Have you ever wondered who watches those late-hour videos of the San Francisco Police Commission that are shown on the SFGTV channel? Well, I'm one of the goofy people who seemlingly have nothing better to do but watch political programming. I've seen most of the Police Commission meetings and I've become a fan of the Commission's most recent past president, Theresa Sparks.
I find myself agreeing with most, if not all, of her positions. (The new president of the Police Commission is Dr. Joe Marshall of SF's Omega Boys Club - an excellent choice, by the way).
Now it looks like Mayor Newsom will ask Sparks to head the city's powerful Human Rights Commission. That is exciting! Theresa Sparks would be the absolute best choice the Mayor can make to head our HRC. I whole-heartedly endorse the proposed appointment.
>>> Read this report from City Insider, a section of the San Francisco Chronicle:
It's no secret that former Police Commission president Theresa Sparks is on the hunt for a job -- and it's appearing as if she didn't have to look far.
Sparks is reportedly being tapped by Mayor Gavin Newsom to run the city's Human Rights Commission, with an announcement expected next week. Her appointment to lead the $6.5 million agency would leave current executive director Christopher Iglesias out in the cold. The news is already irking some of the mayor's critics. Some are charging that Iglesias, a former Newsom staffer, is being sidelined because he has clashed with the mayor over how to run the office. There's also chatter that Sparks, a transgender woman who was appointed to the Police Commission by the Board of Supervisors but was criticized for her cozy relationship with Newsom, is being rewarded.
Iglesias declined to comment Saturday.
"I hope it's not because Chris stood up to efforts to essentially minimize the role the Human Rights Commission plays in city contracting," said Supervisor David Campos, who stressed that he has "a lot of respect" for Sparks, his former colleague on the police commission. "But I have a hard time seeing why this is happening."
The Human Rights Commission is charged with implementing and enforcing city anti-discrimination, contracting, equal benefits and disadvantaged business laws. But it's also supposed to mediate disputes and play an advocacy role. A Newsom spokesman said Saturday that Iglesias remains in charge of the agency. Sparks wouldn't say one way or the other, but noted she would take the agency in a different direction if she were named to the post.
"I don't want to do a disservice to the person who is there now, but my understanding is that he will be moving on to another position, and if that is the case I would be interested," said Sparks, adding that she feels the agency has been too focused on contracting oversight. "If I had the opportunity, I would like to bring it into focus as the primary human rights advocacy organization in the city. There are some big issues -- immigration, sanctuary city, the depopulation of the Bayview, inner group tensions -- what it was originally set up to do."
The Chronicle piece was written by Marisa Lagos. You can reach her for more information at
Other Resources:
San Francisco Human Rights Commission
San Francisco Police Commission
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