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OP-ED: Not All State Agencies re Created Equal

Published

10 years ago

October 20, 2015

By Lee Ragin, Jr.

When it comes to equal opportunity for women and people of color, one would think that in a state as liberal as California, they would be well represented in the highest levels of civil service employment, but not so.

According to CalHR, the state’s human resources department, employment and advancement opportunities for women and minorities does not seem to be getting any better. From 2012 through 2014, the overall percentage of females and African Americans in the coveted Career Executive Assignment (CEA) positions, among the highest paid exempt assignments, has declined.

In 2012, among the 1,248 CEA classifications, 90 or 7.2 percent of the CEA’s were African American; 150 or 12 percent were Hispanic and 103 or 8.25 percent were Asians. Among those, 626 or 52 percent of the total were females, 56 or 4.5 percent were African American females, 82 or 6.6 percent were Hispanic females, and 46 or 3.7 percent were Asian females.

In 2013, the statistics showed a slight, but measurable decline in the number of women and minorities employed by the state of California. In 2014, there was a further decline in the number of women and minorities employed by California; with 1,274 CEA’s and 80 or 6.2 percent were African American; 161 or 12.7 percent were Hispanic and 106 or 8.3 percent were Asian.

Among those, 644 or 50.5 percent were female and among those, 51 or 4.0 percent were African American, 90 or 7.0 percent were Hispanic and 55 or 4.3 percent were Asian.

Other significant indicators throughout the statewide civil service spectrum reveal that during the period 2009 to 2013, there were 8.1 percent fewer African Americans and 3.4 percent fewer Hispanics.

Jerome Horton, Chair of the California State Board of Equalization.

Similarly, while the representation of African Americans relative to the population is very well represented, they experience a 7.5 percent lower wage range than average, while Hispanics are both under-represented and paid below average.

In the most recent State Employee Census, compiled by CalHR and published in January 2015, one of the state’s largest agencies, the Board of Equalization, posted favorable numbers for African Americans and women. 10 percent of the employees at the Board of Equalization (445) were African Americans; 22 percent (986) were Latino and 26 percent (1185) were Asian.

This compares with an African American representation of 10.5 percent overall in state civil service; 5.6 percent in California’s overall labor force and 6 percent of our state’s population. Latinos represent 35.3 percent of the overall labor force and Asians represent 13.9 percent.

Overall, since the appointment of Jerome Horton in 2009, the first African American to be elected to the Board of Equalization, since its inception in 1879, and with three of the five Board Members being women; things have improved for women and minorities. As of September, 2015, 32 percent of the CEAs employed with the Board of Equalization are women or persons of color.

Equally significant, the Executive Directors, at the BOE and FTB, Cynthia Bridges and Selvi Stanislaus, are women of color.

However, the Board of Equalization does not fare well historically for women and minorities in the coveted CEA classification. Out of the 187 highest-ranking Career Executive Assignment positions, only nine were African Americans, or 4.8 percent, 16 or 8.6 percent were Latino, and 15 or 8 percent were Asian.

“Individuals of all races and ethnicity should have an equal opportunity to qualify for the over 200 job categories with the state, covering every profession from lawyers and accountants, to analysts and real estate appraisers,” said Horton, “and we must continue to take affirmative steps to provide the under-represented community members equal opportunity at the Board of Equalization.”

Horton also cited the need for additional outreach in non- traditional minority media outlets, at colleges with significant minority enrollment, and the establishment of internship programs at the entry level and mentorship programs at the executive level, to give women and minorities an opportunity to succeed.

“Stepping into an executive position can and should begin an upward climb professionally”, said Senator Holly J. Mitchell, Chair of the California Senate Select Committee on Women and Inequality. “But if it comes without equal pay, without equal treatment or lacking opportunities for mentorship with other women, the stricter scrutiny to which we know female staffs are disproportionately subjected can make a promotion feel like a punishment.”

Alice Huffman, president, California-Hawaii State NAACP said. “Even though there have been cracks in the glass ceiling, the challenge is keeping women from slipping down the glass slope.”

“We commend the women at the Board of Equalization and Franchise Board for taking affirmative steps to provide women equal opportunities to advance to the highest ranks of Government,” said Hilda Kennedy, president-elect of California National Association of Women Business Owners – California.

The five-member Board of Equalization (BOE) is a publicly elected tax board, administering $60 billion annually in taxes and fees and supporting state and local government services. The board hears business tax appeals, acts as the appellate body for franchise and personal income tax appeals. The board employs over 4,000 agency employees.

Oakland Post

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

2 months ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

2 months ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

2 months ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.