“When it comes to doling out justice to one of San Francisco’s most troubled neighborhoods, what a majority on the Board of Supervisors is doing is almost criminal. Using ham-handed politics to thwart serious public policy, the so-called “progressives” on the board have blocked funding for a community court in the Tenderloin area – despite the proposed court’s widespread support among judges, police, probation officers and neighborhood residents. This week, the board sent the measure to spend $500,000 to open the court back to the committee which already rejected the funding – essentially slamming the gavel down on a promising way to deal with drugs, assaults and thefts in an area plagued by them.”…
The court of public opinion may still be heard on this issue – the Mayor’s Office is threatening to throw it on the ballot – but it will certainly be heard in a pending matter involving Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval. Sandoval is in a runoff for a Superior Court seat against incumbent Judge Thomas Mellon this November – and it will surprise no one that the local bar association found Sandoval “not qualified” for the bench.
“Sandoval recused himself on the court proposal this week – but it appears to be a matter of political expediency rather than a conflict of interest, because apparently there is no legal standing for him to refuse to vote, according to the City Attorney’s Office. There is no honor in that – and the jury is still out.” — SF Examiner
Filed under: Activism, Bad Urban Experience, Tenderloin, What's Going On? | Tagged: Board of Supervisors, Collaborative Justice, community justice center, drug crime court, Gerardo Sandoval, tenderloin community court, tenderloin court
