One day after Sparks was elected, former Commission President and board supervisor Louise Renne resigned, stating she could not serve on a board run by Sparks. She and mayor Gavin Newsom originally had another Commissioner in mind to take Renne's place as president.
Renne also said that, in the past, Sparks "regularly took pot shots at me. I didn't respond in kind at the time and I'm not going to respond in kind now."
Sparks admits that she and Renne have clashed in the past, disagreeing on several issues involving the police department and the role of the police commission. Sparks, who is an open member of the transgender community, has for years actively monitored how the department treats transgendered citizens, and recently requested a weekly report of police department discussions.
Sparks was elected president in a 4-3 vote, but Renne claims the commissioners who voted for her were influenced by their own political agendas. Commissioner David Campos, who is openly gay, reportedly plans to run for the Board of Supervisors next year and Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese may run for state Senate.
"There comes a point when personal agendas so override what the main objectives of a commission ought to be that you don't think you can do good and serious business, and I think the commission has reached that point," Renne told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Campos said that he believes Sparks is an appropriate candidate because she has been so active in pushing for police department reform.
"This is good for the LGBT community and sends an important message to that community and the community as a whole," he said.
Although Newsom's first choice for Commission president wasn't elected, his spokesman Nathan Ballard said Newsom is ready to work cooperatively with Sparks.
Sparks was unavailable for comment at press time.
