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SJPC's Social Justice Report Card
Sacramento County - 2021
Official Results
Scroll down to learn more about how our community thought Sac County performed!
BONUS GRADE!!!
EDUCATION IN THE CITY AND COUNTY
COMMUNITY GRADE: (C-)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
SJPC has primarily focused on City and County government and therefore has not had the capacity to delve deeply into education policy in Sacramento, so we defer to the community’s grade.
The grade average listed above was calculated based on survey results regarding education equity at the City and County level, rather than at the school board level
How are final grades decided upon?
We assigned two grades for each response
The Community Grade - this grade is the averaged result of the survey responses
The Editorial Grade - this grade is assigned by the SJPC Counsel. The Counsel took into consideration community grades and comments. The results were then run by our partner organizations and SJPC Counsel members in order to receive their feedback. Upon reaching a consensus the results were published.
*Disclaimer that districts named in doc are from 2021 before redistricting (no changes to BOS)
This survey was disseminated before the 2021 redistricting process, therefore all elected officials are listed according to the district they represented in 2021 before redistricting.
Click each image to learn more!
Sac County Overall
Community grade: (D+)
Editorial grade: (C-)
Acknowledgment: Met some expectations for understanding, representing, and promoting policies built off of social justice values.
Improvements needed: May seem supportive of social justice/equity, but is not consistently centered on those most impacted by injustice, disinvestment, and inequality.
Editorial grade: (C-)
Acknowledgment: Met some expectations for understanding, representing, and promoting policies built off of social justice values.
Improvements needed: May seem supportive of social justice/equity, but is not consistently centered on those most impacted by injustice, disinvestment, and inequality.
BOS Overall
Community grade: (D+)
Editorial grade: (D)
Acknowledgment:
There were some social justice wins at the County level within the previous year; the Board voted to deny county staff recommendations to approve a $10 million construction contract that would have accelerated expansion of the Main County Jail in downtown Sacramento, and began to build out an alternative crisis management program that will remove the presence of law enforcement from calls involving mental health crises (called the Wellness Crisis Call Center and Response Treatment Program).
Improvements needed:
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors consistently chooses to pour money into the budgets of the Sheriff and the Probation Department, and to make policy and budgeting decisions that fail to meet SJPC’s standards for transparency. The BOS has not effectively engaged in listening to, or acting upon, the demands of those most impacted by the tenants of white supremacy which permeate the county government.
Editorial grade: (D)
Acknowledgment:
There were some social justice wins at the County level within the previous year; the Board voted to deny county staff recommendations to approve a $10 million construction contract that would have accelerated expansion of the Main County Jail in downtown Sacramento, and began to build out an alternative crisis management program that will remove the presence of law enforcement from calls involving mental health crises (called the Wellness Crisis Call Center and Response Treatment Program).
Improvements needed:
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors consistently chooses to pour money into the budgets of the Sheriff and the Probation Department, and to make policy and budgeting decisions that fail to meet SJPC’s standards for transparency. The BOS has not effectively engaged in listening to, or acting upon, the demands of those most impacted by the tenants of white supremacy which permeate the county government.
Supervisor Serna
Community grade: (C)
Editorial grade: (C)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Serna has demonstrated having the capacity for questioning the huge amounts of money we send to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office, called out some of the problematic behaviors of Sheriff Scott Jones, and played an important role in stopping the 2021 jail expansion. He also advocated for budget transparency in regard to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and surveys administered by the County to residents of Sacramento County.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Serna has advocated for, and praised, tactics directed at the unhoused community that directly endanger their safety and which continue to criminalize them.
Editorial grade: (C)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Serna has demonstrated having the capacity for questioning the huge amounts of money we send to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office, called out some of the problematic behaviors of Sheriff Scott Jones, and played an important role in stopping the 2021 jail expansion. He also advocated for budget transparency in regard to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and surveys administered by the County to residents of Sacramento County.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Serna has advocated for, and praised, tactics directed at the unhoused community that directly endanger their safety and which continue to criminalize them.
Supervisor Kennedy
Community grade: (D+)
Editorial grade: (C)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Kennedy has consistently advocated for alternatives to 911 for folx in our community experiencing mental health crises, and has spoken out in favor of reevaluating how much of our budget is allocated to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office. He also spoke up for protecting communities of interest within the Asian American and Pacific Islander population during the 2021 redistricting process and emphasized the need for forming an independent redistricting commission at the County level.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Kennedy has demonstrated the tendency to take a supportive stance on social justice issues and then fail to follow through; almost like he doesn't want the items in question to pass, or doesn't want to really piss off important opponents by seeing it through and wants his supporters to give him the benefit of the doubt for at least trying. Supervisor Kennedy, we want to give you credit for FIGHTING for these issues. Not introducing them and throwing your hands up.
Editorial grade: (C)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Kennedy has consistently advocated for alternatives to 911 for folx in our community experiencing mental health crises, and has spoken out in favor of reevaluating how much of our budget is allocated to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office. He also spoke up for protecting communities of interest within the Asian American and Pacific Islander population during the 2021 redistricting process and emphasized the need for forming an independent redistricting commission at the County level.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Kennedy has demonstrated the tendency to take a supportive stance on social justice issues and then fail to follow through; almost like he doesn't want the items in question to pass, or doesn't want to really piss off important opponents by seeing it through and wants his supporters to give him the benefit of the doubt for at least trying. Supervisor Kennedy, we want to give you credit for FIGHTING for these issues. Not introducing them and throwing your hands up.
Supervisor Desmond
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (D+)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Desmond has shown support for developing an alternative response to mental crises that doesn’t involve law enforcement, and co-authored a resolution welcoming and advocating for service provision to Sacramento County’s influx of refugees from Afghanistan.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Desmond has consistently and aggressively defended the need for law enforcement to be involved with issues surrounding the unhoused, has advocated for more funding to be dumped into the Probation Department, praised the work of Sheriff Scott Jones, and has been shown to demonstrate an inability to reimagine a society without carceral institutions and policies.
Editorial grade: (D+)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Desmond has shown support for developing an alternative response to mental crises that doesn’t involve law enforcement, and co-authored a resolution welcoming and advocating for service provision to Sacramento County’s influx of refugees from Afghanistan.
Improvements needed:
Supervisor Desmond has consistently and aggressively defended the need for law enforcement to be involved with issues surrounding the unhoused, has advocated for more funding to be dumped into the Probation Department, praised the work of Sheriff Scott Jones, and has been shown to demonstrate an inability to reimagine a society without carceral institutions and policies.
Supervisor Frost
Community grade: (F)
Editorial grade: (F-)
Acknowledgment:
The best that can be said about Supervisor Frost is that she listens to, and votes according to, the desires of her constituents. Specifically those constituents who are the loudest and most aggressive.
Improvements needed:
It should go down in history that the County failed to deliver on its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act funding duties during her watch as Board Chair. At that same time she publicly questioned public health guidance, affiliated with white supremacists, proud boys, anti-vaxxers, and flouted mandatory mask-orders during the historic Covid19 pandemic . She has remained steadfast in her commitment to supporting business interests, law enforcement, and in continuing the inhumane treatment of our unhoused neighbors. Sue Frost could benefit from implicit bias, ethnic studies, and racial equity trainings to mitigate her appalling, racist microaggressions and stereotyping of entire continents of people (“never complaining Asian Americans” and “the country of Africa”) on the dais.
Editorial grade: (F-)
Acknowledgment:
The best that can be said about Supervisor Frost is that she listens to, and votes according to, the desires of her constituents. Specifically those constituents who are the loudest and most aggressive.
Improvements needed:
It should go down in history that the County failed to deliver on its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act funding duties during her watch as Board Chair. At that same time she publicly questioned public health guidance, affiliated with white supremacists, proud boys, anti-vaxxers, and flouted mandatory mask-orders during the historic Covid19 pandemic . She has remained steadfast in her commitment to supporting business interests, law enforcement, and in continuing the inhumane treatment of our unhoused neighbors. Sue Frost could benefit from implicit bias, ethnic studies, and racial equity trainings to mitigate her appalling, racist microaggressions and stereotyping of entire continents of people (“never complaining Asian Americans” and “the country of Africa”) on the dais.
Supervisor Nottoli
Community grade: (D+)
Editorial grade: (B)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Nottoli's leadership played an important role in stopping the Main Jail expansion project in March of 2021. He actively listens to community members, pays attention to details, and asks the tough questions. Without his critical eye and his continued vocal advocacy at board meetings around the negative impacts of the jail expansion project, the board may have ignored community members and continued with the plan. After over 40 years on the board, this is one of the legacies he leaves behind as he retires in 2022.
Improvements needed:
In true Don Nottoli style, although he asks good questions in order to lay up dope plays, he has been shown to fail to execute those shots by making big issues out of ridiculous answers/feedback he receives from county staff.
Editorial grade: (B)
Acknowledgment:
Supervisor Nottoli's leadership played an important role in stopping the Main Jail expansion project in March of 2021. He actively listens to community members, pays attention to details, and asks the tough questions. Without his critical eye and his continued vocal advocacy at board meetings around the negative impacts of the jail expansion project, the board may have ignored community members and continued with the plan. After over 40 years on the board, this is one of the legacies he leaves behind as he retires in 2022.
Improvements needed:
In true Don Nottoli style, although he asks good questions in order to lay up dope plays, he has been shown to fail to execute those shots by making big issues out of ridiculous answers/feedback he receives from county staff.
Summary of Sac County Issue Area Grades
Criminal Justice Reform
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
The Sacramento Board of Supervisors has now canceled two jail expansion projects, and has publicly stated their commitment to reducing the jail population in order to prevent future lawsuits, and to take better care of their residents.
Improvements needed:
Sacramento County needs to redirect funding from the Sheriff and Probation Departments to community-based reentry programs in order to meet their goals of reducing the jail population.
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
The Sacramento Board of Supervisors has now canceled two jail expansion projects, and has publicly stated their commitment to reducing the jail population in order to prevent future lawsuits, and to take better care of their residents.
Improvements needed:
Sacramento County needs to redirect funding from the Sheriff and Probation Departments to community-based reentry programs in order to meet their goals of reducing the jail population.
Housing Equity
Community grade: (F+)
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
Some money has been allocated towards supporting the unhoused in Sac County, however it is not nearly enough and has not resulted in any significant improvements in the homelessness crisis. If housing has become more accessible and affordable for anyone in Sacramento, it's probably for folx not from Sacramento.
Improvements needed:
Serious action is necessary to build desperately needed shelters and affordable housing for Sacramentans who have already been, or are about to be, priced out of their own communities due to skyrocketing rent and housing prices across the Sacramento area. Providing access to transitional housing and long term (permanent) housing (i.e, free and government subsidized multi-family housing developments) is essential for the currently unhoused and poverty-stricken, and is not getting built in Sac County. Instead, Sac County largely continued to spend most of its energy and resources on HOT (Sheriff Homeless Outreach Team), Homeless Navigators, Parkway Rangers, and approving ridiculously unsustainable and unaffordable single-family home suburban developments across the region.
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
Some money has been allocated towards supporting the unhoused in Sac County, however it is not nearly enough and has not resulted in any significant improvements in the homelessness crisis. If housing has become more accessible and affordable for anyone in Sacramento, it's probably for folx not from Sacramento.
Improvements needed:
Serious action is necessary to build desperately needed shelters and affordable housing for Sacramentans who have already been, or are about to be, priced out of their own communities due to skyrocketing rent and housing prices across the Sacramento area. Providing access to transitional housing and long term (permanent) housing (i.e, free and government subsidized multi-family housing developments) is essential for the currently unhoused and poverty-stricken, and is not getting built in Sac County. Instead, Sac County largely continued to spend most of its energy and resources on HOT (Sheriff Homeless Outreach Team), Homeless Navigators, Parkway Rangers, and approving ridiculously unsustainable and unaffordable single-family home suburban developments across the region.
Environmental Justice
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (D)
Acknowledgment:
There is very little to acknowledge here; the County has largely failed to take meaningful action to fight climate change and protect our environment.
Improvements needed:
The County’s focus on environmental protection has centered on concerns around the accumulation of trash, debris, and hazardous materials in the American River Parkway, where unhoused individuals and communities have been cut off from sanitation and water supplies. This “concern” has not been accompanied by an increase in availability of services and shelter available for the unhoused.
Editorial grade: (D)
Acknowledgment:
There is very little to acknowledge here; the County has largely failed to take meaningful action to fight climate change and protect our environment.
Improvements needed:
The County’s focus on environmental protection has centered on concerns around the accumulation of trash, debris, and hazardous materials in the American River Parkway, where unhoused individuals and communities have been cut off from sanitation and water supplies. This “concern” has not been accompanied by an increase in availability of services and shelter available for the unhoused.
Health Equity
Community grade: (D-)
Editorial grade: (D-)
Acknowledgment:
The County has taken some steps towards launching a pilot program that will provide an alternative to 9-1-1 for folx experiencing mental health crisis; it is scheduled to be implemented in July of this year.
Improvements needed:
COVID recovery funds were terribly allocated, with a substantial amount going to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office. The County has further criminalized mental illness through their implementation of Laura’s Law.
Editorial grade: (D-)
Acknowledgment:
The County has taken some steps towards launching a pilot program that will provide an alternative to 9-1-1 for folx experiencing mental health crisis; it is scheduled to be implemented in July of this year.
Improvements needed:
COVID recovery funds were terribly allocated, with a substantial amount going to the Sacramento Sheriff's Office. The County has further criminalized mental illness through their implementation of Laura’s Law.
Economic Investment Without Displacement
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
COVID eviction protections implemented within Sacramento County kept people housed during the pandemic, and Sacramento County Supervisors acknowledged the need to draw attention and resources into historically under-invested parts of the County, especially unincorporated parts.
Improvements needed:
Developer interests (hint - not the affordable housing ones) and dollars continue to dominate the direction of Sacramento County growth. Much of this development is unsustainable in design and will largely only benefit transplants from wealthier cities who can afford Sacramento’s housing market rates. Gentrification is painfully obvious in places like Oak Park, but even residents in more rural parts like Rio Linda, are finding themselves priced out of their own neighborhoods as the cost of living climbs. Sacramento County is experiencing a crisis-level housing shortage - let alone an affordable housing shortage. No proactive plans to prevent displacement of existing residents and businesses by development have been implemented, and there is no accessible support for those who are displaced.
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
COVID eviction protections implemented within Sacramento County kept people housed during the pandemic, and Sacramento County Supervisors acknowledged the need to draw attention and resources into historically under-invested parts of the County, especially unincorporated parts.
Improvements needed:
Developer interests (hint - not the affordable housing ones) and dollars continue to dominate the direction of Sacramento County growth. Much of this development is unsustainable in design and will largely only benefit transplants from wealthier cities who can afford Sacramento’s housing market rates. Gentrification is painfully obvious in places like Oak Park, but even residents in more rural parts like Rio Linda, are finding themselves priced out of their own neighborhoods as the cost of living climbs. Sacramento County is experiencing a crisis-level housing shortage - let alone an affordable housing shortage. No proactive plans to prevent displacement of existing residents and businesses by development have been implemented, and there is no accessible support for those who are displaced.
Equitable & Participatory Budgets
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
It was clear that several Board Supervisors paid attention to and appreciated the constructive comments provided by the public surrounding budgeting, and asked questions of their staff for more information and clarity based on constituents’ advocacy. However, there is still very little to acknowledge here; the County has consistently failed to allocate funds in a way that is equitable or in line with community priorities.
Improvements needed:
The structure of the budget presentation and adoption process needs to be redesigned so that the citizens of the County, as opposed to just the Supervisors, are able to fully participate in and understand conversations around budgeting. The structure needs to be simplified and easily understandable to laypersons so that the public, particularly those who have historically been excluded from decision-making processes, can take part in deciding where their tax dollars are going. The County Board of Supervisors also failed to engage in socially equitable governance and oversight when they transferred $104 million of the $181 million of the County's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the Sheriff. The Sacramento Grand Jury has recommended that the Board of Supervisors appoint an independent panel to conduct an audit of the allocation and use of CARES Act funds in order to determine whether County actions were in compliance with federal CARES Act requirements.
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
It was clear that several Board Supervisors paid attention to and appreciated the constructive comments provided by the public surrounding budgeting, and asked questions of their staff for more information and clarity based on constituents’ advocacy. However, there is still very little to acknowledge here; the County has consistently failed to allocate funds in a way that is equitable or in line with community priorities.
Improvements needed:
The structure of the budget presentation and adoption process needs to be redesigned so that the citizens of the County, as opposed to just the Supervisors, are able to fully participate in and understand conversations around budgeting. The structure needs to be simplified and easily understandable to laypersons so that the public, particularly those who have historically been excluded from decision-making processes, can take part in deciding where their tax dollars are going. The County Board of Supervisors also failed to engage in socially equitable governance and oversight when they transferred $104 million of the $181 million of the County's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the Sheriff. The Sacramento Grand Jury has recommended that the Board of Supervisors appoint an independent panel to conduct an audit of the allocation and use of CARES Act funds in order to determine whether County actions were in compliance with federal CARES Act requirements.
Transparency
Community grade: (D)
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
The County hired an Inspector General to shed light on the violence and misdoings carried out by the Sacramento Sheriff's Office (e.g. overcrowding in Sacramento County jails leading to COVID-19 outbreaks and officer-involved shootings). Select Board Supervisors (e.g. Nottoli & Serna) made efforts towards transparency by questioning their staff during board meetings to pinpoint deficiencies in, and identify solutions to, County systems and programs that the public has identified as problematic.
Improvements needed:
The County consistently shuns community involvement in decision-making processes. For instance, during the creation of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council subcommittee, or in the appointment of a new Director of Human Assistance. They frequently do not comply with the Brown Act, and pass controversial items through the consent calendar, without allowing public discussion. The Grand Jury’s comprehensive review of the County’s budgeting process uncovered a failure to operate with transparency. The County needs to work on creating a two-way open forum where information, actions, and decisions are accessible and actively communicated to the public.
Editorial grade: (F)
Acknowledgment:
The County hired an Inspector General to shed light on the violence and misdoings carried out by the Sacramento Sheriff's Office (e.g. overcrowding in Sacramento County jails leading to COVID-19 outbreaks and officer-involved shootings). Select Board Supervisors (e.g. Nottoli & Serna) made efforts towards transparency by questioning their staff during board meetings to pinpoint deficiencies in, and identify solutions to, County systems and programs that the public has identified as problematic.
Improvements needed:
The County consistently shuns community involvement in decision-making processes. For instance, during the creation of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council subcommittee, or in the appointment of a new Director of Human Assistance. They frequently do not comply with the Brown Act, and pass controversial items through the consent calendar, without allowing public discussion. The Grand Jury’s comprehensive review of the County’s budgeting process uncovered a failure to operate with transparency. The County needs to work on creating a two-way open forum where information, actions, and decisions are accessible and actively communicated to the public.
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