San Francisco affirmative action plan ruled illegal

On 29 July 2004, a Superior Court judge ruled that San Francisco, California, city Affirmative Action program is illegal.
The current Affirmative Action plan provides for giving certain groups pre-notification of pending opportunities and a 10 percent discount on their respective bids for city contracts. The judge declared that the present plan provided for gender and minority favoritism and discrimination against other competitors.

The intent of Affirmative Action is to insure that all groups are represented equally and fairly.  Instead it has become legalized discrimination.

A spokesman for City Attorney’s office announced that the city would appeal Judge’s decision and it was not clear whether its agencies would have to stop considering race and sex while awarding contracts in the meantime.

California, with the exception of San Francisco and a small number of other cities, has repealed any program that gives certain people or groups privileged status.

Michael Berglin