Dear comrades,
This past Tuesday, a group of Oakland Councilmembers, calling themselves the "Equity Caucus," undemocratically rushed a vote on the 2021 budget. Though they claim to have defunded the police by $12 million dollars, the truth is that they only reduced the Oakland Police Department budget by $2.5 million or less than 1% of the more than $130 million police receive annually. Oakland police still get a higher percent of the general fund than any other city in the nation. This is an insult to the people of Oakland who have been tirelessly pleading to fund housing, affordable transportation, and jobs that pay a living wage.
We believe that it is necessary to hold our elected officials accountable for this injustice. Five city council members, including Council President Rebecca Kaplan voted in favor of this budget. Kaplan is also a member of East Bay DSA. DSA supports abolition <[link removed]>, and we cannot stand behind a member who voted to keep Oakland’s police department overly funded and militarized. She must be held accountable.
Take action to hold Kaplan and the Oakland City Council accountable:
PHONEBANK FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Join our Rebecca Kaplan phone bank on Monday, June 29, from 6pm to 8pm. RSVP here. <[link removed]>
DIRECT ACTION BY APTP
The founders of the #DefundOPD campaign, the Anti-Police Terror Project, <[link removed]> and partners of the Defund the Police Coalition call "Shame On You" to Libby and the five City Council members who voted against the people’s will to #DefundOPD! Let’s show the council that we will not rest until they truly defund the police and fund public services instead. Details here:[link removed]
SOCIAL MEDIA STORM - #DoBetterKaplan
Rebecca Kaplan must respond and atone for her hypocrisy! Please tag her on as many social media platforms as you can and contact her office! Here’s our communications toolkit. <[link removed]>
MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Attend the City Council Meeting on June 30th, at 1:30 PM. Find the details here. <[link removed]>
Ways to comment:
- E-comment: To send your comment directly to Council members and staff BEFORE the meeting starts please click on [link removed] and click on the “comment” link for the corresponding meeting. Please note that eComment submission closes five (5) minutes before posted meeting time.
- Video: Click on this link: [link removed] at the noticed meeting time. Click the “Raise Your Hand” button to request to speak when Public Comment is being taken on an eligible agenda item at the beginning of the meeting. You will be permitted to speak during your turn, allowed to comment, and after the allotted time, re-muted.
- Dial-in: To listen to the meeting by phone, please call the numbers below at the noticed meeting time: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 836 3063 9536 If asked for a participant ID or code, press #. please call on one of the above-listed phone numbers. You will be prompted to “Raise Your Hand” by pressing “*9” to speak when Public Comment is taken. You will be permitted to speak during your turn, allowed to comment, and after the allotted time, re-muted. Please unmute yourself by pressing *6.
Though Oakland did not defund the OPD this week, there was good news: The Oakland Unified School Board voted unanimously to get police out of public schools! This momentous decision would not have happened without the tireless work of the Black Organizing Project <[link removed]>, APTP <[link removed]>, EBDSA’s Classroom Justice Now <[link removed]> Campaign and many others. This is just the beginning!
Solidarity forever!
The Chairs of EBDSA Defund OPD Campaign
Neha, Kara, and Ruwi
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East Bay DSA - United States
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