GILROY
– Santa Clara County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to
oppose a statewide ballot measure that would stop the state from
collecting certain ethnic information, saying it could hamper the
county’s ability to serve all its citizens in the widely diverse
Silicon Valley.
GILROY – Santa Clara County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose a statewide ballot measure that would stop the state from collecting certain ethnic information, saying it could hamper the county’s ability to serve all its citizens in the widely diverse Silicon Valley.
Supervisors voted 4-0 to oppose affirmative action opponent Ward Connerly’s so-called “Racial Privacy Initiative,” which will appear on the March 2004 ballot.
“This initiative would undermine the county’s efforts to collect information that can help us better respond to the needs of the community and ensure public services are sufficient and relevant to our diverse populace,” said board Chairwoman Blanca Alvarado.
The initiative would amend the state constitution to prohibit the state and other public agencies from classifying any individual by race, ethnicity, color or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting or public employment.
But county officials said racial and ethnic classification allows their agencies to focus services on populations and communities that need them most and develop culturally and linguistically sensitive ways to deliver them.
For example, the county could no longer collect essential information on health conditions that affect individuals differently based on their race or ethnicity, officials said. It could also undermine efforts to address racial profiling and disparate treatment, they said.
Connerly, a University of California regent, has previously proposed college admissions reform that would not include information about race or ethnicity on applications.
Supervisor Jim Beall was absent Tuesday on county business.
