In a surprising move prompting the female minority of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to say they felt passed over, the board selected Federal Glover as its next chair and its newest member Ken Carlson as vice chair for its next term.
The vote was 3-1-1, with District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis abstaining and District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen voting no.
The sticking point was whether to give Carlson a leadership position in only his second year on the board.
Current chairperson John Gioia pushed for Carlson to be elevated into the vice chair spot because doing so would make a statement about inclusiveness.
“I think we’re making history by appointing an LGBTQ member of our board for the first time as an officer,” Gioia said. “And I would hope you would recognize that as well. And I appreciate there’s different points of view here. There’s not hard feelings, but I think some of the characterizations (are) inaccurate.”
Burgis and Andersen said they believed the roles of chair and vice chair usually rotated annually among members, outside of special circumstances — like in 2022, when retiring supervisor Karen Mitchoff asked to serve as chair her final year, seemingly passing over District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover, who was vice chair — and was again, under Mitchoff.
Glover will get his next turn as chair in 2024. But it will be with Carlson as vice chair, keeping both Andersen and Burgis out of leadership positions for an extra year.
Both women supported Glover as chair, but with Andersen as vice chair, saying that was what the traditional rotation system called for. Burgis was chair in 2021, while Andersen last chaired the board in 2020.
Andersen also said it wasn’t necessarily about who’s in leadership positions as much as what district they represent. Carlson represents District 4, the same as Mitchoff when she was chair in 2022.
“Certainly you can try and justify it, but … really it’s disingenuous to say you’re doing anything other than skipping over Diane and me,” Andersen said.
Gioia said there were plenty of examples when the board has gone outside the rotation system, including when former District 3 Supervisor Mary Piepho served as vice chair in her second year in 2006, followed by becoming chair in 2007.
The chairperson runs meetings and sets the agendas. Andersen said each supervisor represents more than 200,000 people.
“We each deserve an opportunity in our right time to be chair,” Andersen said. “And by skipping over someone, I think you do lose the opportunity for that district to have their voice heard in a different way by running agendas, by making sure that we continue to fairly represent the entire county.”
Carlson, who voted for himself as vice chair, said he didn’t see evidence that a strict rotation was in place the past two decades.
“Little did I know I would be a hot topic when I came in this morning,” Carlson said.
So did Ken get his position because he is LGBTQ … or because he is qualified? Considering LGBTQ was mentioned as part of the reason … I am inclined to believe that he got the position based on the wrong criteria. Wonder if he is related to Laphonza who got her role because of the color of her skin.
He’s over qualified, the number one qualification for any job among liberals is being a member of the alphabet club.
Gioia can put any spin on it he wants as we know he would have not pushed for a Lesbian woman. Everyone that has ever worked for the county and dealt with him, which I did multiple times, knows he’s a sexist twerp (keepin it clean folks). I’m glad these 2 women stood up to the nonsense.
The fact he and Glover keep getting re-elected shows how brain dead the population of Contra Costa is. If there were ever term limits needed Gioia and Glover are poster children for the cause of term limits
If you are looking to promote at your current job, looking for a new job, joining the workforce for the first time or entering politics, I have a hot tip for you. Identify as LGBTQ even if you are not rolling in that group. You will surely achieve your stated goals in this day and age. Sad but true!
Sound of loud game show buzzer ! ! !
Were sorry, you didn’t mention the magical liberal woke buzz word EQUITY.
Sound like a bunch of elementary kids fighting over who is first in line. Please stop waving your flags and focus on the important issues in this County.
In woke California, real women no longer matter.
Or straight white makes who have never been divorced and have children, a stable income … if you are one of those, don’t bother applying as you will not be considered.
Is there an election coming up? It seems odd that the usual non-newsworthy rotation was not followed and instead it was musical chair favoritism to deal with someone’s agenda.
So if everyone is supposed to take turns being rotated through the leadership positions why are they voting? That makes no sense. It also doesn’t make sense to vote for someone based on their sexuality. This is what happens when you have woke leaders in place worrying about the wrong things. These people represent 200,000 residents each. Those residents are made up of people of varying ethnicities, income brackets, genders, ages, religious denominations and education levels etc. We all deserve to be represented by people who care about the whole community and aren’t up there pandering to one group or the other. Worry about fixing things in our communities and doing your darn jobs and remember you are there to serve the people. ALL of the people.
LGBTQALMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.
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I find it abhorrent that people identify by their sexual orientation rather than their professional qualifications.
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No one is better than another person just because of they happen to be of a “protected class”. This new age of institutionalized discrimination is sickening.
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An example of discriminations against a straight female.
Crime in CCC is getting worse weekly, and this is how they spend their time.
They are more interested in “making history” than in dealing with current unfortunate realities.
He did the same thing to Jack Weir in Pleasant Hill. It’s his style. Women need not apply. Haaaaa
I appreciate all articles related to local politics. The CC Times stopped doing it years ago so it is difficult to know what is going on. Sadly it is not economically viable for local news.
Politicians fighting over who sits in the big chair and who sits next to the big chair seems to be a thing these days. Too bad all them, big, small, in between, can’t seem to do the job they were voted in to do – and get paid for.
Glover and Carlson get support because they are the preferred candidates of the local highest paying lobbying groups/companies like the Garaventa garbage dynasty. And all the other politicians know who controls the purse strings. Stop voting these people into office.
Well Hope Gioia is owned by Chevron. Always has been. He’s doesn’t due jack crap for his district unless approved by Chevron.
No doubt the majority of our elected officials each have their own set of lobby overlords. And they all know to play nice with each other to demonstrate to each set of deep pockets that they understand the game or they will lose status with whichever entity or person is doing the funding when it is their turn to be moved forward. Very few elected officials step out of line. It’s never really about the interest of a particular social group anymore, just identity politics as the latest fashionable cloak to cover voting for the interests of the money.
Vote them all out. Terrible folks.
I called Federal Glover during the pandemic to talk about the unconstitutionality of mandating an experimental vaccine for county workers. He said he was just doing was Dr Farnitano told him to do and hung up on me.
I called him back on his cell number which his secretary probably didn’t mean to give me. He answered the phone … “This is the boss”.
The stupidity and arrogance of these politicians can’t be overestimated.
LOL! Great sign of the end of civilization as history will tell you. Since when is one’s sexual preference have anything to do with qualifications? Put the best people in the place. If they happen to be LGBTQ no need to jump up and down about it. There have probably many in the past who were of that but didn’t advertise it. Right now they need focus on putting people in place that are sane and there is quite some doubt about the current crew. But that is how society goes awry.
Hey Hope, still bitter about your multiple losses in Bay Area elections?
Never bitter – much better candidates than me have lost elections. But keep up the good work simping for the career politicians (especially those who charge you extra sales tax and then give themselves 30% a month stipend increases with it) by attacking honest people who try to change the system instead of just complaining about it. The people who were voted in are doing a bang up job of systematically destroying the Bay Area all the way out to San Jose – you must be so proud of them and their “winning” in Bay Area elections.
Hiope get the facts straight:
2006 employees got a 2.5% contract raise, BoS gave themselves a 60% raise
2014 employees got a 1.25% raise (it was a 3% but the first 1.75% was to bring employees back to whole from a 1.75% permanent pay cut) and gave themselves a 30% + 3% (our 3%) with the only “no” vote coming from Candace Anderson.
It’s a repeat pattern with this bunch And there is way more to the money grab than raises. A person has to work for or has worked for the county to know the entire truth. And public info act is a joke. They only send out what they want you to see. If you don’t have connections to people in certain depts you will never get everything
Oh brother,he got the job because he likes deviate sex???
What planet am i on?
When will a man get a job for nailin’ broads???
Any difference?i believe the LGBTQ people refer to themselves as if handicapped by these accomplishments,when it’s the opposite.
So what will happen now is people will pretend to be gay to get a job
A new society,all actors.
Your sexual perferences are private. Society does not need to know our bedroom business and we don’t need to tell them.