The Opportunity for All Coalition is moving rapidly into campaign mode to support the passage of Proposition 16, which will ask California voters in November to allow equal opportunity policies to be used by state and local governments to promote good jobs, good wages, and quality schools for everyone.

After the passage by the California State Senate of ACA 5 in June, the Secretary of State qualified the ballot measure as Proposition 16 on July 1. The Assembly passed ACA 5 on a bipartisan 60-14 vote. The Senate passed the bill on a bipartisan 30-10 vote.

The Opportunity for All Coalition ballot measure committee is led by co-chair Eva Paterson, President of the Equal Justice Society; co-chair Vincent Pan, Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action; board member Quinn Delaney, philanthropist; board member Walter Wilson, Silicon Valley Minority Business Consortium; and interim campaign manager Andy Wong

The Opportunity for All Coalition today celebrated the California State Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee’s approval of ACA 5, the first of three key votes the legislation faces in the Senate this month.

Eva Paterson and Vincent Pan, co-chairs of the Opportunity For All Coalition, lauded the committee’s vote, saying, “This is a historic moment both for our coalition, and for California. With this vote, ACA 5 is the first legislation to reinstate affirmative action in California to receive successful votes in both houses of the Legislature.”

They continued, “California voters deserve to have their say on affirmative action — in a national outcry for justice for Black Americans, and in a national public health and economic crisis, which is hitting communities of color and women especially hard. The time is now for California to not just reverse the mistakes of the past, but build a stronger future…

The Opportunity For All Coalition today celebrated the bipartisan passage of ACA 5 off the State Assembly Floor. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D – San Diego), would allow California voters to have their say on equal opportunity programs like affirmative action, for the first time in a generation — as they were banned by Proposition 209 in 1996.  If the State Senate approves ACA 5 later this month, the measure would be placed on the November 2020 ballot. 

Opportunity for All Coalition co-chairs Eva Paterson and Vincent Pan said, “We are in the midst of a national conversation about systemic racism and the urgency with which we must root out bigotry — because lives depend on it. Today’s historic victory for ACA 5, to give California voters the chance to have their say on affirmative action for the first time in 24 years, is part of…

Today the Opportunity for All Coalition celebrated the Assembly Appropriations Committee passage of ACA 5, historic legislation that would allow California voters their first opportunity in a generation to voice their opinion on equal opportunity programs like affirmative action. ACA 5 is authored by Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D – San Diego).

The Appropriations Committee victory marks the second major win for ACA 5, coming after a successful 6-1 bipartisan vote on the bill in the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee on May 5.

“We believe that restoring equal opportunity programs in California is the only way we can build a stronger California as we recover from this health and economic crisis. By passing ACA 5, we will ensure that as we rebuild, the state will be able to focus on addressing the needs of California’s women, people of color, and other communities who were the most impacted,” said Opportunity…

The Opportunity for All Coalition supporting ACA 5, Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber’s bill to allow voters an opportunity to restore affirmative action and equal opportunity in California, applauds the approval of the bill by the Assembly’s Committee on Public Employment and Retirement on a 5-1 bipartisan vote. ACA 5 will be heard next by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Eva Paterson, Co-Chair of the Opportunity for All Coalition, celebrated the victory, saying, “The vote today is a historic step for California. It is critical that ACA 5 is part of the discussion as we consider how we are going to keep Californians safe and stable through the COVID-19 crisis.” She continued, “We look forward to the next steps in the process of putting this on the November ballot. California has been hit hard by this virus. ACA 5 provides concrete ways for our collective recovery.”

The committee’s approval means ACA 5…

Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D – San Diego) and a broad coalition of colleagues and business leaders today announced ACA 5, which would initiate a ballot initiative to officially repeal Proposition 209 , California’s ban on affirmative action. An antiquated law passed under Republican Governor Pete Wilson, Proposition 209 has prevented equal opportunity programs in public contracting, public employment and public education.

“This is a historic moment for California that has come not a moment too soon,” said Eva Paterson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Society. “California is one of just eight states that bars public programs that level the playing field for women and people of color in public contracting, public employment and public education. It’s time for us to join the rest of the nation, deliver on our promise of equal opportunity for all, renounce discrimination in all forms, and repeal Proposition 209.”

As reported in The…