Government

The Joint Center Applauds U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Senator Gary Peters for Today’s Appointments of Top Staff of Color

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies commended U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) for their recent appointments of top staff of color.

Published

7 years ago

January 6, 2019

Oakland Post

By Sentinel News Service

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies commended U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) for their recent appointments of top staff of color. Senator Gillibrand hired Joi Chaney as chief of staff and Senator Peters promoted Zephranie Buetow to serve as legislative director.

“As a native of Michigan, I am particularly proud that Senator Peters has elevated Zephranie Buetow to a top policy position in his Washington, DC office–she joins just two other African Americans who serve as legislative directors in the Senate,” said Joint Center President Spencer Overton. “As Congress returns to work and continues to fill more than 300 top staff positions, I urge Members to continue making diversity and inclusion a priority. Doing so sends the right message to all communities starting from day one.”

Gillibrand’s and Peters’s appointments are indicative of a wave of diversity hires of top staff of color. According to the Joint Center’s live tracker, four new chiefs of color have been hired by returning Senators. Two (including Chaney) are Black women, one is Asian American/Pacific Islander woman, and one is Latino.

“Black women play a vital role in our democracy. By appointing Joi Chaney to lead her Senate office, Senator Gillibrand is playing a leading role in the Senate by recognizing that the talent and experiences of people of color matter in policymaking,” said Joint Center Black Talent Initiative Director Don Bell. “Hiring top staff is integral to creating a culture of diversity and inclusion, and it is necessary to ensure that our democracy is truly representative and accountable to all.”

In 2015, the Joint Center issued a report, Racial Diversity Among Top Senate Staff, finding that African Americans accounted for 13 percent of the U.S. population and 22 percent of those who identified as Democratic voters, but less than 1 percent of top Senate staffers. With these appointments, along with others announced over the past two weeks, Senators of the 116th Congress are well on their way toward changing these statistics.

The official bios for the new top staffers can be found below:

Joi Chaney will join Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s (NY) office as its Chief of Staff at the end of January after running Equal Pay Today, a project of Equal Rights Advocates that works in coalition to close the gender wage gap and engage new and diverse constituencies in the fight for equal pay. She is returning to government service after serving in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a political appointee in the Office of the Chair. This is her second tour in the Senate, where she was previously Policy Director and Counsel of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee under then-Majority Leader Harry Reid. Joi is also an alumnus of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Joi is a graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School.

According to the Office of Senator Peters, Zephranie Buetow is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a B.A. in Speech Communications. She also earned an M.S. in Communication from Illinois State University and a J.D. and M.A. in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago. She is currently Deputy Legislative Director and Counsel for Senator Peters. Prior to joining Peters’ office in 2015, she worked for former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA). While attending law school, Buetow interned in the Chicago Offices of U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). She also served in the Illinois Army National Guard.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Sentinel.

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CITY OF SAN LEANDRO STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ENGINEERING DIVISION NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III

WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.

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February 20, 2026

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PROJECT NO. 2020.0050

BID NO. 25-26.011

BID OPENING: The bidder shall complete the “Proposal to the City of San Leandro” form contained in the Contract Book. The proposal shall be submitted in its entirety. Incomplete proposals will be considered non-responsive. Sealed bids containing the completed Proposal Section subject to the conditions named herein and in the specifications for ANNUAL STREET OVERLAY/REHABILITATION 2019-21 – PHASE III/PROJECT NO. 2020.0050 addressed to the City of San Leandro will be received at City Hall, 835 East 14^th Street, 2^nd Floor San Leandro at the office of the City Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.
WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of roadway paving, base cement stabilization, concrete curb ramps, driveways, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, traffic detection loops and pavement striping, and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.
OBTAINING THE PROJECT PLANS AND CONTRACT BOOK: The project plans and Contract Book may be obtained free of charge from the City’s website at:https://www.sanleandro.org/Bids.aspx Bidders who download the plans are encouraged to contact the City of San Leandro Public Works Department Engineering division at 510-577-3428 to be placed on the project planholder’s list to receive courtesy notifications of addenda and other project information. Project addenda, if any, will be posted on the website. A bidder who fails to address all project addenda in its proposal may be deemed non-responsive.Bidders may also purchase the Project Plans and Contract Book from East Bay Blueprint & Supply Co., at 1745 14^th Street, Oakland, CA 94606; Phone Number: (510) 261-2990 or email: ebbp@eastbayblueprint.com.
PRE-BID CONFERENCE: A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM and on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM as follows:
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Zoom Meeting ID: 883 8752 6074
Passcode: 502955
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/88387526074?pwd=hZ5rjB8AWdLAUem3CtByFiZxqKarHj.1
And
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 AM
Zoom Meeting ID: 898 2672 0472
Passcode: 091848
Zoom Link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/89826720472?pwd=JgZX2nXMpLSRM5xDPr7EJUxl7QIznr.1The information presented at the conferences will be identical, all bidders must attend one of the pre-bid conference and sign the attendance sheet. A firm that didn’t attend the pre-bid conference isn’t qualified to bid on the project.Questions regarding the plans and specifications may be submitted in writing to the project engineer until 5:00 p.m. five (5) days before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, bids must be received by the City. The City will not respond to oral questions outside of the pre-bid conference. The response, if any, will be by written addendum only. Oral responses do not constitute a revision to these plans or specifications.
VALUE OF WORK: The Engineer has estimated that the value of work is between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000.
SAN LEANDRO BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION GOALS: The work performed under this contract is subject to Section 1-6-225 of the San Leandro Municipal Code regarding local business preference and participation. A list of companies that hold a San Leandro business license is located on the City webpage under the finance department, here: https://www.sanleandro.org/340/Business-License
SAN LEANDRO COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENT: The work performed under this contract is subject to the Community Workforce Agreement adopted by City Council Resolution 2015-104. Contractors attention is directed to Section 10.