Why, if it Isn't Your Favorite Question and Answer Column, the Essefficist!
It's politics week around SFist, so we here at the Essefficist thought we'd do our civic duty by chipping in with answers to political questions we received about one thing that is on next week's ballot and one thing that isn't. Rita asks,
Hey Essefficist! Can you find out what exactly the City College Board of Directors does? Or the Democratic County Central Committee? Why aren't we voting for the DCCC this time around? I'm so confused!
Let's start by assuming that Rita is referring not to the City College Board of Directors, but to the City College Board of Trustees, four members of which we will be selecting in next Tuesday's election. Next, let's explain that we aren't voting for seats on the Democratic County Central Committee next week because that gets done in the spring elections. We voted on it in March. (We'll tell you what the DCCC is and what it does in just a sec.)
So. Whenever the Essefficist needs to talk politics, we go straight to Alex Clemens, the powerful force behind Barbary Coast Consulting and The Usual Suspects, an amazing online clearing house for all things pertaining to San Francisco politics. If you're a political junkie or you want to become one, The Usual Suspects is a good site to read a lot. (And if you want to take a shot at blowing sixty bucks once a fortnight, you should try to get invited to Alex's biweekly poker game.) Alex was kind enough to give us a quick rundown on the City College Board of Trustees.
Basically, the Board of Trustees is an elected body that sets overall policy for City College of San Francisco on issues such as student involvement, academics, budgetary planning and the like. There are seven elected members on the board, who sit for for year terms, as well as a Chancellor, who is appointed rather than elected. The board's function is similarly to that of a corporation's board of directors. The chancellor, much like a CEO, directs day to day activities, while the seven elected trustees direct long term policies. Like many political bodies, the City College Board of Trustees elections are staggered so that the whole body can't turn over at the same time. Therefore, we'll be choosing four trustees in next week's election. Two years, it's the other three's turn.
The Democratic County Central Committee is "the elected leadership of the local Party," or at least so says their website. The DCCC is responsible for such things as promoting the Democratic Party on a local level, representing local Dems on a broader level, promoting voter registration and turnout, and deciding on candidate endorsements. If you really want to know the nitty gritty of who the members of the DCCC are and what they do, go to their website and read the minutes from their meetings. And as we said earlier, they hold their elections in the spring, so you won't see them on your ballot next week.
Well, that's it for this week, kids. For even more info on the everyday things going on around you all the time, email your questions about San Francisco or your own exciting life to the Essefficist (or just post 'em in the comments). And we all know you're sick of hearing this by now, but don't forget to not vote next week if you never pay any attention to anything but yourself and those new shoes you've been thinking of buying! No one wants your kind of input, you brainless dummy!