O.C. supervisors end county partnership with anti-hate nonprofit amid Gaza War rift

A majority of Orange County supervisors decided against renewing a contract with Groundswell, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit that supports the work of the O.C. Human Relations Commission.

The surprise move came during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting when elected officials approved a $9.5-billion budget for the next fiscal year.

“What’s the purpose for the change?� Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento asked. “Does the commission require any contracts to continue to draft the [annual] hate crime report and operate the hotline?�

Sarmiento’s questions went unanswered.

The supervisor reversed his earlier straw vote from a June 11 budget hearing to have three support staff positions for the 11-member commission be provided in-house with county employees instead of through Groundswell, which had been previously known as O.C. Human Relations before recently rebranding.

“This commission that deals with hate crimes and issues that are very sensitive within the county should not just simply be adjusted from a vendor back to the county for reasons that we don’t vet thoroughly,� Sarmiento said.

But none of Sarmiento’s four supervisorial colleagues followed his lead. Sarmiento then suggested board chairman Don Wagner create an ad hoc committee to at least explore the transition, as the Groundswell contract is set to expire on June 30.

That initiative also failed to gain support.

In December 2022, the county signed a $750,000 contract with Groundswell for commission programs and services, including Hate Prevention Network meetings.

The end of the partnership comes amid rising hate in O.C. against vulnerable groups that have been charted in annual reports released by the commission in tandem with the nonprofit.

A report released last year found that in 2022 there had been a 67% increase in hate crimes over the previous year.

“It is doubly concerning that the Board of Supervisors would fail to renew this contract … during an election cycle when many of these communities will be scapegoated and targeted,� said Amr Shabaik, legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Los Angeles.

The contract’s expiration also arrives as the commission has faced divisions from within over how to combat hate against Jewish and Palestinian Americans after the Gaza War.

“Though I do not know why the Orange County Board of Supervisors decided to not renew the contract, there is plenty of cause to question why an anti-hate organization is failing to fight against hate when the Jewish people are targeted,� said Rabbi Peter Levi, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Orange County.

Since the commission released separate statements in November opposing antisemitism and Islamophobia, its monthly meetings have turned into a forum on the war’s impact on local communities.

Commissioner Rabbi Rick Steinberg speaks out against critics accusing him of Islamophobia at a March meeting in Placentia.

(Eric Licas)

Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian activists called on Commissioner Rabbi Rick Steinberg to resign or be removed after he voted against the Islamophobia statement, a stance he said was based on its framing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not prejudice against Muslims.

Activists also dubbed Steinberg a “bully� after statements he made about defunding Groundswell.

More recently, Levi claimed Groundswell failed to act against antisemitism during Hate Prevention Network meetings, which includes a Palestine-Israel work group.

Norma Lopez, executive director of the commission, defended Groundswell’s work with the Hate Prevention Network during a commission meeting last month.

“We’re looking for people to feel empowered to respectfully call each other in when there has been harm,� she said. “That way we can serve as exemplars to the broader community. We hope to demonstrate that, even in the moments of disagreement, [we can] find ways to collaborate harmoniously through the shared objective of eliminating bias-motivated hate.�

County Supervisor Andrew Do during a 2021 board meeting.

(File Photo)

None of the recent contentiousness over the Gaza War arose during brief discussions about reorganizing the commission at recent Board of Supervisor meetings.

Supervisor Andrew Do requested the shift as simple housekeeping.

“There is no change to the budget or staffing at this time,� Do said during the June 11 budget hearing. “We’re just directing the function to go internal.�

After the budget hearing, the commission held a special meeting in Huntington Beach on June 13 where Groundswell all but bid farewell to commissioners.

“With the seven-year uptick in hate activity in county, we feel that it’s more important than ever to continue to focus on anti-hate activity, to shine the light on the disparities that we see in our county,� said Alison Edwards, Groundswell’s chief executive. “We hope that this shift back to staffing the commission with county employees is a positive signal of the county’s investment and leadership on human relations and fighting hate.�

Lopez announced the meeting would be her last as executive director of the commission, a post she’s held since 2017.

Groundswell’s contract not being renewed gave Commissioner Ada Briceño a moment of pause during the meeting.

“I don’t know where that puts us as commissioners,� she said. “Frankly, this is the time that we need [Groundswell] the most.�