In the wake of global uprisings in response to racism in policing and other arenas of our societies comes a clear call to defund law enforcement.
Defund campaigns are not new but have recently reached a critical mass pushing more campaigns to grow and tangible goals to be one. Calls to defund the police capture the broad sentiment that our public dollars should not fund law enforcement but take form differently in each locality based on the law enforcement agency and where the funding comes from. This is a prime time for defunding campaigns as many municipalities are in budget cycles currently.
Minneapolis, MN City Council unanimously voted on June 12, 2020 to disband and defund the city's police force and to spend 1 year listening to their constituents on how to develop a community-led public safety system. California cities seek to follow suit.
Hours after the Minneapolis decision, residents of Hayward demanded the same at a City townhall.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed cutting $100-150 Million from the police department's $1.8 Billion budget.
San Francisco Mayor Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton announced that they will redirect funds from the police department to "support needs in black communities."
Defund OPD, a committee of the Anti-Police Terror Project, has been running a defund campaign in Oakland for years. At this time they advance four (4) core demands:
Demonstrations around the City have included messaging on these same points and the overall defund demand. Oakland youth led a march of thousands to Mayor Schaaf's home and community-based groups have organized similar demonstrations outside of council members' homes to seek support for defunding.
Mayor Schaaf has not committed to any of the above DefundOPD platform points and has doubled down on reasons why she believes the police department cannot take any funding cuts. Mayor Schaaf also noted that the City already approved funding to study a community-oriented model of public safety and model for Oakland.
On June 14, 2020, Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas released a proposed budget amendment that would cut $25 Million from the police budget or around 8% of the total budget.
Community members also call on leaders to remove police from any funding generated from the park and homeless services tax passed as Measure Q in March 2020.
The City Council must vote to adopt a budget by June 30. The budget discussion will begin at the June 16, 2020 council meeting.
To view to June 16, 2020 city council meeting agenda items: CLICK
To submit e-comment before the council meeting: CLICK
(note you will be required to create a login and verify your email address before submitting your first e-comment)
To participate in the City Council meeting on June 16:
VIDEO LINK. To comment by Zoom video conference, click the “Raise Your Hand” button to request to speak.
PHONE:
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: 862 8502 3815 If asked for a participant ID or code, press #.
To comment by phone, 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 your self by pressing *6.
If you have any questions, please email Asha Reed, Assistant City Clerk at AReed@oaklandca.gov.
Source: Meeting Agenda by the City Clerk
-- Victory for Oakland
**All photos/content are my own unless otherwise cited.
Defund campaigns are not new but have recently reached a critical mass pushing more campaigns to grow and tangible goals to be one. Calls to defund the police capture the broad sentiment that our public dollars should not fund law enforcement but take form differently in each locality based on the law enforcement agency and where the funding comes from. This is a prime time for defunding campaigns as many municipalities are in budget cycles currently.
Minneapolis, MN City Council unanimously voted on June 12, 2020 to disband and defund the city's police force and to spend 1 year listening to their constituents on how to develop a community-led public safety system. California cities seek to follow suit.
Hours after the Minneapolis decision, residents of Hayward demanded the same at a City townhall.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed cutting $100-150 Million from the police department's $1.8 Billion budget.
San Francisco Mayor Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton announced that they will redirect funds from the police department to "support needs in black communities."
Defund OPD, a committee of the Anti-Police Terror Project, has been running a defund campaign in Oakland for years. At this time they advance four (4) core demands:
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| Photo credit: DefundOPD. visit defundopd.org |
Demonstrations around the City have included messaging on these same points and the overall defund demand. Oakland youth led a march of thousands to Mayor Schaaf's home and community-based groups have organized similar demonstrations outside of council members' homes to seek support for defunding.
Mayor Schaaf has not committed to any of the above DefundOPD platform points and has doubled down on reasons why she believes the police department cannot take any funding cuts. Mayor Schaaf also noted that the City already approved funding to study a community-oriented model of public safety and model for Oakland.
On June 14, 2020, Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas released a proposed budget amendment that would cut $25 Million from the police budget or around 8% of the total budget.
Community members also call on leaders to remove police from any funding generated from the park and homeless services tax passed as Measure Q in March 2020.
The City Council must vote to adopt a budget by June 30. The budget discussion will begin at the June 16, 2020 council meeting.
To view to June 16, 2020 city council meeting agenda items: CLICK
To submit e-comment before the council meeting: CLICK
(note you will be required to create a login and verify your email address before submitting your first e-comment)
To participate in the City Council meeting on June 16:
VIDEO LINK. To comment by Zoom video conference, click the “Raise Your Hand” button to request to speak.
PHONE:
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: 862 8502 3815 If asked for a participant ID or code, press #.
To comment by phone, 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 your self by pressing *6.
If you have any questions, please email Asha Reed, Assistant City Clerk at AReed@oaklandca.gov.
Source: Meeting Agenda by the City Clerk
-- Victory for Oakland
**All photos/content are my own unless otherwise cited.
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