Oakland City Council – Budget Allocation for Immigration Defense

THIS FROM THE CA SANCTUARY CAMPAIGN:

The Oakland budget process is proceeding rapidly and we need to pay attention to the City Council meeting next Tuesday, 1/31, which is going to consider the whole budget and in particular $150K (item #8 on agenda) for a rapid response network of attorneys and counselors to defend those attacked and detained by ICE.
(agenda: https://oakland.legistar.com/calendar.aspx ).

For the last two weeks, we have been trying without success to reach out to City Council members to tell them they must allocate more of the $1.5 million organizers say it will take to build and maintain an adequate rapid response network. Now we must redouble our efforts to be heard.

The City’s proposal for $150K is woefully inadequate.  The City needs to contribute much more.  It’s our understanding from Fred Blackwell, Executive Director of the San Francisco Foundation, that the Foundation will match up to $750K from the City and another $750K from the County. The County appears to be ready to commit to the whole match.  (Supervisor Wilma Chan will put the $750K on the Feb 7 Supervisors’ agenda.) Oakland should as well.

In the next few days we should do the following:

1) Phone / email / visit offices of all eight Council members. (Constituents should contact their own Council members, and everyone should contact Rebecca Kaplan.)

2) Try to find two CC members to move and second a motion to raise the amount to something that will begin to approach the enormous need — as much as $750. That will put the matching funds within reach.  If such a motion is passed, that will be the starting point for this item in the overall budget negotiations.

3) Put out calls to organizations and individuals to attend the Tuesday night meeting.  Give people the info on how to sign up to speak – they can do it under items 7 and / or 8.

https://solar.oaklandnet.com/Speaker/form

4) Discuss this at our meeting next Thursday and try to get more people involved.  Make plans to attend the Bd of Supervisors meeting on the 7th. Our meeting is planned for 6:30 on Thursday, Feb. 2, at the Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, 1470 Fruitvale.  The building is wheelchair accessible.

Please share this information with friends, contact your Councilperson and let us know what other of the above tasks you can commit to.

For more information or to discuss further ideas please call us.

Judith Stacey 510-559-0703

Sharon Rose 510-915-6894

Margaret Cunningham 510-435-7637