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, 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.
DIRECT ACTION BY APTP
The founders of the #DefundOPD campaign, the Anti-Police Terror Project, 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: https://m.facebook.com/events/1925721074244152
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.
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.
Ways to comment:
-
E-comment: To send your comment
directly to Council members and staff BEFORE the meeting starts please
click on https://oakland.legistar.com/calendar.aspx 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: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83630639536 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, APTP, EBDSA’s Classroom Justice Now Campaign and many others. This is just the
beginning!
Solidarity forever!
The Chairs of EBDSA Defund OPD
Campaign
Neha, Kara, and
Ruwi