, angered, etc] to hear that the Supervisor consented to the removal of Commissioner Carter-Oberstone from the police commission without cause. It concerns me that the board did not discuss or debate the motion, but instead went straight to vote and gave the power to the Mayor.
[If your supervisor did not make public comment; see notes below ]
I would like to hear the supervisor’s reasons for their vote and would appreciate a response.
We want to see our supervisors uphold democracy and accountability in San Francisco. Thank you.
Background
On Tuesday, February 25th, the Board of Supervisors voted 9 to 2 to allow Mayor Lurie to remove Mr. Carter-Oberstone before the end of his term on the Police Commission without any apparent reason or just cause. The only dissenting votes were supervisors Fielder (District 9) and Melgar (District 7). Fielder argued that rejecting the mayor’s motion was within the board’s rights and expressed concerns that removing Carter-Oberstone would lead to a less accountable and less effective police force. Melgar stated that she does not believe in eliminating commissioners before their term ends when there has been no malfeasance. She also stated that as a new politician, Mayor Lurie should expect to work with people he disagrees with, rather than removing them.
Supervisor Chen (District 1) stated that she could see the benefits on both sides of the argument before she voted in favor of his removal. Supervisor Dorsey (District 6) said he favored the Mayor’s request for removal as just cause for his removal was unnecessary.
The vote sends a troubling message about the future of police reform and accountability efforts in San Francisco. The Board of Supervisors had the final say on this matter, but they chose to give their power to the Mayor rather than debate the issue, delay the vote for further discussion, or vote no in the majority.
It is also worth noting that Mayor Lurie has put Sam Atlman, CEO of Open AI and a billionaire, on his transition team. It will be essential to see how he influences city politics and uses AI within the city governance, particularly in regard to policing. Sam Altman has a history of pushing back against oversight and accountability and mistreating whistleblowers, which Commissioner Carter-Oberstone had been called.
References:
https://time.com/6985866/openai-whistleblowers-interview-google-deepmind/