Judge Strikes Down San Francisco's Affirmative Action program
/San Francisco's 20-year-old program to promote women and
minorities in city contracts suffered a potentially fatal blow Tuesday
when a judge ruled that it violated Proposition 209, the voter-approved
state initiative banning preferential treatment based on race and sex.
Judge James Warren of San Francisco Superior Court said the city's
contracting law giving bidding advantages and preferences to women and
minorities is similar to a San Jose ordinance that the California
Supreme Court struck down in 2000 because it violated Prop. 209. Under
the rules, minority and women-owned business were given special notices
of opportunities and an automatic ten percent deduction from their
bids. A spokesman for the city attorney's office says the city will
appeal the judge's ruling. [m0re]
