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Claremont City Hall
207 Harvard Avenue, Claremont
Contact for details: Council Member Sandra Baldonado
Report from January 16 Claermont City Council Legislative Committee Hearing
Urgent Action: City Councilwoman in Claremont, California, Works to Secure Local Resolution in Favor of Repeal of the Patriot Act -- What You Can Do
(Forward from a U-Net list member)
Dear Friends - Please support Claremont City Council Member Sandra Baldonado's resolution opposing the USA Patriot Act. Your immediate action is necessary in order to make certain that the proposed resolution is approved by the Council Legislative Committee. If it is not approved by the Committee it will not move forward for consideration by the full City Council in late January/early February.
Here is what needs to be done. Immediately contact Mayor Paul Held and Council Member Llewellyn Miller, the two members of the Committee who will be deciding the resolution's fate (see below).
The committee will meet on January 6, at 2:00, City Hall Conference Room. It is open to the public, should you wish to express your views in person. Prior to Jan. 6, please e-mail the Mayor and City Council at the following addresses:
Mayor Paul Held Pheld@ci.claremont.ca.us
Council Member Llewellyn
Miller Lmiller@ci.claremont.ca.us
Council Member Karen
Rosenthal Krosenthal@ci.claremont.ca.us
Council Member Al Leiga
Aleiga@ci.claremont.ca.us
Council Member Sandra
Baldonado Sbaldonado.ci.claremont.ca.us
We are sure you agree that our country must remain both safe and free.
However, since September 11, the federal government has, among other activities, greatly expanded its police powers in the areas of detention and incarceration; domestic spying on religious services and other public gatherings; access to previously private medical, financial, education, and library records; and proffered a new definition of terrorism so broad that legitimate free speech activities are chilled.
The attack on civil liberties by Ashcroft seriously threatens all of us, but particularly those of immigrants, religious and ethnic minorities, and those who engage in political dissent. Despite the fact that the city has a policy that restricts taking positions on issues that do not affect Claremont residents, we urge you to regard the proposed resolution as having a very real and immediate impact upon many who regard our community as their home.
Though local power is in many ways limited in relation to federal police powers, local governments like Claremont can clarify their own role in any partnership with federal authorities and can advocate for more information about the federal activities that take place within their jurisdiction. Students, Muslims, immigrants and political dissidents all have a common stake in the unconstitutional manner in which the Patriot Act is being enforced.
It is worthwhile reminding ourselves that not too long ago in our nation's history national security interests were claimed as justification for rounding up Japanese Americans for illegal detention and police spying upon anti-war and civil rights activists by local law enforcement was conducted on a routine basis by hundreds of municipalities throughout our nation.
Let us not lose sight of our precious civil liberties, and let us not be forced at some future date to look back on these times with embarrassment, i.e., to be forced to remember a time when our civic leaders were asked to take a courageous stand against injustice, but failed to do so for trivial reasons.
Thank you, and happy holiday wishes to you all.
This morning January16, 2003, I attended a meeting of the Claremont City Council Legislative Committee to take public comments on two proposed resolutions to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act.
City Council member Sandy Baldonado, responding to a public call for action last December, is the author of two alternative resolutions which closely resemble other resolutions passed in Eugene OR, Santa Cruz CA and 22 other US municipalities in recent months. (see: http://icujp.org/repeal.shtml for text of many resolutions around the nation).
The resolutions both include requirements for the city to demand accountability from Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies about their conduct under provisions of the Act, including the number of persons detained or interviewed, homes searched, wiretaps placed, release of information about library books read, etc. They also direct the city to refuse to carry out acts that violate the Constitutional rights of Claremont residents and to cease to engage in racial profiling.
There were perhaps 40-50 persons in attendance. 19 people spoke on the matter, with only one person speaking in support of the USA PATRIOT Act. The Legislative Committee, comprised of two Claremont City Council members, is considering how to move forward. After the public comments, they voiced concerns such as whether this was a legitimate local issue, whether it was an "empty gesture", how to draft language that would be enforceable, etc.
They have decided to take time think on the issue and will return to it soon, possibly with new language. Activists in the room were disappointed in the responses of the committee members and are planning how to proceed.
I was grateful for the opportunity to attend this meeting and observe the way the issue played out, as I have been organizing to bring a PATRIOT Act repeal measure before the Pasadena City Council. A meeting of local community leaders, including representatives of the Pasadena chapter of the ACLU, MPAC, local Democratic Clubs, AFSC, a former Pasadena Mayor, church leaders and others is set to occur next Tuesday evening in Pasadena. I will have more to report on the Pasadena effort next week.
peace, Terry Burke