“The government should not be picking winners and losers on the basis of race or color,” plaintiff Chunhua Liao said.
Alameda County’s efforts to ensure minority-owned and women-owned businesses get a share of public construction contracts violate the U.S. and California’s constitution, according to a lawsuit filed in court against the county this week.
Wen Fa, an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation who filed the complaint, said the programs violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and California’s constitutional ban on racial preferences. He also said not meeting the thresholds is a risky bet general contractors usually don’t want to take.
Bisa Grant, the CEO of Anchor, an Oakland construction management and engineering firm that does business with Alameda County, said she thinks the participation goals should be kept in place.Grant, a Black woman, took over the business after working there for more than a decade in an executive role. She said the county programs help level a playing field that’s long been tilted.
“That gives a lot more light to shine on us, and gives us an opportunity to build a business, a viable business where we can employ people. People who can support families. Because I have a leg to stand on when it comes to competing against people who’ve been in this industry a long time,” she said. “I stand by the intent, which is to help grow jobs for people that reflect the people in our community,” he said.
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