A County Equity Cabinet and a questionable contract
On November 17, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved a Resolution declaring racism a public health crisis in Sacramento County.
Y'all remember that right? That time Supervisor Sue Frost was the ONLY supervisor to vote against this resolution? (Sac Bee article on this upsetting occurrence linked here)
But I digress, this article isn't about Sue Frost's long history of truly awful decision making.
We're here to talk about what progress has been made in regard to this resolution.
If you need a quick reminder on what exactly this resolution was supposed to do, see the text summary below (pulled from the 4/12/22 BOS agenda supporting doc - linked here)
The resolution commits the County to, among other things, work to shape an inclusive, well-informed governmental organization; actively work to nurture and enhance diversity and inclusiveness; review all policies, procedures, practices and protocols to ensure racial equity is a core value of Sacramento County; work to eliminate factors that facilitate and/or harbor racial discrimination; promote and cultivate early and ongoing community involvement; promote racial equity to address social determinants of health; identify and implement solutions to eliminate institutional, structural and systemic racial inequities in all community services provided by the County; and create a racial equity policy cabinet to guide and provide accountability.
The highlighted text above is what we're focusing on today. The Sac BOS has officially begun the process of creating the aforementioned racial equity policy cabinet.
On April 12th, 2022, the Sac County BOS approved a contract with MGT Consulting to assist the county with its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including the establishment of an Equity Cabinet.
According to email correspondence with Supervisor Serna's Chief of Staff, Kim Nava, this contract was approved for the following reason:
The consultant will help with public engagement efforts to hear from the community on the formation of an Equity Cabinet.
So why does this matter?
Well, for starters, the County doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to transparent and ethical community engagement. Putting that aside though, we are publishing this piece to give a heads up regarding the company they chose to contract with.
The MGT Performance company has an office in Sacramento, however, their headquarters is in Florida. Their CEO, Anthony Trey Traviesa (pictured on the left), is a former Republican House Representative in Florida's State Legislature (you can read more about his history as an elected official by clicking here).
It seemed important to us to make sure folx are aware of the leadership at this consulting firm. They are to lead the charge on facilitating engagement with the community with the goal of creating a cabinet that is supposed to hold the County government accountable for racial inequities found within its structure, systems, and policies. This is a big goal, and will not be accomplished easily. It's important that we monitor this process carefully, and to continue to push for forming this cabinet with a strong and inclusive outreach plan that ensures that the right people are at the table.