USD's VIP Lab Releases Full Report Detailing Threats Against and Harassment of Local Elected Officials

The University of San Diego’s Violence, Inequality and Power (VIP) Lab and the USD-San Diego Community College District’s Institute for Civil Civic Engagement (ICCE) released their final report of research detailing the scope and impact of threats and harassment against elected officials in San Diego County. The investigation surveyed hundreds of local officials, and analyzed hundreds of thousands of tweets. The research sets a baseline understanding of the scope and scale of public aggression toward elected officials in San Diego County.

Seventy-five percent of all San Diego County elected officials have experienced threats or harassment as a result of their elected service, with roughly half experiencing threats and harassment on a monthly basis.

This research shows that threats and harassment of elected officials is a bipartisan issue, but one of its key findings is that this behavior disproportionately affects women.

• 82% of female officials surveyed report receiving threats and harassment vs. 66% of their male counterparts
• Women on the San Diego City Council and County Board of Supervisors receive 15 to 20 times the aggressive interactions on social media that their male peers do
• 61% of women say they have considered leaving public service because of it compared to 32% of men

“Nearly all of those interviewed expressed how normalized the experience of being threatened and harassed has become,” said Rachel Locke, director of the VIP Lab. “The normalized behavior referred to here is no longer simply heated political differences, but personal attacks aimed at individual office holders and even their family members. By providing concrete data, this report goes a long way towards shining a light on an increasingly dangerous and toxic aspect of modern local governance.”

The research also highlights another nationwide trend that’s taking hold in San Diego: polarization. The majority of both liberal and conservative officials report receiving threats and harassment, but the group that reports receiving the most is moderates. Officials who were interviewed say they were often attacked for not being liberal or conservative enough. Additionally, interviewees say flashpoint topics at the national level often spark discord and hostility at the local level, even on topics where local officials have no influence on policy.

“The foundation of our democracy rests on vibrant, responsive, legitimate, and effective local government. If this foundation cracks, the rest of the edifice — from state capitols to Washington DC — begins to teeter,” said Carl Luna, director of the ICCE. “Our research shows that rising levels of threats are disrupting policy and driving  people to consider or actually leave public service. This means the foundation of local government here in San Diego may be in danger of cracking and, for many in public office, effective democracy is already teetering. This is a cause for concern for all San Diegans dedicated to pursuing a common public good.”

This Spring, the VIP Lab and ICCE hosted a number of “community conversations” with local officials and voters to discuss the findings and crowdsource solutions. These discussions were supported by a number of local organizations, including The National Conflict Resolution Center, The League of Women Voters San Diego and North County San Diego, the offices of the San Diego City Attorney and the San Diego District Attorney, and the Burnham Center for Civic Engagement.

Some of the researchers’ recommendations to address the issue include:

• Document and Report All Incidents, Even When They Do Not Rise to the Level of a Crime

Although most incidents will not rise to the level of criminal prosecution, having a record will make it easier to prosecute if an incident does escalate. Documentation can also demonstrate patterns that can better inform prevention and response options.

• Potential Revisions to the Brown Act

In the community conversations, participants proposed changing the Brown Act to allow for some level of private discussion and providing additional space for elected officials and constituents to discuss issues in less formal settings.

• Prepare for Threats and Harassment

Standardized plans could include making a clear warning system for disruptive constituents, with agreed upon conditions about how many warnings each would receive before law enforcement removed them from a meeting.

You can learn more about the VIP Lab here, along with its research on this topic, and can find more about the ICCE here. 

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.