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With the goal of “promoting equity by creating conditions that enable all county residents to fully participate in economic and social opportunities and prosper,” the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to commit officials and county employees to promote actions for the well-being of the population.
New measures include the creation of racial and social equity action plans and a renewed focus on using data to inform how, where and when services are delivered.
In addition, the ordinance, which has the force of law, also calls for an Office of Racial and Social Justice to support implementation and the creation of a workforce that reflects the diversity of the county.
“If we want to be an effective public institution, we must implement policies and practices that create conditions where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Warren Slocum, chairman of the Board of Supervisors and sponsor of the ordinance.
The official stressed that San Mateo County will intentionally address issues of inequality within our institution and promote a culture of inclusion and belonging.
“The county is setting an example of good governance by codifying its commitment to equity in law and defining public service and administration as requiring an equity perspective,” he said.
The ordinance includes key actions such as integrating heritage values into departmental leadership and executive leadership job descriptions, including capital impact statements in Board of Supervisors memoranda, and promoting inclusive democracy through strategies such as diverse representation on county boards and commissions and increased community engagement efforts.
“The key to this ordinance is to codify the county's commitment to incorporating an equity lens into operations by making equity central to public service and public accountability,” explained Shireen Malekafzali, county equity director.
In that sense, he detailed that, ultimately, this is one of the many elements that allows the Board, staff and the public to have a stronger understanding of the equity implications for County budgets, policies, programs and more .
The ordinance is necessary for the county to address long-standing forms of racial discrimination. And across the country, government agencies have played a painful and significant role in creating and maintaining racial and social inequalities through explicit and implicit policies and practices.
An example of this, the county said in a statement, are "restrictive covenants," language written in deeds to prevent a property from being bought or sold to a non-Caucasian person, practices that contribute to the current wealth gap. Currently, inequalities persist.
Of the country's 56 large metropolitan areas, the San Francisco-San Mateo-Oakland-Berkeley area ranks first in economic prosperity, but 46th in racial inclusion in that prosperity, according to the Brookings Institution's 2023 Metro Monitor.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State 
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