Rules Committee selects four nominees for new Reentry Council after hearing from 27 applicants

The Rules Committee conducted a lengthy hearing May 19 to fill the reentry council’s formerly incarcerated seats, heard testimony from 27 applicants and numerous community advocates, and recommended four nominees for the council.

Jessica Flintoft, who coordinates the city’s reentry work, told supervisors the reentry council is a novel structure that will include formerly incarcerated members alongside departmental appointees to shape local reentry policy. Applicants described lived experience with incarceration and reentry services, and many advocated for practical priorities: education and GED access, employment and entrepreneurship, housing, family reunification, and removal of administrative barriers for people with convictions.

Applicants and public supporters who testified included a wide range of people with reentry-related experience (education programs, counseling, entrepreneurship and community-service work). Supervisors emphasized the need for the council to reflect the city’s diverse communities — naming women’s perspectives, African American and Latino representation, and LGBT and youth voices as priorities — and urged continued engagement from applicants who were not selected.

Committee nominations included Tommy Escarsiga (representing LGBT/Latina perspectives), Mary Campbell (women-specific expertise and family reunification focus), Gerald Miller (continuity with prior reentry work), and Shamada Bishop (entrepreneurship and women’s reentry services). Supervisors noted the difficulty of choosing among highly qualified candidates and encouraged continued participation by applicants not appointed to the four seats.

What happens next: The committee forwarded the recommended names to the full Board; the city and advocates expect the new council to begin work on coordinating services, identifying funding streams and recommending policy changes to reduce recidivism.